Nature unperturbed by financial rumblings

Nature has been forceful and up front in Cyprus this year and perhaps it is just coincidence but is this not the year of the Snake ? I have seen more snakes this year then I have in my whole life and none more vivid then the display we witnessed a few days ago in Pomos of two black snakes, non poisonous, measuring a metre or more intertwined like a DNA sequence in a mating dance that had us all enthralled. We watched them slither and slide around each other for a good few minutes literally from a few feet away. Then suddenly one pulled away and disappeared into the undergrowth. 

A kestrel which is a bird that we have seen in India, the UK and in Cyprus decided that the deck was definitely its favourite place.We approached it and it seemed quite unafraid. Maybe it was looking for the snakes too. We came across another snake as we drove down the coastal road this one sadly coming  to a sticky end. 

So not just the territory of down under. Its their year it seems and they are out there. This if what is said on the internet on http://www.hanban.com

The Introduction of 2013 Year of Snake
2013 is the year of the black Snake begins on February 10th shortly after the New moon in Aquarius, the humanitarian of the zodiac. This 2013 year of Snake is meant for steady progress and attention to detail. Focus and discipline will be necessary for you to achieve what you set out to create. The Snake is the sixth sign of the Chinese Zodiac, which consists of 12 Animal Signs. It is the enigmatic, intuitive, introspective, refined and collected of the Animals Signs. Ancient Chinese wisdom says a Snake in the house is a good omen because it means that your family will not starve.

I like the good omen - it counteracts the financial crisis perfectly! 

An island on empty.

This is the island I return to every year and bring my children to, but this year it is almost unrecognisable in the way it has been beaten and bashed and left empty and wanting. I could spend the rest of the blog attributing blame, the president who left the island in a good financial state as opposed to the one who has just spent five years running it into the ground. The new president who took over in 2013 seemingly issuing the right messages but short on the delivery and the great cloud of uncertainty that surrounds all dictated by forces beyond the shores- will Cyprus pull through, has it bottomed out, are there better days to come ? 

No one is unaffected- daily you hear stories of families whose lives have been turned upside down in ways that are unfair and hard. Some were depressed about the state of affairs, others have taken it bravely and are a little more accepting. The bank I used,  has gone. The bank employees who for years looked after me so well dont know if they will have a job at the end of the month. Houses lay derelict, there is no money to maintain, shops and whole office buildings lie empty waiting for those inquiries that never come. People have stopped going to their favourite beaches, those that are a little far and the petrol too costly, the restaurants have few, if any customers and the mood is as oppressive as the heat at times. 

I wish I could say this is the end and there are better days to come. My husband says I am a bit of a pessimist and worry unnecessarily. I wish to god he was right on this one.I would love to stay positive but fear there are harder times ahead. The ravages of war, the lives lost in 1974, seem a different ruination to the present one but this is perhaps more insidious. Both affecting generations to come and those who came before marking people in ways seldomly erased.

A Cypriot Welcome

We travelled to Cyprus on the boy's hated airline Easyjet which to them somehow is anything but easy but there were no hitches on this journey and we even arrived 20 minutes ahead of schedule.  This coincided with another packed Easyjet plane from Manchester. Some 600 passengers all trooped into the arrivals hall and there we witnessed a unique Cypriot welcome. 

Two slightly bored immigration officials decided that the best way to deal with the queues is to make them vanish. They just waved everyone through, stopped no one, and simply did not bother with passports - BAH formalities right ?  If these good people want to be here they are jolly welcome ! 

We laughed our heads off - such a great welcome. 

I end today's blog with the Cypriot version of a hot dog. 

Young sprouts

Quite proud of the boys. They built their own little veggie patch in the heart of London and look how well everything is doing. With the good weather in London at the moment those strawberries will be ready for Wimbledon !

Russell

I would like to introduce you to my lovely Ozzie neighbour, Russell, crab catcher extraordinaire, organic veggie grower, prize avocado grower, wine connoisseur and bridge builder in his past. Now he is happily by my side, promising to take me out crabbing in the boat, while plying me with fresh bunches of parsley, spring greens and the BEST avocados I have ever eaten.  Each one weighs about half a kilo. In between he identifies the snakes in my garden, introduces me to his lovely gardener and takes me wine tasting. 

Russell's avo and a shop bought one !

I compete with my mandarin (tangerine) tree which is producing lots of lovely fruit. My problem is that the flying foxes love them too so every day I find the peels of the mandarins on the ground. They are good to eat but even better for juice and the taste of this mandarinada is even better than the one back home and that is saying something. 

Feeling blessed in many earthy ways with what comes out of this land, snakes, spiders and all. 

Cuddling Koalas

Well every birthday boy is entitled to a wish. My hubby's was cuddling a Koala. So off we went to the wildlife park and did exactly that but also spent a long time watching these docile, cuddly creatures and returning on several occasions as they sleep about 20 hours in every 24 hr period. We were lucky enough to watch them at their sleepiest and at their most wakeful. They are a threatened species as they have lost most of their natural habitat as more and more land gets cleared. They live in coastal regions,  islands and in woodlands - essentially where they can find certain eucalyptus trees which form their food source. 

They are not bears as they are sometimes mistakenly called, but marsupials and they produce small blind joeys who find their way to their mums pouch where they suck on her teats for about 6-7 months before venturing out. The eat a kilo of gum leaves a day which must be pretty tasteless and hard to digest so perhaps that explains why they are so sleepy trying to digest this unpalatable food. 

They love their gum trees and return to the same ones. Very much creatures of comfort and habit. Sadly they do also carry chlamydia which affects them if they are stressed or unable to find food. They are protected but their biggest threat is loss of habitat. Unbelievably cuddly and cute with great balance. Not sure I could stay in the fork of a tree fast asleep like they do !

Hamilton Island walks and vistas

The island is small enough to walk around and there were some lovely trails to follow. Eucalyptus and scrub for most of it to Passage Peak the highest point of the island. More than 70% of the island is bushland and that is how it should be. On our way to various interestingly named points we came across many beautiful butterflies, some birds, perhaps not as many as we expected, a curious kangaroo, which was very exciting as it was the first time I have seen them, and some wonderful flora. 

Here is some of what we came across: 

 There were many butterflies which seemed quite sluggish flying around 

 Termite trails ? 

 Fabulously coloured rocks 

 Fungal fun ? 

 Leaf houses for ants 

 Last year's model ? 

The attraction of colour 

Look at her gridded fluorescent pattern ! 

Amazing swamp grass trees with upstanding rushes 

On Passage Peak