Blogs from Cyprus, Middle East

Last day of an amazing holiday. We went a little way into the Troodos mountains where the scenery is wonderful, just the foothills this trip. Last year we went up to the top, to the snow line and across to the north coast. Stopped at Monagri where the scent from the citrus fruit trees will stay with me forever. Then on to Lofou a tiny villlage with streets so narrow the tiny car barely made it through. Absolutely loved this little place, in the middle of nowhere too. The buildings all so old and such timeless beauty. Had a wonderful lunch of deep fried Haloumi in a carob syrup with honey and sesami seeds. It was sooooooo good. Back to Limassol via the Kouris Dam where the low water levels bear witness to the lack of ... read more

Chill by the pool day today as the main Beach Road from here to Limassol old town and marina was closed until mid afternoon for the Limassol marathon. There were ways out via the back roads but really about time we caught some of the glorious sunshine, cornflower blue sky and swimming pool so we did just that. I woke at dawn, grabbed my camera .. and a towel for modesty ... and went to watch the sunrise from the balcony. Magic. We watched a few of the marathon runners from the end of the hotel road which was indeed blocked off for vehicular access to the Beach road the runners were using. Quite a few hotel guests were running though some just doing the 10k half. 10 metre would be all I could manage sadly ... read more

Today, now we have our little hire car we have been just to the other side of Limassol to:.Kourion which has superbly preserved ruins and mosaics.Kolossi Castle.St Nicolas of the cats . A monastery but nuns not monks who grow beautifu flowers and tend bees and look after lots and lots of pretty cats.Lady's Mile Beach which we drove to across a milelong stretch of sandWe also Tried to get to Cape Gata but concluded there was no tarmac toad to it and didn't want to wreck our little hire car trying .We drove past the British RAF base at Akatori but decided not to go inWhat a super day... read more

What's with Cyprus and all the cats? One thing I noticed in Cyprus was that there are a lot of cats everywhere. I noticed it already the first day when I arrived in Larnaca. As soon as I got off the airport bus I saw cats basking in the sun. It was not only in Larnaca there were lots of cats. No matter where I went in Cyprus, such as in Agios Neophytos Monastery, there were often a cat or two hanging around. I have no explanation why there are lots of cats in Cyprus, I can only point out that there are. By the way, further down there is a story about another monastery where there are cats. Don't miss that one. It's the highlight of this blog entry. In the previous blog entry I ... read more

Planning a Cyprus itinerary can be a daunting task, especially since so many visitors to this Mediterranean island nation tend to be on a package tour. Because of this, it might seem like there isn’t much to see and it might be boring to visit as an independent traveler. This couldn’t be further from the truth however, as Cyprus has so much to offer visitors and it is very much worth exploring. From historic and divided cities to ancient archaeological sites to beautiful beaches and charming mountain villages, Cyprus may just have it all. Combine all of this with some of the best year-round weather in Europe and incredibly hospitable people and Cyprus may just be the ideal place to visit if you’re after a Mediterranean adventure. Are you wondering where to go? Well, let me ... read more