Cyprus August 2022

Coming in to land over the Larnaca coastline I see the crystal shimmer of the salt lake. No flamingoes this time. My feelings conflicted. I have lived away longer from my homeland then I have lived there. On the plane I chat to a young Indian from Pune who is heading to Limassol for a job he says will be life changing. I wish him all the very best. At the car hire, a warm Cypriot greeting, a familiar face and all systems go. My details are in the computer and the computer says Yes. We are off towards Limassol. 

A changing landscape, a Gold Coast in the Med awash with Russian money. Reviled by Cypriots like me who are in favour of reunification, rather than the status quo which serves Russian interests in the Med. Enough of politics. Something much more Cypriot to cool us - it is 33 C - so we have our first Cafe Frappe. Cold Coffee.

The ground yellow with wheat stubble - it has been a hot summer but along the way bursts of bougainvillea exuberance in white, orange and hot pink. 

We stop off at a couple of Beaches, Governor's Beach a reminder of its colonial past, (the Governor had a holiday home here) and Pissouri, where we first contemplated a future together under a flowering wattle tree. 

My sister's beach house a haven of green on the northern coastline. We eat olive bread and koubes like we haven't seen food in days and swim in the beautiful sea. An azure kingfisher streaks overhead and out of nowhere a pair of Eleonora's falcons cry out to one another. 

Tomorrow my family will be back together again for the first time since Jan of 2020 and I cant wait.