Day 5

It was supposed to be another heatwave day, so we decided to head up to the mountains again, this time to the Chantara waterfalls. We would take the same route as the day before to Kato Platres and then turn left to the village of Foini, which turned out to be slightly bigger than being tiny.

Narrow street in Foini

Local pottery workshop

I got out of the car and was looking for somebody to ask directions to a local pottery workshop (which Foini is popular for), when I was hailed by several "hallos". I looked up and saw a Tamil lady waving at me! Along with her, came down a Nepali lady and a North Indian lady, all of whom were fluent in the local Cypriot language. I told them of my enquiry and they called up somebody on the phone and then took me to a local pottery workshop. 

Later I came to know that, the Tamil and Nepali ladies cared for a local aged lady.

While making our purchase from the pottery studio, we were self introduced to the owner, Mr Theofanis Pilavakis. He has a small private museum of his own. He gave us a brief tour & told us the history of his 400 year old ancestral home and the ways of life - hundreds of years ago.. 

Mr Theofanis Pilavakis in his museum

He had previously been in England with his wife for many years and had worked in the English fashion industry. He was a keen photographer as well. We spent some informative time looking at a Guinness world record holder 2000 litres ceramic jug for storing olive oil, an ancient olive press, wine press, huge clay pots for storing wine, clay toys, candle holders amongst others. His family had been potters for generations.

The Guinness world record holder

After finishing the tour and getting directions for the Chantara Waterfalls, we drove up to the base of the falls. 

Bus stop @ the Chantara Waterfalls

It was beautiful and made a small rock pool amidst the stones. There were some stony steps going up the cliff side and after we climbed up, we found the upper part of the falls, which made an even bigger rock pool. We waded through the cold water in bare feet, it was inviting us to take a bath. 

Upper Chantara falls

After some time, we climbed back down, back to our car and drove down to Latchi, a harbour near Polis. We made enquiries about a self-drive boat to sail along the Akamas peninsula the next day. It reminded us of our previous holiday, when we used to come down here often.