American in Cyprus: Festival of the Flood

The Festival of the Flood is a public holiday in Cyprus commemorating the great flood of Noah's Ark fame. The holiday was on Monday and since it was a long weekend, the entire family went to the village. When we arrived we discovered some swallows made a nest under the balcony in the courtyard area and we soon saw four baby birds peeking over the nest. It was fun to watch the feeding times, but it could be a little unnerving as the adult birds circled the area first and then swooped in pretty low right over us. Demetris spent many hours over the weekend helping his Uncle Harris develop a field for grape vines. They began by putting four rows of poles in the ground and then connecting each pole with four wires across the top and one wire on the base of the pole. They planted two rows of grape vines for now and the plants will eventually creep up the poles. Some of my old teacher skills kicked in before the trip and I brought some activities for the kids to do while Demetris was away. They had a good time with our homemade play dough and making pictures. There was a very crowded street fair in Pafos that we went to one night. While there, our niece Tatiana won a turtle in a game. Now that is a funny prize! Her mother, Diana, is less than thrilled. On Monday we stopped at a resort area called Aphrodite Hills that is on the way back to Nicosia. They were having some activities for kids for the holiday that were open to the public. Plus, it gave me a chance to see what the area looked like. What a beautiful place! It isn't located directly on the sea but sits up high with views of the sea on one side and mountains on the other. Instead of trying to entertain the kids at a restaurant, we stopped at the store for some lunch items and ate on the terrace. Besides the festival activities, they have an awesome playground with really nice beach sand on the ground. We hated to leave but I'm sure we will be back.