Visiting the Antoniou Plantation

Yesterday, expedition team member, Vasili, and expedition website designer, Ori, arrived in Cyprus. To introduce these first-timers to this beautiful island, we visited my uncle Takis’ farm, The Antoniou Plantation.

My uncle welcomed us to the island by giving us a tour of the farm, and teaching us about some of the local agriculture. He taught us how to eat pods from a carob tree.

Uncle Takis

The carob tree is common throughout the eastern Mediterranean, and the pod can be ground into a powder, turned into a chip, or made into syrup to be used as a substitute for chocolate. In Cyprus, carob syrup is known as “Cyprus’s black gold” and is widely exported. But we prefer it straight from the tree!

Ori eats a carob pod

In the next couple of days, we’ll be prepping for the walk and exploring the Easter (Πάσχα) festivities in Parekklisia. We look forward to showing you more of our family’s village and beyond!