TROODOS

08 – 09 April 2024

Heading into the Troodos mountains for the next couple of days, we were smart enough to learn from our excursion to Santa Irene winery the previous day and to wear jeans and have a jumper on hand.

Good thing too because as we climbed, it not only got chilly but clouds moved in and sucked away what little warmth the sun was bringing to the party.

By the time we arrived at our first stop, Everchou, it was drizzling. Fortunately, the excursion was indoors – the Train Museum. Completely unmanned (it was 13h15 so might have been lunchtime), it fuelled our ambitions to become Cypriot museum custodians. Best job in the world!

We let ourselves in and started our own self-guided tour. Fortunately the story told was largely graphic and there were English captions alongside the Greek ones. Details aside, the abridged version is a half century or so of lukewarm performance for the Cyprus Government Railway (CGR).

It ran from Famagusta on the East coast through Nicosia to Everchou at the base of the Troodos mountains. It was forecast to be a major mode of passenger transport, but locals preferred their camels and donkeys so it was only really the military that used it in any great numbers. The service was eventually discontinued on 31 December 1951 when it was deemed economically nonviable to continue maintaining.

Short on any other places of interest, we then concluded the day’s travel in the Troodos are with the short hop to Kakopetria.

KAKOPETRIA

Struggling to find our accommodation, Maritsa Lodge, we realised that Google Maps had gotten confused because our B&B was in the Old Town with its narrow cobbled pedestrian streets. We ditched the car and walked to the lodge on foot.

A charming 300+ year old house converted into flatlets, the landlady at Maritsa Lodge showed us to our suite at the edge of the property, overlooking the river gorge and the mountains rising opposite.

We also had a little wooden deck so made some hot bevvies to take advantage and admire the view while reviewing the circles and markings the hostess had made on the tourist map she’d given us.

We were ideally based at the end of the Nature trail that ran along the opposite side of the river into town. With a very grey sky, clouds billowing above the mountain tops and intermittent low rumbling of thunder, we decided that it would make the most sense to use this route to get to town while the weather still allowed. We then had the option of returning either up along the cobblestone street or the tarred road which we had driven in on.

We nimbly made our way down the wooden stairs and across the bridge. The trail was easy to follow and a wonderful piece of nature as we followed the river for some 1km.

Emerging at the far end, it started to rain. We took what we thought was the road into town, upping the pace as the drizzle turned into a full blown cloudburst.

Seeking shelter in a petrol station we consulted the map and realised we had taken the wrong split; we were supposed to turn right and cross the bridge into town!

With little choice we waited out the pelting rain until some 15 minutes later it had slowed to what we were prepared to walk in again.

Crossing the bridge immediately produced a couple of short streets of activity. It was still drizzling so we went into the first restaurant – the River Park, which was one our host had recommended – and waited out the last of the rain with a cold KEO.

As soon as the sun came out, so did we.

We reviewed the whole town as the sunshine dried our damp hoodies for us. Kakopetria was pretty while glistening in the remnants from the rain, but – based on the generous blossoms cascading from the trees and the grapevine veranda canopies starting to show hints of green – must be really pretty as Spring warms the town up.

With nothing but time on our hands, we also studied the menu outside each of the restaurants and decided on where to have our dinner, now only a couple of hours away.

A lot of the shops were closed, which could have been because it was Monday or because it was shoulder season, in between the ski activities on the mountains and the busy summer for Cyprus tourism. Still, it was nice to wander around and wonder.

We walked back to our hotel along the cobbled street, marvelling at how well-preserved the ancient buildings were – and how tiny some of the doorways were, barely our shoulder height!

After a short stop and grabbing another layer (presuming it would get quite cold along the river after dark), we made our way back to town on the road route that had seen our arrival. Much quicker (but less scenic) left us with 15 minutes to kill before our restaurant, Podji Poda, opened.

We visited the minimart (no fun Metallica stories this time) and got a takeaway Leon to have a makeshift sundowner at Couples Rock. This was an amusing landmark we had encountered on our walking tour; a large rock fabled to have rolled over a love struck couple.

Fortunately, no such similar fate befell us and we made it to dinner. A sumptuous meal of fresh whole Trout from the local river and a red wine bacon dish.

TUESDAY

It was cold and drizzly in the morning, so we took our time over the complimentary Mediterranean-style breakfast buffet, confirming our route for the day.

Once in the car, we made our way up Mount Olympus. We climbed for 28 minutes as the temperature plummeted. Even though we were cocooned in the car, I got a chill as the dashboard chimed with the snowflake icon as the outside temperature reached 4 degrees.

We carried on forward and upward into the misty cloud we had seen from our deck at Maritsa Lodge. A few minutes later we were at the top; a cul de sac at the entrance of the army base where we could go no further.

We were in light snowfall! We got out the car to fully appreciate the novelty of being engulfed by mist and to feel the snowflakes falling on us! Not great for photos, but a good story to tell about our foray in the Troodos Mountains.

Unnerved that our next feat was intended to be a short hike through the woods to Calendonian Waterfall, we were relieved to be greeted by a balmy 10 degrees when we parked at the Psilo Dentro restaurant and trout farm at the entrance to the trail.

It was an easy and enjoyable walk to the waterfall; a little slippery in places from the recent rains, but nothing serious enough to slow the pace or the conversation. We took a few minutes to appreciate the end goal… and then it was back to the car and on the road again.

Our Paphos host had recommended a stop at Vassiliades Winery on our way into Omodos, so we did just that.

An elegant building gave us viewpoint to the magnificent landscape. The hills opposite clearly showed us what the sommelier at Saint Irene Winery had told us about the uniqueness of the Cypriot grapes growing on the steep and arid hills, defying the usual conditions under which grapes usually prosper. Sure, the harvests could be more modest, but the quality of the grapes was next level and the smaller yields unique in flavour.

OMODOS

Omodos was less than a kilometre further down the road. We had booked to stay in Katoi Holiday Home in the old town so discovered on arrival that that meant parking across town (some 250 metres away) in the village free parking. Chris dropped me off as close as possible with the suitcases and went to drop off the car.

His traverse of the town had given him a good lay of the land and we were wine-tasting at the Zenon rooms ten minutes later. The lady in the store was the granddaughter of the original wine farmers so most of her narrative  was about their history and the family members who featured on the labels of each of the bottles.

Then it was a quick visit to the monastery and its very impressive golden fresco in the church. The monastery was at the base of the town square so we did some menu checks to narrow down dinner options.

Secure in our sort-of plan, we were back to wine-tasting. We absolutely had to visit Linos Winery to find out about their blue wine; literally a bright aqua blue colour. The hostess told us that it is essentially a dry white and that the blue colour comes from the grape skins. She gave us the non-coloured variant and it was like a trick on the sense that the two tasted the same yet looked so different.

We also sampled their commanderia (sweet wine only made in Cyprus), Zivania (jet fuel 50% proof clear spirit, sunk as a shot) and a Pistachio cream liqueur that was very easy on the palate after its two predecessors.

Back into town, we did the final wine-tasting of the day at the Gerolemo coffee shop and wine bar on the square. After sampling a varied range, Chris got a glass of his favourite white and me of my favourite red and we took to a table outside to enjoy the fresh evening.

The barkeep had warned us that they were closing for the day but encouraged us to take our time on their terrace. He asked that we just leave the glasses on the windowsill for him to collect in the morning (they would never still be there back home!)

A short while later, the owner arrived. Concerned that we’d been left unattended (despite our assurances that we were quite fine), he unlocked the main door and emerged a minute later with a bag of chips and a Zivania for each of us.

During the short exchange over the shot, we asked him for recommendation on dinner venue. He chuckled and said that if we were up for it, there was a locals pub across from the cemetery which was good for ‘a beer and a game of cards… and then we eat’. Sounded worth a look.

We finished our wine and located the pub. It was a smoky den with older men currently enjoying Greek classic movies on the small TV mounted on the wall in the corner.

Committed, we entered and Chris organised us a couple of cold beers and a table.

Soon after, the chap who invited us arrived, gave us a friendly wave and a smile, and disappeared into the adjacent room to get down to some serious cards.

We moved to the bar where we were almost instantly engaged in conversation by the man sitting next to us. He was keen to hear about where we were from, what brought us to Cyprus, Troodos and Omodos and any other tales of our travels. We already had so many to share from our short time in Larnaca and Nicosia!

Settled and comfortable we ordered a meal to be served to us at the bar. A light Mediterranean plate with big warm wedges of halloumi that we doused in lemon, feeling smugly authentic in our evening’s outcome.