Snakes, Wild Cats and Being a Chicken in North Cyprus.

It’s December in North Cyprus, the fruit trees are weighed down with their burgeoning crop, the wild flowers are just starting to appear and the sun has been shining - again!!

We were lucky to miss a week of fairly pants weather in TRNC last week apparently, because we were back in the UK for our annual pre-Christmas manic rush around visiting the families.  So we decided to go out and make the most of our luck and the now warm again December sunshine as soon as we got back.

We drove out past Acapulco and Turtle Beach, on past the rapidly expanding Esentepe and out to an area where we’d seen a walk that looked quite challenging! 

We’d attempted the climb up towards the pine forest and mountains before but had chickened out half way as it was a Sunday in ‘hunting season’ and we feared a bit for our safety!  Not from the hunters you understand, but from the marauding wild life attempting to flee the hail of shot being sprayed about the place randomly!

So anyway, on Wednesday off we trudged setting a mad pace until both of us realised it was no race and the weather was actually HOT and not conducive to army style marching up steep hills.  We slowed our pace and rambled around reminding ourselves how bloomin’ lucky we are to have all this natural gorgeousness on our doorstep and how much we love, love, love Cyprus!

We climbed up the side of a ravine, crossed over and were interested to see a path winding down the other side, seemingly creating a loop for us to walk...but as the ravine was steep, deep and because we’d been walking for about an hour we weren’t sure if we should risk the path in case we got to within inches of the road with no route out onto it.  Ah - let’s go for it!

So, we took the unknown path down on the other side of the ravine both really hoping that we could indeed loop back...and eventually we came to within inches of the road that would lead us along to where our car was parked...and faced a steep drop! 

To get to the road the only way was to hurl ourselves down a steep bank of slippery pebbles or to stoically trudge back up the way we’d come and back down the other side - adding about an hour and three quarters to things.

We do enjoy a walk, but that would’ve been kicking the a##e out of it - as my dad would say!!

So we stood at the top of the drop, contemplating!

Suddenly a fairly substantial snake appeared from pretty much nowhere about to shimmy across the main road...and in the distance one of the construction trucks was approaching.  Without further ado Andy hurled himself down the bank to save the snake?

Yeah, I know, he is a bit nuts.

I’d seen him do the same in Germany though...he figured he’d scare the snake into slithering away from the road and back into the grass.  Well, just by launching himself down the bank the snake had sufficient wind put up it and it sort of threw itself down into the ravine.  I got a great view!  It kinduv flew down the bank and disappeared, leaving Andy waiting (im)patiently for me to launch myself down the bank onto the road and to drive home...but I couldn’t.

I don’t know why, whether it was the surprise of seeing the snake and being a bit freaked by it, or because I am just a big chicken really.  But anyway, there I was stuck at the top of the bank, and there he was shouting and cursing and trying to be nice and encourage me down all at the same time.

Have you seen that really seriously self indulgent and bad film called ‘Gerry’, I think it’s got Matt Damon in it?  Anyway, in it some bloke gets stuck on top of a big rock and can’t get down...he spends hours and hours up there...a very bleak and lonely experience - I felt just like that!

I just knew that if I jumped down I was going to go flying face first onto the road.  The more I tried to force myself not to be stupid and just jump, the more I couldn’t.  My legs were frozen!  I got the giggles, then I got cross, then I wanted to cry.  And all the while Andy is hopping about shouting at me!  Sometimes nice encouraging things..."you CAN do it you stupid cow”...sometimes not such nice things...hmmmm.

In the end Andy took to running up and jumping off the bank about 7 times wildly gesticulating and shouting “look, look, see how easy it is.”

So in the end I sat down and slid down the bank and ruined my trousers!

In an attempt to restore relationship harmony we decided we’d go and find Lara beach and try being nice to each other again!

We’d seen the ancient Bixi Cola sign pointing to Lara Beach rather incongruously located at the entrance to the power station...and decided to follow it!  I was driving, so on encountering a very deep puddle I decided I’d better park up and we could walk the rest of the way (our car’s not much to write home about in terms of ‘off roadness’)...an hour or so later (!) we make it to a deserted Lara Beach.

It’s lovely - it’s got these really strange sandy rock formations all around it...and a wild cat guarding the umbrellas for the winter.

I spotted the cat on the way onto the beach...hard to miss really as it made wild swipey movements in the general direction of my ankles from under a picnic table (in truth it was only a tabby kitten - but it was wild, you could tell by the long furry tufts sticking out of its ears!)

I didn’t mention it to Andy, I decided he didn’t need the worry.

So, we wandered around and scrambled over the rocks and then decided to go home.

On the way back up the path the wild cat pounced on us...I decided to see if I could restrain it by stroking it...it seemed to have the desired effect, it lay down and purred so loudly!  But then when we started walking again it decided to come with! 

It kept launching itself at my legs and tripping me up...then it started on Andy.  It followed us down the road winding in and out of our legs, climbing on our feet, pouncing in and out of the grass and generally purring like a tractor!  We were laughing so hard and trying not to be up ended by the stupid cat - it was really a bit mad.  I guess it was lonely, having had lots of human contact in the summer, and now it was excited to play with someone again. 

It followed us for ages!  I was pretty convinced it was going to come all the way back to the car, jump in and expect to be taken home!  Luckily though we passed some builders having their lunch and it decided that sandwiches were far more interesting.

So we hot footed it back to the car before it could change its mind!

I think I might go back with a tin of tuna next week!