As empty as possible...

Waking Up

I got in late, probably around 2am the night before. The rental car had to be back by 2-3pm and my flight left at 6:30pm. I wanted to explore some of the archeological ruins in Paths and, since I had to pass by Limassal en route to the airport in Larnaca, I wanted to say goodbye to my Theo Vasso and Aunt Sophia. It was going to be a busy day that I wanted to start around 6am...but would figured 8-9am would be good enough.

Checking Out

The hotel I had stayed in was actually a full one bedroom apartment with balcony. Not a bad deal at $26 or even the $33 I paid. I could hear the water breaking from my bed, something my mother loves, even with the doors and windows closed. It wouldn't be until morning that I'd realize I was right on the beach.

Photos of the hotel/apartment

Rental Car Crisis

I was ready to go - checked out and in the car. I turned the key and the car wouldn't start! The car struggled to start a couple of mornings before, but I thought nothing of it. Cold starts appeared to be a problem with the car but it did, eventually, start. I called the rental car agency and they said they could be there between 30 minutes an an hour. Ugh. Figuring I had nothing to loose and mostly out of frustration, I figured I'd run the battery dead by trying to start the car. After a few minutes it started! Whew. I called back the rental car company and told them not to bother coming. On the way to Pathos I was. 

Discovering Pathos

Themi had suggested I visit Tombs of the Kings so that would be the first and possibly only stop. The site was impressive. There were tons of underground ruins you could walk through and many were well preserved. One reminded me of the Flintstone's house.

 

Me outside one of the tombs

 

Flintstone's house?

 

Columns 

Finding Vasso

I knew based on the first visit to my Theo Vasso that navigating Greek roads can be very difficult. Even with a GPS it took me several attempts to find Themi's house. Finding Vasso the first time was nothing short of a miracle. In almost any mapping software you can use (Skobbler, Google Maps, Apple Maps), only some street names appear in English. Sure Greek words are based on a different alphabet set - but so are Hebrew words and the Israeli's do a fine job of putting both on each sign. Anyhow, finding his house again would be the most frustrating experience I have had on this trip. It's almost like the Cypriots are doing everything they can to confuse everyone who doesn't understand Greek. Like keeping signs in Greek will stop the British from taking over again. Oh, and streets dead end of no reason...like a maze, the government blocks streets off for reasons not known, and street names can literally change for long streets. I had nailed down a street near the house, and spent almost 20 minutes looking for it on foot. I finally gave in and asked for help at a shop. A very kind woman mentioned she knew the street and it was two blocks away. 2 hours later I was at Vasso's. I tried telling him when I came in that I could only stay for a minute but I'm not sure he understood. Thia Sophia kept telling me she was making lunch and I tried to explain I had to catch a plane. "When does your flight leave" she asks. "Three and a half hours you have, that's more than enough time". If only that was true. Anyhow, I chatted briefly with my Theo Vasso about the financial crisis in Cyprus and was on my way.

Returning the Car

  

I figured the worst was over with the rental car. I was wrong. I rented the car from a company called Europcar. I booked the car through a booking service and got a decent daily rate - or so I thought. This company pulled the biggest scam on me to date! First, part of the rental agreement, which you don't know about until after you pay, is that you must prepay for a full tank of fuel. They literally tell you to return the car 'as empty as possible'. How the heck can you do that? Is that a challenge, because it sure sounds like one to me.  As I pull into the rental area I notice at least 5 employees in Europcar 'green' attire. Excellent I think, this will go quick. Wrong again! These 5 employees flee the scene when they see me. I look on foot and am puzzled, where are they? Is there a kiosk I don't see? I ask an attendant at another row for advice, he says I'll be looking a long time because they're never outside. So I go into the outside office for Europcar a few hundred yards away. It's locked, closed! In to the airport I go. The same two employees who were there when I checked the car out were working again. And there was a long line. After reaching the counter I am told that the staff outside has to fuel the cars because they have a queue of customers that have reservations later in the day. Here's a novel idea, why not request customers return the car full? Or, if you want to run your silly little scam, why not hire more people? I cannot put in writing how much I despise Europcar.

 

The only time in my life I have been happy to see the gas light on!

 

Returned she is! No Damage!

Catching the Flight 

I got to the airport right at 2 hours before the flight. To my surprise I couldn't even yet check in because the EgyptAir counter had yet to be manned. No big deal, I'd wander the airport. After checking in for the flight I cleared security in no time. They didn't even notice the water in my bottle. So much for security. With two hours to kill I got some overpriced lunch, called home, and booked my exit ticket from Egypt on to my next location...Dubai. After spending some time updating the blog, I'd hop the flight and arrive at Cairo!

 

Arriving in Cairo 

 

Outside Cairo Airport

Arriving in Egypt

Cairo is under 400 miles away from Cyprus, so it was a relatively short flight. I was surprised by how low we were flying. I could make out objects on the ground and estimated from my own flying experience to be not greater than 8,000 feet or so above ground level. Interestingly, EgyptAir also never made an announcement to prepare for landing or shut down electrical devices - we just abruptly landed. While in Cyprus I had confirmed that my tour company would be picking me up. I was dubious because at this point I had paid them nothing - not even a deposit. After arriving at airport I had to get a Visa proceed to customs. Three banks right outside the passport control area sell Visas for $14 or $15 bucks, no markup. I imagine they get their break by doing currency exchange. My bags came swiftly and a man was holding a sign saying "Mr. Christopher Raymond" by the exit. Close enough and on we were! This man was named Osama and, as I’d later find out, he was my tour guide…not my driver. Everywhere I went there was a tour guide and a separate driver. I wonder if that’s policy to help with the employment situation. I wanted to pickup a SIM card at the airport and he said we could do it in the AM. I pushed a little and he was fine with doing it now. He suggested we take care of it once we get to the hotel which was fine with me. 

After hopping in another Kia, we left Cairo for the town of Giza. Cairo is a huge city, with a population of about 25 million people. Osama tells me the boundaries of Cairo are not well defined. Cairo has a tremendous unemployment problem – unemployment sits around 50 percent. Buildings are everywhere but in various forms of disarray. Some are finished, most are half built and abandoned. People can build whatever and whenever they want Osama tells me – which means planning is an afterthought. The driving was everything it was cracked up to be – insane. While there are lane markers printed on the road, they’re  only taken as suggestions. If you’re lucky, an inch separates you for the car next to you. And drivers change lanes every minute or less communicating with the horn and bright lights in a language I didn’t understand. I didn’t see a single accident, so it must work to some degree. Vans with 20 people crammed in are not uncommon. Pickup trucks with about 25 children crammed in the back bed are everywhere.

Arriving at the Hotel

 

 

Exterior of hotel and Lobby

 

Bellman, showing me the room

When we got to the hotel, we reviewed the 'add on' excursion/tours per my request and the driver ran off to get me a SIM card. After about 45 minutes of chatting the driver returns and hands Osama the SIM card including a 10 Egyptian pound credit. Osama hands it to me, saying it's a gift from Emo Tours, the company I booked through,...free of charge. Nothing is free in life that much I know, so I'm wondering what kind of scam is going on. In any case, the ATM outside is broken and I can't get money to pay him. Osama doesn't seem to mind and simply says we can take care of it the next day or whenever. We get the SIM card in the phone and he says he'll be back to meet me at 8am the next morning. It's something like 10pm and I'm ready for bed only to discover I'm out of contact lens solution. While I wear daily disposables, I'm trying to conserve pairs since I only packed about 65 days worth due to space constraints. I’d need to swing by the drugstore next door – no big deal.

Giza

My first night would be spent in Giza, next to the Pyramids. The hotel reminded me of one of the hotels downtown Vegas - on Freemont Street. Thinking back to the 60s, it was probably one swanky place. While still nice for present day, everything seemed dated. After Osama left I realized I was out of contact lens solution and made my way to the drug store next door. I recognized most of the brands of products sold and was surprised by how cheap everything was. I picked up brand name full travel size (100ml) bottles of suntan lotion, saline solution (120ml) with case, and face wash for under $14 US. I walked down the block a bit both ways and went back to the hotel – for the first time in my travels I wasn’t feeling adventurous enough to walk around alone. I didn’t feel unsafe, I just didn’t feel comfortable.  I returned to the hotel, updated my blog and tried to sleep.