Newbies in North Cyprus, Day 8

Day 8: Tuesday

Quite why the British are so obsessed with a full English breakfast on holiday I'm not sure, but certainly there is very little to beat the smell of grilling bacon and frying eggs. Despite a disastrous attempts to do poached eggs the proper way in our North Cyprus villa kitchen, we thoroughly enjoyed our home-cooked breakfast, which we shared with a pair of cheeky house sparrows who insisted on hopping onto the rental villa terrace table and hoovering up any crumbs we had thoughtlessly left lying around.

In the afternoon, the wind picked up considerably, which would be a problem in the UK but not in warm Northern Cyprus, where it was more a welcome breeze. Eager to at least paddle in the Mediterranean Sea during our North Cyprus villa holiday, we headed back to the eastern end of Alagadi Beach, where we discovered that the strong winds are perfect for a growing North Cyprus watersport, kite surfing. It takes a certain type of watersport fan to strap themselves to a large kite, balance on a small surfboard, and launch themselves out to sea! In fact, these skilled sportsman zipped back and forth across the bay, safe in the knowledge that the turtles had gone, and that if they made a mistake, the headlands around the beach would stop them speeding away to Turkey!

Kicking off our shoes, we ran across the sands to the sea's edge, paddling in the warm waves, and watching tiny sand crabs dodge the breakers with speedy scuttles up and down the shore. It was delightful to be on a North Cyprus beach, where the only litter was the natural flotsam and jetsam of the sea; seagrass, driftwood, and the occasional shell. As the sun began to set over the beach, the sands took on a reddish hue, and tinged the breaking waves with pink.

In the entire time we had been on Alagadi beach, we had encountered the sum total of 4 kite surfers, 3 families and 1 couple strolling the beach. It was as close to North Cyprus beach perfection as I think anyone might find outside of the Karpaz Peninsula, and reminded me of Mediterranean holidays when I was a child. If there was one moment that summed up what makes North Cyprus beaches so special, this was it.