Five years ago I moved from Washington State, USA, to Malta and fell in love with the place. Although not what I would call a beautiful island, Malta is so alive and vibrant and steeped in so much culture and history that one almost trips over ruins and buildings, from ancient Greece, Byzantine, Ottoman, and recently, those of British influence. Despite this glut of historical wonder, I became disappointed and disillusioned with the modern Maltese and their corrupt government bureaucracy. The infrastructure cannot support the traffic and travel from one part of the island to another, albeit a short distance, is a nightmare. I don’t want to be a grouch, but the noisy nightclubs and junk food catering for holidaymakers alone was enough to influence me to move once more.

I looked further afield and decided to visit Cyprus again. It had been 1974 when I first landed there for a holiday, and a good friend was already living there after moving from Malta. Like Malta, Cyprus history goes back thousands of years and treasures such as mosaic floors and Roman villas abound for the visitor to explore. This is a much bigger island, and although annexed into the Turkish north and Greek Cypriot south, there is a lot to see and do, and travel to the north is unrestricted. The biggest surprise here is the roads and traffic. The centre of towns like Paphos can get a little busy, particularly in the mornings but come the afternoon, it almost feels like a quiet drive on Sunday afternoon. A lot of business closes at 2.00pm and reopens at 5.00pm or not at all. Siesta here, particularly during boiling hot summer, is taken seriously except those ‘Mad Dogs and Englishmen.’

The food here is excellent, especially salad and root crops, and not forgetting the thousands of bananas and other plentiful fruits growing here. Although a member of the EU, Cyprus cannot sell bananas to other EU countries because they are too small, even though they are sweet and are tastier than the larger varieties sold in Europe. That’s the EU for you. Goats provide a variety of cheese and milk, and of course, there are many different wines from vineyards, large and small, that are dotted all over the island.

Cyprus is 180 miles long and 62 miles wide with a population of 1.2 million. It boasts a range of mountains, the tallest being Olympus which is capped with snow in winter. The Troodos forest boasts conifers and broadleaved trees such as Pinus brutia. This is, in the main, a beautiful island with scenery that can be breathtaking. https://www.google.com.cy/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=size%20of%20cyprus

I could say I’m pleased to be away from Brexit in Cyprus but I can’t. Brexit affects all Europeans one way or another. The British government have agreements with Cyprus and other EU countries regarding National Health and residential status. How this will be affected by Britain leaving the EU remains to be seen. I have two years before the final ‘goodbye’ so meantime I plan to continue enjoying the pleasant company of these friendly Cypriots, and all that this island has to offer. One thing that will most certainly not change is my 4.00pm cup of tea and custard cream.