A Chikmanglur Account

There are days when waking up in the morning is a complete pandemonium,

And then there are certain days you wish you woke up to everyday of your life!

Staring into digital screens for prolonged hours is strain to your eyes,

And then there are things that you can gaze all day through and it only refreshes your eye!

The luscious greens, the winding coffee estates, the captivating valleys, the occasional glimpse of a galloping deer and a mesmerizing weather - Chikmanglur has it all! A place you wish you woke up everyday of your life and a view that can never tire your eyes. Chikmanglur is a hill station, part of the Western Ghats nestled at the foothills of Mullayanagiri range. Visitors swarm in from across Karnataka for a real feel of nature - ideal place for trekking and nature lovers, also close to hill stations like Kemmanagundi, Kudremukh making it a popular haunt for youngsters and families alike.

Our Chikmanglur saga here does not endorse any place of visit - we only explore an ideal staycation amidst a coffee estate and our mesmerizing journey. A vacation with my family was something I had in mind for very long - but somehow our annual leave time never seemed conducive for that. This time around we decided to incorporate a trip also into our schedule with certain conditions -
• Has to be within a maximum of 6 hours drive from Udupi ( that is where my family is)
• Looking for a staycation than roam around.
• Should include some in house activities
• Food has to include non- vegetarian items.

After days of deliberation we chose Coffee Bean Homestay .Nischith the owner of the home stay, right from the very beginning was very helpful guiding us on the route we ought to take. We set out at 7 am on a pleasant Friday morning in early February with our first stop at Hotel Seethanadi  on the banks of River Seetha for our breakfast. Then we journeyed up the Agumbe Ghats - thankfully the roads have been widened and did not seem scary as it once used to be. Agumbe Ghats with its dangerous hairpin bends was a known accident zone and I almost always held my breath till we finished navigating the bends. Despite the ever guiding presence of google maps we managed to miss the way and ended up on a road that seemed to either have some repair going on or roads that desperately screamed for maintenance!

Food is an integral part for a foodie family!! So our next stop was at the Bhadra Coffee Shop,Balehonnur and for coffee addict like Soumya (my sis)  this was definitely a must stop place. Bhadra coffee shop is aptly burrowed in the Bhadra coffee plantation and is by the side of the main road in Balehonnur. There are signs all over the place and you are sure to never miss it.

The board says it all

After a cup of coffee and gobbling down two platefuls of paddu and a very delightful chutney we continued our adventure till our GPS lost signal along the way and we decided to ask for the route at Aldur. A passerby directed us to a mud road. The look of the road was not very promising but he assured us that the mud road was only for 4 kilometers and the rest of the road was good. The mud road narrowed as we moved along almost making it impossible for a vehicle to overtake or cross us. To worsen the matters at hand the road turned rocky and began an ascent into the mountains with sharp turns at almost every 100-200 meters. We waited with bated breath and our experienced chauffeur (Oh , that is my Dad I am talking about ) navigated each bend wondering what we would do if our car broke down amid this 'nowhere' place.  We let a long sigh of relief as this terrain ended way beyond the said 4 km with not a single soul in sight and with our car still in one piece.

Our treacherous journey brought us to our destination a little later than we had anticipated. Nevertheless, it was an abode that was awaiting us and every pain in the journey was just worth it. We stepped foot into the beautiful homestay amid a luscious coffee plantation to be welcomed with a glass of cold and refreshing buttermilk. We settled into our stone walled, clean and cosy rooms and Nischith took us through a tour around the hundred year old heritage home and through the work area where the harvested coffee beans were being processed.

The cosy homestay

The Heritage Home

Processing of the Coffee Bean

Just a handful of coffee beans from where they were left to dry

Drying of the Coffee Beans

This homestay is also home to quite a varied breed of dogs - if you are a dog lover you can't ask for more. If you do not like them - they will stay away from you as well:) Adorable and pampered chihuahua - Chilli and a Vodafone pug - Lucky ( vodafone made pugs popular right!!) are always at your beck and call. A majestic St Bernard, a German Shepherd and a Golden Retriever who loved to be petted and the detached dachshund (who also walks as if he owns the property) are also a part of this household.  A tour around the property was followed by lunch and then a  quick nap before our trip to the sunset point. Oh, let me not forget to mention the lovely biscuits that came along with the chai.

Artefacts at the heritage house

The sunset from the top of the hill was definitely commendable but what made it more memorable was our ride up the dusty hill in an open Mahindra Jeep. Shibin, Soumya and I managed to stand up almost the entire way up the hill and we got Pappa to stand up for a while too - his smile explained it all that it was an experience for him as well. The ride wasn't all that smooth - it was quite bumpy with occasional tree branches threatening you and quite a bit of dodging to ensure that your head travels along with your body on your jeep than being held in the branches. The destination was not a tourist spot - we were the only ones up the hill and it was arranged by the homestay. We spent close to an hour taking in the serenity of nature. Till were our sights would reach out were beautiful hills, all adorned in green, something that eludes our city life. Absolutely nothing that was man's creation was in sight- only the wondrous work of God. As sun began its descent, the sky changed to a beautiful orange glow making the atmosphere even more mesmerising. We sat back in oblivion and watched the splendor of nature unfold before our eyes as the sun set beyond the hills and an orange glow engulfed the sky.

The dusty road up the hill!

The beautiful view atop the hill

The sun bids Adieu

It was getting colder and we were relatively quiet on our way back down the hill. After a cleansing ritual (of all the dust accumulated), we made our way to the restaurant area where a camp fire was arranged for us. We were the only ones at the homestay that night - but they were sweet enough to have the fire place lit just for us.

The Campfire

We had our food around the fire, got a bit into the dancing groove, shared stories and spent countless minutes gazing at the star studded sky. Shibin keeps wondering why the night sky in Dubai has more planes lighting the sky than stars:P.  It was only when the fire finally died out and the temperatures dropped further that we dragged ourselves to our bedrooms and fell asleep.

Our second day began quite early as we had to make it in time for the wildlife safari at Bhadra Wildlife Sanctuary which was around twenty minutes by road from the homestay. I really do not wish to detail more of this trip as this was the biggest disappointment we had!! We sacrificed our sleep to get an early morning glimpse of these animals, we paid 400 rupees per head for the safari and all we got to see were a few peacocks. I know you need to be lucky to spot animals yet it is hard to overcome the disappointment of not even getting to spot one wild animal. Shibin was all geared up with his camera to click away tigers and we did not even spot a bison!!

Stream amidst the Safari

The futile Safari Trail

They were plenty in number

Back at the homestay, there were no dearth of activities - a snake and ladder board engraved on a tree trunk that formed a coffee table took a bit of our time as snakes kept swallowing us after every ladder we climbed. Soumya had her first chance to play carrom since high school and well off course she lost. We tried our hands at badminton but the winds were too heavy for the shuttlecocks, Then finally we settled in with a game of family cricket that had the entire family running behind the ball at times to batting and bowling opportunity for everyone. Funny wicket keepers and beautifully attempted catches - we had it all in a day. The rest of the time, we had the dogs to entertain us. The coffee estate also had a small lake were we were taken fishing by one of the staff - Santosh. We had a bait hooked on to the fishing rods and waited silently for our prey. The fishes were quite smart - they got the bait 9 out of 10 times without letting themselves fall prey.( looks like they were trained - why not?, we let them go back into their dwelling place after we caught them. They would have been repeatedly doing this for quite sometime and were accustomed) We managed to strike off fishing from our checklist, we wanted to try our luck for a while more but it was getting dark and the fishes were moving away from the shores. This was followed by yet another night of feasting on the Malenadu cuisine - I particularly loved the nulluputtu soaked in sweet coconut milk. Camp Fire too was again part of night and few other guests had joined in as well. The pug and the chihuahua along with a cat too joined us around the campfire as we watched the flames and soaked ourselves into calmness of the night.

The last day began with our trek around the coffee plantation guided by Nischith who not only told us about the coffee plantation but also quite a lot of interesting stories of the past. I can still recount a few interesting things. Snakes apparently are a rarity now which couple of years back would be found under any and every stone you lifted. This can be owed to the increasing number of peacocks who feast on the snakes. (That makes me happy as I love peacocks and snakes scare the hell out of me. But leaves you thinking if it is good for the ecosystem.) Nischith narrated to us a tiger attack about 11 years back where the tiger beat the wits out of the dog and dragged a cow out of a window that was quite high! He also showed us a video he had taken of a tiger staring into the camera lens and luckily did not attack him or his friends . They later discovered that it was a man eater on prowl! He told us of how coffee plants are cultivated, harvested and how untimely weather can prove disastrous. Chikmanglur has hardly seen any industrialization and coffee estate is till the highest source of income.

Coffee Plantation amidst the areca nuts or may be the other way round

The coffee berries

Coffee Blooms

It took about an hour and after lots of stories, we headed back to the breakfast table for our final meal before departing from Chikmanglur. I am a coffee lover - but definitely not the instant coffee that is so readily available. I like the locally produced grainy ones that need to be sieved. It reminds me of home and makes me happy:) So we got our coffee powder stock for a year and we purchased our filter coffee machine too ( if that can be called a machine)! On the way back we chose a longer but better route. Finally our dream of a family vacation came true and we hope we are able to fit one such trip into our every India vacation itinerary!

If you are in Karnataka and have not been to Chikmanglur yet - You are definitely missing something. So pack your bags and head out there soon - plenty of homestays to unwind, lot of places to visit and makes a perfect getaway for city dwellers. While you are there, do not miss trying out the Malenadu cuisines and their coffee of course:)

Happy vacationing!!

Italy-cised

Walk across the Tiber

I am not sure when the idea of travel blogging became a part of our vacation planning but now, it has become so embedded in us that everything we do and see needs to get immortalized ( too grand a word right!!) here. Visiting Italy was something we had on our minds since 2015 - somehow things never fell in place - it was either that it coincided with our India trip plans or finances never fell in place or our visa was getting renewed - something always ensured that our plans went down the drain. Everything did fit into the puzzle last month and our long awaited Italy trip was planned, executed and we are now reveling the glory. Oh, we are finally ‘Italy-cised’, that is our way of expressing our happiness in ultimately touring Italy. Well, it doesn’t mean that we toured the whole of Italy, we were able to fit in as much we could without rushing, and giving time to take in the fragrance of the blossoms.

Italy is adorned by beautiful historic churches and other monuments

Our trip was just for a week but we could go on about our experiences - a single write up would be gross injustice to the trip and hence we have decided to break it up into parts and take you on a photo journey that could well describe our travel episodes.

Segment 1 - Italy-cised :We attempt to illustrate our planning, itinerary, provide tips, general        occurrences and insights into some amazing food.

Segment 2 - Roaming the Rome and Walking the Vatican : Our experiences on roaming Rome by   foot and the tour through Vatican

Segment 3 - Escapade to the countryside - Tuscany and Umbria : We take you a photo journey through the beautiful country side

Segment 4 - Trek the terre - Cinque Terre(pronounced ‘Cheenqui’ Terre, which means 5 lands): Recounting our trekking experiences in Cinque Terre along with glimpses of our stop at Pisa and Milan

For a country like Italy with a long Mediterranean coastline, bountiful countryside and renaissance masterpieces, no research proved worthy enough. Nevertheless, our main resort were the beautifully written travel blogs that virtually guided us through the Italian streets onto the beautiful piazzas that helped shape our itinerary including all that we wanted into an 8 day plan. The tips provided by the bloggers were in reality quite helpful. A simple example would be the repeated requests by many bloggers to join the queue at the Palantine hills and Roma Forum to see the Colosseum than join the never ending queue at Colosseum which will in turn take you to Roma Forum and Palantine Hill. If it wasn't for this piece of advice we would have ended up at the long queue at Colosseum whereas the queue at Roma Forum was quite short that enabled us a quick entry.

Piazza Venezia

The ruins

A fountain welcomes you at every piazza

Every Piazza has a church too!

Accommodation

Once you have decided on your places of visit, lay down your itinerary, get your travel reservations done, book your accommodation and apply for the visa. We chose airbnb and agriturismo websites for our stay bookings. Once you zero in on the location you want to stay, airbnb gives you a range of options to choose from - whether you want a shared room, a private room or an independent house along with the price ranges and photos of the stay. These stays are cheaper than the hotel stays and also you get to interact with the locals at a personal level.  If you are not sure of your place of stay and want to have the flexibility of cancelling it later - choose the accommodation that has flexible cancellation policy. Moderate and strict cancellation policy accommodation levy some amount as airbnb service fee on cancellation (Make sure you read and understand the cancellation policy). Yeah, we failed to read it well and did lose a couple of Dirhams :(  Agriturismo offers great farm stays in the beautiful Italian country side. If you want to stay away from the hush and rush of city life then head over to agriturismo to survey your options.  If public transport is your means of commute, always look for places where public transportation is easily accessible. Interact with your host even before your travel and establish a good bond that way you would get to live the life of a true local.

An upmarket area at the Spanish steps

Glimpse of St Peters Basilica

Things to carry

Make sure you check the weather forecast so you know what clothes to carry along with you. We did commit a huge blunder in that assessment of ours. Italy was colder than we thought it to be. Italian weather on average hits 12 to 15 degree centigrade through the month of April. We had situations where the temperature dipped to 7 degrees and I refused to step out of the car as my teeth kept chattering the moment I got out. My clothes were a little too thin for the weather, I learnt my lesson and I sure am going to take more of winter clothes the next time we plan to travel in the cold season. Travel as light as you possibly can, you may have to lug the luggage across streets, cobbled paths and may be even hill tops. So be prepared for the eventuality. Ensure that you have all your travel documents securely kept. If you are not comfortable carrying it around, have photocopies of it and the originals safe at your accommodation.

Our Itinerary

After several additions, cancellations and re-additions our itinerary looked as below -

Day 1 - Reach Rome and check into our accommodation.
Day 2 - Tour Rome
Day 3 - Roam Vatican
Day 4 - Take a train to Florence. Rent a car and drive to our stay in Tuscany
Day 5 - Explore Tuscany
Day 6 - Travel to Umbria and take cooking class
Day 7 - Train to La Spezia. Stop by Pisa.
Day 8 - Trek the Cinque Terre
Day 9 - Explore Milan in 4 hours. Take the return flight

Initially, we also wanted to spend a couple of days in Milan visiting Lake Como, Bellagio, Varenna and also wanted to take  the Bernina Express a.k.a the Little Red Train from Tirano (near Milan) to Chur (in Switzerland) which will take you through the breathtaking Swiss Alps, but due to time constraints, decided to save it for another time. That’s how we ended up returning from Milan, in case you were wondering.

Along the Trastevere

Drive through the countryside

Advance Bookings

We also did advance booking for the Colosseum entry here and also booked a guided tour of the Vatican through Viator. We regretted not having booked a guided tour for the Colosseum. Even if you are not into architecture, ruins or paintings, Rome is a city which will make you fall in love with it. Just like we did. We were never into architecture and our only idea for visiting Rome was just to see the so called famous ruins and buildings. In fact we were less excited about the Rome part of the trip. But today without doubt we can tell you that was the best part of our trip. We loved our walk through the ruins and the churches and we just fell in love with history. We would definitely recommend booking a guided tour of both the Colosseum and Vatican.

Getting around Italy

Rome definitely was not built in a day but surely can be conquered on foot that is if you are willing to walk! So forget renting a car in Rome - parking and driving can get a little messy. We saw vehicles moving in both directions on a single lane. We saw red lights being skipped and vehicles stopping for green lights and God alone knows how the owners managed to move the parked cars which seemed to be neatly wedged in between two cars without even an ounce of space in between. However, they were always patient for the crossing pedestrians.

Download a metro map of Rome and it can get you almost anywhere. If not there are buses, the tickets for which can be brought from a Newspaper kiosk which is around every corner or you can also find them in the shops selling Tobacco ( always has T sign easy to recognize). It costs 1.50 euros a person and valid for 100 minutes from the time it is first punched. To move from one city to another there are trains available at frequent intervals. You could save a dime or may be two by pre booking on certain trains like the frecciarossa or frecciabianca (fast trains). Advance booking can also be done for inter city trains, however you do not have reserved seats, but that is okay as there are plenty of seats available. Intercity and regional train tickets need to be punched/validated at the slots on the platforms before entering the train. However the speed trains do not require punching and the ticket collectors would check it once you are in the train. At the platform, you have ticket kiosks that help you book - I found it interesting that you need not tender the exact amount while booking - the machine gives you back the exact change ( I loved the 'clunk clunk' noise of the change dropping). So book your tickets, search for your platform number on the digital display boards and head over to the right platform.

Our companion touring the countryside - rental car

If you plan to explore the country side, renting a car is highly recommended. We highly endorse renting a car to explore the countryside as the scenery is spectacular. We researched, chose Hertz through Autoeurope and did the pre-booking. We compared the fares between autoeurope.com(which takes you to the US website) with autoeurope.eu. Autoeurope.eu got us a better fare. Always go with renowned rental agencies like Hertz, Europcar as they are spread out across multiple locations. Do not go with the cheaper options out there, as reviews aren’t as good. Booking through Hertz was a breeze.


Beware of pickpockets

You will have warning signs displayed almost everywhere. We made sure we had each other’s back. We carried backpacks and had our wallets and mobiles safely tucked in the interior pockets and ensured that we never left the bags unattended even the suitcases. One incident, which I assumed was an attempt at pick pocketing was at one of stations when a woman came over to us incessantly spoke in Italian asking us something pointing to her ticket. Even when we spoke English, she did not step away. At that moment, I felt a group of people gather around us and felt a tug at my bag, I swirled around, removed my bag and hugged it. One in the group, spoke in Italian seemingly helping the woman with the ticket and they eventually moved away from us. For all I know, I could be wrong, it would have been a genuine case but I learnt my lesson of possible ways a person distracts you and someone using the distraction to pick something out of your bag. Dad and Mom had given incidents about pick pockets that happened during their group tour, so we were always on the lookout!

Learning Italian

Learning a few Italian words can go a long way. Despite being a tourist country most of the folks knew very little English, so it gets quite hard to communicate. We often had to end up using sign language to communicate. At Perugia, a very sweet old man desperately wanted to help us when we wanted help with directions, all we knew was English and all he knew was Italian. He tried his best explaining in Italian and Shibin happily nodded away not understanding a word of it for almost 10 minutes, not wanting to let him down.

Get a SIM card! 

Our biggest saving grace was an Italian SIM card that we bought on the first day which gave us gave us internet access, so google was always a click away. The telecom companies do have special SIM cards for tourists that are activated on purchase, one of the cheapest service provider is TIM which we purchased for 20 Euros which had a data package of 10 GB and around 1000 mins of local calls.
 (cheaper plans could be out there) Absolutely never buy the SIM from the airport, they charge you a hefty price!! 120 euros was the cost they demanded at the airport for the SIM!

Drinking Water

Carry water bottles with you. In Rome there are plenty of springs available where you can refill water, rather than having to pay for mineral water bottles which definitely does not come any cheaper. Pizza, pasta, gelato, bread, Panini - you have heard it all but this is where you get to try the Originals. The ones available across the globe have often been revamped to suit the regional flavors. The true Italian pizza has just a combination of 2 to 3 flavors maximum topped with cheese but definitely not a humongous amount of it. The crust is much lighter and often browned at the sides rather than the whole white bases that is available elsewhere.

Food

Most of the places provide a basket of bread to go with the wine. This is not accompanied by olive oil or balsamic vinegar which apparently isn't Italian tradition but more of an updated version of the Italian food. The bread often comes with a hard crust - yeah yeah! Apparently that is the authentic bread, not the soft ones that we have from the bakers here. It can scar the roof of your mouth! Ouch!  Do not forget to try the ricotta cheese and the pecorino. I am in love with ricotta! Certain aged cheese could be too strong for your senses.
Pecorino goes absolutely well with honey!!

Focaccia is a must try in Cinque Terre - the freshly baked ones just out of the oven forms a lovely breakfast - have the ones topped with pesto; simply fabulous.  Pasta, ravioli, spaghetti - we dug our hands into all what we possibly could.

Every corner you turn to, you are sure to find a gelato place - try their amazing flavors. Gelato usually comes in two kinds - the fruit based ones and the milk based ones in either cone or cup and in different sizes. We always went in for two flavors in our cup or cone - I cannot pin point a single flavor and say it was good. All the 10 flavors we had were good and I cannot possibly single out one.
(we did try 10 flavors!) You could pick your food and have it on the go instead of having it in a restaurant and every piazza has a fountain and some steps too were you can rest your legs and enjoy your food. This way you do not lose time for exploring and you get to eat too.  If you see an amount charged on your restaurant bill as Coperto - do not be in for a shock it is nothing you ate. It is simply the tip they charge, saves you time having to think about how much to tip.

The beauty of Cinque Terre

With these tidbits, we are signing off on Italy-cised till we meet again Roaming the Rome and Walking the Vatican.

Please feel free to leave in your experiences during your travel in the comments below.

-Ria & Shibin

Our Cypriot Affair

We needed a vacation - a week away from the routine of work life, glares of the city lights and the never ending chores. We googled, researched, spoke to friends and Bingo!!There it was - Cyprus! This is the place we needed to holiday.

(Ah well, I know this write up comes pretty late - it's been a year now. Blame it on our laziness or whatever other excuses we could possibly give.)

Here it is, Cyprus through our eyes.

Out we set to a small yet beautiful country enshrouded in mystery yet filled with a bunch of happy go lucky people.

Our holidays began by the seaside-a picture perfect postcard like view!! We were to spend the first part of our vacation by the sea before moving to the Troodos mountains. We landed in the afternoon at Larnaca airport. A long drive from Larnaca to Ayia Napa with a taxi driver who succeeded in scaring us out of our wits -his huge, straight out of the Hollywood villain look with bludgeoning muscles, a clean shaven head, thick white mouche till the chin, in whites, and a booming voice. Both of us put together wouldn't reach his size. (A word of caution to all Cyprus travelers-if you plan to take a taxi out of the airport -you don't have a choice but go with the rates they quote!! Unless you get a bunch of tourists heading to the same place whom you could share your taxi with.)

Our initial fear turned to fascination and enthusiasm as we moved along the highway towards Ayia Napa. So, now our Hollywood villain starts chatting. He talks of the Turkish invasion and how he belonged to a place in Cyprus where he cannot even set his foot now for the fear of being shot dead.

Turks are believed to have invaded Cyprus in the 1970's violating a previous pact. One fine morning, Cypriots woke up to Turkish soldiers marching down their streets and asking them to leave their houses for the love of life. The Cypriots, taken aback by the invasion had no choice but move out of their houses to newer areas. The Turkish occupied Cyprus is off limits to the Cypriots with Turk soldiers on guards. The houses even today remain unoccupied -just like life has been brought to a standstill at the blink of an eye. The town now. is referred to as the ghost town. This sowed the seeds of hatred between the two nations and the story continues.

By the time we were through the history, we had already set foot in Ayia Napa. It was about 45 mins drive. We had booked our stay at a hotel which is in the Ayia Napa stretch and close to Nissi beach. Upon arrival, we were made to wait for a while. Apparently there was some confusion, and as we had read about numerous booking reviews and feared, they told us our booking had not shown up! But they were kind enough to arrange accommodation in their sister hotel, Dome Beach hotel, which was apparently a star above, and with much more amenities, and along the shores of Macronissos Beach. So we were, in fact, lucky! Nissi beach is the more crowded of the beaches with a lot of sporting activities, Macronissos is the quieter of the lot. Like mentioned earlier, the beach was just picture perfect!! 

 'The endless blue sky  meeting the equally blue expanses of the ocean making it a perfect spot to view the magnanimity of the sun rise and the sunset which we did not miss each of the three days we spent there.' ( I was just trying to sound like some poets who describe the beauty of the nature)

The postcard view

We had made it a point to watch the sunrise and sunset every day we were there.  We always did want to spend the dawn by the beach. Tiny ripples lashing against the rocks, an occasional parasailing couple, kids building sand forts and hand in hand we walked taking in each moment and each breath enjoying it to the brim. (Well, if we ignore the fact that we were the most clothed on the beach.)

Nothing beats the perfection of creation by the Almighty!

We had opted for half board at the hotel, hoping that we would spend our afternoons out in the city exploring and we could have our dig at the local cuisines. By now, you do definitely know that we are hardcore foodies - any day, any time we are at the beck and call of food. We checked in, and after relaxing for a while, and taking in the views from the balcony, we set out to wander.

 An area of historic importance are the graves of Macronissos adjacent to the beach. Upon entry, the burial site gives a eerie feel. One look at the site gives you a feeling that you are entering a desert amidst the sea. As you move further, you notice excavations on the ground with steps leading to the door of the tombs. The tombs date back to the Roman Era. The dead were placed along with valuables. Over the years, the tombs were said to be raided and all that remains is the structure. A quick look around and we turned back - it was getting darker and creepier.

The harbour

Ayia Napa is more of a commercial place with lots of tourists flocking in from the neighboring countries- trust me Cyprus is quite friendly on your pockets. We opted for a boat cruise for the next day. A cruise is a must do part of the Ayia Napa experience. We zipped  on our rented scooter along the town to the Ayia Napa harbour. We were given a choice to select from amongst the three available cruises - Captain Marko cruise, The Black Pearl and the Aphrodite. We chose Captain Marko simply because the reviews were too good to ignore. (Choose Back Pearl in case you are travelling with kids - they do have a range of activities). It starts at 11 am and gets you back by 4 pm.

The name says it all - our cruise

The cruise takes you along the shores till the ghost town of Famagusta with about 2 stops in the blue to take a swim in the ocean. I do not know swimming and hence chose to stay on board while Shibin did have a dip in the sea. (which made him realise swimming pools are a better choice for swimming than the deep blue sea at least you have a choice to touch your feet to the ground and still have your head over the water:)) Our cruise did have a lot of elderly people and it amazed us to see them jump into the blue sea and paddle around like it is no big deal. Oh and they did serve some yummy food - chicken roast with baked potatoes, salad and Greek yogurt. It did taste heavenly especially since we were charred out in the sweltering heat atop the boat. ( Carry tons of sunscreen - you need it). 

Enjoying a swim in the blue

That's my husband trying to get his perfect shots - it is not often that he gets models for his photography other than the food I cook

That is the 'Black Pearl' coming right at us!

Did we forget to mention that Cyprus beaches are very rocky??

The yummy baked chicken with salad, potatoes and greek yogurt

There are truckloads of activities at the beach and we chose scuba diving for the third morning. Not knowing swimming is not a constraint - well, it is said that it is better you don't. We took the beginner course and were trained on the basics - the equipment and communication. We adorned our suits and had the oxygen cylinder strapped on our backs by our cheery comedian instructor - reminded us of Robin Williams! As if the cylinders were any lighter, we had weights tied  across our waists to help us sink. In water, these may seem light but definitely not on the shore. Suits adorned and flippers in hand, we walked across the beach to the waters. After a few practice sessions, our instructor guided us into the deep having strapped the flippers. It was a whole new world - a new world under the deep blue sea. We set off exploring the new life, conscious to never let go off the instructors hand. Tiny fishes swam by and we saw a beautiful world out there as clear as crystal much more beautiful than we ever imagined it to be. I would love another go at it some day provided I do not have sharks enjoying a swim around me. After the scuba diving stint, we headed to the town to visit the Ayia Napa monastery and Square, and also to inquire about the public transport for the next phase of our holiday.

Our Scuba diving adventure

Ayia Napa derived its name from a Venetian Monastery. The monastery is built around a cave and got its name from an icon of Virgin Mary that was discovered here centuries back, Even today, various programmes are hosted in this monastery and it serves as a perfect location for those looking for a traditional Venetian wedding. Although, we did not get to see a wedding, we did witness a bride adorned in beautiful white awaiting her groom. There is a peace and tranquility in the cave that surpasses all your thoughts and brings in calmness and serenity. Adjacent to the monastery is the Ayia Napa Square. The Square, consisting of a lot of clubs, is calm by the day and turns into the party center by night.

The hotel we stayed was decent - there was a wide array of food on the buffet table. However, it was more of a global cuisine than Cypriot. We also tried a local resto which wasn't that great either. Ayia Napa is a commercial tourist destination than a place where you would find authentic Cypriots or Cypriot cuisine. The Ayia Napa street leading to the square and harbour is not a very huge stretch of land. Yet, travelling by foot would be bit of a long shot. You have places to rent motor bikes, scooters, quad bikes and buggies. You need to submit the license copy of your home country for hiring them in exchange for a challan that serves as a proof document ( in case the police stops you!) and the rentals are nominal. However, if you need to rent a car you would need an international license. If you intend to move around in Ayia Napa alone - a bike is good enough which was our mode of transportation for the 3 days. If you feel to crank it up a notch, get a buggy!

On the fourth morning , we packed and rushed to catch the bus to Limassol from where we were to begin the tour of the Troodos mountain regions. We had to get down at Finikoudes bus stop in Larnaca, and hop on another bus for the next leg to Limassol. A detailed scramble through Booking.com before setting out on this holiday, had directed us to what we wanted - a cottage on the quiet Lofou village which was to be our home for the next four days. We realised later that four days was a tad too much. Lofou is one of the many villages in the Troodos mountains. We had couple of email exchanges with the cottage owner Mr. Xenios who happened to be a Fireman:) His responses were prompt and he had all our queries answered.  He went out of his way to have his cousin pick us up from the Limassol bus stop and also invited us to join the 'name day' feast of his aunt. This was probably the best moment for us - we got to experience Cypriot hospitality and their flavorful cuisines like mousakka, stiffado, tavas to name a few.  All sorts of meat were marinated and barbecued and taken upstairs for the widespread buffet that was laid out. Despite language constraints (except for youngsters most of them spoke only Greek) they managed to keep us engaged and made us feel a part of their family.

At the Name Day Feast with Mr. Xenios and his family

The porch

After a delightful lunch, we were chauffeured to our cottage in Lofou by Mr. Xenios' wife  - a charming lady. She handed us the keys and showed us around the cottage. It is just one big all encompassing room with an attached bath and a porch but in it there is everything you need. Bed, TV, washing machine, cooking range, dishwasher, a bowl of fresh fruits ( I loved them), a loaf of  freshly baked cake ( recipe already on the blog), refrigerator filled with basic ingredients for cooking, shelf full of cutlery and utensils and an array of jams and spreads to choose from, local antiques adorning the wall. It looked very cosy.  We could not have asked for any better.

our cosy room

The story of the village marveled us. We expected it to be a quiet and serene village but not as silent and sometimes eerie as we experienced. Nights were too silent!  Lofou is listed by UNESCO as a heritage site. The village welcomes you with cobbled stones - every lane has a cobbled path and every house has a similar architecture of stones - unharvested ripe pomegranates adorning the front yards. The locked gates of the houses compound the mystery of the silence that engulfs the village.

The cobbled path

Unharvested pomegranates in the yards

The only good souls you come across here are octogenarians who gather around  a local coffee shop over coffee shots, talks and laughter. They speak Greek, hence we were not able to make out much of what was said. When I say shots of coffee - I really mean it. Cypriot coffee is very strong and served in a small cup with half of it being the coffee powder residue. You are expected to drink only half the cup. The first taste was ridiculously strong for me and I could not stand another go at it. But we invariably came back for more. We slowly fell in love with it. The environment and the coffee created the feel as we had wanted. Serenity, happiness, calmness, no worries, no egos - just us and a happy community. The lady who ran the coffee shop was extremely kind - she showed us the olives she had plucked and gave us pomegranates which we offered to pay for  but she politely declined. The conversation was mainly sign language, few words and smiles. Two coffee, sugar, please, medium, thank you!   One evening, her husband came to us with two plates of honeycomb which had been freshly taken out from the trees ( Do not ask me how?) We were not sure how this was to be eaten - he tried explaining it to us - YES!! It was literally Greek to us. So he got out a plate of his own and showed us how to eat - taking bites of the honeycomb - chewing on it, enjoying the honey and spitting out the remains. I am not sure how they earn a living out of their coffee shop - but their love and hospitality was much more than we could pay for.

Honeycomb down and close without bees flocking around

I could have a cup of the Cypriot coffee right now

Looks like Shibin was trying to learn Greek!!

Lofou village, built on the Troodos mountains, was once a farming village. It is a terraced village on the mountain slope with a good percentage of annual rainfall making it an ideal location for farming. As the political situations grew tense in Cyprus, farming no longer seemed to be option. Villagers were forced to sell their properties at low prices and move to the cities in search of better earning means. Few of the people have chosen to just have their houses locked and to return to Lofou for retirement. This speaks zillions about this village built of stones and even today any renovations are required to maintain the same style of architecture. The village seemed to have not more than 20 people with the only young guy we saw was the friendly chap running the local tavern which serves delicious meals.  You need to rent a vehicle to get to Lofou or have someone chauffeuring you around because there is no means of public transport to this village. Tourists arrive at Lofou village as a part of the day trips as well. They take a walk across the cobbled path that leads to a nature trail - in addition to a stop by the coffee shop or the local tavern.

The second day here, after a lazy morning and into the late afternoon, we decided to explore the nature trail. There are sign boards that lead you to the trail. Somehow, we overlooked one of those boards and ended up climbing the mountain through thorns and bushes. After a 15 minute walk, we reached a dead end and were contemplating on what next? Could this be it? We turned back disappointed at what the nature trail had to offer with bruises from thorns on our hands and legs. Only on exiting this path did we realise that we had actually taken the wrong route. Not wasting any time further - we set out on our nature trip. It is an approximately half an hour climb down the mountains through the trees and bushes with occasional signs of the bio life boards and warnings of possible wild life. The climb up the hill oozed out every bit of our energy. It took us nearly an hour and half to get back to the top of the mountains! The curving path was carved along the mountain sides. After navigating curve after curve and picking up a handful of pine cones to decorate for Christmas and emptying the water bottle we had - we managed to reach the mountain top before the darkness set in.

That was the end of the trail and beginning of the upward trek

Can you see the winding white curves behind us - Yes!! we climbed up the whole way

The not so happening part of the trip probably was the day bus tour we opted for the third day, along with a group of tourists. The tour took us to different parts of Cyprus but we never actually got time to spend anywhere. We started off at Lefkara - a village known for laces. Lefkaritiko lace making as it is called has been popularized by the women folk of this village and is passed generation on.  As the legend has it, painter Leonardo da Vinci visited Cyprus and carried the Lefkara laces to be placed in the Cathedral in Rome. The lace design on the table cloth of his Last Supper Painting is also believed to have been inspired from the Lefkara laces. The laces and other silver artifacts of this village are definitely not a cheap buy. We opted to stay away. Our next stop was Kykkos Monastery in the mountains. If you are an art lover - you would love the intricate paintings on the walls and the museum. However almost everything is written in Greek. Although you see the artifacts at the museum - you would have absolutely no idea what it represents unless you know Greek. The stops worth mentioning in this trip was our lunch stop at Pegasos restaurant, where we had the famous meze, and the shopping spree at Omodos village.  Omodos village is yet another picturesque village nestled amidst the mountains known for their ancient churches, museum, wineries and the shopping area. The narrow alleys of the village offer an excellent shopping arena for souvenirs at bargain prices. Lace works, jewellery, condiments, silverware etc are in abundant display. Half an hour was too short a time for our shopping spree that we came back the next day  to continue our shopping.

Kykkos Monasatry

Right before the shopping spree at Omodos village

After another final stop at a winery for a wine tasting session, and getting our bottle of the Commandaria wine, we returned back. For dinner, we headed to the local tavern which was very close to our stay. The chap running the tavern was very friendly and he even gave us a few complimentary dishes to try. We had a delicious dinner, and were stuffed!

Digging into the food at the local tavern

That was a lot for dinner after the very heavy Meze lunch. We were sampling dishes out there.

Treading the less trodden path is always an experience - our guide for the last day Mr. Pedros did exactly the same for us. The best is usually saved for the last. Mr. Pedros is a friend of our cottage owner and  had kindly arranged Mr Pedros to take us around on our last day at Lofou. All we told him was to take us to the lesser known places and he charted out the itinerary. He first took us to a small village in the mountains where his friend owned a winery. He showed us how wine and other beverages were made from the freshly harvested grapes, how it was stored - the older the wine the better the taste and also the various machinery they used to reach the desired level of alcoholic consistency for the various beverages. He also showed us how Shoushoukos were made. We also took a quick stroll by the ancient village - again not many soul inhabited this village - only the very few who carried out the family business of winery.

The vine courtyards

Mr Pedros is posing while I am trying to figure out what is in the barel!

Come on, its not my fault. Those boards are GREEK!!

Our next stop was by the Kelefos bridge - a quaint venetian bridge over a narrow stream once home to a lot of aquatic life. It is an ideal camping and picnic spot. A trek along the sides of the stream can give you a glimpse of the crabs - I thought crabs were only in sea and I was wrong!!Although the weather was quite sunny, the shade provided by the tall trees, the sound of running water and the breeze swept us off our feet to their rhythms. Mr. Pedros recounted the childhood days he had spent by this stream and how it used to be a haven for aquatic life. Things changed during a particular epidemic of malaria and the streams were sprayed with some medicines that completely destroyed the marine life. Sadly life is yet to roll back to normal in the waters but Mr. Pedros was positive that all the fishes which once swarmed the stream will find its way back in due course.

Kelefos bridge - picturesque ain't it?

That is the crab posing for a pic

With our energetic guide. 

We continued our journey uphill - there are no roads but all dusty paths ideal for jeeps and not the hatchback we traveled in. We held on our breaths hoping that the road do not take a toll on our vehicle. We were on look out for mountain goats. May be they heard us coming, we were not lucky enough to spot one. For lunch, we stopped at yet another village where we had Sheftalia and got to hear the story of Kleftiko. (explained at the end of the blog)

Our next stop was by the one of the nature trails at Arsos village- one that is hardly visited. We walked along abandoned apple orchards, vineyards to reach a watershed. The bushes and trees along the path were overgrown and bears testimony to the fact that people hardly pass by this trail now. The watershed is small structure made of stones which harvests the water flowing from the mountains and stores it in tanks made of stones. The water even today, flows in to these tanks and due to non - usage it is all covered with moss and is slippery. Do not step in if you do not want to break your bones! Once upon a time, people carried water from here for the vineyards, had their clothes and cattle washed here. Today it is only a reminiscent of how life was few decades ago. We once again made a pit stop at Omodos village for further shopping before winding up the fantastic trip

The watershed

An abandoned olive mill

Terraced mountain slopes which once hosted vine yards

The day ended with dinner at the home of Mr. Xenios. Mr. Pedros too joined us and we discussed into the night. They were curious about Indian culture, cuisine and also about Dubai which now is our home. We were equally inquisitive about their lives and culture. A good dinner and a lot of stories to take back home. That brought us to the end of our trip and we carried home a lot of memories and new friendships.

Cypriot Cuisine

I am at my favorite part of the travelogue - the cuisines. A simple and humble advice from us - find the local taverns and enjoy the delicacies there than the bigger restaurants. Here is a sneak peak into few of the delicacies and what we do know about them.

Meze is a selection of many dishes served with pita bread/rice, Tahina and salads. It is a Cypriot version of the Indian Thali. If you want to try various Cypriot cuisines in one go - Meze is what you could order in for.

Meze - Kleftiko, Tavas, Afelia and stiffado

• Cyprus coffee - very similar to Turkish coffee. It is quite strong and leaves a bitter after taste but you could get used to it if you go for a second shot.
• Tavas - I have already shared the recipe on the blog. It is a Cypriot version of Indian curry slow baked along with lamb, potato, onions and tomato seasoned with cumin and pepper.
• Kleftiko - a very interesting cuisine with a ever more interesting history. It is made in a specially designed mud pot. History states that during the 19th century, the common theft was that of food. The thief cooked the stolen meat in a earthen pot buried in the ground under the burning fire. This way, they escaped from the lawmakers who were on prowl in search of them and at the same time the food gets cooked. This preparation came to be called kleftiko and kleftiko mean stolen meat. Today special earthenware is made to cook the Kleftiko.
• Loukaniko - popular pork sausage.
• Glyko - or the sweet preserves also called the spoon sweet is fruits or vegetables preserved in honey or sugar syrup and served on spoons or forks. We have tasted the egg plant and walnut glyko. The egg plant glyko was definitely something to die for. It is said to have originated in those days when refrigerator was not an option for storage. 

Walnut Glyko

• Cheese - Halloumi and Anari are the popular cheese varieties. They do have lot of innovative dishes prepared around Halloumi. At the local tavern, we got to taste fried halloumi immersed grape syrup with seasoned with sesame which was quite scintillating.

Fried Halloumi

• Shoushoukos - A cypriot sweet made of nuts and grape juice. The grape juice is boiled and solidifying agent is added which thickens the juice. Nuts threaded on a twine is inserted to this mix and hung for drying. Once dry, the twine is pulled out.

Threaded Shoushoukos hung for drying

• Stiffado - it is a kind of beef stew
• Afelia - pork cooked in red wine seasoned with crushed corriander seeds
• Koupepia - stuffed wine leaves
• Sheftalia - Lamb and pork sausage enclosed in caul fat cooked over live fire

Sheftalia

• Moussaka - layered dish with egg plant, minced meat and pasta which is then baked with various seasoning

Most of the anecdotes/ historical facts listed above have been narrated to us by the people we met at Cyprus. I have heard of people being hospitable but Cypriots are truly that. I keep stressing that they are a group of happy go lucky people. Mr Xenios and his family who were always ready to entertain us, Mr Pedros who made the trip memorable for us, the shopkeeper who gave us a goodwill doll, the family running the coffee shop - all of them carved in us deep impression. This is just a sneak peak into our experiences at Cyprus that now dates to a year back.

A few tidbits -

• Public transport is not great - hence it is recommend that you rent a car. 
• Extremely pocket friendly in comparison with European countries.
• Cuisines are mainly meat based - so if you do not eat beef/ pork - be careful.
• We visited Cyprus in October and we found the climate good. Certain parts of Cyprus along the mountains experience snow and sudden rainfall.