. . .
The Weather Was Becoming Warm At Limasol, The Thermometer Ranging From
70 Degrees At 7 A.M. To 83 Degrees At 3 P.M. There Was A Trouble In The
Water-Supply, As That For Drinking Purposes Had To Be Conveyed By
Donkeys From A Distance Of Three Or Four Miles.
The market in the town,
although well arranged externally, was governed by peculiarly
restrictive municipal regulations; the price of meat and several other
articles being fixed at a common standard!
According to this absurd rule
inferior mutton would fetch an equal price with the best quality: the
natural consequence ensued, that only inferior meat was introduced, to
the exclusion of all other. The supply of fish was extremely irregular,
and they were generally small and dear. Upon some occasions we purchased
good red mullet, also a larger fish of the bass species; but there were
only a few fishermen, who required an opposition to induce activity and
moderate prices. Their nets were made of exceedingly fine twine, and the
smallness of the mesh denoted a scarcity of the larger species of fish.
A number of Maltese settlers were arriving, to whom lands had been
granted by the government in the neighbourhood of Limasol; this
excellent arrangement will have the effect of infusing a new spirit
among the people by the introduction of fresh blood, and the well-known
fishermen of Malta will of themselves be a boon to the large towns,
where a regular demand may be depended upon at a reasonable price.
There was nothing to induce a longer stay at Limasol, and I resolved
upon Trooditissa monastery as the position for a mountain residence
during the summer months. Upon Kiepert's map, which is the best I have
seen of Cyprus, this point was placed among the angles in the various
crests and ridges of the Troodos mountain, and was marked by measurement
as 4340 feet above the sea-level. The new government road extended from
Limasol to Platraes, from which a good mule-path led to the camp
prepared for the 20th Regiment and the Royal Engineers at an altitude of
5740 feet. It appeared to me that in north latitude 35 degrees this was
an unnecessary elevation. My old residence at Newera Ellia in Ceylon was
6210 feet above the sea in north latitude 6 degrees 30', and in that low
latitude we had sharp frosts at night. Any heights approaching 6000 feet
in north latitude 35 degrees would, I imagined, become disagreeably
chilly in the morning and evening, at seasons when in the low country
the heat would still be too oppressive for a return from the mountain
sanatorium.
The mean temperature at Limasol from 1st May to 18th had been at 7 A.M.
65 degrees, at 3 P.M. 78.6 degrees, during which interval there had been
sudden variations of temperature, ranging from a minimum of 56 degrees
to 84 degrees. On the 11th May, having engaged twenty-three mules for
our tents, baggage, and party, we started from Limasol for Trooditissa.
The dog Merry, that had been bitten by the snake, had lain for days in a
state of stupor, black and swollen; I had poured quantities of olive-oil
down his throat, as he could not eat, and at length I gave him a dose of
two grains of calomel, with three grains of emetic tartar. After this he
slowly recovered; the ear that was bitten mortified, and was cut off,
but the dog was sufficiently restored to accompany us upon the march,
together with his companion Wise. We were now about to enter the great
vine-growing district of Cyprus, which produces the large exportations
that form the chief industry of Limasol.
At a distance of a mile from our camp we entered the new government road
which connected Limasol with Platraes, thirty miles distant. The country
quickly assumed an agreeable character; undulations and watercourses
were more or less covered with trees, and the road scarped out of the
steep sides exhibited the cretaceous formation similar to that between
Larnaca and Lefkosia. Wild lavender was just blooming upon many portions
of the way, while along the rocky courses of ravines the oleanders were
in the richest blossom. The road was furnished with mile-posts, and the
mules ambled along at a little more than five miles an hour. I found
considerable fault in the low gradients (one in thirty), which had
produced a road unnecessary for the vehicles of the country, at a
proportionate outlay; it was altogether too good, and would have been
excellent trotting-ground for a light phaeton and pair. As there was no
such vehicle in the island, the beautifully traced highway exhibited a
model of engineering that was scarcely appreciated by the natives, who
invariably took the short and direct cuts to avoid the circuitous
zigzags in descending the numerous valleys and in rounding the deep
ravines. After a ride of twelve miles through a beautiful country, well
wooded, and comprising a succession of wild hills and deep gorges, which
formed torrents in the wet season, we arrived at a river flowing in a
clear but extremely shallow and narrow stream beneath cliffs of
cretaceous limestone. The banks were richly clad with rosy oleanders,
myrtles, mastic shrubs; and the shade of several fine old plane-trees in
full foliage invited us at once to halt immediately upon the edge of the
rippling stream. This spot was known as Zigu, where an ancient stone
bridge, with pointed arches, crossed the ravine about a hundred paces
above the new wooden bridge erected by the Royal Engineers. This was a
most charming spot for luncheon, and the dense shade of the planes was
far more agreeable than the shelter of a wooden military hut that stood
upon the height above and by no means improved the beauty of the view.
Our dogs seemed to enjoy the change, and raced up and down the river's
bed, delighted with the cold water from the mountains, fresh from the
highest springs of Troodos Some cold roast pigeons, young and fat, and
some hard-boiled eggs, formed our luncheon, together with bread and
cheese.
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