Tag Archives: culture

To Escape the Heavy Rainfall in Nicosia, Strollers Hiked at Prodromos Dam – 21 Oct.

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Sunday 21 October will be remembered as a day of irony. Many chose to stay behind in Nicosia, for fear of possible rain on Troodos. Yet, the two dozens of brave Strollers at Prodromos dam enjoyed a wonderful day out, at an altitude of 1500 m, and not a drop of rain! At same time, the capital was experiencing a heavy downpour with fierce winds. A lucky day for the club, no more, of course. The rewards were plenty for participants who carried along their rainwear, and had a second set of clothes in their car boot, should they be needed. The dam had quite a lot of water, the pines and other trees were resplendent, the buffet lunch delicious. Compliments to Francine, who commented on the new gabion, at a spot where the slope was experiencing soil erosion, and to Taline and Stathis for the photos. Join us on 27 Oct. at Spilia https://cyprus-strollers.org/activities-description/kourdali-spilia-27-oct/

For the Love of Dense Forests – Stavroulia 13 Oct.

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We hiked for the love of hiking on Prodromos on Saturday 13 October; but it was the love of the dense forest of black pine at Stavroulia, perhaps the most beautiful of its kind in Cyprus, that made us push to the very end of the trail, despite the rather sharp slope and oncoming thunderstorm. The feeling of completion was fulfilling, as was the meal that followed, by the fire, in joyful company. Compliments to Christos for leading this outing and to Maria for the photos. Join us on 21 October, again on Prodromos https://cyprus-strollers.org/activities-description/troodos-prodromos-dam-21-oct/

Highest Altitude Trail for Season Opener – 7 Oct.

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The Club kicked off its 9th season of activities on Troodos; a very large gathering of Strollers, including many newcomers, walked Artemis, the highest trail in Cyprus on 7 October, under ambient weather conditions, away from the heat of the cities, and under the shade of friendly clouds for most of the time. A superb buffet lunch followed, which elevated the spirits even higher. All diners sang their birthday wishes to Eleni, and enjoyed her cake. Compliments to George for leading this event and Taline for the photos. Join us on 13 Oct. on Prodromos https://cyprus-strollers.org/activities-description/prodromos-zoumi-stavroulia-13-oct/.

It is Good to Know – Your Questions Answered

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With the start of the new season a few days away, we extend a welcome to every Stroller, old and new.

The Schedule for October – December 2018 is here https://cyprus-strollers.org/activities-schedule/. The detailed instructions per activity are here https://cyprus-strollers.org/activities-description/.

Also, a new section has been created, which provides Answers to your Questions most frequently asked https://cyprus-strollers.org/answers-to-faq/. We recommend that you take the time needed to study this, because it is good to know. If you continue to have a question unanswered, please drop us a line.

 

A Hiking Club like no other

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As we approach the start of this club’s 9th season of activities, the identity of The Cyprus Strollers is well documented, by our record of accomplishments.

Regular Strollers have come to recognize us as the only hiking club in Cyprus with a dedicated website, in English, organizing a hike in the countryside, every weekend, from October through May. Over the past 4 years the club has conducted

  • 129 activities,
  • covering 1225 km,
  • hiking for 404 hours.

Interestingly, hiking as a sport is experiencing growth, in consequence, and hikers now have more choice.

Then, there are further aspects to the personality of The Cyprus Strollers, exemplified by:

The club’s intervention in the public dialogue that followed the devastating forest fire of 19-22 June 2016, via this article https://cyprus-strollers.org/2016/07/08/politics-vs-forests-thoughts-from-the-fires/

The club’s intervention in the public dialogue that followed news about our overweight kids, via this article https://cyprus-strollers.org/2018/07/02/call-to-action-for-parents-of-overweight-kids-sample-the-delights-of-hiking/

Our organization of the first ever poetic hike, of which you can read here https://cyprus-strollers.org/activities-description/lythrodontas-2-hikes-sunday-15-jan/

Brief intervals of cultural reading, happening during hiking, e.g. here https://cyprus-strollers.org/2018/03/26/unique-cyprus-strollers-prophitis-elias-25-march/

The club’s intervention in the public dialogue on the occasion of the International Mountain Day, see here https://cyprus-strollers.org/2017/12/10/mountains-under-pressure-climate-hunger-and-migration/

The organization of extraordinary activities, e.g. https://cyprus-strollers.org/2017/04/14/good-friday-stroll-72-epitaphios-in-old-nicosia/

If you identify with these initiatives, if you see yourself here, and would like to contribute to “Hiking made Pleasant”, join us on 7 October on our first event of the 9th season.

Inspirational Cyprus Strollers

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To wrap up the season that started January, in which we realised 20 excursions and covered a total of 206 km in 75 hours of hiking, a well-deserved celebration was held during lunch on 27 May. This was a time for reflection, for thanking and for giving. George contributed a delicious chocolate gateau, with a lit candle on top. Then Ian H (who turned out to be camera shy) followed with surprise gifts to the club’s Founder and Director. There was a greetings card, signed by dozens of members, bearing the central message “Thank you for your organisation and your inspiration” and other touching messages from all. A second gift was a large 94X64 cm frame bearing a selection of past photographs from our hikes; this now adorns a wall in Xenophon’s apartment. Yet a third gift was an album bearing many colour 30X21 cm printouts of photographs from past activities.

Xenophon was for once lost for words, immersed in a sea of warm sentiments. The feeling now is that this club has grown enough, to be an important part of the leisure and creative life of so many wonderful persons, past, present and new members, from all Continents! Have a nice summer and join us again in October for the next season. Compliments to Ian H and George. Compliments also to Koula, Christos and Clara for the photos.

 

Unbeatable Troodos Experience – 27 May

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A large, cheerful group of Strollers, including newcomers, walked the 2 trails at Almyrolivado on Sunday 27 May, under a sky which offered us only the shade of clouds, but no rain. The outing offered many memorable experiences. Among them a stream which we liked to claim was a mini waterfall; a lizard/ kourkoutas, some 30 cm long, which rapidly crossed our path, making us grateful that dinosaurs are extinct; barber’s brush, Cypriot slang for the flower of the day; a 500-years-old Juniper tree; the artificial lake in Amiantos; and a seesaw which younger members enjoyed in action. There has been also a remarkable initiative in play, Sheri’s efforts to pick up litter found along our path. Such are the delights of hiking with your favourite club! Compliments to Christos and Clara for the photos.

Internationally Appealing Strollers – Atalanti 19 May

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A large group, made up of Strollers from ten different nationalities* and once more including several newcomers, walked Atalanti trail, high up on Troodos on Saturday 19 May. On our way we encountered eagles flying above, heard the rare cuckoo song and were accompanied by harmless swarms of coleoptera of two sorts, for several kilometres. Compliments to Clara and Maria for the photos. Join us at Almyrolivado on 27 May for a joyful finale to this long season https://cyprus-strollers.org/activities-description/troodos-almyrolivado-2-hikes-27-may/ *England, USA, Italy, Austria, Switzerland, Hungary, Romania, Estonia, Greece and Cyprus

Dry. Wet. Sunny. – Platania 13 May

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The excursion of Sunday 13 May offered several weather changes; the forward leg of the hike was dry; the return leg was very wet, just as forecast; and then the sun came out, over lunch. This was also Mother’s Day and here are some contributions from our members:

*In the presence of a mother, we feel that our childhood has not all departed

*Mirror, mirror on the wall, I am my mother after all.. (an expression of the sentiment that a woman eventually grows up to be like her mother-sooner or later)

* When I find myself in times of trouble Mother Mary comes to me, speaking words of wisdom, let it be

And in my hour of darkness she is standing right in front of me, speaking words of wisdom, let it be

Let it be, let it be, let it be, let it be, whisper words of wisdom, let it be

And when the broken-hearted people, living in the world agree, there will be an answer, let it be

For though they may be parted, there is still a chance that they will see, there will be an answer, let it be

(John Lennon and Paul McCartney both lost their mothers as teenagers)