It's that time of year again - Cyprus is commonly known as a warm to hot weather country, however - for around 2 months of the year - there are periods where those of us who live here struggle to cope with winter conditions.
Of course up in the Troodos Mountains, heavy snow brings new life, with plenty of visitors to the woodlands and ski slopes. - A veritable winter wonderland.
But for those of us ' lower down' - we struggle to keep warm, and sometimes to keep dry. As gale force winds bring an icy chill we baton down the hatches. Heavy rain and hail are common, and we are just not ' geared up' for it.
Out comes the winter wardrobe, electric blankets, hot water bottles and temporary heating devices.
Not many houses have central heating, and with stone floors, high ceilings and no insulation in modern built houses, we potentially live in a fridge. It's not unusual to spend all day in coat , hat boots and gloves, - time to visit Tavernas of friends where there are open fires - JUST TO WARM UP!.
Of course the Cypriots knew what they were doing when building their old stone houses - with thick stone walls and low ceilings they were equally efficient at keeping the interior cool in summer and retaining heat in winter.
People don't venture out without necessity, and there are few tourists, so the social structure also changes - the Guys huddle around roaring fires in the coffee shops, deliberating on the damages of last night's storm, and longing for the upturn in temperatures to rise soon.
However - there is comfort - never driving in ice and fog, never scraping ice off the car windscreen, and traipsing through slush.
We also know that we have to ' just get through it' - and it won't be for too long. Within a week temperatures can change and the sunshine comes back to us.
And we have the sure knowledge that from May to October we will not see rain - so we also celebrate the wet weather to fill the dams for summer water useage,
It's not all bad!!! - in fact we're probably a little spoiled.!
Of course up in the Troodos Mountains, heavy snow brings new life, with plenty of visitors to the woodlands and ski slopes. - A veritable winter wonderland.
But for those of us ' lower down' - we struggle to keep warm, and sometimes to keep dry. As gale force winds bring an icy chill we baton down the hatches. Heavy rain and hail are common, and we are just not ' geared up' for it.
Out comes the winter wardrobe, electric blankets, hot water bottles and temporary heating devices.
Not many houses have central heating, and with stone floors, high ceilings and no insulation in modern built houses, we potentially live in a fridge. It's not unusual to spend all day in coat , hat boots and gloves, - time to visit Tavernas of friends where there are open fires - JUST TO WARM UP!.
Of course the Cypriots knew what they were doing when building their old stone houses - with thick stone walls and low ceilings they were equally efficient at keeping the interior cool in summer and retaining heat in winter.
People don't venture out without necessity, and there are few tourists, so the social structure also changes - the Guys huddle around roaring fires in the coffee shops, deliberating on the damages of last night's storm, and longing for the upturn in temperatures to rise soon.
However - there is comfort - never driving in ice and fog, never scraping ice off the car windscreen, and traipsing through slush.
We also know that we have to ' just get through it' - and it won't be for too long. Within a week temperatures can change and the sunshine comes back to us.
And we have the sure knowledge that from May to October we will not see rain - so we also celebrate the wet weather to fill the dams for summer water useage,
It's not all bad!!! - in fact we're probably a little spoiled.!
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