My insights, for what they’re worth…

Well, after having spent four unbelievable days in Cyprus and ten in the United Arab Emirates, I’m home, so get ready for some travel spam. You probably can tell by the way I wrote about Cyprus in my previous post that it wouldn’t be the last. Cyprus, A wonderful surprise was meant to be a delicious taste and this is meant to cover off the specifics with a similar formula to Belgrade. Now, back onto Cyprus. Interested as I am in covering new destinations, if the opportunity presents itself to return to Cyprus when the limestone coast is sure to be a’rockin, 🍹 I’m there, with a mankini…

 

Where to stay…

Limassol. Unless you’re staying on the Turkish side of the island (the north) it’s more than likely you’ll be flying into Larnaca airport on the south coast and I’d recommend finding a base in Limassol (50min drive). It’s a class act in terms of accommodation and not as wild and expensive as Aiya Napa. We stayed at the excellent Crowne Plaza, which is just a twenty-minute walk to the quaint old town of Limassol. The hotel has a private car park and is close to the highway onramp allowing easy access to anywhere on the island. You can read my review of the Crowne Plaza here but next time we’ll use Airbnb for extended stays in Limassol. The hotel was lovely but for $300+ a night…a bit much, and this pricing is around the norm for good hotels in the area. *Also, many claim to be five-stars when they’re not, so pay attention to Tripadvisor.

 

 

Ayia Napa. If you’re looking for picture-perfect beaches, dazzling azure water and pumping beach parties, (who isn’t?) then Aiya Napa is the place. We stopped at Nissi Beach (below) on our way to Cape Greco and as the cliche goes, pictures don’t do it justice. The resort town of Ayia Napa is east of Larnaca and close to the British military base. By car, it takes just over an hour from Limassol and roughly fifty minutes from the airport. The bone-white plazas, paved streets, and tall hotels simmer with an atmosphere ready to launch into party mode. Lovers walk and tourists cruise the swooping roads on four-wheelers, and in general, the area has a Bali-esk vibe, albeit with a cleaner Greek island twist. Booked an airline ticket yet? Not so fast. The hotels along the waterfront are not for budget travelers, and that’s putting it diplomatically. Airbnb doesn’t offer much relief either…and in summer, it would only be worse.

 

 

Where to eat…

I’m sure Ayia Napa has some good spots but the Limassol area excelled at providing a top-notch feed but you have to remain savvy as the fancier looking joints along the boulevard from Zygy beach to downtown Limassol don’t necessarily guarantee quality and can cost you an arm and a leg. Cyprus, overall, has a very good standard of food so you can’t really go wrong, but we narrowed our choices through Tripadvisor and found some beautiful spots to eat traditional Meze (Meat grazing platter) at the heart of Limassol’s old town in terms of authenticity and price. Once you have finished dinner in the old town, walk to the new marina precinct for a lovely night stroll and excellent ice cream.

 

What to do…

Cyprus is said to be the birthplace of the mythical goddess Aphrodite and you don’t have to travel very far to see attractions and shrines dedicated to her. Aphrodite’s rock is one such attraction where it is said she’d walk from her home in the limestone hills to the beach covered in pebbles and swim in the blue water. Today, it is a popular tourist attraction as well as a destination for revitalization and spiritual healing.

In the same area of Kouklia lies the UNESCO heritage listed Sanctuary of Aphrodite where you’ll find a museum and extensive ruins dedicated to the long ago destroyed sanctuary built upon by the Romans. For a small fee, it’s absolutely worth a look and the village of Kouklia behind it is a wonderful spot to have a coffee.

 

The Romans and Ancient Greeks were no strangers to Cyprus. The island was important for both in an expanding sphere of influence over the Middle East and Egypt. On our drive to Limassol, we saw a site that was once a bustling harbour with an acropolis perched magnificently on the hill above. At night, the ruins are warmed in golden light impressing upon the passers-by the magnitude of the site seemingly under their nose. Similar sites can be seen all over Cyprus.

 

 

Cross the border into Turkey. The easiest way to do this is on foot through the Cypriot capital of Nicosia but you must bring your passports. The city is unceremoniously split in half, divided by Venetian walls and UN patrols, but we could walk from one side to the other and as we did I was acutely aware and respectful that the crossing was where the battle for Cyprus ended in stalemate and anything could still happen at the drop of a pin. It’s an incredible experience when taking into account what the country went through to get to this point and there’s a small sense of being a part of history as Cyprus edges toward reunification. The Turkish border guards were overtly friendly and cracked some hilarious jokes nipping in the bud any anxiety that naive tourists like us might’ve had, on the flipside, the Cypriot guards were silent and appeared upset that we’d even consider leaving their side, which was pretty funny.

Turkish Nicosia is similar but predictably different to the Cypriot side with its own charm. We wanted to have dinner in Turkey but unfortunately for us, the shops were shut when we got there as if it was a holiday. Instead, we wandered the quiet streets, seeing the charming alleys and sweeping Turkish flags flapping from balconies beneath the beautiful minarets on the skyline instead of the white domes of Orthodox churches. We found a nice coffee shop and stayed for a few hours as the sun went down taking it all in. On the way back we had dinner just near the border crossing and enjoyed the sounds and atmosphere of Nicosia with ever more Meze!

 

 

 

What to see…

The Grumpy old men of Cyprus. Yes, I’m serious. As you begin exploring Cyprus you’ll undoubtedly notice elderly gentlemen lounging outside cafes slurping on bitter coffee whilst playing backgammon. Between shooting the breeze and gesticulating wildly these rascals in every town and village make evil eyes like you’ve just stepped on their oxygen lines and it had us in hysterics.

Stating the obvious, the beaches. Gosh didely, they’re pretty. One thing you’ll learn about Cyprus, and quick, is that Russian is practically the second language. Russians are everywhere and generally quite pleasant but they can be a funny sort to observe. As I sipped my 7 Euro midget beer overlooking the turquoise water, we noticed a common trend in the older Russian males. These portly individuals have a tendency to stand above their bikini-clad wives like Tzars while thrusting oiled nipples toward the sun in sack-hugging speedos. I think I may adopt this posture in my tanning routine…

Another eye-catching spot was the chalk white cliffs of Governor’s beach in Limassol.

Point Greco is another gem off the beaten path and isn’t far from the beaches of Aiya Napa. Keep driving and you’ll find a headland with gorgeous blue lagoons and caves right near the national park.

The Stavrovouni Monastery is the oldest documented Monastery on Cyprus and one of the oldest in the entire world. It sits on a freakin tall mountain in Southern Cyprus and the view from the top is unreal but the drive up is not for the faint-hearted. The Monastery was built by Emperor Constantine’s mother, Saint Helena, and is said to contain a piece of the Holy Cross taken from Jerusalem. With that in mind, it was fascinating, (and I mean infuriating) that they did not allow entrance to women.

You could spend a lifetime seeing the old towns and grandiose churches in Cyprus, each with its own history and unique beauty. One of the nicest was Larnaca’s picturesque main plaza where the St Lazarus Church sits. People would travel for miles just to light a candle to their loved ones inside the 9th Century church that opens for a few hours every day.

Larnaca also has thriving street art scene….

 

Final thoughts…

Take Pictures. Cyprus is a land that deserves to be photographed and you won’t be short of opportunities traveling its bleached, sun-kissed landscape. The space between the towns and cities punctuated by limestone deposits means that to see and appreciate Cyprus properly, you must hire a car. The roads are well thought out and easy for foreigners, more so for us down-under-folk, as the traffic orientation was the same as Australia. Bobby Bossman was a pro in his Sportage  .

Digesting what I saw and experienced, Cyprus is plotting a new course for itself after mirroring the horror’s of Greece’s financial woes a decade ago, it is now a prosperous epicentre of investment and tourism, and much of the recovery must be attributed to relaxed government policies that have allowed freer investment and even citizenship through property ownership, which means a cheeky path to getting an EU passport if you can afford it. NICE!

Of all the tourists and workers I saw on the island, 80% were Russian and that may be a conservative figure. In general, there’s a certain element of Putin mystique that has befallen Cyprus like much of Eastern Europe and geopolitically Russia’s influence on the island is undeniable. It’s no secret Putin wants friendly Mediterranean ports and Cyprus, being in the EU, close to Syria, and open to Russian investment, is playing the game perfectly. There is a mansion in the quieter part of Limassol that is strongly rumoured to be Putin’s holiday house, the man flying in by chopper at night…like I said, mystique.

I didn’t go in with any expectations but Cyprus truly blew me away and I have one special person to thank, Mr Bobby Bossman  . His guidance and generosity on the island was invaluable and much appreciated. There is something about the Mediterranean lifestyle that invigorates the soul, or maybe it’s just the intoxicating influx of vitamin D on my porcelain skin…even the usually stoic bossman was chipper and glowing in his Greek island home away from home. I even got a few belly laughs from which I keep track of in a special book with many empty pages.

Cyprus was never on the itinerary, but it ended up being the highlight of the trip.

Granted there is a lot missing from this blog, namely Paphos (main city in the west), the mountain regions, and of course a serious exploration of the Turkish side of the island but that’s life. I intend to return and experience everything at some stage, and this is just the beginning of my Cyprus adventure.

Signing off.