Diary of life in Neo Chorio

Neo Chorio and the Akamas

Neo Chorio is located on a spur that runs down from an escarpment below a ridge of hills at the far West of the island. The village faces North  towards Turkey, which can be seen on a clear day. The ridge of hills runs North West from a plateau, on which are situated the villages of Drouseia, Ineia, Pano Arodes, Kato Arodes and Kathikas, to the sea by the Baths of Aphrodite.

The plateau is around 2000 feet high. The hills along the ridge rise from 1200 feet at the Baths of Aphrodite to over 2000 feet at Drouseia. Pissamoutou, in the middle, is 1500 feet high.

The escarpment is about 10 miles long and at its widest, 2 miles wide. it ranges between 500 and 1000 feet high.  There are a number of steep sided gorges in between the spurs that run off the escarpment. Androlikou, an abandoned Turkish Cypriot village, is on the escarpment to the East of Neo Chorio

The Smiyies picnic site is located just before a pass between Pissamoutou and a Fire lookout station on the ridge about two miles from Neo Chorio. The Smiyies picnic site can be accessed by a road from Neo Chorio.

A track from Smiyies joins up with a track that runs the length of the ridge from Drouseia, down to just before the Baths of Aphrodite, where it branches off onto a subsidiary ridge. The track then descends to Fontana Amorosa, (the fountain of love) and the Blue Lagoon. Another track descends from Smiyies to the beaches on the Southern side of the ridge.  These include Lara bay, which is famous for nesting turtles, although turtles nest on most beaches in the area.

This area, commonly referred to as the Akamas, is separated from the Troodos Mountains by the Chrysochou valley.

Notes From Neo Chorio

In my gripping first dispatch I told you how I travelled to Cyprus. In this edition I will tell you about life in Neo Chorio.

I slept well the first night and woke up to the Sun shining and the birds singing. I had breakfast on my verandah, inspecting my garden which was somewhat overgrown and needed a good weeding.

I guess the main question on everybody's lips is that given the bars and restaurants were closing on the Friday and this was the Thursday, would I make it to a bar in time for last orders!

The answer is no I didn't! I was still tired from the journey and it didn't seem that appealing.

I walked up to the village shop, run by a lady, Thetis, to get more supplies for the long Winter nights ahead of me.

The weather took a turn for the worse the next day and it rained until the next Wednesday. I had to content myself with walking around the village, sometimes in the company of Alison, who lives on my complex, with her dog Ligo and Pierette, a French lady, who has just bought an apartment on the complex.

On the Thursday as it was sunny again I decided to walk into Polis via the marina at Latsi, do some shopping, getting the bus back to the village.

I walked down the steep hill, then along the beach road, stopping for a takeaway latte from a coffee shop at the marina. I continued on my way along the beach to Polis, going through a campsite situated in a wood at the far end of the beach.

Eucalyptus trees have been planted here to try to drain the boggy ground but it can still be quite muddy in winter. I walked passed the campsite beach bar where I had spent the summer. It is always closed this time of year.

In Polis I bought my groceries at the main supermarket, had another latte, before getting the bus back to Neo Chorio.

Normally I would have a beer or two at Costas Corner while I am waiting for the bus but this pleasure has been denied to me by the bars being closed due to the Covid crisis. How I have suffered during this pandemic! I walked about 17 km

The next day I walked to the Smiyies picnic site, around Pissamoutou, before cutting back to the village, coming back in via the gorge on the East side of the village. In total I did about 14km.

On the Friday, I was walking up along the village bypass when Dinos and Ellie, friends of mine, stopped to say hello, while they were driving by in their truck. Dinos invited me to a picnic the next day at a remote beach near Lara.

The next morning I got a lift with Clive and June, friends who live in my complex and we set off in their 4WD to the beach taking the road up to the Smiyies picnic site and then down a track the other side of the ridge of hills to the beach.

The people attending the beach picnic were a subset of the Akamas Cleanup Team (ACT), a group that go round  the local beaches clearing up the rubbish on the beaches.

The group included Keith, the leader of this group, his wife Wendy and son Simon. They also live in Neo Chorio.

The official meetings of this group have been cancelled due to Covid. A small group of people had been invited to attend this picnic and clean up the beach. I was very fortunate to meet Dinos and Ellie the day before and be included.

We cleaned up the beach from about 9:30 to 12:30 and then had a picnic. Fortunately we have cleaned this particular beach several times before so there wasn't too much rubbish on the beach. The picnic continued until late afternoon.

We drove home just as the Sun was setting, it looked like it was going to be a perfect sunset but just at the last moment some clouds appeared and spoiled it.

I rested on the Sunday and prepared for my next expedition, 'The crossing of the St John, A Gorge Too Far'!

I will tell you about this adventure and the Xmas and New Year celebrations in my next instalment.

Regards Robert