Join the Eastern Cyprus Walking Group... with your dog

EC Walking Group

This week Sage and I joined the EC Walking Group for one of their fortnightly walks. They proved to be a very welcoming, friendly group. Their goal is for sociable 'rambles' and exploring the countryside of Eastern Cyprus, more than scaling mountains and trekking through the wilderness.

Their website : http://www.ecwalking.com states that dogs are welcome, provided that they're kept on a lead, and that dog poo is picked up. It's really nice to see this - firstly that they have thought about the matter and decided to invite dogs, and secondly that they set down the rules clearly and reasonably. 

So we went along. We started near the Kermia Beach hotel, walked inland to the church of Agia Paraskevi, then followed some paths round to the beach road (Kryou Nerou) and back to the start point. It was a route of about 5.5km. 

View Larger Map

I must admit that I did struggle a bit to keep hold of Sage on her lead, while carrying enough water for the both of us, as well as, for about 10 minutes until I found a bin, a nice steaming bag of poo. It's not the way I usually like to introduce myself to a new group.

One little adventure we had happened while I was mid-conversation with one of the group members, and suddenly saw Sage stooping to lick some pile of blue powder off the ground. I am particularly anxious about mysterious blue powders after a horrific incident when Sage ate (blue coloured) rat poison we had put down in the storeroom where I was working... that's a story for another time. The EC walking group organiser reassured me that local running groups mark out their routes with blue coloured flour, and such markers as these are commonly found on the paths around there. And if you think it's strange that my dog would eat flour, that's because you don't know my dog.

Short break at the church of Agia Paraskevi

Flowering thistle I saw along the route

The walk was a bit short, especially since we'd travelled quite far just to get to the starting point, but it had been shortened due to the heat. The group will meet on Tuesday evenings from now until the end of the summer, so that it's not too hot. I'm looking forward to joining them for some longer walks once the weather gets cooler and they revert to the morning programme.