A beautiful sunny day and I am out for my first stroll .

I have a couple of appointments to make but the whole day is to myself and this makes me happy.

It is 9 o'clock and I decide to walk to the centre. The highway is jammed with cars, people driving to work and suddenly I realize that I have become a spectacle.

It is just me and the cars in the main road. They are watching me walking and a couple of them even stop to give me a drive. I get very angry but then realize that it is not common seeing people walking in the main street so I decide to walk in the minor roads and get to the centre through neighborhoods.

The majority of families in Cyprus have two or three cars and go almost everywhere in them even if it is to cover a distance of 200 metres. Public transport is not the best on the island. There are local buses of course that connect big towns with villages but the service is infrequent with schedules limited to one or two routes per day . This makes things difficult and I can admit I am a bit angry about this.

I finished successfully with a couple of appointments I had and I move to the beach. Oh yes, I see something new here today. To my surprise there is an ice skating centre.

I try to get some information but there is nobody here.

I get down to the beach and walk on the sand. There are hundreds of pigeons busily eating seeds from the ground. There are no umbrellas this time out here, but people collecting sea weed from the shore. Huge amounts of it which probably will go to a factory. At least this is what I want to believe! Many people are busy cleaning the beach and others renovating their premises. It is obvious that all this is done because tourists are shortly coming to the island and in two weeks from now there will be people swimming out here.

The gentle sea breeze blowing makes my walk pleasant and interesting . As I walk I see that people recognize me and this is nice. The truth is that Larnaca was a small town back then before 1974 and everyone knew each other. After 1974 refugee families from the north moved southern and settled here. The population increased rapidly. Back then we almost knew every family living in our little town, so it feels good when from time to time I get a warm welcome from acquaintances.


Second thoughts about friends!!
I am kind of sad and disappointed because I expect one or two calls from friends. I have been told that we shall meet and I have been carrying gifts for them. I decide not to call myself this time – instead wait for them to give me a call.

I feel that this is not polite of them, but it is a way to find out if they are worth to be called friends.   At least they could have called and say that something happened or find any other excuse. I am disappointed, but I am here and this is all that matters.