14 February 2026 Paphos: Valentines Day and a Whole New Outlook

 

Valentines day brought us some joy.  With the good news of the background check that came in last night, our plans are back on track.  We exchanged cards, smooches and I had a love note ready for Leslie in the morning.  We still both had restless nights, not form anxiety this time but from excitement.  So Leslie got the Zumba dancing started and I took a three mile fast walk to the Paphos headlands to look for the elusive desert finch.  No luck in finding it but I did get to see the very rough surf and high tide.  

Shark!

Some of the buildings like to present a castle like appearance

Too big to move not too big to cut through

Very strong appearance

The hooded crow

A tower of note

https://youtube.com/shorts/XuIU5nTmWpQ

Great tit, some bird names are cringy

A big lizard

Common chaffinch

The surface of the sea was all foam

The fort is under siege from the waves

https://youtube.com/shorts/uWLHcX1oX0I

Contemplating

These concrete blocks are usually to feet from the waters edge

https://youtube.com/shorts/y6M3qMz9rbA

Darker clouds off in the distance

Two kinds of plovers

The one in the foreground is a Greater Sand-Plover and in the background is a Black-Bellied Plover

A Common Sandpiper.  Common is the official name even though it is not a common bird

Crested Lark

Greenfinch

Greyhound or Borsi?

Ruddy Turnstone

The waves come in

and wash over the rocks

All the way to the walls

It was been 3 years and 254 days since we began our Migration

13 February 2026 Paphos: Friday the 13th Surprise

 

After five failed fingerprint submissions to the FBI, we received notice, late on the 13th, that Leslie's 6th submission passed.  Jubilation, disbelief, shock, relief, excitement all were experienced over the course of just a few minutes.  To say that Leslie was beside herself was an understatement.  The previous evening we had learned of the fifth rejection and  that really brought us both down.  Sleep was elusive and our brains were running back and forth thinking about plans that would have to be modified, alternative options we could pursue and how this was going to affect our hopes of a Spanish Retirement Visa.  We were both a bit bleary eyed at the start of this Friday the 13th.  Leslie has a long history of mishaps on this day, cars stolen, burglary, and so on, so she was prepared to hunker down and avoid any Cypriot mishaps.  Anticipating another difficult night, Leslie hooked up her YouTube Zumba playlist and prepared to dance her jitters away.  There was a storm on the way and the rheumatism in my knee was letting me know it was coming.  I opted for a quick walk around the neighborhood.  It turns out that this date started the Great Backyard Bird Count so I spotted a few while I was out.  No new birds but a cute little skink. The anticipated storm blew in with a fury and it shook the windows and pelted the balcony with copious amounts of rain.  Several more squalls blew through over the course of the afternoon and evening.  Strong winds, lightning and thunder preceded the announcement of  Leslie's successful FBI background check. She got the email about 9 PM local time. Huzzah!

One of the big storms rolling towards us

We have seen these two helicopters going back and forth foe a few days now.  Military exercises?

There is water in the creek from the recent rains

Great Backyard Bird Count, Medow pipit

Sardinian warbler

A snake eyed skink

The Eurasian stonechat

Collateral damage from the storms

Kestrel before the storm arrived

It was been 3 years and 253 days since we began our Migration

3 February 2026 Paphos: A Visit to Pyla in the Buffer Zone

Cyprus has been divided since the war in 1974.  The north part of the island, commonly known as Northern Cyprus, has the official name Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, TRNC.  Turkey gets top billing because they invaded and still occupy this area.  Turkey is the only country in the world that recognized the TNRC but that is enough recognition for us to put it on our list.  Since we were driving a rental car we could not drive into the TRNC without purchasing an additional insurance policy.  However as the picture below shows we were within the dotted line on the map and certainly within the prying eyes of the Turkish observation tower.  This brings our recent travel list to 43 countries in 45 months.  The town boasts a Venetian era watchtower and some other towers.  We had a 1 hour 45 minute drive to make it back to Paphos so we did not stick around for long

One serious looking watch tower

Palm tree row

In town and passing a church

Even the small towns have large churches

A  very of watchtower from 

A pointy tower

Another tiny church

A huge pig in a truck

The highway stretches out in front of us

Made it to Limassol

It was been 3 years and 243 days since we began our Migration

2 February 2026 Larnaca: On Our Way Back to Cyprus

Only in Spain can you find a vending machine selling four different levels of  Iberico ham, or jamon as it is called in these parts. Welcome to the Barcelona airport.  It is big, it is busy and it is our home for the next four hours.  Our flight was due to take off at 8:00 PM and as soon as we were done with the fingerprinting we popped into a taxi.  It took a half hour to get there and once again we only had small bags and had already checked in online.  We did not have a picnic lunch this time.  So we first got a bit tipsy and then ordered some food.  The chicken dish and the burger were tasty and since we were not going to arrive in Larnaca until 1:00 AM we knew that we needed to have something to eat.  We actually took off on time and even though we were cramped, had a an overly tattooed center seat interloper, the four hour flight went by pretty quickly.  Before we left for this trip we debated between just driving the hour and a half back to Paphos arriving at 2:30 or getting a place in Larnaca for the night.  It was the right decision to get the room as it was a very long day topped off with a long flight.  So when we landed it was immigration, then getting the car and driving to the hotel.  Laying on the bed never felt so good.

Sometimes we like to play departure board bingo.  how many places have we been to?  7 out of 12 on this board

6 out of 14 on this one

9 out of 16 with Larnaca, our destination on this board

Is this allowed for carry on luggage?

I looked closer and these are wooden hams

Pre-tipping results in a good pour

Lots to choose from

Anybody's guesses are as good as mine.  No English menu

I was going to order the more Americanized burger but the waiter recommended the one with jamon!  It came out on the rare side which was tasty 

A fine marinated chicken dish for Leslie

A big lizard

Waiting for our plane

A big WTF!

The shades made it look like she forgot to take off her sleep mask

Ripped stockings, goofy shades and a huge hat, now that is a look

We have arrived at the hotel and are ready to knock before entering

It was been 3 years and 242 days since we began our Migration