I arrive in Cyprus happy for two reasons, one, it is the last stop of my journey, meaning back to Stockholm soon. The last week or so I had felt a little ready to go back, especially as the Greek Islands were a bit of a let down. But also, Sanne was coming from Stockholm to spend the last four days of my trip with me. Company can be so great :)
Cyprus massively surprised me. For starters, the island at one stage in its history was a colony of the Commonwealth (1925 - 1961). This I knew, but was still surprised by the British vibe I got from the place. For a place that many times in its past has tried to become a part of Greece, it really is quite different (except most of the food - all the food has been the same everywhere on my travels).
So I arrive in Larnaca, the 3rd biggest city in Cyprus, and the location of the countries main airport. Coming in on the bus, I am dropped of at Palm Tree Boulevard (the English name). This is right on the coastline with a the marina nearby, and a large stretch of beach covered in loungers and umbrellas, but not in the density of all the other beach places I have been. It really is a nice street, and the buildings on the opposite side of the road are in pristine condition - although they generally house chain food stores.
The first full day involved visiting the church where the resurrected man Lazarus was buried for the last time, and then wandering the streets of Larnaca. Of the path of the boulevard, there was not really anything of note on the rest of the streets, but they had a nice feel about it. Then after popping into the tourist information centre, Sanne and I realised how important it was to actually hire a car in Cyprus if you were to see things that were interesting. So thats what we did. And it was great as they drive on the left side of the road like normal people!!
The first stop was to Ayia Napa - the famous party beach of Cyprus. This was more of a curiosity thing as we knew people who go there a lot and love it. The beach there was nice, but looking around, you could tell it was exactly what it was known for, a tacky tourist party resort. So after a quick swim, we continued on our way to Cape Greco where we looked around the peninsula, and swam in an area that lacked tourists. Was a very relaxing place with great views - and was the closest we got to the Turkish side of the island.
On our return to Larnaca, we had Meze in a small traditional restaurant of the main street. €9 for 12 different dishes. The best place I had eaten all trip!!
Next day we headed to Paphos, as the airport we were flying to Stockholm from was there. However, having a car, we took a very long detour to get there. Firstly we visited the little town of Kato Drys and the larger town, Pano Lefkara, known for its lace. These were very traditional towns build in stone and was lovely to look at, and being elevated towns, the views of the surrounding hills was stunning.
Next stop was Ancient Kourion. A site of an ancient settlement. Here there were ruins of bath houses, stadiums, theatres and lots of mozaics. Having seen a lot of ruins on my trip, I expected to be indifferent towards them, but the theatre has incredible views of the sea, and the bath houses were quite unique in regards to design and shape.
The beach was calling us, so we then headed for Petra tou Romiou. This is a very important place of the ancient Greeks. It is the birth place of the Goddess Aphrodite. Aphrodite was the God of Love, and the myth of her still plays an important part in Cypriot tourism. The place was full of tour groups, especially on the eastern side of the rock. Sanne and I went to the western side of the rock to swim, and here, for some reason, it was much quieter.
Along the coastal road between Larnaca and Paphos, you drive past odd street names, such as Isle of Wight, Derbyshire etc. This was because this road goes through the UK territory of Akrotiri, a strategic military base. Here the houses looked similar to the houses in the UK and was the only place I saw rugby fields.
Having caught the Aphrodite bug, the next destination was the Bath of Aphrodite, on the north of the Island near Polis. This was a little lame though, although the 3 hour walking track is rumoured to be stunning, as you walk along the peninsula. But being 7pm, there was little desire to do the walk. Instead we went to the beach and watched the sunset while swimming. A lovely evening.
The final full day of my trip involved little traveling, and pure fun. So of to the Aphrodite Waterpark we went. A great day of going down plenty of slides, although the two of us did get burnt :O
The final evening was spent walking around the outside of the archeological park towards the Paphos castle (which is not impressive at all) and to the harbour area. This is the main tourist hub for activity in the city, and the prices felt like it. Took us a while to find a place to eat that was worth the money we would be paying.
By the time dinner was finished, tiredness had set in, and of to bed we went. The harbour area is Lanarca is certainly nicer then the one in Paphos.
The biggest disappointment was not having more time in Cyprus to go to the Troodos mountains, and to Nicosia. But I have learnt what a great place Cyprus, and would go back if the opportunity arose.
The flight home took over four hours though, which is a long time for a European flight, and was quite tedious when all you want to do is get home.
The trip was also helped by having Sanne come along, had she not been there, I think I would have not hired a car, and potentially enjoyed Cyprus a lot less then I did.
So now in Stockholm enjoying my last few days before I am back to work.
Thanks for reading the blog, and any feedback is welcome.
Will also write about each of the places I stayed in in the near future so you know where to stay and where to avoid.
Vi ses
Joshua
Cyprus massively surprised me. For starters, the island at one stage in its history was a colony of the Commonwealth (1925 - 1961). This I knew, but was still surprised by the British vibe I got from the place. For a place that many times in its past has tried to become a part of Greece, it really is quite different (except most of the food - all the food has been the same everywhere on my travels).
So I arrive in Larnaca, the 3rd biggest city in Cyprus, and the location of the countries main airport. Coming in on the bus, I am dropped of at Palm Tree Boulevard (the English name). This is right on the coastline with a the marina nearby, and a large stretch of beach covered in loungers and umbrellas, but not in the density of all the other beach places I have been. It really is a nice street, and the buildings on the opposite side of the road are in pristine condition - although they generally house chain food stores.
The first full day involved visiting the church where the resurrected man Lazarus was buried for the last time, and then wandering the streets of Larnaca. Of the path of the boulevard, there was not really anything of note on the rest of the streets, but they had a nice feel about it. Then after popping into the tourist information centre, Sanne and I realised how important it was to actually hire a car in Cyprus if you were to see things that were interesting. So thats what we did. And it was great as they drive on the left side of the road like normal people!!
The first stop was to Ayia Napa - the famous party beach of Cyprus. This was more of a curiosity thing as we knew people who go there a lot and love it. The beach there was nice, but looking around, you could tell it was exactly what it was known for, a tacky tourist party resort. So after a quick swim, we continued on our way to Cape Greco where we looked around the peninsula, and swam in an area that lacked tourists. Was a very relaxing place with great views - and was the closest we got to the Turkish side of the island.
On our return to Larnaca, we had Meze in a small traditional restaurant of the main street. €9 for 12 different dishes. The best place I had eaten all trip!!
Next day we headed to Paphos, as the airport we were flying to Stockholm from was there. However, having a car, we took a very long detour to get there. Firstly we visited the little town of Kato Drys and the larger town, Pano Lefkara, known for its lace. These were very traditional towns build in stone and was lovely to look at, and being elevated towns, the views of the surrounding hills was stunning.
Next stop was Ancient Kourion. A site of an ancient settlement. Here there were ruins of bath houses, stadiums, theatres and lots of mozaics. Having seen a lot of ruins on my trip, I expected to be indifferent towards them, but the theatre has incredible views of the sea, and the bath houses were quite unique in regards to design and shape.
The beach was calling us, so we then headed for Petra tou Romiou. This is a very important place of the ancient Greeks. It is the birth place of the Goddess Aphrodite. Aphrodite was the God of Love, and the myth of her still plays an important part in Cypriot tourism. The place was full of tour groups, especially on the eastern side of the rock. Sanne and I went to the western side of the rock to swim, and here, for some reason, it was much quieter.
Along the coastal road between Larnaca and Paphos, you drive past odd street names, such as Isle of Wight, Derbyshire etc. This was because this road goes through the UK territory of Akrotiri, a strategic military base. Here the houses looked similar to the houses in the UK and was the only place I saw rugby fields.
Having caught the Aphrodite bug, the next destination was the Bath of Aphrodite, on the north of the Island near Polis. This was a little lame though, although the 3 hour walking track is rumoured to be stunning, as you walk along the peninsula. But being 7pm, there was little desire to do the walk. Instead we went to the beach and watched the sunset while swimming. A lovely evening.
The final full day of my trip involved little traveling, and pure fun. So of to the Aphrodite Waterpark we went. A great day of going down plenty of slides, although the two of us did get burnt :O
The final evening was spent walking around the outside of the archeological park towards the Paphos castle (which is not impressive at all) and to the harbour area. This is the main tourist hub for activity in the city, and the prices felt like it. Took us a while to find a place to eat that was worth the money we would be paying.
By the time dinner was finished, tiredness had set in, and of to bed we went. The harbour area is Lanarca is certainly nicer then the one in Paphos.
The biggest disappointment was not having more time in Cyprus to go to the Troodos mountains, and to Nicosia. But I have learnt what a great place Cyprus, and would go back if the opportunity arose.
The flight home took over four hours though, which is a long time for a European flight, and was quite tedious when all you want to do is get home.
The trip was also helped by having Sanne come along, had she not been there, I think I would have not hired a car, and potentially enjoyed Cyprus a lot less then I did.
So now in Stockholm enjoying my last few days before I am back to work.
Thanks for reading the blog, and any feedback is welcome.
Will also write about each of the places I stayed in in the near future so you know where to stay and where to avoid.
Vi ses
Joshua
No comments:
Post a Comment