Sizzling Summer Madness...

There is nothing better than a bit of heat to make everyone a little loopy as if they've been drugged with a magical medicine which makes them eternally happy and outgoing. Anything is possible in the summer. Suntanned and glowing boys and girls attend the numerous parties and events dotted all over the island. Dj's and bartenders cater for the masses. The music booms, the dancing is ecstatic. Summer is a chance to meet new people, widen your social and sexual circle, if only until November. Summer nights bring on the mojitos and the shots. Wide-eyed and expectant partygoers scan their surroundings or are simply lost in a midsummer reverie.

Beach time brings on its own eccentricities. The beach becomes a hotbed of conversation and activity. Cypriots have always gone to extremes when it comes to what they take with them to the beach. Usually it's a whole catering service. You see the mothers loaded with pampers and milk bottles, the men with the cooling bags and watermelon (this is an essential item) ready to set camp on the beach. I've seen plastic chairs and tables come out and a tent set up. Over the years however under pressure of social etiquette these things have been carefully put away to make way for more European standards of beach behaviour. Now all you see coming out of the cooling bag  is fruit, an odd sandwich and a bottle of water at most.

It is also in the summer that the gym fanatics make an appearance, posing with perfection on the fashionable beaches. Zero cellulite, zero hair. It is actually quite worrying that the men are more polished than the women, hair free in fact and smothered in Tropical tanning oil. Not everyone is perfect of course. The pot bellied Cypriot man and the curvaceous Cypriot woman can still be seen. God forbid we would be surrounded by cloned barbies and kens. What a tragedy that would be!
Summer is a time of renewal, a chance to unwind and let the world go by if only for a short time. Cypriots widen their horizons by visiting other European countries and Greek islands just to get away from it all.It must be noted here that Cypriots tend to stick out like a sore thumb. In mid August the capital of  Nicosia is deserted. Some people opt to stay there just to get away from the crowds which flock to Paphos, Protaras and in Limassol. It's a matter of choice in how you choose to spend your holidays. Those that want to be seen choose the crowds. Whatever the case summer will always be a chance to let your hair down and forget about everything.