Cyprus Trip Report

Trip Background
November 22, 2019 to November 30, 2019

This was a family trip with my two sons who were 14 and 12 at the time. Cyprus entered our minds as an alternative to Greece after meeting with a client of mine who was from Cyprus. We figured it would be a chance to experience Greek culture, but a bit more off the beaten path. I wasn’t aware at the time that it was such a hotspot for Brits, but for our trip in November, it was well past beach season and the island was fairly quiet.

We flew into Paphos from London.  Unfortunately, our return flight out of Paphos was cancelled by British Airways (because they didn’t sell enough of them), and we had to rebook out of Larnaca.  The island country is fairly small, but you will need a rental car or arrange for private drivers.  Public transportation isn’t worth it.  Rental cars (at least in November 2019) are really cheap.  You’ll drive on the left, but you’ll get used to it quickly.  Even when driving stick.  I promise.

Because Cyprus is a small country, we decided to spend the entire week in one AirBnB and do day trips from there.  We chose Pissouri as we like small towns and it was in between Paphos and Limassol where’d we spent most of our times.  We loved our house and it was great not having to pack up and move.  It worked for Cyprus because nothing was further than 2 hours away.  It gave us a lot more time to relax and felt more like a vacation than a trip.

Let’s Get Started!

Day 1

We arrived the night before at 6:30 and by the time we got our rental and drove the 30 minutes to our AirBnB in Limassol, we were exhausted.  We managed to find a supermarket to buy the essentials and something to eat for dinner and breakfast.  Got into our apartment and were asleep by 10pm.

The next morning my wife and I walked down to Pissouri Village and let the kids sleep in.  It had a tiny tow square that was deserted at 10 in the morning.

We got back and headed out to meet my client and his wife at Oenou Yi Winery just outside the village of Omodos.

This is a brand new winery and has sweeping views over the Troodos Mountains.

We had a long lunch and did a wine tasting.  By the time we were done, the sun was already setting, even though it was only 3:30.  We walked around the village of Omodos for a bit and visited the church that has a rope that is allegedly stained with the blood of Christ.   Then we relaxed with a coffee and some loukoumades which are basically little fried donut balls covered in honey.

By then the sun was down and our day was already over.  We were too full and too tired to go to out to a restaurant for dinner, so we stopped off at the market again and bought some light food to eat back at home.  We sat out on the terrace and drank a bottle of wine and just relaxed.

Day 2

We drove into Paphos to see the sights.  On the way there we stopped at the Aphrodite’s Rock.  It’s one of the main symbols of Cyprus as the myth states that she was born in the waves that crashed at the rock.  But, it’s pretty much just a rock.

Our next stop was the Paphos Archaelogical Park which was pretty underwhelming outside of the floor mosaics that have lasted for 2 thousand years.

From there we checked out Tomb of the Kings which lets you get your inner Indiana Jones in as you are literally allowed to climb in and around the various underground tombs.

But both sites were quick and we were done by lunchtime.  We drove up to Aphrodite’s Rock Brewery in the hills above Paphos and had some pizza and beer.

Then we headed up home and had plenty of time to relax before dinner.

We walked down to the Pissouri Village Square for dinner.  It was completely dead.  Only two of the five restaurants were even open.  We had dinner at Platea Tavern.  It was okay.  The square is pretty touristy in general and the menu seemed to reflect that.  I had the sheftalia sausages and chips.

Day 3

After 2 days of underwhelming sightseeing for the kids, we decided to make it up them and headed out to Agios Neofytos CatPark.  I’m deathly allergic so I only lasted about 1 minute before I realized this place was no joke.  There were over 900 cats at the place and they all wanted some love.  I hung out in the parking lot and still couldn’t escape them. 

We also checked out the Agios Neofytos Monastery since it was only a block away.  The monastery wasn’t that impressive, but I thought the monk’s quarters that were built into the mountain were pretty cool looking.

Then we drove down to the Edro III Shipwreck which was just west of Paphos.  This was one of those images I kept seeing on instagram and wanted to see.

Unfortunately, the restaurant I had planned on going to that overlooked the wreck was closed, so we just took a few pictures and then went up a mile to the Sea Cave Café which was actually pretty busy and had an equally great view.  Then walked around and looked at the sea caves carved into the coastline.

After lunch we hiked the Avakas Gorge.  It’s about a 4 km round trip hike to the gorge if you turn around at the apex.  We ran into a bunch of mountain goats at the start.  It’s a very easy hike though it gets a bit slippery at the end as you are walking on river rocks.  The highlight is the gorge where the mountain walls touch.

After burning some calories, we grabbed some groceries and alcohol and decided to make it an early night back at our house.  We got back just in time to catch the sunset.  Which is why I always try to book a place with a terrace.

 

Day 4

Today would be our longest trip as we wanted to check out the capital Nicosia which is the probably most famous for being the only divided capital left in the world.  When the Turks came (politically correct term) in 1974, the UN  set up the green line which separates the city into Greek and Turkish controlled sides.  I say “came” as politically correct because one side sees as it as an invasion where thousands of people were killed and 10’s of thousands of people were displaced and the other side sees it as a liberation of their people and protection of their faith.  I try not to take sides without knowing all the information, but it’s a fascinating history that is still relevant today.  My Cypriot friend had some pretty strong opinions on even visiting the north side of Cyprus.

The drive to Nicosia was under two hours from Pissouri and all highway driving.  We parked the car and then explored the city.  We started on the Greek influenced side and walked up Lladras Street which is the main pedestrian area full of modern shops, cafes and restaurants.

Halfway through the city, you go through the border crossing (with passport control and everything) and enter the Turkish side of Nicosia.  And the difference is immediately noticeable.  You’ve walked from West to East in less than 2 minutes.

It’s almost like you’ve gone back in time.  We walked through the city for a bit and found Buyuk Han which is a central market that has now been a bit modernized with a few cafes and shops.

 

We walked to the Selimiye Mosque which was converted from a Christian cathedral in the 1500s after the Ottomans invaded.

Then we found an alley with a ton of cafes and shops for a quick lunch.  We had doner and of course I had to try the beer.   I had never had the Turkish beer Efes before.  And to be honest, I actually enjoyed Efes more than the Keo beer in Greek Cyprus.  I just won’t tell my Greek Cypriot friends that.

After lunch and some souvenir shopping for the kids, we realized there wasn’t much to do on the north side of Nicosia.  We made our way back across the border and back into the Greek influenced side.  We went up the Shacolas Tower which was gives you a great view over the city of Nicosia and especially the Turkish influenced side and the painted Turkish flags on the mountainside.  The Shacolas Tower is really just a modern high rise building, so it’s not a sight in itself, but you do get a great view.

While the history of Nicosia and the Turkish “invasion/visit” are really interesting, the city itself isn’t particularly interesting.  At least not as a day trip.  We were done way earlier than I expected and decided to head back home.  I took a detour on the way back to the car and we caught a few glimpses of the border.

And the old Venetian walls that once surrounded the city.

Then we headed back down to Pissouri and were back for dinner.  And that’s what’s nice about a small island.

Day 5

After a late breakfast, we drove to Ancient Kourion to see the amphitheater and its mosaics.  A bit underwhelming again, to be honest.  Nice view, but we were done in 10 minutes.

Then we drove to Kolossi Castle.  It was a little small and underwhelming.  Kind of the theme of this trip.  And that’s okay for us.  But my kids want to see big and impressive sights.  Cyprus just doesn’t have them.

From there we drove down to the Holy Monastery of St Nicholas of the Cats.  I once again felt guilty that the sights and monuments weren’t living up to their expectations.   One of the crazy parts about Cyprus is that while most roads are 100% normal and easy, google doesn’t seem to recognize when a paved road ends and dirt begins.  While going from the monastery to Limassol we ended up looking at the edge of the salt lake and the road we were supposed to take just disappeared.  I was set to turn around and go back the we came since it was paved.  But then another small car (and not an off road vehicle) came towards us from the direction google pointed us towards.  So we took the road less traveled, and it made it all the difference.

We parked in Limassol and walked towards Mesa Taverna for lunch.  I ordered my first moussaka which is really good but really heavy.

After lunch we walked the promenade and explored Limassol Castle.

But we were done early and weren’t meeting my friends for dinner for several hours.  So we, bowled.

After bowling we drove back down to the Limassol Marina to meet up with our friends for dinner.  We were still a little early and walked around their Christmas market.

We had dinner at Pier One Restaurant which sat out over the bay.  The food was fantastic and was a great (even if untraditional) Thanksgiving meal.

 

Day 6

On our last full day in Cyprus, I wanted to see a little bit more of nature.  So we drove back into the Troodos Mountains.  We parked in Platres and then hiked Millomeris Waterfall hike first.  We did the long way, but were glad that we did it.  The people who park 5 minutes from the waterfall didn’t earn that view.

We ate lunch in Platres at International Café.  It was basically the only place open.  But it was good and then we were off to hike again.  The second hike which is just north of Platres is the Caledonia Waterfall.  Both hikes were up and down a bit, but were well worth it and only about an hour each.

I had planned on seeing a few monasteries up in the mountains as well but we ran out of time and had to head back home.

We fed the kids at home and after multiple hikes they were happy for a laid back night.  Our night wouldn’t be laid back.  My Cypriot friend had another friend that was performing in a taverna just outside of Paphos about 30 minutes away.  They picked us up around 8:30pm and drove us to Michios Tavern. There was nobody on the streets of around the village but the taverna was packed.

This was truly the highlight of the trip for me.  We all crave the “local” experience when we travel.  But local experiences can often be contrived or paid for and then are never really that authentic.  But, this was perfect.  There wasn’t another tourist in the restaurant.  No cameras, no tour groups.  Just people hanging out on a Thursday night.  The restaurant does meze which means they basically bring out just about everything they make and you just keep eating until you surrender.

After the majority of tables were finished eating, the band picked up the music just a bit and the dancing began.  It started (like it always does) with a few young girls and an intoxicated old man.  I guess that’s universal.  But then the dance floor filled up and napkins started flying in the air.  Apparently, in Cyprus, you make it rain with napkins.  Our Cypriot friend disappeared for a few minutes and showed up with a giant pack of napkins.  His only comment, “I went to Costco.”  Now we got to make it rain, too.  And there’s a real skill to to making it rain with napkins.

I cannot possibly describe nor can my crappy pictures tell the story of how cool that night was.  I never expect all my travel experiences to be authentic and I certainly don’t need that in order to enjoy traveling.  But, when you find yourself right in the middle of one of those experiences, you know it and you don’t want it to end.  We felt like we were watching a show but the people we were watching weren’t putting on a show.  They were just living.  And that’s when I remember how much I love traveling.

It was an awesome way to end our trip in Cyprus