A good deal of walking through pines, a waterfall and a shower plus a good meal at Troodos.
Starting early, the sun touching to the highest ridges with a golden light, turning the pine trees vivid green, I walked around the mountainsides. Hearing a movement in the trees, I caught a glimpse of a mouflon running down the hillside. Had I not seen them in the enclosure at Stavros I would have confused it with a deer. At a chapel on a road I crossed, I stopped for a breakfast biscuit. Saint George was again killing the dragon on a small shrine opposite, painted in the same style as all the other paintings of St George (dragon bottom right etc.).
Continuing onward I reached the Kempi tou Kalogirou campground with its permanent looking caravans, which had been my intended destination for the previous night. I made good use of the (clean) toilets before continuing ever upward. I saw a variety of rocks today, including areas of greenish crystals that winked at me in the reflected sunlight as I walked passed and made the gravel of the track sparkle.
Then it was down again on a footpath to reach the Kaledonia waterfalls. On a worldwide scale they are not that spectacular, but after walking through dry landscapes in Cyprus the waterfall looked really refreshing. I was not the only one there, a tourist attraction despite the two kilometre walk from the road, lots of people were climbing on rocks for pictures or taking selfies.
The footpath from the falls was a pleasant amble beside the stream. At the top a sign said Troodos 2 kilometres, up the road. However the E4, never direct, took me on a 7 kilometre circuit. It did include some good views as the ground dropped some 1000 metres below the track, and it did lead to a nature trail back to Troodos but still.....
I decided against climbing Mount Olympus, it did not look a dramatic peak, and due to a radar station you cannot get to the top, so I decided on an ice cream instead...
Later in the Jubilee hotel, I enjoyed a long pork chop and a glass of Cyprus red wine...
27 kilometres walked today, with a sizeable total ascent of 1270 metres. A gps file of my walk can be downloaded from wikiloc.com or ViewRanger under short code johnpon0045.
Starting early, the sun touching to the highest ridges with a golden light, turning the pine trees vivid green, I walked around the mountainsides. Hearing a movement in the trees, I caught a glimpse of a mouflon running down the hillside. Had I not seen them in the enclosure at Stavros I would have confused it with a deer. At a chapel on a road I crossed, I stopped for a breakfast biscuit. Saint George was again killing the dragon on a small shrine opposite, painted in the same style as all the other paintings of St George (dragon bottom right etc.).
Continuing onward I reached the Kempi tou Kalogirou campground with its permanent looking caravans, which had been my intended destination for the previous night. I made good use of the (clean) toilets before continuing ever upward. I saw a variety of rocks today, including areas of greenish crystals that winked at me in the reflected sunlight as I walked passed and made the gravel of the track sparkle.
Then it was down again on a footpath to reach the Kaledonia waterfalls. On a worldwide scale they are not that spectacular, but after walking through dry landscapes in Cyprus the waterfall looked really refreshing. I was not the only one there, a tourist attraction despite the two kilometre walk from the road, lots of people were climbing on rocks for pictures or taking selfies.
The footpath from the falls was a pleasant amble beside the stream. At the top a sign said Troodos 2 kilometres, up the road. However the E4, never direct, took me on a 7 kilometre circuit. It did include some good views as the ground dropped some 1000 metres below the track, and it did lead to a nature trail back to Troodos but still.....
I decided against climbing Mount Olympus, it did not look a dramatic peak, and due to a radar station you cannot get to the top, so I decided on an ice cream instead...
Later in the Jubilee hotel, I enjoyed a long pork chop and a glass of Cyprus red wine...
27 kilometres walked today, with a sizeable total ascent of 1270 metres. A gps file of my walk can be downloaded from wikiloc.com or ViewRanger under short code johnpon0045.
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