What better place to wake up on Mother’s Day than in the Troodos Mountains. We are staying in a cabin for the weekend with my parents-in-law, Alan and Val. The cabin has been sitting in thick cloud for the last 24 hours, but when we woke up this morning, this was the view the greeted us:

Finally Alan and Val could see what we’ve been raving about – the blue skies and miles upon miles of forested mountains shining in the sun. We set off for breakfast at the Ben Nevis restaurant in Troodos Square. We use this restaurant whenever we are in Troodos because it has great views and the staff are friendly. I usually order the obligatory hot chocolate, but today I made a Great Discovery.  Here is Soumada, a hot almond quash. It is DELICIOUS.

Some ladies behind me laughed when they heard me rave about Soumada, so it’s probably a drink for children or something. But I don’t care – I LOVED it.

I was drinking my Soumada and admiring the view when I noticed a boat in the sky. Everyone laughed at me. I laughed at myself. I looked through my camera zoom and couldn’t believe it – that was a boat, and that was the sea! I didn’t know the sea was visible from Troodos Square and, for a while, I was totally disorientated. It was the Limassol coastline.

We drove to the top of Mount Olympus and the views from there were incredible too. I have never known the visibility to be as good. We could see across Morphou Bay to the mountains in the north. We could even see the mountains in Turkey. Troodos was clearly apologising for its poor behaviour the day before.

We decided to continue our search for more UNESCO-listed painted churches. Apparently, there are ten. Our visit to Agios Nikolaos Tis Stegis in Kakopetria yesterday had inspired us. We got on the B9 then took the E909 to Kyperounta. As we drove into Kyperounta the view of the south of Cyprus was as clear as the view of the north. I could see Akrotiri Salt Lake and the Kouris Dam in the distance.

Kyperounta surprised me with its size – it’s one of the largest mountain villages and its church, the Agia Marina, perches dramatically over the village. What I loved about this place was the countless orchards.  Apples, pears, plums, apricots, cherries and peaches are grown here and all the trees were covered in blossom. It was beautiful. We were looking for the Timios Stavros church and found it further down the mountain – but it was locked.

We drove out of Kyperounta and joined the F915 to Lagoudera in search of the UNESCO-listed Panagia Tou Araka church. Up and over the mountain, following a windy road down the other side. There were blossom trees on every side.

Just off one of the bends on the side of the mountain we found Panagia Tou Araka. At first sight it looked like a barn, but as I approached I could see that within the lattice portico was a small ancient church. It was built in the 12^th Century as part of a monastery complex.

We stepped inside and, like Agios Nikolaos Tis Stegis, were met with walls of colour. Over half of the church was covered in amazing frescos, considered to be the most important examples of the late Comnenian style in the Orthodox world. Thankfully photography was allowed (without flash).

We spent some time at the church enjoying the tranquillity and mountain views. From here we could see all the way to Nicosia and even the Turkish flag on the Besparmak mountains.

We set off on the F915, back the way we’d come and turned towards Agros. We’ve driven through Agros before and I’d been impressed to find such a massive village in the mountains. The village is full of winding roads and taverns and is known for its rosebush cultivation. It also has an interesting history and was significant in EOKA’s fight against the British in the 50s.

We stopped for a late lunch at the Linari Taverna, enjoying the sun and the laughter of men playing backgammon opposite. While I was people-watching, I spotted something blue on a telegraph pole ahead. I looked through my camera zoom and could have sworn that I was looking at a small blue caterpillar with a white scarf – made out of rope.  My family thought I’d gone insane. But seriously, I’ve read about modern artists hiding their art in various outdoor locations for people to find. Could this have been one of those?

Our weekend in Troodos started in a cloud, but Troodos began to reveal itself in ways I hadn’t seen before. The incredible views that I hadn’t known existed, the painted churches with their surprising interiors, fantastic mountain villages nestled into the mountains. And it ended with a hidden piece of art – or a bit of blue rope.