October 2011 - 10 days in Cyprus
Last October we left the shortening days and cold temperatures in the UK and headed to Lanzorote for our first autmun holiday abroad. The autumn sun really got us hooked and it didn't take us long to decide do the same thing again this year. We thought we would try somewhere different so we googled where to go in the Mediterranean in October and soon decided on Cyprus.
We stayed in Paphos on the south west tip of Cyprus. We spent most of the time around our apartment complex, travelling only as far as Paphos harbour and Paphos headland using the very cheap and efficient bus service. Geographically we were therefore restricted to a very small area, which limited the photographic opportunities. The key thing, of course, is that this was a family holiday! Nevertheless I did get a range of photos I was quite pleased with.
Lizards
It seems you don't have to go very far anywhere in Cyprus to spot a Lizard. Find any rock or wall and there is a chance you might see a Lizard basking in the sun. If you are careful, and approach slowly, you can also get quite close.
The following images are taken either in our apartment complex, particularly in an area of rocks next to the pool, or on one of my trips to Paphos headland. In all cases they are taken with my 100-400mm lens, sometimes with an extension tube added to allow closer focussing than the lens' minimum focal distance of 1.8 metres.
I love the cheeky smile of this first Lizard which I found near our pool complex. One of the smaller Lizards I found, this was about 10 cm long.
The more dragon like Lizard on the right is an Agama Lizard, again by the pool complex near our apartment.
Agama Lizards can grow to up to a foot long. The one above would sun itself on the same rock by the pool every day. The ones below were found in and around the ancient ruins on Paphos headland.
For lots more Lizard images from Cyprus please click here