Resuming the journey in Cyprus. The convenience of flying allows me to commence my travels from virtually anywhere. Yet, there's a certain allure to avoiding the ease of air travel, a challenge I'm eager to embrace. The new plan is straightforward: I'll begin in Paphos, in the South of Cyprus, and navigate my way to Western Europe without taking any more plane.
The first week of this journey was spent alongside Joanna, exploring the Republic of Cyprus. The adventure truly begins after that, as I'll delve into an occupied territory and possibly utilize an "illegally operating port..." But first, let's recount the arrival in Paphos.
November 19
I had to catch a bus at 3:00am to reach the airport (early flights were much cheaper!). The plane took off at 6:00, and we landed at 10:25, taking into account the time difference.
Cyprus is a historically rich island that has been controlled in turn by the Greeks, Persians, Romans, Byzantines, Franks, Venetians, Ottomans, and British. When the British left, the problems began. The northern part of Cyprus was invaded by Türkiye, leading to a divided island. After a UN intervention to halt the conflict, Northern Cyprus has remained a more or less independent state, recognized by no other country, except for Türkiye. Cyprus has inherited some bad habits from its British past, such as driving on the left side of the road and using peculiar plugs and sockets. Fortunately, Cyprus has kept its own cuisine.
I arrived in the southern part of the island, which has a strong Greek cultural influence, where I met up with Joanna in Paphos. We strolled along the sea, enjoying the crashing waves and exploring the ruins known as "The Tombs of the Kings," despite the fact that no actual royalty was buried there, only wealthy individuals.
In the evening, we seized the opportunity to indulge in a traditional meal called meze, consisting of a series of delectable small dishes.
November 20
We wanted to do an organized tour, but a last-minute reservation was not possible. Instead, we decided to spend the day in Limassol, we hopped on a bus and headed there.
In the evening, we treated ourselves to another round of meze because, let's face it, it's just too good to pass up.
November 21
We joined an organized tour, which allowed us to see many places that are not easily accessible by public transportation. The tour consisted of multiple stops, including:
Lofou, a traditional village
Milomeris Waterfall, one of the highest natural waterfalls on the island of Cyprus.
A tasting of local wines
Omodos, another village
In the evening, we took another stroll around Paphos.
November 22
We took the bus from Paphos to Nicosia. We visited the northern part of Nicosia, but I'll tell you more about this in the next blog post.
In the afternoon, as we were walking down the street, someone called out to me. It was Gaga, a Serbian woman I had met in Tbilisi. We had planned to meet again in Kutaisi (Georgia), but our schedules didn't align. Anyway, we bumped into each other randomly on a street, 30 days later and 1000 km away. Fun coincidence.
November 23
We visited a free museum in Nicosia, that was simply called the "Cyprus Museum." Apparently, I'm not the only person struggling when it comes to naming things. The museum houses a plethora of objects and statues spanning from prehistoric times to modern-day Cyprus.
Afterwards we headed to Larnaca, on the East coast of Cyprus. And we spent the evening exploring Larnaca.
As Joanna headed to Larnaca Airport, the second part of the journey in Cyprus began for me...