It is rainy and cold now and you’re not enthusiastic about the work and spare time you have here – it all means time to leave somewhere warm and sunny! I’ve mostly traveled in Autumn, but not that close to actual calendar Winter. We chose Cyprus as our destination this time. Holidays. Hobbies, own projects, and chill-out.

First time in Cyprus

It was my first time in Cyprus and I found it a nice place to visit. Unlike all other times, this time I did not really check for anything about this country except if I need a visa and what currency is there. Surprise surprise, once we landed and were on a transfer to the hotel, it felt strange, as that was a country with the left-hand-side traffic. The only difference from the UK in this context was units – not miles but kilometers. It was also a little bit unusual to see speed limits of 65km/h (in miles world it wouldn’t be surprised at all).

The second surprise was that whoever you approach they all more or less speak English. This makes things so easy when traveling. A little area of Cyprus still belongs to Great Britain (former British colony), the bigger half of the island is Cyprus and the second part is unofficial and unrecognized land of Nikosia. If you want to drive to Nikosia – car rental companies won’t provide any support nor insurance. You’d have to get car insurance just right on the border and then you’re on your own if anything happens. We chose to explore the island by car only for two days so we haven’t even considered going to the other side of the island really.

Places we have visited

We chose to explore local coastal paths of Paphos by bicycle for a start. A bicycle costs €10/day, just the unique part is that they’re old and rusty as if they’ve been in this business for decades. We had the chain to slip off the gear on one of the bikes, used a piece of the paper map to get it back on without getting our hands oily. Lady at the bike rental shop suggested that we ignore “no cycling” signs and go everywhere anyway. It is off-season, so nearly empty walking paths did not cause us any trouble. Coastal paths in Paphos are really beautiful to ride and stop by every once in a while to take some pictures.

The Edro III shipwreck

A very unique location filled up with the smell of diesel. A shipwreck, occurred back in 2011 when the ship hit the rocks during the storm. No casualties, but the ship was left to never sail again because of a too expensive operation to save it. Fuel was pumped out, but clearly there are still some consequences which you can smell in the air and see in a colorful layer on the water.

The sea caves & Wild beach

Mind your steps, as the rocks might just crack and fall into the sea. Stay away from the edge! The very unique and picturesque place just a few minutes drive from the shipwreck.

Adonis baths and waterfalls

This has been recommended to us as one of the unique places to visit and we did not regret. First of all quite unique concrete vs gravel mixed pavement to get there. We were concerned at first if that was the right way, but after seeing “suitable for all types of vehicles” it encouraged us to continue. Some bits of the road were a bit technical to drive through but Skoda Fabia did just fine – I was careful with the ground clearance in mind. Location is hidden in the mountains, where the waterfalls have formed a little lake. The owner of the village Pambos Theodorou named this place “Baths of Adonis”, he also has a statue of “Eternal Viewer” at the amphitheater close by. Waterfalls definitely have some surprises in the visitor’s area – check out the gallery below. Entry costs €9 per person.

Dinner in Latsi beach

A young kitten, trying to sit on a chair in front of us definitely made dinner time. Restaurant staff was not entirely comfortable about the cat trying to make friends with us (probably because some tourists are really against it). We did some walk around the Latsi port and took some pics while the sun was already hiding behind the horizon.

Aphrodite’s rock

It is said that Aphrodite was born there and came out of the sea.

Pebble beach is a nice place to stay for a little while and you can also climb on the large rock separated from the coast. The viewpoint a bit further away gives a perfect landscape view. There is an underground pass under the road (the majority of tourists miss it) and there is a shop next to the parking lot in case you feel like getting ice cream or some other treat.

Ancient Kourion

This archeological park is located in that little piece of British land. A massive area of the ancient city of Kourion, which was destructed by an earthquake just a few hundred years ad. Fascinating how advanced the construction was thousands of years ago with some incredible things unveiled and saved till our days. Kourion amphitheater is fully restored and is now used for events.

Limassol salt lake and flamingos

Jet fighters flying around made us definitely feel strange but knowing there is a military base nearby convinced it’s fine.

Sun was going down and walking on the bottom of dried out salt lake woke up all the insects, mosquitos too. After 500m walk on a unique terrain, I finally got close to the water where Flamingos were resting up. What a spectacular view to see these birds out in a wild in such quantity. They, of course, were cautious, and I could capture them only from a distance using my 135mm DLSR zoom lens. Few pictures in the gallery!

Limassol port area

A little bit tired, after loads of impressions throughout the day we decided to settle down and have some meal in Limassol port. A really nice walk around, expensive yachts, beautiful buildings, many cafes, and restaurants. We’ve let the sun down there and headed back to Pafos (a.k.a. Paphos).

Wrap up

People generally seem relaxed, but I cannot say that happiness thrives in the air. I’ve got the impression that many English people move to Cyprus for retirement or just to get away from a busy life. There are English schools, and people say the laws are very similar to the UK too. Many people seem to come here for work from countries such as Romania (happened to meet few people in a row from this country), we even managed to meet three Lithuanians in the hotel we were staying at.

Overall Cyprus is definitely a beautiful island with a lot to see and explore. Food is tasty, they definitely know how to make sweet treats! Traveling around by car is easy, prices seem affordable and the island looks a generally low-crime rate place to be. As we stayed in late November air temperature was around 25°C during the day, however, locals say it may get up to 46°C during the summer!

Visual story to follow below in the gallery.