What a bumper crop awaited us in Cyprus. Wild donkies, deserted beaches, snow capped mountains and a back hander from Benji that my hair cut is turning me into Ann Widecombe! There’s a taste for everyone on this Mediterranean isle. From the unspoilt rural landscapes of the North and South, the notorious party towns brimming with lusty pleasures to the cosmopolitan cities of Kyrenia and Limassol.  Suffice to say, it was a jam packed 3 weeks.

We left you having cycled the northern coast to begin our journey around the Karpass peninsula.  Returning to a country with such an abundance of British expats left us reeling from the treats of home adorning the supermarket shelves. It also bought home how rough and ready we’d become from 5 months on the road. Cooking our dinners on a camping stove outside posh restaurants and absorbing the looks of the expat locals at our dishevelledness was a whole new experience.  Wonderfully healthy to have the tables turned for a while and we wouldn’t swap our tramp chique glory for the world.

It was 4 days cycle before we met the peninsula and the road bought back memories from the Black Sea coast in Bulgaria with masses of derilict buildings blotting the landscape.  A sad sight from an overzealous boom, but hopefully an omnipresent reminder for what not to do in the future.  Throughout our research this part of the island was billed as a highlight and absolutely delivered. The deserted farmland and low dusty mountains were the vision of what we’d both hoped for.  As the landscape and warmth began to re-fuel our souls it was the cherry on the cake when we stumbled across our first wild donkies! Truly beautiful creatures, built more like zebras than their domestic relatives and with Brian seeing the origins of his namesake he was a happy boy indeed.

Wild donkies 🙂

When peddling is your transport you become your own human rythm stick, choosing and changing the pace to suit your environment or mood.  We chose to wind our legs down as we came to the Southern side of the peninsula and set ourselves up for a few nights camping on a deserted bay.  There are special moments on the trip that deliver us into the hands of complete relaxation, for me the few days here were just that. Snorkelling, cooking, camping, star gazing at pin sharp skies = Heaven.  It’s still very humbling for us to be the master/peddler of our own destiny in experiencing the world in such a way. Though as ever, as rations dwindled our rumbling tummies pushed us on.

Home for our rest days

Happiness

Travelling south we hugged the coast before entering the Greek side of the Island.  For both of us the border crossing was a little more dramatic than expected.  It’s been the longest cease fire in history but as you cross from one half to the next you have to pass through an eerie ‘no mans land’ road, with snipers and patriotic flags adorning each side.  UN trucks trundling past every few minutes completed the unnerving feeling of our transit across the island of two halves.

As anyone who knows Brian will vouch, rugby is this mans bread and Kerrygold. He actually once captained the current Irish captain Paul O’Connell in the Young Munster team – a fact he never bores of telling and I, of course, never bore of hearing. So with the Autumn Internationals underway and a pretty lack lustre nights sleep (thanks to Easy jet and camping in the bushes too close to Larnaka airport) we decided to stop early the next day on the outskirsts of Limassol to watch the Ireland game.  In true match spirit we had a few too many sherberts and spent the night camping in a derelict building behind the bar.

Sunset at Aphrodites rock

By this point we’d been in Cyprus 10 days and had employed some serious soap dodging not having graced a shower or found hot running water.  Each evening the sea was our bath so I’ve no doubt we’d managed to keep a socially acceptable level of body odour.  The following afternoon saw us heading to a friends fathers house in the hills behind Limasol. Surprisingly nothing was said about our aroma and it was heaven to spend a couple of days in a beautiful family home.  Bill, Jitka, Sarah and Tom the cat looked after us exceptionally and after only spending just over 24 hours together sharing stories, we felt like old friends.

New friends…Brian doing a neck stretch and me giving Anne Widecombe fierceness

It was a bittersweet goodbye to the McCormack crew though another happy hello awaited us the next day with Benji heading in from Blighty. It’s always a treat to see a familiar face and good old Benji had decided to hire a bike and join us on the road out West to the Greek peninsula, which too encompassed a beautiful nature reserve and coastline.  We had a splendid first day completed by a nipple tingling sunset.  Going to bed we noticed a storm coming in from the West and that nights kip delivered us into the jaws of a spectacular high voltage performance.  In true cycling spirit it was great for Benji to get a proper taste of our life on the road and as we finished our morning brew miss sunshine graced us with her face once more.  As rain was forecast we decided to head back towards Pathos and with only 16km to cover it was a nice change to dawdle in the saddle.  Plenty of swimming and eating were the order of the day and with Benji getting his chest wig out Welsh otter style and Brian flashing his Irish minnow, laughs were also a plenty!

Benji! Safety first

The sunset ordered for Benjis first night

The storm to come

Saturday arrived with more rugby for the boys and although I enjoy the od game it was grand to see Brian and Benji nattering like two fishermans wives the following day dissecting the match.  Apparently Wales put in a slightly shameful performance, Ireland of course were magic, probably in no small part due to Brians old captaincy of Mr O’Connell.

Monday bought another Bon voyage though the bike dawdling was a distant memory with our road from Pathos taking us straight over the Troodos mountains.  These beauties upped our pulses from the prior 2 weeks on the relatively flat coastal roads and by the Tuesday we’d been caught in an almighty downpour that saw us throwing in the towel for a night in a cheap hotel.  We woke on our last Cypriot morning to be greeted by snow covered peaks on both the Troodos mountains behind us and our old friends the Taurus mountains awaiting us on the Turkish mainland.

So, it’s with another delightful crossing on the night ferry styled on a shanty town/crack den that we’re back in Tusucu.  It’s a pretty stacked admin day before we brace the -7 and snow that await us in Cappidoce.  Looking forward to the challenge though we may abstain from the tent should Mr Frosty persist!

As a celebration for 6 months on the road, an early christmas gift and the one and only chance to see me with a tummy, below is a picture our friend Nora took on the day we left London.  Certainly smaller waists for us both now though the child bearing thighs are coming on nicely!

Where it all began, Mountgrove Road, London 🙂

Thinking of you all as always.

Tommy and Brian

xxxx