The traditional buildings of Lofou village in Cyprus

 

In my previous post on my visit to the Lofou village in Cyprus, I mentioned that all the houses in the village are made of essentially limestone. This limestone was gathered from the surroundings by shepherds years ago for building up their houses as this was the only easily available rock material, apart from mud and clay. Giving the impression of an amphitheater, and situated in between and hidden by surrounding carbonate hills, no wonder this village is listed by UNESCO as an architecturally important village.

A street lined by neighbouring houses with limestone walls

The next day, while roaming around the streets, I saw a local church (Church of Chrysolofitissa) and a meeting place that is likely for tourists. The church has a few interesting murals and an influence from Gothic art. There were many abandoned houses and some spots that looked like archeological sites. It is to be recalled that people have lived here since the Bronze Age. This village is not much explored by tourists, and I guess that in a few years, this place will be known for its crude beauty. More than the beauty, I loved it that the village has maintained its traditional homes with wooden balconies.

Along the main street and a few meters away from the church stood one or two coffee shops and a souvenir shop. The shop owners were just beginning to open their shops and were looking in my direction quizzically. Of course, I look out of place to them! I sat down on a chair in one of the coffee shops, ordered coffee, and looked around. One of the two coffee drinkers started to talk in a friendly manner (it is impressive how good people here are in English!), and at some point was trying to be very helpful in suggesting to me ways to reach the city later that day. Limassol is the closest one, and reaching there would be by bus, which runs from the village only three times a day, or by taxi. All the people there were very warm towards me, and in the beginning, I was quite reluctant to respond. This is common among solo travellers to be cautious. Everything turned out to be good in the end, and they both bought a coffee and some cookies for me from the shop saying that I am their first acquaintance from India.

The next interesting sight was the local school, which is an example of neoclassical architecture, located away from the main part of the village. On my way back stood the home of the schoolmaster, with a name board, which looked quite interesting to me; I love these small details! I could not visit the Olive mill museum, but I have heard that they show the history of the village and show a collection of folkloric items. 

The schoolmaster's house near to the local school of Lofou

One important detail that is related to everything in Lofou is the abundance of cats, stray or pet ones. This is a common feature in the whole of Cyprus as well. In Lofou, I felt that even the stray cats were looked after really well jointly by groups of surrounding families. Small kittens on my way around the village piqued my interest and they entertained me until the end of the street. It seems that they are aware of their territories! 

My next visit was to a local wine shop, which is known to be the only shop having a large selection of Cypriot wines- Agrovino wine bar. This bar is located in the other side of the village, slightly away from all the main attractions. I loved the interior of the wine bar!💓

Sunset view of Lofou village and the surrounding carbonate hills

A small thunderstorm was on the horizon, so I opted for a taxi later even though it was not cheap. As the taxi had to come from Limassol to pick me up, the ride did not turn out to be the cheapest but surely more adventurous! The rain was pouring in heavily and I could barely see outside as the taxi winded its way down the carbonate platforms on the way to Limassol. From there, I got on an air-conditioned coach bus that drove to Paphos, one of the main cities in Cyprus. I came to know then that these buses run many times during the day covering the major cities- Paphos, Limassol, Larnaca, and Nicosia. 

My few days in Cyprus were initially planned to be spent in Paphos and Larnaca, but a few suggestions over internet took me here, as I wanted to experience the feeling of staying in a traditional village. After spending two weeks travelling over Cyprus as part of a geological field trip and holidays after that, this village was my best choice of them all, as I remember every nook and corner along its winding streets and its striking panorama!

A dream village called Lofou in the heart of Cyprus

It was just days before my visit with my colleagues to Cyprus that I realized that I should spend some days alone on the European side of this island and do some more sightseeing after our geological field trip. Field trips themselves contribute a lot to seeing a large part of the country apart from geology.  Still, I was searching on the internet where I can visit apart from popular places such as Paphos, Larnaca and Ayia Napa. I wanted to stay in a traditional house in a village somewhere in the country and came across the village of Lofou. I was impressed with the place and went forward with booking a stay at a traditional house situated in this village.

                           Traditional houses in Lofou  

      

I did not find much time to check how I would be reaching this village after my field trip and on the day before the visit, I found that buses travel from the city of Limassol to Lofou only three times during the day. By then, I had realized that public transport was not quite common in Cyprus, but this news was peculiar to me (even though I liked the adventure part!). 

The classic architecture of Lofou stone houses

The village is located on a small hill and locked between a series of surrounding hills. The name of the village itself takes after the Greek word 'Lofos', which means 'hill'. Therefore, don't be surprised to go uphill and downhill to get around the village!

As Lofou is situated behind hills and away from the main roads that connect different towns, this place really can give you the feeling of being in a strange land in the middle of nowhere. More strange to me was that I hardly met anyone apart from the hotel owner that evening, after my checking in at 17:00. Being on my own in this village, I could spend a lot of time for myself in a quiet atmosphere. 

A walk up the streets of Lofou                

There are some attractions such as the neoclassical school and the old church with Gothic remnants, but what attracted me the most is just the structure of the village- its narrow streets with cobblestones and stone houses stacked so close to each other on opposite sides of the road. There are small taverns and cafes to stop by and one can also get to taste the local wine of Lofou, which is popular in Cyprus. There is also a nice walking trail that can take you around the outskirts of the village. 

Outside a bar where there is a small pavement that leads to some stone houses

The village was already quiet during sunset.  The only sound that I could hear was my camera clicking and some occasional cars that passed through the village or on a nearby hill. I found a spot that the hotel owner suggested to me, to have a good view of the village. I don't remember how long I stayed at this spot to see the sunset, but I remember that I had one of my best times during solo travel.

                                                                    Sunset over the village of Lofou     

                                                                          

The story of the enchanting village of Lofou is not over yet! 

Look forward to my next post 😃 

 

My love for the English countryside: a visit to Surrey, England

Cities are interesting and definitely fun, but to feel the pulse of the region, one should visit the countryside as well. One trip that made me experience a completely different scenario was during my visit to England.

I was once on a solo trip to London and captivated by the city as much as I was, I got this sudden yearning to visit the English countryside. 

At the heart of the countryside of Shere

One fine morning, I was looking for where I should visit for a day, and my first choice was the county of Surrey. The Hollywood movie 'The Holiday' has always been one of my favorite movies, particularly because of my love for the small village portrayed in the movie, Shere. When I saw this movie for the first time, I wished to visit this enchanting village once in my life, so why not use this opportunity to visit here? 

And that's what I did! I can relate to this day as one of my best unplanned, solo adventures ever! This trip was kind of an adventure because I did not even know where and how to go after I reached Dorking, a major stop of the Southern Railway in England. I hopped on an early train and headed to the south of England, the Surrey Hills! After getting down at Dorking, I checked at the train station and found that frequent buses were heading toward Guildford, another major stop. I have to get down halfway through my bus journey and walk for half an hour or so, towards Shere. As most of the people here travel by private vehicle, the bus was only mildly occupied. Something that I noticed is that most of the people in my bus are old, retired people and everyone seems to know each other. The only exception was me, sitting way up in the front of the bus. Also because of the fact that I looked less close to an English lady (Indian actually) and holding a DSLR camera, I could feel eyes on me all through the journey. After two or three stops, the driver asked me where I wanted to go to. Though I was feeling uncomfortable at that time that everyone's attention was on me, I began to cherish this moment with a smile whenever I thought of it. Finally, when I was getting down at my bus stop, there was no one on the bus apart from me and the driver. To add, the driver was giving me hints to visit the museum and the nearby vineyard if I was interested. I thanked him and was eagerly on my way to Shere.

The Restaurant 'The White Horse'

I was starting to get quite hungry, and the only restaurant that I found open was The White Horse, where I had one of the best English Breakfasts I ever had! It was not an odd hour, and I was starting to wonder why I hadn't met many people on the road here. The person who was waiting at my table was jovial but was curious about me at the same time. After a delicious brunch, I was on my way wandering along the endless streets which made me happy to see a typical English village. 

There are local red phone booths, a church, and many pretty cottages on either side of the small roads. Every cottage looked quite welcoming with hanging flower pots that added to the mood. 

The famous red phone booth of England

After some time, some kids started to play football on the grounds, which was worth a sight. The day was slightly overcast, so I went on to continue with my day, exploring the rest of the village.

Kids playing soccer on the grounds of Shere