Swimming At 2am…And The Door Re-Opens…. Birthday at Driftwood

A strange night! We woke up at 0130, very hot and realising all the power was off. Looked out the window and we could see it was a localised power cut to our hill – everywhere else was still all lit up. We opened our balcony doors and it helped a bit and then Bob said, “I’m going for a swim”. It seemed a great idea so we went downstairs by the light of our phones and out to the pool. Because it was even darker than usual, the night sky was just ablaze with stars. I could see the plough very easily but truly the whole sky was just a twinkling mass. Absolutely beautiful. We floated out there for a good 45 minutes – it was still about 29C. Then, cooled down we went back inside and soon afterwards the power came back on, and the a/c with it. A magical sight though and I’m glad I saw it.

We had a bit of a sleep in and awoke to the news from the government here that after further scientific advice and perusal of the numbers, they are not imposing quarantine on doubly vaccinated UK arrivals, at least until 29th July and then they will review again. Probably not then either. Good news for folks wanting to come as soon as schools break up. The UK remains Red to Cyprus because of the case numbers but in recognition of the large numbers of double vaccinated people, an exception has been made. This means that there is a chance of a summer tourism season here for people who sorely need it. As before it is possible to fly in and out of Larnaca without quarantine in Cyprus or the UK on return, or fly into Ercan and back out of Larnaca without quarantine at either end. Travel is a bit unpredictable at the moment but countries are opening up to us.

I got underway with some washing today. A lot of cleaning etc got pushed to the back while we had guests so I will catch up now. It’s not much to be honest, more dusting than anything. Lucy sent us a photo of their Turkish lamp in the corner of their dining room and with their gourd lamp on the bookshelf. They look fantastic! So pleased they survived the journey intact.

Had a fairly lazy afternoon then, and tonight we went to Chris’ 65th birthday party at Driftwood. What a lovely occasion! There were about 17 of us and they set up the tables in a big U shape on the deck over the sea. Met lots of new people and some familiar faces, all so very nice. Food was great as ever. I went for the pepper steak. Bob had gammon and pineapple. We headed home just before midnight. A really great night and thank you to them for inviting us.