The next stop for today is Omodos probably about halfway between the top of the mountain and the sea shore. The major attraction for us is the first physical geocache but when researching the town we got the impression it is also a tourist attraction. We are surprised at how popular it is though as we drive around for minutes trying to find a parking place. We find one quite outside the downtown area and then it is time to walk on the busy roads towards the old town.
We finally arrive in the pedestrian area, unscathed, and start exploring the area while making our way towards the famous church. It is quite difficult to even enter restaurants or souvenir shops in the area as they are bursting at the seems with people, quite unexpected.
Soon we arrive at the monastery church, the yard seems deserted which is nice, with the majority of people concentrating at the entrance. It has quite a nice historical vibe and we enjoy the walk through the area.
It is then time to visit the church, it is impressive looking from the outside. While it seems renovated recently we find multiple signs of its age as we walk around it.
No photos are allowed inside so we take them from outside through the wide open doors before entering. It seems this is a pilgrimage point with many people inside praying at the altar or kissing the icons and as such it is quite glitzy with a gold altar and intricate bench carvings.
Next is the church museum next door which allows photos and likely has older and more “authentic” icons and artifacts than in the church itself. It is also not visited at all so we can explore in peace.
It is quite interesting to see the wealth of eclesiastic objects, Cyprus was a center of Christianity for quite some time and one of the first countries it spread to.
Another section of the museum is dedicated to another local handicraft specialty, lace. There are quite a few examples and they are quite beautiful as we examine and try to compare them again other styles we have seen.
The walls of the monastery we are walking on are castle like, in a way they remind us of the fortified churches in Romania, with a church in the middle surrounded by defensive walls all around. And as we explore we find one more exhibit, this is modern art and it seems like a small gallery somehow got nestled in one of the wall rooms.
As we exit outside of the monastery enclosure we take a look up at the sky…and it is not looking good. And we haven’t even found the cache yet. But before going in that direction we sample the restaurants in the main square to find one to retreat to if it starts raining like in Nicosia. We find a few candidates and then it is off to continue exploring.
The streets here are narrow and scenic but somehow they are not as poignant to us as the ones in Kakopetria. They are beautiful but something is missing and we cannot really put a finger on what.
Maybe it is the number of visitors on the alleys maybe simply that it looks more renovated and seems to be more dry and lacking soul, really not sure.
That doesn’t mean that there are no interesting sights like the wine press. It is quite impressive and here we learn that wine is another top export from this area.
We are following an adventure lab to explore the area and that takes us also to a former PAOK (the Greek resistance against the British) hideout. It actually doesn’t feel like a hideout which we feel should be inconspicous, it looks more like a fortress and the first place I would go if I wanted to find insurgents :).
Now it is time to climb towards the cache just as it starts to sprinkle. Still this is not yet serious rain so we continue on hurrying towards the cache location.
And following the breadcrumbs trail we suddenly are among the fields, it is quite a different vibe here and if the rain would start seriously we would be in trouble. So we find the cache fast and then retreat towards the town just as the rain starts to pick up.
We make record time towards the restaurant we have chosen which now has withdrawn all exterior menus so we are reduced at guessing which one it might be. At least the one we enter is full of wine bottles for sale, something to look at while we wait for our food.
And then the food arrives, we have ordered crepes and coffee and both are really good and hot, quite welcome after being rained on. And even better, the rain stops so we make our way slowly to the parking lot to continue on towards the shore and our next attraction.
