Tusucu to Girnie
The Diary of Sonsy Lass
Alex & June Laidlaw
Mon 4 Jun 2012 13:06
before first light. Sailing out into the bay was delightful in spite of the
time. No accompaniment this time from the local Mullah as he had made his
call just after 4am. As the sun rose, it flooded the smooth waters of the
bay with a fantastic orange glow. Some 38 odd boats coming out and
stretching themselves across the bay in these conditions was quite a sight.
We started with usual early morning swell and then the wind got up to around
12/14 kts, allowing us to enjoy a very comfortable broad reach right across
to Girnie in Northern Cyprus. On arrival at the harbour we had to move
ourselves to get Sonsy Lass tied up and sorted out. Then we had to scrub up
and don our formal dress to attend a civic reception hosted by the
government of Northern Cyprus, all very formal. It turned out to be another
delightful evening held in the open arena inside the walls of Girnie Castle
which dates back to the 3rd century. The setting was truly magnificent with
the floodlit walls and turrets of the castle providing an exceptional
backdrop. The schedule gave us 4 days in Girnie, with the usual visits to
ancient castles, monasteries and dwellings, plus the odd war story thrown
in, but we decided to miss the following day’s tour and stay on the boat,
partly to recover and partly to do some cleaning and necessary repairs.
Perhaps the most challenging job was a trip up the mast on the boson’s
chair. The strength of one’s partnership is truly tested to the full when
high up the mast, sitting in a canvas sling with 2 lines being controlled
from down below. The evening was free of any organised event but still we
managed to get involved in a gathering at the small marina bar. Back on
track the following day and out for the bus at 9am. This turned out to be a
whistle-stop tour that didn’t finish until 18.30. First stop was to at an
ancient monastery perched on the side of the Kyrenian Mountains. It had a
commanding and stunning view of Girnie with its old castle and harbour. The
Gothic ruins of the Abbey Bellapais were sufficiently in tact to appreciate
the splendour of its buildings, superb columns and arches, making the whole
ambience awesome. Next stop was high into the mountains to a fortress
castle, St Hilarion, which seemed to just cling to the rocky cliffs. It has
its origins in the 4th century. In its time it had been occupied by the
Byzantines, the Crusaders and the Ottomans, plus being attacked from time to
time by all and sundry. Being situated on a mountain peak, some 2000 metres
high, the views are staggering down across the massive plain on the south
and to the north, the sea and the Turkish coast. The tour continued to
Nicosia. We visited a number of sites of significance, including a cathedral
turned into a modern day mosque and an ancient caravan staging post, which
was restored in 1980 by the Brits. So Brits keep paying your taxes! As it is
now possible to cross the border between the north and the south, we were
able to make a quick trip to the Greek side. This took us down the infamous
Ledra Street, which during the troubles was called Murder Mile. The last
time Alex walked down this street was in combat gear and fully armed! It was
then back to the marina for an unorganised party. Next day, Wednesday, was a
free day in delightful Girnie so we took advantage of stocking up on the low
priced goods available and trying to find decent Wi-Fi, with no luck. In the
evening was the dreaded Pirate Party, which is supposed to be one of the
highlights of Girnie’s social activities. It was somewhat of an elaborate
affair. All dressed as pirates, we were first bussed into the town, then in
a procession, lead by each country’s flag, 130 odd idiots marched down to
the old harbour, probably for about half a mile. It’s an annual event so the
locals were not too surprised but the visitors looked a bit surprised to say
the least. Once in the hotel for the usual food, drinks and dancing, again
this included a belly dancer. However this one was English. It was a very
late night. Thursday was a relatively short trip up to Karpas Gate on the
northern tip of the panhandle, and meant not such an early start. The winds
were exceptionally light and on the tail, meaning that if you didn’t have a
cruising chute or spinnaker it was on with the engine for the entire way.
This is a new marina which very up-market but unfortunately its miles from
anywhere. As we had boat jobs, we only did one of the organised trips and it
was to Famagusta. It has as great deal of history changing hands between the
Greeks, Crusaders, French, Venetians and Ottomans. The centre of the town
however was extremely disappointing, apart from all the churches to the
saints. The guide book says at one point it had a church for every day of
the year. Unfortunately, the trip we missed went to a monastery which was
built to commemorate St Andrew’s coming ashore straight from the Holy Land.
In the evening the marina hosted a reception party which again meant food
and copious amounts of wine and yet another late night.