It’s heart-warming to see so many beach cleaning initiatives lately. I recently joined one at the Akamas, splendidly organised by The Island Keeper. Grabbers and rubbish sacks were provided along with baseball caps for any volunteer without a hat, and delicious vegan food from The Mighty Kitchen. I went with Lynne , who has been a regular ‘womble’ collecting rubbish from the Chlorakas coastline for several years, whilst I was more of a first timer. We’d actually been told a hour later than the actual start time, so by the time we got there the beach was already pretty spotless, but I got to work on the harder-to reach places under rock ledges whilst Lynne parked herself on the sand and sifted for microplastics (very small worn down pieces of plastic which cause as much trouble for sea life as the bigger objects).
During COVID when we were only allowed out for essentials and exercise, Lynne was part of a group who used their text messages to patrol beaches gathering rubbish. They called themselves The Wombles and sometimes worked alongside a similar Cypriot initiative called Ulysses.
Neo Xorio resident Alexia recently took up the habit at Latchi beach, and while she is frustrated to find new rubbish every time she heads out, she is heart-warmed that her group being out there gathering waste clearly makes other people pick up rubbish and bring it over to add it to Alexia’s bags, chatting and getting to know them. “Some asked if we were being paid to do this. Some came over to ask us why we were doing this, and some came to thank us for picking up waste. Many shared stories about their connection to these beaches and the area. Mostly I noticed that it was making people think about what they left on the beach, knowing that ordinary people like us were coming behind them and picking their waste up.”
Zephyros Adventure Sports have a stated mission to remove 100 cubic metres of plastic from the beaches and sea of Paphos each year, while The Vegan’s Heaven in Polis Chrysochous organised a beach clean up last month, offering a free mini calzone and a refreshing drink at the Pizza Party venue for anyone taking part, that evening.
Life continues beyond the beach and Cyprus has seen a huge number of events, concerts and festivals this summer. One of the biggest must have been Sting’s tour which played one night in Limassol’s Tsirio Stadium. I had been looking for someone to go with, but after the first person I asked stated they’d rather stick pins in their ears, and the second “I’ve always felt he sounds like a car alarm”, I gave up. So I was delighted to hear, two days before the concert, from a friend who’d won two tickets, asking would I like to go?
Our tickets were in the ‘Fanzone’ – standing room – and while we did sit on the comfy fake grass floor for as long as we could, the heat trapped by the surrounding hundreds of legs became unbearable and we stood. This didn’t improve our view – we’re both shorter than the average human, and the next several inches above head-level were filled with mobile phones filming the concert (why?! Why pay for /win a ticket then spend the time watching through a screen you’ll never watch again, not to mention blocking everyone else’s view?) . Fortunately huge screens showing the concert live were provided, and although these weren’t used for interesting pre and post show films and effects as had Bryan Adams last year, they certainly meant we could watch the action whilst we listened. I must admit the car alarm comment was apt – an awful lot of the songs included an awful lot of “Ooh-aaa! Ooh-aaa!” but Sting’s voice was an impressive powerhouse and the musicianship demonstrated on stage was worth the heat and the crush. He didn’t sing ‘Don’t Stand So Close To Me’ , but it would have been apt.
An outdoor showing of ‘Grease’ the sing-along movie played at several venues in July. I went along to one and thoroughly enjoyed the experience. Having not watched the film all the way through since childhood, was able to fully appreciate it as an adult. Watching at a beach bar, the drive-in atmosphere added to the ambiance.
It’s not a great summer for camping, with all but one of the traditional campsites closed for refurbishment or unknown reasons. We tried the Aphrodite Eco Camping Site in Latchi which is very well organised and in a beautiful setting with excellent playground, bar and restaurant, very clean toilet facilities, and on the night we stayed, an outdoor evening showing of a Disney film. The beaches, whilst beautiful, are difficult to access, tiny, and extremely rocky. Only a handful of people can occupy at any time, which didn’t actually pose a problem: despite the site being full, I had the beach to myself one morning, but with no lifeguard or even a witness, I was fearful of attempting to swim amongst the rocks. The site is very much geared to tents as opposed to camper vans or caravans, which have only four allocated spaces with shelters built too low to fit under. We very much felt we were sleeping in a car park, whilst the tents enjoyed natural spaces between trees.
Let’s hope the campsites open again before too long, and the summer weather holds out!
