Discovering Charming Omodos was our goal today. We drove from the port city of Limassol into the surrounding mountains. The scenery was gorgeous and in less than an hour, we arrived at the small village of Omodos. Our guide led us up cobblestone streets to the heart of the town. On the way she pointed out George's bakery and several cafes that we might want to visit when she set us free. The primary objective was the square and the church on one side of it. Then she took us through several small lanes passing local craft shops along the way. When we got back to the square she gave us an hour and a half on our own.
At last Alice and I had the freedom to do our thing. First, we made our way back to a perfumery that we had noticed on the walk around. The lady in this small shop blends her own fragrances. She had bottles of many fragrances on the shelves along with testers. The first one Alice picked up was Joy. We both liked it and it became our reference as we tried others. The lady suggested some scents based on our liking Joy. One of these was My Way. it came down to a choice of My Way or Joy. Joy won and we purchased a bottle.
In the course of all the testing, we learned that the village is home to 15 permanent residents. During tourist season that number grows by another 150. This woman lives in a town 45 minutes drive away. During the season she has a home on the edge of Omodos. The season runs from May through October with a few weeks in November when cruise ships come. She was a delight to visit with.
Now we walked the lanes and visited the square again. Just next to the square we found a shop with a lot of embroidered and household things. Our guide had told us about a kind of lace that was unique to this village. We asked about it at this shop. The owner got a bag down from a shelf and proceeded to show us lace pieces that his mother made. These were very nice. He said that it is a dying art because young girls are not interested in learning how to make it. The work is delicate and intricate. We found a piece that we liked. For 10 euros we were able to take it home. In further conversation, we learned that the lady with the baby outside the shop was his wife. When she came inside we talked some more about the lace and played with their young son. What a lovely visit.
Our time was running out so we headed toward the parking lot. On the way, we passed George’s Bakery. In addition to the many baked goods in the cases, there were what looked like sausages hanging in the windows. We learned that they were not sausages but sweets. This is called sousoukos. It is made by stringing soaked almonds on cotton strings. Then the strings of almonds are dipped in a solution made from grapes or carob or pomegranates. They are dipped several times depending on how thick you want the “sausages” to be. Fortunately, we did not have to buy whole ropes of sousoukos. The baker had cut the three flavors into foot-long pieces. For just 6 euros we brought home a foot-long piece of each flavor.
What a day. This is how we like to visit. In the future, we will try to avoid organized tours and return to doing our own thing at our own pace. It is not the cost that discourages us. It is the lack of freedom to visit as we wish.
Omodos was indeed charming. The setting is scenic. The people are friendly and helpful. We became like family to those we chatted with.
This was a very good and special day for us.
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