Xeros River Ruins
It looks like the sun is here to stay now, and Cyprus is quickly turning brown. The Asprokremmos is no longer overflowing, and soon, the rivers will no doubt start to run dry again. Before that happens we decided to go for a drive up Xeros Valley, and explore some ruins by the river. If you fancy a paddle, don't wait too long...
Cheeky Glimpse of Foinikas
We start this journey at Foinikas. This is only because we had visitors and we were giving them the tour. That's the dam you can see in the distance. It is no longer overflowing, but it is still nearly full.
Less River
If you compare this shot to our last blog on Foinikas you will be able to see how much less water there is now. Still enough for some dam building though...
Donkey-Powered Buses
We took the road that runs up the floor of the Xeros Valley. If you are going yourself, you need to keep to the bottom of the valley, and resist the temptation to take one of the left turns.
We found these buses along the way. They clearly belong to the donkey farm that you can get to, further up the valley. Why they were parked here I have no idea.
Only In Cyprus
We did this journey twice in a week to get photos for the blog, and because it was fun. The second time, the only donkey bus we found was parked slap bang in the middle of the bridge you have to cross. There was nobody in the bus, nor any sign of a driver. Most bizarre. Anyway, we drove round the bus and took the next turning left, which has signs for the donkey farm.
Distant Monastery
We did our drive in a 4x4. I definitely recommend this. The terrain gets bumpy and the winter rains have somewhat re-organised the roads up the valley.