on the approaches to the Village of Neo Chorio and the Akamas Peninsula, this a perfect place for Harry and Sheila to gain inspiration for their painting and writing.
Over the past few weeks the island
has been soaking up some very heavy and much needed rainfall. The large dams
are more than half full, and in this area the smaller dams of Argaka and Pomos
have overflowed for the first time in ages.
Wild anemones
This kind of precipitation is good
news for all of us, unless of course, you happen to own a property which has
been built on hastily bulldozed landfill, or sited in a dry river-bed or a
flood plain - not to mention on the edge of a watershed or a ravine. Or indeed
if you live below a large concrete catchment area which causes masses of
run-off water to head your way instead of being absorbed into the ground (and
subsequently the aquifers) as it once was.
However, where it has seeped
gratefully into the parched soil in, as yet, unspoilt areas like the Akamas, a
magical transformation has taken place. While the UK has continued to struggle with near
arctic conditions, springtime has quietly arrived in Cyprus.
Tiny narcissi blooming in the fields
around us were soon followed by lilac, blue, pink and white anemones which
carpeted the ground in places. Now the cyclamen, for which this area is famous,
is in full bloom and some of the larger, showy wild orchids are flowering
profusely beneath olive, carob, and pine trees which are displaying their
newly-washed and glistening foliage.
In the garden the rosemary hedge is
thickly covered in blue flowers, and scarlet and apricot hibiscus, together
with white and lavender-coloured lantana, bloom beneath the climbing sprawl of
red and deep violet bougainvilleas, while ivy-leaf geraniums trail from
terracotta pots around the swimming pool.
For those of you who, like us, are
lucky enough to be here, the beauty of the Akamas in springtime will lift your
spirits and make you glad to be alive.
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