Sigá sigá: the pace of Cyprus

In Greek it is written σιγά σιγά, with the stress on the last syllable of each word: sigá sigá. It means slowly, little by little, gradually. Depending on the context, it can be an invitation to slow down or a way of saying that something will work out with time and patience.

The expression is Greek and is also used outside Cyprus. Here it features so strongly in the way the island is described that the tourist board itself uses it to talk about a slower way of life. It is worth distinguishing the two things: its everyday meaning and the interpretation we bring to it as visitors.

We take a simple idea from it: give each thing its time. Learning to drive on the left, finding a base you like or deciding where to spend the afternoon can all happen little by little too.

Cypriot coffee offers a good chance to understand it. It is made with very finely ground coffee in a long-handled pot, the mbriki, and served in a small cup with water alongside. You sip it; the grounds stay at the bottom.

You can order it sketo, without sugar; metrio, moderately sweet; or glyki, sweet. It is a small gesture that lets you take part in an everyday custom without turning it into an activity with a start and finish time.

Try sitting down without opening the map straight away. Look around the square, finish the conversation and decide later where to go next. For a morning in the villages of Troodos, we think it is as good a start as any planned visit.

Our route through the villages of Troodos suggests stops among squares and woodland to bring that idea to a day in the mountains.

You can bring that pace to the table too. If you book a meal and squeeze in another visit on the other side of the island straight afterwards, it is easy to end up checking the clock before ordering dessert. The rush was already built into your plan.

Our suggestion is to give one meal the time you would usually divide among several stops. Share dishes, ask what is available that day and stay a little longer if you are enjoying yourself. A table can occupy an afternoon without that afternoon being wasted.

If that meal will be a meze, here is how to order without ordering too much: what to ask and how to make room for it in your day.

Not every moment needs an extraordinary story behind it. Sometimes what you want to remember is an ordinary conversation and a place you would return to tomorrow.

It would be too easy to make sigá sigá an explanation for everything. Cyprus has work, traffic, schedules and people having difficult days. A peaceful terrace does not describe the whole lives of those who live here, just as a queue does not explain a country's character.

Nor do you need to explain away every delay as a charming custom. You can enjoy a slow-paced trip and still ask how long something will take, confirm a booking or arrive on time. Calm works better when you know which things have a set time and which you can leave open.

Start by choosing fewer journeys. A morning in Protaras can be just one beach, a walk and a meal nearby. Our selection of beaches near Protaras lets you choose a bay to settle into, without trying to visit them all.

Leave a real gap between plans. Some time you can use to go back into the water, browse a shop or simply rest. Deciding how to get around Cyprus before leaving helps you organise what is necessary and enjoy what you have left unplanned.

And give yourself permission to return. Going back to the same café or bay does not take away a chance to discover Cyprus. It can offer something different: beginning to recognise a place.

You do not need to return as a different person or promise never to rush again. Perhaps it is enough to remember that the morning was better because you had time to enjoy the visit you were already making, rather than because you added another one.

That is the sigá sigá we want to share at olé: a coffee you can finish sitting down, a meal without the next appointment close on its heels, and the freedom to decide that, for today, this is a good place to be.