“Do they have gardens, Sallyann?” asked my mother.
There may
not be manicured lawns and neat herbaceous borders but as I wander round
Kefalos in and out of the higgledy arrangement of houses I’ll come across
Bougainvillea festooned balconies, hanging baskets of geraniums. Morning Glory
tumbling out through rock crevices, clinging to old stone walls. Stair wells of
brightly coloured flowers growing out of ceramic and terracotta pots or indeed
anything available such as old cans, plastic pots. Grape vines intertwine and
small citrus fruit trees nudge up against washing lines and old porches. Hints
of Jasmine and Honeysuckle waft in the air as you pass by someone’s small
private world of plants. The houses in the Village centre are so close together
that it’s a joy to see these hints and accents of colour bursting out at you.
Further out
from the centre you’ll see allotment type plots, of fruit and vegetables.
Tomatoes growing low to the ground, on earth you can’t imagine would ever
sustain growth back in the UK. This is where you’ll see neat lines of
aubergines, courgettes, cucumber , melons, leeks, onions and all manner of
other things because in between the rows they have cleverly woven a network of
irrigation channels ,hoses set for optimum water supply when it’s needed. Walk
along the back roads in Kamari Bay back from the main tourist track and these
gardens fill the spaces in between Hotels and Apartments. Chickens scrabble
around scraping at the ground for food. I just love seeing everyday life
going on as the tourists wander round and about.
