Paphos, Curium and Omodos, Cyprus

We travelled in the morning, we slept in and went for a late dining room breakfast. We wandered the ship. We ate again, and then noonish we arrived in Cyprus. Our tour was late leaving due to no shows.

Then there was a double decker bus parked for a wedding and I blocked the road and sidewalk. Our driver could not leave the area to take us on our tour. He waited, looked, enquired and finally after several minutes of waiting and pacing outside, jumped in and drove the wedding bus out of the road.

It was hot and sunny and Paphos was our port city. Lots of tourism, shops, cafes and even Starbucks and McDonalds could be seen from the bus. We drove out of the city and into the countryside. First heading along the coastline. Our tour lady was delightful, and talked for about 5 hours. We saw Aphrodites Rock (legend has it that to stay young, young women are to strip naked and swim around the rock 3 times in the full moon) and then to the Sanctuary to Apollos including restored Greco-Roman theatre and another big World Heritage site ancient house, ruins mosaics from very ancient times laid out. I believe the name is Archaelogical Site of Kourion. They still use the site for concerts and performances to this date. We tried and the acoustics were marvellous. One of the gals on our tour sang, the hills are alive with the sound of music. The ancient bathhouses included cool, medium and hot water from the natural springs. One would use the foot bath to start and then gradually use the warmer water and then reverse the process when bath time was over.

Perhaps this small town of Omodos will one day host an Azamazing evening. We parked and walked with out tour guide to the local church and monetary, and the shops stayed open for our visit. Small little places selling Cyprus Delights, post cards and linens. Many kinds of nuts are grown and harvested in the area and used for making sweet treats. A special bread made only here with a secret recipe was handed around as well. Mom was heavily influenced by an old fella who took her gently but firmly by the arm into his shop and was persistent she stay. She made an escape finally …. Phew, without purchase. His wife had done much of the handwork on display.

Cyprus is a beautiful and hot place they say, especially in the summer months when locals and families head somewhere else to escape the heat. The river beds are all dry this time of year, just gravel and a ditch marks where they would be. Water tanks on every roof top to be used when the water is gone three days of the week.