First Impressions

Junky. Filthy. Foul-smelling. Decrepit. Crammed. Downright ugly. The pristine, clean, seabreezy, suntanned Mediterranean? Think again. As my Italian friend Valentina retorted when I emailed such descriptors, "By the way, that's not a great way of describing Europe!" She's right. You would expect an image like this when dreaming about Cyprus:

Limassol from my hotel room balcony

Beautiful, right? Maybe from up high. And with the savvy aid of Hipstamatic. But not really from down below. At least not in the area I currently reside and those I've been able to walk to (covering 10 kilometers in distance and then farther in other directions - basically, hours of walking). From my experience so far, Limassol looks less like the Mediterranean and more like Tijuana or Ensenada, Mexico. Except for the cool Greek writing splotched everywhere. And I mean EVERYWHERE, because where there's not a shop or sign, there's graffiti.

Even more prevalent is the trash, junk, crumbly buildings, and stench of garbage. What's most annoying about this is that Cyprus isn't cheap! I wasn't expecting Milan or anything, but for the general prices I'm paying for boarding, food, etc., I was expecting something a bit more than these scenes littering every block. 


Oddly, though, walking around, I'm seeing all kinds of fancy cars: Mercedes, Audis, Porsches. I even saw a Ferrari show on the main strip near the beach today. My mind keeps reeling the question "why not spend some of that money on cleaning up the streets a bit? Making the air actually smell like the sea that's 50 meters away instead of rotting sewage and exhaust?


An Australia-raised now local Cypriot confirmed my observations and elaborated a bit on the culture. The Cypriots, he explained, are very intriguing people. They want to look good. They want to feel good about themselves in that sense. They will fork over the dough for Burberry clothes, Prada glasses, fancy cars - but will afterward not have a cent in their name.


Despite the refuse, fetid wafts of air, and non-walker friendly environment, among other issues I will address later, I am trying to enjoy this experience for what it is. There have been some quite memorable occurrences - but more on those later. 

Limassol, Cyprus

From the clouds, Cyprus looked like a large island of dirt. As brown as the outskirts of Bakersfield in August. The water, however, did look pretty spectacular in certain places - that turquoise, clear, and refreshing color.

Having landed in Lanarca, I needed to take a 45 minute shuttle to get to Limassol. Here is me waiting for the shuttle (note my amped-ness despite the jetlag). Soon after taking this picture, a Cypriot man walked up, also to wait for the shuttle to Limassol (or Lemesos, as the locals call it). He was very friendly, and we started chatting away, as he spoke good English. I found out he actually worked for the government, and although I couldn't ascertain exactly what he did (the Cypriots, when talking in English, actually seem to speak very quietly - or maybe I actually do have the slight hearing loss I've always thought I had but my audiologist father refuses to verify), I did some Internet research afterwards and think it has something to do with this: the European Commission Galileo Project. I wish I had been able to look it up and talk to him again about it, or had been able to understand him better in the first place. Basically - and now that I look back upon our conversation I remember him trying to explain this to me - it's the implementation of a new and improved "GPS" system for Europe. Forgive my crude use of the technical jargon here, but to my understanding this new satellite positioning system uses multiple spheres instead of triangular planes in order to more accurately depict location. The Cypriot official said the technology would allow accuracy within 1-2 meters, which is pretty darn impressive.

He talked a great deal more about the island and particularly the sights I should see while I'm here. I really appreciated all the time he spent chatting with me, as it gave me a better feel for the place. He also was familiar with the institute I would be taking the certification course at (Plato Institute) and said that it was a solid school. In addition, he knew the hotel I was staying at. And the longer I'm here, the more I realize most people know the hotel I'm staying at, even though it's a bit of a dinky place in a really old, nontouristy part of town. The longer I'm in Cyprus, the more I realize how small of a town this is.

I checked in at the hotel, which definitely lived "down," so to speak, to its 3-star rating. My room boasted ceilings I could jump and touch; two single beds (not twin, single); a shower the width of one of my narrow feet, which made for an awkward feet-in-single-file stance while showering; and last but not least, the biggest cockroach I have ever seen. It also had a little balcony, though, and I got a couple pics in pretty good lighting:

And then I slept for about 14 hours, with a reading break from 2-4:30 a.m.

Airport stop in Prague

Soundly exhausted (about 4 hours of sleep in 2 days), I looked out the tiny window of my jetplane as we started to descend on Prague. The scenery below was a lullaby incarnate. The countryside around Prague is  almost dreamily beautiful. The soft pastels of the yellow wildflowers, green pastures, and light brown farm fields blended into each other as if watercolored or painted by Monet. Each little village, which could only be described as a "hamlet" in my mind, was a clean, self-contained dappel of redroofed, white-walled homes.

I almost cried a little bit inside when I remembered this was not my final destination and that I had no time to explore the city. Someday I'll go back.

Even the airport was pristine. Spotlessly clean. I even liked the trash cans! Another odd sight I saw was a couple rollerblading through the airport. Unfortunately, I was not able to secure a picture of this. But really, WTF?? Cracked me up!

The last noticeable thing about Prague: the smell of the people. Definitely noticeable for my U.S. nose.

Upstate New York

This post is a bit delayed due to my difficulty obtaining internet access in the last few days. I was in upstate New York from Saturday May 21 through Wednesday May 25 visiting my friend Stephen. Upstate New York is absolutely beautiful in the summertime. On the way home from the airport, we visited Lake Cazenovia:

As you can see, fluffy clouds, azure sky, pristine country lake. I could have stayed there for hours!

But more than anything, I love the green grass and trees there. The rolling hills there sprout plots of both, including farm fields.

To the left, Stephen relaxing for probably the first time in months (planting season = 60-70 hour work weeds). So I spent a lot of time with his cat Blacky - admittedly one of the coolest cats I've ever met. And I don't mean "cool cat" as in "too cool for skool"; rather, he is the world's most affectionate and entertaining kitty.


I also spent a lot of time with his dear companion, Ladybird. She's wonderful but almost a bit too obsessed with Stephen. He keeps her on a tight leash though, so it's understandable.

Several other things I got to do while in upstate New York: see the gorgeous campus of Colgate University, ride a tractor, eat at Dinosaur BBQ in Syracuse (arguably the best ribs in the nation), watch a pipe ditch being dug, help build a closet (which was actually extremely fun and interesting for me), lay in a fresh hay field and stargaze, meet a new friend's darling baby girl, watch an Amish man plowing with a Jersey cow (WISH I had gotten a picture of that!), walk the country roads in the dark at night (the stars! I see them so seldom).

Leaving the Good Land and Reflections on My "Hog"

Santa Barbara sunset - breathtaking, as usual

Leaving Santa Barbara, even for a fun adventure, is never easy. Saying goodbye to the land and the people was really hard this time, especially since I may not be back for a long while. I'll miss my friends and their invaluable generosity and care. I'll miss the purple chaparraled mountains, which I traversed quite frequently by myself the past few months (in face of my fear of mountain lions!). I'll miss the trees - apparently there's like one in Cyprus. I'll miss my favorite hangout spots : Douglas Preserve, Hendry's Beach, Brewhouse (farewell my dear Trippel), Dargans, Shoreline Park, The French Press, the overlook at Hope Ranch (location of photo to left). 

Essie @ Foxen Canyon Road

On my flight to New York I've spent a lot of time musing on the adventure I'm about to begin. The feeling seems novel and the excitement fresh, but I realize that my first big daring, adventurous step was actually learning to ride and purchasing my first motorcycle back in March. This milestone was signaled by the reverberations of a victory bell clambering off the cold warehouse walls of the Santa Maria Harley Davidson shop (literally, they have such a bell - this is not just lofty description on my part), applauding my recent transaction in both boldness and irresponsibility. The first time I got on that pretty little Suzuki S40, who I named Essie, I was puttin' around like a kindergardener on training wheels. Two months later, however, I was a streak of red and chrome blazing by on my 652 cc's and the seasalt tailwind of Highway 217. I even made it over the pass one day and into wine country; this was actually a fairly nervewracking experience, as my lightweight Essie struggled to stand upright against the sweeping sundowners. But I made it alive!! The surge of confidence in mastering this new skill is partly what inspired me to take the plunge into Mediterranean waters. 

As I sit here on the plane, beginning leg one of my journey to Cyprus, smiling as my pen moves freely, and laughing with joy at the adorable little boy sitting diagonally from me who just lifted his arms in the air to cheer "one-two-free wift off!", I can't help but feel content, excited, and most of all thankful. After all, even if my time in the Mediterranean lasts only a month, this really is the "wift-off" for what I expect will be quite a ride.