ayia napa take II

thursday, saturday, and sunday are all supposed to be days off because they had so many games so quickly in a row, and we decide we're going to make the best of each one.  on thursday, we kind of had our hearts set on heading down to the beach, despite the fact that the weather report was pretty dreary (meaning there might be some clouds in the sky).  ben being from england means that clouds aren't a reason to stay away from the beach, and me being absolutely obsessed with beaches means, well, that i like to go pretty much rain or shine.  or hail, or sleet, or blizzard.  you get the point.


we head down to ayia napa and off in the distance we see some blue sky.  fingers crossed, right?  ben's convinced that it will turn into a beautiful day, but such is typical of his ever-optimistic personality.  


as we get close, i remember that the last time we went, we stayed on the motor way for too long, so i suggest we get off at the next exit.  it turned out to be one exit too soon, which wasn't a big deal, and in the meantime, we pass this quaint little church sitting on a hill with a beautiful view of the sea.

across the street is this house that i ask ben to buy for me.  he laughed.. i wasn't kidding.

we get down to the shore and decide to make an attempt at checking out a different part of town than we did last time.  we take a side street down to the beach a little quicker off the main drag than we had when we went before, and wind up in a beautiful little cove area.

at first, it was really cloudy, but we weren't about to let it ruin our day.  the sun shining through the clouds was absolutely beautiful, and the rock pools along the water proved to be very entertaining for my child of a boyfriend.  


as we're walking, i look down hoping that maybe this will be the beach that i finally find some shells on, and i see one!!  a closer look, and i realize that there are thousands of tiny little shells mixed in with pebbles lining the shore.  that's pretty much a wrap, because i could have spent hours on end sifting through the pebbles in search of the little guys.  ben is crouched down, too, helping for awhile and then goes back to throwing rocks into the water or whatever other pastime a toddler would be intrigued by.  by the time i stop, i have hundreds. guess i shouldn't be the one to talk!

after a bit, it winds up that ben was right, and the sky begins to clear.  the entire cove turns a breathtaking color of aqua blue that these photos wont even begin to depict.  it was crazy, because it was like from every angle you looked, the sea took on a different color.  i haven't done a single thing to enhance the colors.

we decide it's time to move on, and head back to the car to move it somewhere where we wont have to worry about it being towed (we left it at the end of the street in front of a tree when we came through to this spot).  we wind up deciding it's easiest to put it where we did the last time we were here and then have a wander around again.

on the way to park the car, we pass a chinese/japanese restaurant that looks quite trendy and decide that's where we'll eat when the time comes.  in all honesty, it's only about 4pm but i'm becoming pretty hungry.  shocker.  the sun is beginning to make its decent in the sky, and i am getting really excited for another gorgeous coastal sunset.

once we park the car, we figure we might as well just do an early dinner, and set off walking the mile or so back to the restaurant.  as we walk by a little path down to the water, i catch a glimpse of the sun beginning to set, and think that we should head down it just to catch the sunset before we continue on to dinner.  we start down the path, and three adorable street cats come out to play, two of them tiny little kittens!  i seriously fell in love with these little guys, especially this one, who i named ashe.

we stop to play for a bit, dangling ben's key lanyard for them to paw at, scratching their backs, cuddling with them, and then continue down the path... and they follow!  we're literally headed along with three cats pouncing after us trying to keep up.  one runs ahead and pauses for us to catch up and then continues like that all the way down the path.  it was so freaking cute!

we get down to the end of the path just as the good part of the sunset is starting and keep playing with our new friends while we enjoy the scenery.  just as the beautiful colors were at their peak, the kittens decided to sit and watch along with us.

really, how cute is that??

once i decide i'm over it, we head back up the path, kitties in tow, and say goodbye when we reach the street so we can go eat.  we finish our walk to the restaurant, are seated, and enjoy another fabulous meal together before heading back home to nicosia.  in reality, it didn't wind up to be such an early dinner after all.

beautiful scenery, beautiful food, beautiful company.  i have nothing to complain about these days!

xox k