Wednesday, November 26, 2014

Larnaca > Limassol > Paphos

Breakfast at the San Remo was a little surreal. Some of the guests looked like escapees from various reality TV shows, while others could have been cast members from previous seasons of American Horror Show. Add in the fact that the lobby and breakfast room are the only places where the Wi-Fi works and the coffee is instant only, it is true, 'you get what you pay for'.

We needed to get to the bus station by 10am for our first leg of our journey. The clerk said it was a 20 minute walk without suitcases. Okay, taxi please! Six euros later, having traveled through a maze of streets, we were beyond thrilled we didn’t play pauper and try to this by walking. We would still be hunting for the spot.

Buses here are huge, modern, and confortable. Our one hour 45 minute ride cost us 4 Euros each. Our stop was Limassol. We needed to wait here for an hour to change buses; the next leg would take us to Paphos. After walking about 3 blocks, we found the correct stop to catch the next bus and across the street was a cute café where we could hang out until the golden hour.

I am pretty certain I have failed to mention that we are a threesome. Our friend Kat, who did the Cadiz, Spain journey with us, decided we are festive travel mates, so has joined us for this one too. Our finally journey took us to the heart of Paphos, not near our hotel. Another taxi ride costing us 8 Euros brought us to the Daphne Apartment Hotel. Having been the one to make the hotel reservations this trip, I was thrilled to see that I will not be victimized for my hotel selections. There was a moment after the San Remo, where things were rather bleak.

The Daphne Apartment Hotel is all that I have read about it. It sits a block from the sea. Our apartment has 2 bedrooms, kitchen, and a humungous dining room/living room combination. There is a balcony off of the dining area that overlooks the pool and each bedroom has its own balcony as well. The kitchen is fully equipped with a double hot plate on top of a large toaster oven, a hot pot for coffee and a microwave. There are plenty of dishes, cups, glasses, etc. to live here comfortably. There is a supermarket right around the corner.

Ironically, when we went for a walk along the shore line, we were starving. One restaurant that caught our attention was the Captain’s Way with their 11.95Euro three course meals. There were plenty of choices for each course, so we decided to gamble. Good choices were made by all. We were stuffed.

Continuing down the shore, we went to the Nea Pafos, a fort built during the Frankish occupation in the 13th century in order to replace the Byzantine castle of 'Saranta Kolones. Views from the entry made it look like an admission charge of 2.50 Euro was extravagant; climbing the stairs to the top level offered exceptional views. By this time, it was getting cold or closer to frigid, but we hoofed it along the walking trail along the water for another ½ mile, before turning back.

We walked back to the hotel finding the supermarket around the corner. Supplied with tea, peanuts and some cheeses, we were ready to welcome the evening. That lasted for about 2 hours, when we decided we needed another walk before bed. One would think that this being a Mediterranean country, it would be warmer than it is. All three of us wish we had brought heavier coats, but still we are grateful we are not walking around in the shorts and short sleeved shirts that others are. They look like one giant goose bump.

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