Day 10

Day 10 Friday 23rd November    Buffavento to Besparmak above Xarkeia (Karagas)

This is a day that none of us will ever forget – it includes a near death experience and a game of hide and seek during a military exercise.

The previous day Tugberk had been alerted by his prodigious network of spies that the Turkish military – of which there are tens of thousands in many camps throughout the north – would be conducting military exercises on part of the route that we would take today. This would involve closing this section to civilians which in turn would require a very serious detour basically down to the coast and back up again. To avoid this Tugberk proposed that we start super early and try and get through this section before it was closed for exercises.

I have had some scrapes with the military and police in the north before and was certainly not keen to get anywhere near a military exercise. The combination of Tugberk’s confident smile and assurances, and the knowledge that the detour could knock us back by a day persuaded me to take the risk.

So before 6am we are picked up by Asle and retrace our route in the pitch black back to where she picked us up yesterday beyond Buffavento.

If the ride from Buffavento in daylight yesterday to the hotel was scary, it was a walk in the park compared to navigating the curves and potholes and narrow passages in the pitch black. Our lives are in Asle’s hands who seems to have done this before as she shows no fear. Luckily for Len we cannot see the steep 2000ft drop or I think he would have got out and walked.

We survived and at 6:10 am we bid farewell (and good luck) to Asle and begin our walk. Now we only have the might of the Turkish army to contend with! I made the sign of the cross, kissed my worry bead bracelets that I had picked up from, and had blessed by, holy monks on Mount Athos, and set off for our rendezvous with hell. I am not religious but there seems no reason not to improve the odds a little in our favour.

We set a quick pace in a race to get ahead of the tanks and armoured personnel carriers and rocket launchers and whatever else we imagine in our minds is waiting to blast us to the four corners of the island. The dawn breaks as we approach our date with destiny and lights up the Pentadactylos to our left.

Pentadactylos means 5 fingers in Greek. It is the eponymous name given to this distinctive mountain mass as it resembles the imprint of a fist that has gripped the mountain. As we are learning in this island of myth and legend, there are two explanations for this geological feature. One involves a lover scorned and mudslinging. But the most popular (though equally improbable) relates to a Byzantine hero called Digenis Akritas.

A larger than life character, the story goes that the finger effect is from where Akritas gripped the mountain as he hauled himself out of the sea on his way to ridding the island from the curse of Saracen invaders. He achieved the latter feat by throwing giant rocks at the Saracen ships moored off the Paphos coast. Today these rocks are known as Petra tou Romiou or Aphrodite’s rock as they also mark the spot where the goddess Aphrodite rose out of the sea and set foot on the island which was to become forever associated with this deity.

Whatever its origins, this mountain mass is a recognisable landmark for Cypriots and can be seen for many miles both in the south and north. Today as the sun rises ahead of us the rock gives us breathtaking views worthy of a landscape photographer – if only we had a decent one with us.

Before 8am and ahead of time we arrive at the major highway which passes by the rock at the Besparmak restaurant where tourists stop to admire the mountain. This spot is significant for 2 other reasons.

Firstly, it is where we are introduced to the Besparmak trail. This is no ordinary trail. For one, it is 158 miles long and runs along the whole of the Kyrenia/ Karpass mountain range from the tip of Cape Kormakiti (Korucam)  in the west to Apostolos Andreas monastery in the east. For another, It is the brainchild of our very own guide. Tugberk, who, with the help of a grant from the European union, took on the task  to formerly mark and link trails to form one Besparmak (Turkish for Penatdactylos) path. We would come to admire Tugberk’s work over the coming days.

And secondly, having been introduced to the trail at the Besparmak restaurant, we ignore it and take a different path. This is a shorter path that will take us through the military exercise zone and is still open. It also gives us even more breath-taking views of Pentadactylos and the coast line towards Kyrenia.

The path is a road but as we turn a bend Tugberk takes us off road and onto a trail that I could have passed a thousand times and not have noticed. It is barely visible as we track it through the wooded slopes above the road. Fortunately Tugberk knows it well otherwise we undoubtedly would have got lost. The main distraction is the sight of giant mushrooms that the overnight rains have brought out. This is where we learn from Tugberk about fungal biology - the mushrooms we see are offshoots of one giant fungus spread out far and wide under our feet. We throw into the biology class that red ones are tastier than white, to which Tugberk smiles and nods his agreement.

Every now again the road below us comes into view – I am not sure why we are not taking it. And then I understand. We hear a heavy vehicle noise below us. Tugberk stops suddenly, crouches behind a tree and waives to us to do the same. The noise gets louder and I can hear my heart pounding – clearly we are not meant to be here. I’ve seen this movie before - we are  going to be captured by the military, thrown into a military prison, accused of spying and become pawns in some endless spat between governments and hotheads. 

The vehicle comes into sight – instead of a fully loaded tank with its ballistic nozzle pointed at our frail hiding place, we see a forest ranger’s 4x4. Tugberk recognises the driver and calls him on his mobile. The ranger confirms that the military exercises completed the day before and the road was open to civilians again.

Relieved and a little sheepish, we slide down the slope and reconnect with the road. The morning weather is perfect after yesterday’s torrential rains. Trusting that we are safe again our spirits lift -  we weren’t to know that our appointment with near death that day still lay ahead of us.

Eventually the road comes to a junction where we pick up the Besparmak trail which will be a near constant companion until the end of our walk. The route now enters a thick forest through which we can see that the clouds are thickening and darkening above us. We will follow this wooded trail for the rest of the day through Alevkaya. We pass below us the Sourp Magar Monastery. Originally part of the Coptic church, it was given to the Armenian community in the 15th  century and goes locally by the creative name of the Armenian Monastery. Since 1974 it has fallen into disrepair and today awaits the Armenian church to decide its fate.

Shortly after this we come to the Alevkaya forest station. The skies are darkening quickly and there is a restaurant which has an open fire. We decide to take our lunch break here.

In the meantime the skies outside have become heavier and heavier. Just as we set out again rain starts to fall and we change into our wet gear. When it rains Cyprus normally experiences short and sharp showers. What we saw last night was different in scale and intensity – a massive electrical storm that carried on for hours. We are hoping the rain we are about to experience is of the traditional type.

As we move further and further from the forest station not only do the woods thicken but the rains turn into a storm and we are getting drenched. We are well kitted out so we just keep moving further into the dense forest. It gets worryingly darker and darker, the torrential rain turns into painful hailstones and then the lightning breaks out.

I have seen storms in my time including a small cyclone that passed over my house in Paphos. I have never seen an electrical storm of this ferocity. The thundercracks feel like the ground is being ripped apart. The lightning bolts are frequent – every few seconds – and light up the whole sky. More worryingly, the time gap between lightning bolt and thunder crack is very short, indicating that the centre of the storm with its lightening is near us.

There is nothing for us to do but keep walking on the forest path – there is nowhere to hide. Rather, tall pine trees ware lightening rods and we are under them. Soon the time difference between thunder and lightning is gone – the storm is right above us and the lightening is happening every few seconds. The rain and hail is so strong we can only see a few feet in front of us, and it is almost pitch black although it is early afternoon.

And then it happens. I still can’t quite describe it. One second I am walking, head tilted down into the rain and wind, the next I am knocked over by some violent force and find myself sprawling on the ground. The thundercrack feels like it had gone through my body and the flash of lightning which accompanies it at the same instance temporarily blinds me. On the floor I can see Tugberk lying next to me, also bowled over.

Len and Nick pull us up and look at us in shock. They had been further back and had witnessed a lightening bolt seemingly come down and strike just above our heads. They describe what they have seen and Tugberk and I stare at each other – we know what is running through our minds and it would not help to say it. We are lucky to be alive. My overriding memory is the strong smell of sulphur that sticks in my nose and lungs.

There is now no conversation – just a determination to get to the nearest point where we can be picked up. Tugberk calls a friend who has arranged to recover us, trying to fix the nearest location for the pick-up. Last night’s and today’s rains have made certain tracks through the woods no longer passable. No choice but to keep on going until we cross a serviceable dirt road. Fortunately our driver has a 4X4 otherwise he would not have found  a path up to us. Eventually we meet him at one that winds its way up to the Besparmak.

Our day had started early and, given what we have been through, we are glad to finish it early at 12:25pm. Drenched we return to the Ambelia to dry our clothes and socks, for a warm shower and to reflect on the beauty of life. Dinner in front of the log fire feels extra special and we treat ourselves to some hard cocktails.

It rains again during the night. The electrical storm we passed through was violent and could be seen as far as Nicosia. Later, when we recount our tale to people who had witnessed the storm, we are greeted with disbelief followed by sardonic bemusement.

Day 10 stats: Distance 13.7 miles (22.0 Km), total miles 128.5 (206.8 Km)