The way it grows

I thought you might be interested to learn a little about Israeli flora.
Here is a fruit that local people call 'shessek'. As I found out, the English name for it is loquat. I never tried it before I came to Israel, and even there, as I understood, this fruit is available for a short time in a year. It tastes both sweet and sour, and it's juicy like mango. I liked it.



This is papaya. Some of you might be familiar with it already but I never saw it before and never tried.



Lemon tree is not intended to surprise anybody, I just like the way it looks when heavy with ripe fruits.



Eucalypt tree is not a big deal either, but that was my first acquaintance with its blossom.



This is the real poppy we found in a rock desert. I believe it was the last one this year because summer was getting on quickly.



And a little bit of blossom all around. Pink:



And yellow:

Starting for Israel

It was cold and rainy when we were leaving Moscow nearly 3 weeks back. We were sitting by a window in an airport cafe, sipping our hot coffee and watching planes through the crying-like glass.

You know, it's a kind of tradition with us to have a cup of coffee in the airport before the flight.

A few hours later, arrived to Tel Aviv, we found perfectly sunny and very warm day and went out for a walk.

It must be some famous mosque in the seaside of the city but I don't know what it is.

Approaching Jaffa - the old port town. Here pilgrims landed on their way to Jerusalem.

We were absolutely charmed with its sea-facing porches and magnificent views.

A wave story #2

Another wave story, a rather long one. But it feels alive, doesn't it?

Getting acquainted

My acqaintance with Paphos began in the hotel as I went out to the balcony. Here is what I saw:



A little further there was an elderly gentleman reading his book on his balcony. I found it amazing to spend hot afternoon hours this way so I tool this picture.



Then I went to the sea side. The sea is always fascinating, you know.



And breakers is one of the things you can watch eternally.



It was close to sunset when I was leaving the beach.



And this one is an experiment: I took this picture through my sunglasses. So this is really the way I saw it :)

A wave story

Today I tell you a story of one wave. Isn't it great to watch it rising, developing and fading away?

Welcome to Paphos

One final look from the heights no bird can ever reach, and we begin descending toward island of Cyprus.



We landed in the Paphos airport which is close to the Pathos city (or Pafos, as they name themselves). A special thing about this airport is its location - by the coastline, so the sea is the first one to meet you on the land of Cyprus.



Of course, I couldn't miss an oportunity to take a photo of any aircraft I met on my way.



And these were helicopters parked by the sea-side. A beautiful place for a parking lot, isn't it?



The Paphos airport is a very small one, so planes should move carefully, giving way to each other. One airplane stopped for few minutes on its way to the parking spot so this one in the picture would take off.



And the first thing you see after you closed doors of the airport is the sea! Here is the point where vacation suddenly turns real, and you start believing it possible to get away from work and cold weather.

Toward Cyprus

Today I continue posting photos taken on my way to Cyprus.

This tony town interested me because of the square reservoir framed with dams. I guess it's some kind of haven in the river.



Another amazing thing: a number of ponds (lakes?), the water colour is different in each one! Can you see it? Blue, red and green? I wonder what are they and what is the reason?



As we flew farther, we reached mountains. This highland lake must be a magnificent one.



And again, a curling road under little clouded sky - isn't it great?



Soon mountains were replaced with coastline.



And a close-up view of an island not far from the coast.