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Our
adventures in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus continue....
  
We went to Karaman to take more pictures for David & Glen so decided to go onto Lapta again and see if they had completed the pool dig. Look what we found a Tonka Toy in our pool. Brian came to the rescue with his camera from their balcony, an opportunity not to be missed. Now if we only had another JCB; and all that soil still in the farmers field............
First working day of the month so we went to meet Darryl on site to try to agree the price of the walling around the terraces and the retention wall between us and Brian & Lil. We had previously had quotes from two other specialty wall builders, so we knew sort of what to expect, Darryl's price was very fair and included some gates of our choice so we agreed the deal.As the pool dig was now complete, they came along with a mixer and dumped a base layer in the bottom of the hole. This now will have to set and then they can start the build proper. Joan has got that look that says what no water and does it really need to be deeper than me.Now Brian's BBQ is looking very splendid, but are those really our roof tiles I spy?
Off to Nicosia today to pick the fittings and tiles for the downstairs bathroom, but first to the bank, because the next stage payment was due once the roof was on. Ouch that hurt, but it was in the contract.
We also had a bit of a root around looking at lighting shops, because we needed fittings for all the downstairs area. We managed to buy a nice fitting for the bathroom in a small department store but decided that as for the rest, what we had seen in Kyrenia, was much nicer.
Quick site visit to see what the plasterers are up to and to agree a meeting with Darryl at the cabinet makers. On the way there, because I had experienced some steering judder, we decided to get the wheel balancing done. This is Cyprus, so you just sit outside while the job is done and when completed pick up a huge bill for £2.00.
The team of plasterers are getting on well. all the ceilings and walls are now done and the coving is going up. The box areas, were all the fitted wardrobes are going are also in place. I suppose that if that's were Joan is going to hang her hat then I'll be back to using the spare room cupboard.
Darryl had completed are the detail measurements, so it was, meet at the Cabinet Makers. This man makes all the doors, wardrobes, kitchen units etc. for the whole house. So you get to pick all the styles and colours that you want for your own interior. It is quite difficult, because in the U.K. some designer has already put things together and you just select your overall look. Here you have to pick from separate door styles, the whole spectrum of the colour range and then start picking out handles and fittings. You come away wondering if it is all going to look just as you wanted.
Things are now progressing around the pool, the shuttering is going up ready for the big concrete tub to be poured. I suppose that we will see a lot of progress around this area this week.
RAIN. That's the first rain we have seen in 9 weeks. It was really heavy, with hail like golfballs and lasted all of 10 minutes. We stood in the doorway like little children and took pictures we were so amazed. No we haven't changed our car, that belongs to our neighbours, Sue and Tony.
Once again a site visit because we wanted to see the pool progress. Lots of steel reinforcement goes in to the base and walls of the big concrete tub. But I suppose when you think about the weight of water that will be in there, then you need this strength. The guy in the deep end is putting up the inner layer of shuttering ready for the concrete pour. Behind him are three other deep holes, the first will be the pump room, then the pool reservoir tank. This is needed because we are having an overflow pool where the pool is always full to overflowing and this excess flows into the reservoir, then back out to the pool via the pump and filters. Finally we are having a six ton water reservoir added, which will feed the house supply.
In the evening we had a BBQ at our place with Brian & lil and their friends from U.K., Alec & Jill. An enjoyable evening, pity poor Brian had to drive. No doubt he made up for it when they got home.
Today a big concrete pump was on site and we sat and watched as load after load of readymix appeared and was pumped in to the framework. It is amazing how much, we counted ten lorry loads and they had started before we turned up.
During the last few days we have had e-mail communication with Ian & Dorothy Betts, (the house in Ilgaz) and they are coming over at the end of October. We were able to get them a reasonably priced hire car and a hotel booking. It will be nice to meet Ian again and indeed Dorothy for the first time, maybe if all goes well we can keep them occupied helping move our furniture in!
Look at our huge bathtub, it will take a lot of bath salts to get the bubbles going in that. They have removed all the shuttering and now I believe the next stage is cleaning, sealing with some rubberised solution and then fill with water to test for leaks. Lets hope there are none.
Today is Sunday, so Joan and I went up to the site to check on progress over the last few days. Sunday is always a good day to do this because nobody is there and you can look around for detail things you want attended too. Imagine our surprise. The full gang was working, plasterers, tillers and wall builders. It would seem that they were behind schedule and the whip had been cracked.
Progress really seems quite rapid over the last few days. All the floor tiles have been laid and grouted, they really do look superb. The upstairs bathroom is half tiled and I should imagine by the weekend this will be completed. Many of the walls downstairs are now receiving their final plaster coat and the external staircases had the granite stair treads fitted.
We heard from Cyprus Pools that their engineer had checked the pool and found that there were no water leaks and no settlement of the pool, now that the weight of water had been added. So they leave it another 4/5 days then check again, if all is O.K. they then drain out the water and start the completion work.
We also heard today that our container is on the high seas and due in Famagusta the week commencing 14th October.
It is really getting exciting now! This is added to by the fact that our good friends Jill & Les arrive at 1800 hours tomorrow for a ten day visit. We can't wait to hear all the news from U.K. and take them to see our project. It doesn't seem more than a couple of days since Les sent an e-mail to say that they had tickets and would be with us in 47 days.
A great day, Jill and Les arrived on time at the temporary airport, Ercan airport is closed until next spring for runway repairs and a complete refit of the terminal building. We were able to catch up on all the U.K. gossip over an evening meal and just a few drinks. They also kindly brought some goodies from U.K., such as large jars of Nescafe, which are twice the price here and a litre bottle of 12 year old malt, which Les and I had to sample just to make sure it was O.K. I think we went to bed around 1.30am, but what the hell, we hadn't seen them for so long.
After a late night and a long journey for Jill & Les, nobody wanted to rush around too much. So a leisurely breakfast and then out to the site, as they wanted to see what our new house was looking like. I do believe that they were suitably impressed with the exceptional value for money that is currently available here and rather fancy the idea of a couple of lazy weeks around the pool next year. Begging letters in triplicate please.
Just to complete the relaxation we all spent the afternoon on Lara beach. Les had brought his snorkel and flippers and had made something that resembled an oversize toasting fork. He declared he was going to catch us our supper, but when this web footed brick layer emerged from the sea, it was clear we were to go hungry
It just so happens that Joan and I, have found a few local restaurants where the food is delicious and very reasonably priced so we took them for their first sample of the local meze, charcoal grilled meats, wine, coffee and brandy. It still surprises us what you can eat for only around £5.00 per head.
We went up the hill to Karaman today to take pictures to e-mail to David and Glen in Kenya, but it was also was an opportunity to do a little sightseeing in one of the more well known villages in Northern Cyprus.
Because Joan and I were also being tourists we decided to make a trip up to St Helarion Castle. There is a road, according to the guide books, which takes you from the Kyrenia to Nicosia road, up to the castle and from there it is also possible to drive right along the mountain range and come down in and around Lapta. The first bit is absolutely O.K., you drive up to the castle car park and then the fun starts. To get to the very summit of the castle you need to be related to a mountain goat. There are steps, but they go on and upwards for what seems like forever. It was a very warm afternoon and Jill gave up around half way and decided to wait for us coming back down. The views of Kyrenia and surrounding areas are absolutely stunning and worth all the effort. Joan was glad of the rest after the climb and was totally immune to Les's mutterings about being able to join the mile high club up here.
Now the second entry in the guide book, which states you can drive the mountain road with care in a hire car, clearly accounts for the state of some of the hire cars here. Being intrepid travelers in a 4 wheel drive we pressed on. The views are wonderful as you can see all the way out to the coast from the very top of the mountain range and eventually we came out over the top of Lapta. This is the village where our house is being built, but down on the plain almost central in this photo.
An enjoyable day, which we rounded off with a BBQ of the four fresh sea bass we had bought, with some salad, fruit and something that I believe is made from white grapes.
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