Tuesday 17 Oct.
Esme has returned home after 4 days solid window sewing which wrecked her back and destroyed her fingers. The repairs were needed after the hail stone damage in the Suez Canal.
Amazing stitching with the speedy stitcher. Not remotely speedy but slightly better than simple needle & thread.
However she persevered and managed to get the last of day her 5 day working visit off which gave us a trip over the border to have a look at the old walled city centre of Farmagusta in daylight and then further north
to the amazing ruins of Salimina. We had previously crossed for supper a couple of days earlier and walked round the abandoned part of Farmagusta. Extraordinary failure of diplomacy to result in this ridiculous waste of resources not to mention the heartache
of so many people leaving their homes.
We heard that people are beginning to return to live and there are a couple of vendors selling drinks. Some streets are cleared of weeds and resurfaced and now that tourists are allowed to inspect the effect of 50 years
decay perhaps it will gradually return from the dead.
The Greeks are still too hurt to contemplate any sharing scheme and they disapprove intensely of tourists crossing to look at their pain. We kept our visits quiet with our neighbours in the marina.
The 20 euro cost of crossing (for a 3 day car insurance) is soon recuperated with cheaper food and drinks, and a last minute shop for fresh just picked veg in a little store near the border probably saved the fee on its
own.
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The old walled city is very attractive. The cathedral now mosque must have been as impressive as any in France or Portugal. Now stripped of any decoration and effigies the simple interior shows off the soaring architecture
to different and possibly more breathtaking effect.
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The Venetian Palace must have been quite a pad for Lusignan royalty in the 1300’s.
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Othellos Castle built into the city wall is named after the play, as Shakespeare is rumoured to have based the character on a real person who lived in the castle.
The ruins are sufficiently intact or restored to visualise the multitude of rooms and levels and grandeur of the great hall. A couple of builders were busy clearing weeds from the ramparts.
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A visit to the cake shop is irresistible and left me drooling over the sweet stuff but prostate in mind I demonstrated iron will to resist the multitude of flavours of Baklava and had a mint tea with a nice nutty pie.
The birds are not on the menu but add a colourful and lively backdrop to the cakes.
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A little further north up the coast we found the Salinas Spa ruins. Expecting the remains of a couple of roman baths we were amazed to find a massive site of baths, theatres, amphitheatres, 30 person toilets,
colonnaded streets and a port.
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Annoyingly I missed the port due to a misunderstanding; Heading towards the coast I spotted a rough path heading the right direction for the entrance and thinking we were done with ruins, I marched ahead confidently
assuming the ladies would follow. Esme & Diana, who both doubt all Power shortcuts, stayed stubbornly on the main track and soon found the ruins which I assumed we had given up on. Meanwhile I had a swim, waited for the girls, backtracked a bit and shouted,
and assumed they had returned along the main path. So I walked along the beach to the entrance where they were not to be found. Walking back into the site I accosted an English tourist sitting on a bench and asked if I could borrow his phone, mine being with
Esme for Information and map purposes (she probably knew precisely where the port was and kept me in the dark!).
The tourist feigned deafness about the phone (he had a hearing aid) and suggested helpfully that they would turn up at some point. After further searching in vain I returned to the entrance to find them waiting for the
car key so they could swim, and crowing gleefully about the ruins I had missed.
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After a lovely swim and cuppa we returned to base camp and a supper of aubergines and tomato stew. Esme had the late flight and eventually reached St Olaves in the early morning.
Not all her meals were as basic- we had wonderful fresh sea bass at the local restaurant recommended by Andy and roast cauliflower at the Robuchon.
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The work on the boat has slowed and while frantic stitching was happening, the rest of the crew have been trying hard to look busy. The anchor chain came back all lovely and shiny with its new coat of zinc and we turned
the boat round to ease the loading back into its locker. That being the only trip off the pontoon since my test run some weeks ago.
The sails came back from North Sails eventually and I rigged them with Andy and Fionas help. Andy our neighbour took great pleasure in ribbing Esme about her aversion to sailing while suggesting ways she could improve
her sewing. Esme kept tight lipped but the steam rising was almost visible.
With all the scrubbing, chucking out and sorting out she does look better than since we left Ipswich nearly 10 years ago,
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Prostate update.
Diet is holding, supplements are swallowed, beer, wine and all nice things rejected. Exercises a little later in the morning due to tardy sun. Generally feeling super healthy and positive.
Report from Polly showing test results for a small trial of early prostate diagnosis men -some on conventional treatment and some on lifestyle change. The lifestylers doing better. The test needs to be expanded and extended
for the conventional zap it or cut it out medics to take notice.
