Unique Cyprus
Cyprus 2014
In the plots of various films, there are moments when a character is exhausted crawling through the desert and realizes that there will be no help, no one will find and save him... I have always been interested in the question "How the hell did he get there ??? ". But after all, it is logical to think that he woke up in the morning somewhere in his apartment in bed, and in the evening bam, and he was already dying in the very center of the desert. That is, there was some kind of chain of events during which he left the safe apartment and ended up in hot sands so that he still couldn’t get back... how did he get there ?? ? Why did he get there, did he not know how it could end???
Dasha and I are standing on our own, right in the middle of the Cypriot desert with running out of water, the sore finger turns blue, and everything becomes clear to me...
So, let's try to restore our chain of events.
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Back in 2010, when I was looking for my permanent job, my mother said that her friend who works in a bank flew to Cyprus. Wow, Cyprus, this is cool, and I would like it so that you can afford to fly there. Apparently it's cool to work in a bank. . . Literally a month later, the bank already tried to lure me away from another job, but I refused)))
After 3 years, sorting through all the directions of the viseira through a fine strainer, I noticed that Cyprus is actually not so inaccessible. The first attempt to buy tickets failed, as the dates were at odds with the planned autumn trip. But one day the action fell on other dates.
Having googled the prices of the island, we realized that the trip would be in a student format. Everything in Cyprus is very expensive. Having stocked up in Kyiv with sausage and cheese for 200 UAH, we provided ourselves with breakfasts for the whole week.
Our regular Cypriot breakfast)
Vizeira left a positive impression, everything is clear and on schedule. This was probably the first time that the boarding time on the ticket coincided with reality. We flew through a thunderstorm, lightning flashed outside the window, and then there was a gorgeous sunset.
“Dear passengers, this is the pilot of the ship, we were told that the wind has started in Cyprus, but the weather is generally good, have a pleasant stay. ” Although in fact the pilot should have said “Dear passengers, a wild typhoon has flown into Cyprus, you will most likely get kicked, have a good rest. ”
Wind. . .
Luckily the weather was perfect for us. Leaving the airport, I asked the taxi driver where the bus runs here and was already prepared to fight off his discounts. But the taxi driver happily told me and showed me exactly where my bus stops. Other taxi drivers, seeing that we were first directed to the bus, did not even soar their “help” to us. The most pleasant impression from the very first minutes on the island. Probably, for the first time upon arrival, you don’t have to fend off taxi drivers. Upon arrival, we managed to take an express train for 9 euros / person to Limassol. In the city itself, buses ran even at night, having bought weekly passes for 15 euros / person, we began our journey. Travel cards operated in the same way in all the neighborhoods around the city. As a result, we saved 35 euros on the journey.
More wind!
Limassol
Natasha was expected at the hotel, and Andrey arrived. The manager could not hide his surprise, but according to the paid voucher, he said that we would live instead of Natasha for two days, but when he found out that we were for five days, he clarified once again, just in case, could we still be Natasha? “Well, ok, since you are definitely not Natasha, anyway, live as long as you need... The sea is very beautiful in color, we run to swim, but there is an obstacle near the sea. The force of the wind is so high that the grains of sand begin to crash into the legs, and the water already seems not at all attractive for swimming. Okay, in Limassol we still have no time to swim. The city for the main stop was not chosen by chance, it is actually in the center, which makes it easy to travel and food prices are relatively affordable. Near the sea there is a beautiful park with bike paths. But the prices for group tours are cosmic. You can only drive on your own, but with a gold cardbus passes, this is not a hindrance.
Walking along the green streets, I was simply exhausted by the sight of growing oranges and lemons, which no one picks or collects from the asphalt. The first day in a new country is always an emotional adaptation, in which it is impossible to objectively evaluate the pleasure of the trip. At the sight of exotic fruit trees on the streets, my adaptation immediately ended. Right outside the hotel, a papaya sang on a tree.
From the prices the shock passes approximately on the third day. When we got lost in the city, we approached the car to ask the driver for directions. The driver kindly offered to visit him at work for a couple of minutes, and then he will take us where we need to, and show us a little about Cyprus, and the best part is for free. Cypriots credit! During the journey, the driver introduced us to the modern history of Cyprus and Limassol.
Kitchen
We devoted our first day to exploring the city and, of course, got to know the local cuisine better. For this alone, you can go to Cyprus. In an ordinary self-service cafe, they prepare a salad for you, explaining every detail of it and the importance of this particular sauce, the chef really put his soul into the salad, the second chef praised all the dishes for us so that we wanted to try each one. And finally, that expected moment of eating.
I don’t know how you can describe the taste of food in text, but at the moment it is in our second place in the rating after Thai. Oh, how delicious it was, these pomegranate seeds, as if they were created for iceberg leaves with seeds, and mashed potatoes baked under bechamel and cheese on a meat pillow... I don’t write more about food, otherwise I start to become hungry. So, our first check for two was about 15 euros, according to statistics, it was our most expensive meal on the island. First, it is important to understand that one portion is enough for two, and if you also figure out the special sets, then a meal can cost 5 euros for two. It is clear that the prices do not include drinks, but a delicious banana milk can be bought for 1.2 euros, and a bottle of wine for 3 euros.
*Food prices are quoted at good restaurants, taking into account that you choose their best dishes wisely. The famous meat meze cost us 14 euros for two (ordered for one person). Fish meze cheaper than 30 euros could not be found, no luck.
Paphos
Since our trip was pretentious, we started from the corresponding city, our goal was the baths of Aphrodite, which are somewhere there.
Baths of Aphrodite
The main thing is to catch the last return bus at 20:00. Fortunately, on the bus we came across a woman who was sailing on a boat to the baths and decided to take a picture of a sign with bus numbers near the baths. An hour later, having arrived in the city, the dispatcher told me that bus 644 was going from Polisi, where you had to go by bus 645. Well, ok, let's go. Polisi turned out to be another city, to which we still drove for an hour.
Beautiful views along the way
Ok, the main thing is to catch the penultimate return bus in order to catch the last one. Then another 10 km by bus 644 to another city. Yeah, now it means you have to catch the penultimate one, in order to catch the penultimate one, so that you can safely return to Limassol on the last one, oh, and here is the “Lemesos 100 km” sign. By the standards of Cyprus, this is a phenomenal distance. Where is the bath? But next! Hmm... well, it can't be that simple, we probably need to take a walk in the mountains, where the sign “Aphrodite's Path” leads.
After walking another 2.5 km into the mountains, we reached the place where the "Aphrodite's Path" began. By the standards, twice as long. So let's estimate the time, we need to go through a long path in the mountains in order to catch the penultimate bus....
The orange path is a small part of our route.
At the seventh kilometer of the mountains, the trail ended, and we returned to the beginning. It was simply incredibly beautiful, and most importantly impromptu, the blue lagoons with boats opened up to our eyes from a bird's eye view.
The chain of buses unraveled in our direction and we even had a couple of hours to Paphos itself.
The city turned out to be very cozy for a walk, with a really beautiful territory of the fort. Taxi, why does the finger on the hand begin to swell and hurt, and figs with it, I hope it will pass. So the particles of the city resembled parts of different cities of Crimea. The promenade was very similar to Feodosia, stones in the sea on the cliff, the territory of the fort on Chersonese. Puffs at the bus stop were sold very similar to those that we once got very poisoned in Utes, we'll try if we get poisoned - 100% part of the Crimea, we joked. In the evening we successfully returned to Limassol.
Kolossi
The next morning we immediately set off to explore the surrounding sights. A Cypriot woman advised us to use a taxi, because it is very economical! But the services of local buses on travel cards are generally free, the taxi driver was asked - "Down price 80 euro". Kolossi is an ancient castle with a real entrance, which was once raised on cables.
In the dungeon to the mage
Unfortunately, by the time we arrived, the castle was no longer inhabited, and without a ruler. But nevertheless, you can climb on it for 20 minutes. From Kolossi we went to Kourion, fortunately during the trip we noticed that at one of the stops there is a bus number, which we need. Thus, we shortened our route.
Kurion
Despite the fact that Kourion is another ruin, the views are gorgeous. On the one hand, the sown fields rest against the sea, on the other hand, huge rocks rise above the sea, and you can observe all this from a height.
In general, most of the attractions of Cyprus are ruins. Some are more ruined than others, and others are generally super ruins, but when you look at the fourth, you understand that you have never seen such an awesome ruin. After looking at the fifth ruins, you get an enthusiastic clarity that even the previous four ruins, if taken together, they will not be as steep ruins as these fifth ones - a real masterpiece, even the foundation could be destroyed here)))
Mosaic survived
Some more ruins
Before the trip to Cyprus, such a prospect did not sound very good, but Cyprus is really some kind of beautiful. Seeing the colors of his sea, the eye cannot get enough. In the evening, of course, we visited the local McDonald's. Maku, credit. Cool, beautiful, everything is delicious and of course their local McGreco hamburger is for sale! Refreshed with McGreco and an Argentinian hamburger with special Argentine fries, we headed off to rest after a long day's drive. In the poppy we got a special McCarthy of Cyprus.
So, somehow the finger swells up and turns a little blue, and it also hurts the pancake, yes, probably, insurance would not hurt... and somehow it’s not calm in the stomach... probably just overate and tired.
Desert
The morning began brightly, the finger stopped hurting again, the inflammation disappeared from it, the stomach is in order! Let's mark this case with the next ruins. The ruins were above the city. While climbing, it seemed as if a hurricane would tear them apart with its pressure. On the ruins in the bushes hung the skin of a long snake, which means there are also snakes here... In general, the ruins are normal, what to see next. On McCarth, some kind of salt lake was noted slightly outside the city. Let's figure out what's there. The bus driver dropped us off at no one knows where, and said all the time to go there, it is not clear where. At first, at least there were trees along the road, then at least concrete walls. We sawed for about 30 minutes and apart from the plains and sands along the road there is nothing, at least some ruins.
Then we reached the sea with a cafe. In the Cafe, we were told that it is 4 km to go to the lake, and only people with cars come to the cafe here, you shouldn’t do this without a car. And they don't really go to the lake at all. Then the girl noticed I had a Thai T-shirt and the conversation had already moved in a different direction) Having assessed the prospects of a deserted road, we stocked up on water and went hitchhiking. Surprisingly, hitchhiking was successful and soon we were rushing along the road somewhere in the distance. At one point, the driver stopped the car and said that the closest thing to the salt lake would be to go in this direction, he pointed straight into the desert with his hand, without any roads already, about 2 km and there will be a lake. The first realization is that we are generally incomprehensible where, and the second is that from this incomprehensible where we also need to go somewhere completely in the wrong direction. Somehow, not boldly, we began to walk through all sorts of dry bushes and boulders. The sun was clear. It always seems like it must be very hot. But the hurricane was so strong that it was more scary that the ears would fall off from such wind noise. Not only is it in the sands, but also some kind of gravity increased due to the constant wind. Since we set ourselves visual reference points, our deviation from the straight line was constantly visible. We have been sawing for quite a long time and it is not clear whether there is a lake there or not, and then there is also an armchair.
It's good that they took a chair from home
Okay, I'll sit. I'm sitting in an armchair in the middle of the desert and point-blank I can't understand what the hell it's doing here. If this is a mirage, then somehow realistically strong. We rested, went on, and then two beautiful thoroughbred dogs run around us like Lassie and her friend Commissioner Rex, but then they were called by a passing cyclist and gave us a thumbs up. Needless to say, after that there was also a refrigerator. Dasha and I discussed that we might be starting to go crazy, and if there is a huge orange, an elephant or a whale skeleton next, then the roof will definitely go. The sand began to become covered with salt crystals and become a little unsteady from internal moisture. Then it began to creep into my head that, probably, there could be quicksand here... the footprints in the sand became clearer and deeper. Small puddles gradually grew into a lake. And in the distance one could see a huge white lake with waves like the sea. When walking further became quite potentially dangerous, as continuous water began, we began our return route.
We save water, who knows how long we will stop back. Some car at full speed swept nearby on the road. Finally we got to the road. We go back, but there are still no cars and no. But after 10 minutes, a real Cypriot gang was driving in their car. When they saw us, they quickly stopped, spread out the rear seats so that everyone could fit, and they happily picked us up. Flying, tattoos, cool music, full party in the car. The guys didn't know English, so we just drove with them in an unknown direction.
As a result, the guys drove around the city so successfully that we didn’t have to go by bus at all. Having lunch in a cafe with the most delicious Caesar salad in the world, we were immensely glad that we got out alive. Such a wild fatigue, but you still need to get home. We thought that the main problem of the way back was behind us, but that was not the case. Deciding to cut, we got lost in the city so that for many hours we got to the bus we needed. Only the middle of the day, and we are already completely offline, we won’t turn over until the evening. Something with the finger is still not right, and in the stomach something is not at all right.
Larnaca
The hurricanes ended, it became quite warm... This is where the pipets came for me. The finger is wildly blue, you can see that the inflammation is starting to go down to the hand. It is not clear how to explain the history of the finger in English in a pharmacy. The pharmacist gave me antibiotic ointment. In the city, we also wanted to see some kind of aqueduct in the city, while we were driving Dasha started to wake me up, they say, look, we are passing the aqueduct. Through a dream I saw another ruin with one eye. While riding the bus, all two-day stomach problems turned into drop dead poisoning. So I haven't been poisoned for a long time. The main thing is that in Thailand and even in India everything was fine, but then something didn’t work for me. Oh yes, "buns like in the cliff" I remember it was the other day.
Arriving in the city and eating delicious ice cream, to be sure, my health went completely down. We unloaded our things for free storage at the nearest hotel. When asked if you can leave things at your place, we were immediately handed the key to the closet. At first, without a hurricane, it was somehow familiar and the sun began to really melt consciousness. The city of McDonald's has the most beautiful view of all - the view of the azure sea. After wandering for a couple of hours along the embankment and adjacent streets, we went further. They decided not to return to the aqueduct, because they saw it completely from the window, in any case, Dasha told me so.
Ayia Napa
The city made an excellent impression from the very first second. He is really handsome. All cafes to lure visitors build whole masterpieces, girls dance, there is a festivity everywhere, laughter, loud music, torches, fireworks and fun. Passing by a new Mexican restaurant, we were immediately brought nachos for us to try their best sauces. While we were trying nachos, a Mexican in a huge sombrero hugged us so that the girl could take a picture of us on her mobile phone. A group of Mexicans were singing something in Mexican. After the nachos, we were given a burrito each, and another girl gave us a Margarita. They have great charms.
Ahead of us was the Black Pearl with Captain Jack on board. What a cool sea, except for the lack of colored corals with fish, then in second place after the Maldives. The winds passed at just the right time. It became warm and good for the less active part of the holiday. The color of the water is sometimes bright blue, sometimes emerald green, and most importantly - transparent. Until the last day I could not see enough of the sea. The same feeling of satisfaction was when we first arrived in the Carpathians.
On the ship, we actually opened the watermelon season. Wi-Fi is so good all over the country that even at full speed of the ship it was no problem to show mom the sea on Skype. Our boat sailed to the closed area of the metropolis of Famagusta, in which no one lives in high-rise buildings, the streets are deserted. Entrance to this area is prohibited. All these are the results of the capture of part of Cyprus by the Turks.
A little storm in the evening
In the evening we went to explore the area around Cape Greco. It turned out to be very beautiful and picturesque. Among the rocky plains there are puddles and mini-lakes.
While we were getting there, a black long snake crawled past us into the bushes. And all the way we were accompanied by lizards. There was a sunset and it was insanely beautiful, and at one moment we were discovered by mosquitoes. Swarms of mosquitoes began their attack. We came back and climbed the mountain with maximum speed.
At one point, a desperate decision was made to “Cut up. ” We cut so that then we ran back to the place where the cut began. Who knew that there would be a military base there. When you try to run, mosquitoes start to overtake you. By the way, we ran along the next path of Aphrodite. In about 30 minutes we ran to the stop where the bus passes every 15 minutes. For 12 minutes our war with mosquitoes continued at the bus stop. In general, we were ambushed. When we jumped into the long-awaited bus, part of the mosquitoes also flew in. Still had to fight back on the bus. We returned to the city satisfied, but bitten. Cypriots were very surprised that we saw mosquitoes in Cyprus! We spent the last day near the sea and the Zorpas confectionery, eating frozen yogurt and Cypriot goodies.
When we finally went to say goodbye to the sea, AAA how beautiful it was, my icy heart melted, and I ran to swim, albeit in shorts. The sea is just perfect. On the way back there was a real farewell sunset and even the legendary wild flamingos on the salt lake. Before leaving, there was that very feeling when you don’t want to leave. The country is really good.
Ray of Hope
And here it is a ray of hope to stay - our plane breaks down before takeoff. Obviously, the test run of the systems ended in failure. The situation is heating up in the cabin, it is simply scary to fly on such an aircraft. Everyone goes back and forth. The pilot waves his arms and nods his head to the engineer. A bunch of Cypriot personnel around the plane, discussing something. Oh yeah! So we are planning our trip around the island further. A tentative scheme of the trip has already been estimated. After an hour, the engineer raised his finger, the hatches were closed, the plane was tied to a rope... And along the entire take-off route, the engineer walked along with the plane, holding the plane on a leash. It looked like he was pulling it. The plane began to take off, the thought flashed through my head that I did not see how the engineer untied himself. Let's fly. Free water was carried on board. She was needed by many after such a takeoff. Upon arrival home, in the dead of night, we went to the warm bedOctober hospital to save my radically blue finger. And then to the hospital on Podvysotsky. Many doctors had to be awakened. I told the first one my problem, and he turned out to be a maxillofacial surgeon, when I told the second sleepy surgeon the problem, he advised the finger to soar without looking, but in general it is better to immediately contact the surgeon, which he did not turn out to be. The third was just ours. “Just don’t tell them that you were in Cyprus, ” otherwise they will raise the price. I go to the doctor and say “I have had problems with my finger for a week now, but I have not been to Cyprus, and therefore I could not see a doctor. ” In general, I didn’t sleep a bit, but real free medicine in Ukraine is capable of a lot.
Conclusion
We really enjoyed. Although, after India, everything will probably be very pleasant) Cyprus took a place in the rating of trips much higher than the middle. The country offset, the Cypriots are super. The color of the sea, in second place after the Maldives, but unfortunately without fish. In comparison of the three parts of the world, Europe, although it showed a decent level of service, Asia definitely rules. We recommend Cyprus to everyone without exception.
Date of travel: 06/01/2014 – 06/08/2014
Duration: 7 full days
Air tickets: Wizz Air, company offset.
Hotels: Bookcyprus. com
Excursions: Everyone watched for themselves.
Story writing time: 420 min
Trip difficulty: 4/10 (normal)
Since Cyprus is very expensive, we made a plan to save money beforehand:
Save 1: The weekly bus pass saved €35 in 5 days.
Savings 2: Hotels are much cheaper if you take many days at once.
Savings 3: Booking hotels 2 months in advance saved us a lot.
Savings 4: Buying bread, curds and sausages for breakfast in Kyiv, we saved 55 euros.
Savings 5: Restaurants always ordered one meal for two.
Save 6. Airport Express instead of Taxi. Saving about 40 euros in Limassol.
