Road Trips

In general, the roads in Cyprus are super. Wide, well marked motorways connect major cities--Paphos, Limessol, Larnaca, Agia Napa, Nicosia, Kyrenia, Famagusta. No problem, once you are able to do everything katywhompus--drive on the left side, remember the left lane is the slow lane, drive prudently over the posted speed limit to prevent tailgaters from blasting their horns, use the lever on the right to signal turns, not the windshield washer. Little things.

The problems occur when one believes the road maps. Friday, my friend Evi and I decided to take in the Rose factory in Agros, then drive to the lace-making villages of Lefkara, and then home. It was a four-hour trip that turned into eight. For our return home, the highway from Lefkara to the motorway looked simple enough, but we missed a turn. Immediately, Evi found the alternate route--a little longer, but truly, she assured me, it would be scenic. The problem was, the road started out paved, moved quickly to gravel, then to dirt, then to deep ruts and pot holes ground down to bare mountain craggy rock. And, it narrowed to one lane, most of which was shared by rock slides on the left and a cavernous drop off--without a barricade--on the right. Still, it was gorgeous. I was most interested in the colors of rock in the cliffs--always seeing the Kodak moment! In the photo to the left, we stopped to take the picture. Fear wasn't part of the experience because it wasn't till I saw the photo last evening that I would admit to myself what I really was driving on--or not on, as the case may be. Even 10 miles of this at 5 mph, it was a road trip for sure!