Cyprus E4: Oroklini to Xylofagou: Day 19

After some rearrangement of tonight's accommodation, I hiked through young trees looking down over Lanarca from a hillside on the way to Pyla. Later there followed a long section of flat, but evidently fertile farmland.

The owner of the room I had arranged for tonight on booking.com sent a message saying he was not available. Frustrating, as it required a late change in my plans. As I did not consider the farmland I would be walking across suitable for wild camping, especially with the various military zones, I decided to spend another night at the Antonis G Hotel. The receptionist said they could arrange a taxi back from Xylofagou, the village that would be my destination for today. A "Caution Minefield" sign on the track today seemed to confirm that I had made the right decision.
First I retraced my steps back to where the E4 branched off the road. It led up through a farm where a large flock of sheep were sheltering from the sun under steel roofs. The goats seemed to be happier in the sun. I passed two oil drums with the UN buffer zone sign stating UN authorised persons only, with a token few wraps of razor wire. Climbing further up the hillside I joined a track through a plantation of pines and cypress being established on the white, dry chalky soil. Contouring around the slope, I could see Larnaca spread out below and cargo ships on the sea beyond. Aircraft regularly crossed the skies on route to Larnaca airport, seeming to defy gravity by floating in the air.
The dusty white track I was following led me down to a road into Pyla. The village was notable for having both a mosque and a church, both Greek and Turkish communities living together. I sat in a pub for a cup of Cypriot coffee, looking at a UN police station on the first floor of the building opposite. I had seen little evidence of UN personnel, although a pick up with a UN numberplate was parked outside. The pub was an older building with a wide, graceful arch in the middle of the open sided room in which I was sitting. I had seen these arches before in the middle of rooms, they appeared to served the function of a modern concrete or steel beam, allowing a wider room while using rafters of limited length. The lady serving me seemed to want me to stay, maybe as I was her only customer.
A kilometre or so after Pyla, by a landing strip, there was a fenced in area, with old coaches and the remains of some classic cars: I recognized Morris Minors, Austin Cambridges and Triumphs. At the next village of Xylotympou a sign pointed to a park of Peace and Folk Poets. On a white wall there were details of a several poets, suprisingly all from this one village. In another area of the park there a memorial commemorated the 2,200 Jewish babies born in Cyprus as a result of Britain trying to stop emigration to what is now Israel. Jews in transit were detained in camps in Cyprus in the late 1940's.
The remainder of the journey to Xylofagou was across flat farmland, much of it recently ploughed, some with irrigated potatoes or market garden produce. A bearded farmer in a pick up stopped to check I was OK, I doubt they see many walkers in the area.
Reaching Xylofagou I rang for the taxi from the Friend's cafe. Unfortunately it went to the airport. Staff at the cafe were most helpful in explaining where I was, i.e. no-where near the airport.
The taxi driver arrived 20 minutes later and returned me to the hotel at high speed, probably breaking several traffic regulations on route...
I decided to sit on the balcony of my room and watch the setting sun. Two pigeons took exception to this. They had laid two white eggs in a corner where a drain created a small hollow. I left the balcony much to their relief, and closed the curtain. Peeping around the edge I soon saw one of the pigeons sitting, incubating the eggs.

27 kilometres walked today, with only a 220 metre total ascent. A GPS track of my route can be found on wikiloc.com and on ViewRanger short code johnpon0047.

Maybe the decision not to wild camp off the track tonight was a good one....

Walk across farmland.

Irrigated potatoes