Beautiful sunny day again today – 29C – and we set off about 0930 to drive across the narrow road the wends atop the Besparmak Mountains from east to west. It takes about an hour to drive and the views are absolutely stupendous. Most of the way it’s one track – paved – with lots of turning places, but I suppose if you are a nervous driver or passenger, it might not be for you. We love doing it however and we always take it east, picking it up just beneath St Hilarion Castle, already high above Kyrenia. We stopped for the usual photos. Amazingly, despite a lot of visits here, Stuart and Fi have never done this drive. Stuart was even driving!!
The road winds through pine forests and you get views down to the coast nearly all the way to the right hand side, and then occasionally, to the left, you look down over the great central plain to Nicosia and beyond into the Greek side. On a clear day you can see the Troodos but there was a heat haze today.
We did spot our house for the first time today which was quite a thrill.
We stopped at the tank memorial and then went on, passing mountain goats along the way. Lovely views to the great blue reservoir in the distance as we began the descent to Karsiyaka.
Once back on the main road we headed straight for the Lido at Horseshoe Bay. We’ve been coming to Horseshoe Bay for years. It used to be completely undeveloped:: a pebbly perfect little horseshoe shaped cove with a rustic, bizarrely quaint ramshackle restaurant set into one side above the water line. The restaurant was quite without gas or electricity but Ibo, the owner, cooked everything on an enormous charcoal grill. It was a simple menu of chicken, fish or lamb served with a wonderful salad and incredible chips. He was a character. Always dressed in a singlet and shorts that quite frankly were a disgrace to the name….. however, he could cook….. About 18 months ago we visited to find the place all boarded up and half demolished. Over the next months we have watched as the bay was transformed by terracing and sand, nice loungers and umbrellas were installed and Ibo’s ramshackle shack became The Lido, a rather swanky beach restaurant with very upmarket fixtures.
Anyway, we had to give it a try! We bagged some beds down on the terrace just above the beach.. There is waiter service down there, toilets, showers…. nice….. We brought swimshoes with us. Frankly, we think these are a must for Horseshoe Bay. Although the little beach is sand, once in the water there are pebbles and rocks and it is just so easy with a pair of neoprene swimshoes. The water is divine. Crystal clear, quite warm and providing the wind isn;t due north, very sheltered. We had lovely swims. Absolutely gorgeous.
About 130 we went up to the restaurant for lunch. It’s nice. Not cheap and still some things to work out but…. very nice. There are no physical menus. This was ok in covid but in my opinion, not ok now, especially if people don’t have a local sim, like most tourists… DUH…. The wifi also needs jacking up in order to make this work. The menu is quite large and a good selection but…. no fish at lunchtime, only at night…… again in my opinion, they are missing a big trick here. Surely what most people want to eat for an over water lunch is a nice grilled fish – oh and no main course salad either…. What we did have was very nice. I had Grilled Chicken Thighs (actually only 1 thigh) with a spicy pita bread and bits of salad. It was delicious – £15. Bob had a pizza which was quite large and very good, about the same price. Fi had a chicken wrap which came with some chips and salad. Stuart had chicken kebab with some salad. Washed down with beers and 2 glasses of wine. The total came to about £70.
Back to the beach for more swimming, sunbathing and napping. Really it is very lovely and we will definitely return.
We left about 430 and continued west a little way, through Kayalar, and down to the little promontory where there is a tiny fisherman’s chapel on the shore and an historic cabob warehouse which seems to be undergoing some sort of transformation. It’s a lovely lovely spot.
Back home – only 30 minutes by the main road and showers, g&ts with fresh blackberries and an evening of telly…… a very lovely day. If you are here, I very much recommend a day at Horseshoe Bay. Don’t tell too many people…