Waking up in Cyprus

Larnaka Apartment - 8:30ish

I’ve never been a morning person, but that might change after this trip. I woke up naturally around 8:30am, after only 5 hours of sleep. I was expecting my host/landlord Demitris to swing by at 10am, so I didn’t have much time to research the days activities and get showered. While the apartment had a full kitchen, it was empty. I looked online to see what was around the apartment and was quick to discover I was in the middle of a suburb. Having nothing to do and no transportation, I spend the morning updating the blog.

 Larnaka Apartment

Demetris

True to his word, Demetris arrived at 10am on the dot.  We chatted a bit. He was horrified to hear I spent 15 euros (about $20) on the cab fare. He told me his wife is pregnant with their third child, so he wouldn’t be able to check me out the following day. He said for me to just leave the key in the lockbox and we’d be good. He was pretty insistent I get a car – but truth be told I was terrified of driving on the left side of the road. Most rental car places in Larnaka at the airport. Being the gentleman he is, Demetris offered me a free ride to the airport. I took him off on the offer.

Back to Larnaka Airport

Knowing the airport had free WiFi, I figured booking online might save me some cash. After some searching I found a car for around 60 Euros! Knowing I’d probably wreck the car, I opted for the insurance bringing the total for the week right over 90 Euros. After procrastinating for about an hour I proceeded to the rental car counter to pickup the car. I was in for the mother of all surprises at the rental car counter. The fuel arrangement is probably the most bizarre policy I have ever heard and most definitely a scam. You prepay for all the fuel and are instructed to return the car “as empty as possible”. They actually used the words “as empty as possible”.

 

Look different? That's my Kia!

Roundabouts and Driving on the Left

After unsuccessfully trying to finagle my way out of the fuel scam, I went to pick up my compact Kia. The car was had a manual transmission (like every other vehicle I owned) and even had a radio (unlike any manual transmission car I rented in Mexico). Getting in the right side was a very strange experience. After a few rounds in the parking lot to practice driving on the left I was off. When I first started driving I was terrified, but after about an hour I got used to driving on the left. The turnabouts required some work as well.

Larnaka Beach

The first destination would be the Larnaka Beach area. Since the weather was in the 60s, it was far too chilly to swim. The shops around the town were mostly closed since it was a bank holiday (Green Day – the beginning of Orthodox easter). Most of the shop areas appeared run down. It if weren’t for the fact that the brands were not low end, I would have thought I was in a run down section of town. 

Bar @ the Beach

Boardwalk along Beach.

Shops below some run down apartments

A popular coffee shop/bar with character

Lunch

After arriving at the beach in Larnaka I stopped by a Gyros/Kabob place to get some lunch. I ordered pork, chicken, and beef in a pita, sauce on the side. Well, the sauce wasn't on the side. The waitress caught the mistake and offered to take it back making me quite happy. She returned though shortly thereafter telling me cook insisted I try it first. Oh dear. I still ate most of it.

Meeting Family

Before going to Cyprus, my cousin Olga put me in touch with some family on the island. My grandmother was born in Cyprus – one of her brothers and his children still live on the island. I had reached out to his son, Themi, for advice on what to see/do. Themi mentioned Larnaka wasn’t his favorite place on the island – I could see why.

 

After walking around the beach area and surrounding shops for a couple of hours I headed back to the apartment. Themi reached out and asked about my plans. I mentioned nothing in particular and that I had just picked up a car. Themi lives in the capital city of Nicosia – the only capital city in the world divided amongst two countries. Nicosia is about 30 minutes away from Larnaca.

Themi, me, wife Maria

(My camera offers only a 2 second delay…so I had to be quick)

After some confusion around where he lived (there are several different streets in Larnaca with the same name) I arrived for dinner. Themi, wife Maria and family (3 children) were incredibly generous. When I asked how they met I got quite the story. Themi was born and raised in Cyprus, but went to university at Southern Illinois University. About three years before graduating he met Maria in Cyprus. She was studying education. They did the long distance thing, but after a short while she dumped him. A few years later, after finishing college and returning to Cyprus, Themi was dead set on finding her and marrying her. Years later they have 3 wonderful children and are an incredible couple.

Dinner was great and Themi went through some family photos of common relatives we share.  After dinner Themi and I head out to a bar for a beer and a nighttime tour of the capital city. Even though it was night, the tour was incredible. There’s a huge wall with guard towers throughout the city diving the independent Cyprus side from the Turkish occupied side. It’s really something to see. During our time at the bar, Themi helped me come up with a plan to tour the island. The next couple of days I would visit the mountain region of Troodos, the town of Limassol and finally Pathos. Chatting with Themi was just like chatting with a friend I've known for 30 years.

Tomorrow

Tomorrow I would head to the mountain region of Troodos. Themi highly suggested I check out the area and hike around. This would also be my last night in Larnaka, a town I was more than willing to say goodbye to.