Letters from Cyprus: A mid-winter swim

Meaden and Bob at Konnos Beach

After our eventful Christmas, things have thankfully returned to a more normal rhythm over the past few weeks. Sarah's dad Bob is recovering well, Ross is back at work, and the kids have returned to school. We enjoyed the final week of holidays together, and had a few day trips out including the Troodos mountains. some monasteries and the beach. Sarah and Meaden even managed to sneak in a short trip to Turkey, and were able to spend a few days and new year's eve in Istanbul. This was a rare opportunity for Sarah and Meaden to travel and spend some time together, and proved to be a good alternative to the originally planned mother/daughter sojourn to Beirut!

A feature of evenings during the school holidays was a regular showing of a Brady Bunch episode with the kids. It was fun to watch them discover a show that was such an institution as we were growing up. Angus now takes great delight in singing the theme song at every opportunity, with some suitable (and not so suitable) word substitutions in the chorus (eg. the farting bunch). Cutting-edge humour for a 9 year old......I'm sure you get the general idea!

The procession passes (but no elephants!)

Last weekend we took Bob and Meaden down to Agia Napa to watch the blessing of the waters. This is an annual ritual held in all coastal towns to mark the Epiphany, or baptism of Christ in the Jordan River. A procession marches through each coastal town carrying large icons, ceremonial artefacts and a small silver cross. The cross is blessed and thrown into the water after a Greek liturgy and Agnus Dei is sung by the priests. Young men then dive in to find the cross, and the successful swimmer receives special honour and a blessing for the year to come. The ritual is also significant for the fishing fleet, as it marks the time after which the boats can return to sea after the Christmas period.

We enjoyed watching the blessing of the waters, and it was good for Bob and Meaden to get out and enjoy some sunshine after a week of Bob's continued recovery at home. Anna was a little distracted throughout the ritual, however, as Jessie (in a typical teasing mode), said that the priests carrying the small silver cross to the harbour would be riding on elephants. Consequently Anna spent the morning waiting for the elephants to appear, and asking us repeatedly when this would occur! After watching the blessing of the waters, we headed to one of our favourite bays for a lovely Cypriot lunch of halloumi and pita, and some of the braver members of the party even managed a swim.