As usual, we got up and 8.00am to a warm and sunny morning. The coach was due to pick us up on the dual carriageway at the back of the hotel at 9.10am, so we packed the rucksack with our towels and swimming things. In fact, I just wore my tankini with my matching sarong over the top and my white denim jacket.
We made our way over the small courtyard, and the bar area towards the dull little dining room. A cleaner was half-heartedly applying her mop to the tiled floor of the bar. We ate the even duller little breakfast; this time I didn’t bother with the greasy cooked breakfast and just had a couple of slices of toast with marmalade. You can’t really go wrong with toast!
On the way back to our room, we passed back through the bar area and started to descend the two steep tiled steps that lead to the courtyard. I was wearing my flipflops and, as soon as they made contact with the top step, my legs slipped out from under me and I landed with a crash on my backside on the bottom step. Ouch! Owwww! Feeling the steps with my hand, they were wet. The sullen cleaner had obviously applied her mop, but nowhere were there any of those yellow “Careful – Wet Floor” signs. 🙁
I sat there in some pain for a few minutes and my first thought was that I hoped this wasn’t going to scupper our plans for today. Trevor helped me to my feet and it was not too painful to walk and nothing appeared broken.
We retrieved our bags from room 028 and made our way to the meeting point at the back of the hotel. A few yards along the road we saw a large coach pull up at the bus stop; there was a sign in the window saying “Ocean Flyer – Sea Star”. “That’s us!” I said happily to Trevor.
We boarded the bus, which was nearly full, and settled back in our seats for the short journey to the harbour. There were another couple of pickups on the way. Soon the coach parked up and we all alighted and set off towards the harbour where we had booked our tickets yesterday. We queued to pay the balance then boarded the M/V Sea Star, a gleaming three-deck yacht.
As we passed through the lounge/bar area we noticed that a queue had started to form at the bar, even though it was not yet 10 o’clock! We decided to go up to the topmost deck, but when we got there all the sunloungers and deck chairs were already taken. Likewise the the chairs at the bow of the lower deck. We therefore went into the bar area and sat at a table near the stern, and decided to order ourselves a cold beer each. 🙂
Trevor went to the bar, and came back a couple of minutes later with a couple of cold cans of local beer and a plastic glass each. (“Plastic glass” – how can you have a plastic glass?!) 🙂
Soon we felt the engines of the Sea Star rev a bit as the slightly increased motion indicated she had cast off and was now underway. Presently, the voice came over the PA giving us the compulsory safety briefing and letting us know where we could obtain our lifejackets, as well as general safety information; for example, we were only to enter the water from the designated area of the yacht and not dive from the topmost deck!! 🙂
It was fantastic gliding along in the very calm waters of the Mediterranean sea. I took my drink and went outside and watched the wake as the Sea Star carried us along in the sunshine. There was a welcome sea breeze and we just enjoyed that feeling of being at sea, even if it would only be for six hours today.
Soon a member of staff brought a tray of croissants and Danish pastries and announced that breakfast was ready for anyone who wanted it. We didn’t bother, as we’d already eaten and we would soon be having a swim stop, which I didn’t want to do on a full stomach.
About 20 minutes after we’d set off, we spotted an old rust-bucket of a ‘ghost ship’ coming into view. An announcement came over the PA to tell us that this was the remains of the cargo ship M/V Demetrios II, which had ran aground off Paphos Lighthouse on 23 March 1998 in heavy seas, during a voyage from Greece to Syria with a cargo of timber. The vessel had been built at Hamburg in 1970, making her only 18 years old on her demise.
At the time of the accident, the ship had eight crew members: 4 Greeks, 2 Pakistanis and 2 Syrians. The crew were rescued and airlifted to safety by a British military helicopter. It was later discovered that the seafaring competency certificates of the Greek captain and the Pakestani first officer had been forged. Ever since the accident, the ship has just been left there to the mercy of the seas and the elements, gradually to rust away.
Looking at the vessel, I always find something quite eerie about old abandoned ships. The way the glassless port holes seem to stare like the empty eye sockets of a skull, the dull and rust-spotted anchor chain which has sat immovably for over three decades, the masts leaning drunkenly… there is definitely something very unsettling about ghost ships.
I stayed outside on deck, sitting near the bow and enjoying the sounds of the sea and the wind in my hair. I only went back inside for two reasons, one was that I hadn’t applied any sun protection and didn’t want to burn, and the other was that my glass was empty! 🙂
Trevor and I decided we’d order a large glass of cold water to stave off dehydration in this heat, as well as a Screwdriver (vodka and orange juice) with ice. We could now smell the appetising scents of what was obviously barbecuing meat and, going outside again, we saw that a large portable grill had been fastened to the ship’s railings (so it overhang above the sea) and a chef was preparing chicken quarters and steak. Yum yum – we looked forward to lunch later on.
We could now see that the Sea Star was slowing down, and soon we heard the clanking of the anchor chain which indicated this would be the first of our swim stops. It was around 11.10am now. Crew members in small boats made fast the ropes and lowered a small ‘landing pontoon’ at the stern of the vessel. Soon afterwards, a voice announced over the PA, “Welcome to Coral Bay.” We were told we had a swim stop of 20 minutes here, and were asked to bring our towels and hand them to a crew members just before we entered the water.
Putting on my water shoes, I excitedly stripped off my sarong and padded towards the pontoon. Trevor, who was starting a cold, had decided against going in the water, but I couldn’t wait! 🙂
After grabbing one of the ‘noodle’ floats, I gingerly descended the steps at the rear of the vessel, into the Mediterranean sea. It was not at all cold, and the feeling of swimming around in the water was sheer bliss. Some people just executed a clean dive off the side, but to be honest the salt water stung your eyes for a while. I found that by placing the noodle around my back so the ends were pointing forwards, I could lie back in the water, push the noodle back a bit, and use the U-bend of the noodle as a head rest. It was fantastic just drifting along in the sea, looking upwards at the blue, blue sky and the wispy little clouds floating by.
All too soon we heard the sound of a whistle, which was our signal it was time to re-board the Sea Star. I climbed the steps, handed in my ‘noodle’ and grabbed my towel from where it had hanging over the rail; we were told we must briskly dry off before going back into the bar/lounge area, so as not to drip water all over the floor making it hazardously slippery for anyone in flip-flops or bare feet. I had already fallen once today!
Once I’d dried off, I wrapped the towel around myself and went to join Trevor. “That was great!” I enthused. “You really should have come in the water.”
We went to the bar again, and had another Screwdriver each as well as a large glass of water. By now, everyone was back on board and the Sea Star was underway once again. We enjoyed our drinks, listening to the background music as we watched the vessel gliding placidly through the calm Mediterranean.
A voice then came over the PA to announce that we were approaching another ghost ship. This time, it was the Edro III, a 1966-built cargo ship which ran aground off Pegeia on 8 October 2011 in heavy seas, during a voyage to Rhodes, from Limassol, Cyprus with a cargo of plasterboard.
At the time of the accident, the ship had nine crew members – seven Albanians and two Egyptians. As with the crew of the Demetrios II, the crew of the Edro III were rescued and airlifted to the safety of Paphos by a local British Military helicopter.
We stood staring at the eerie remains of the ship, which leaned precariously to port at an angle of 12 degrees. You could still see the faint logo of the shipping company on the main mast. The entire structure was covered in streaks of rust and, as we looked on, intrgued, we wondered what the ship looked like inside.
We pulled our attention back to our current vessel, the Sea Star, as we could smell the savoury scents of barbecued meat, and crew members starting carrying large dishes of meats, salads and breads through to the lounge/bar area, ready for lunch. A queue started to form, so Trevor and I went to join it, and soon we collected plates of fresh green salad, Greek salad, olives, tomatoes and chicken portions as well as pieces of juicy steak. We tucked in to our grub, washing it down with our cold water and vodka and orange juice. Afterwards, fresh fruits were brought out and we each partook of a nice banana for dessert. An all round delicious meal, but not too heavy so as not to impede anyone who wanted to swim later on in the Blue Lagoon.
We sat there in our happy post-luncheon state, enjoying this exhilarating cruise in perfect weather. We could only feel a slight motion of the sea as we sailed along. We were so glad we had booked it. There were not only British people on board, but several other nationalities, including American, German and a large party of Hungarians who obviously had something to celebrate, as they were making the most of the gratis drinks, laughing, singing and getting louder and more boisterous as the cruise progressed.
Soon the pitch of the Sea Star‘s engine changed as she slowed down ready for her next anchorage. We passed a small, uninhabited island covered in sea birds, which were were advised was protected and was part of the Akamas Nature Reserve, near the Akamas Peninsula, which is where the Blue Lagoon is.
Presently the Sea Star came to a halt, and once again the anchor was dropped and the ropes stretched out to try to contain the swimming area. I was tempted to go in the water again, but I was nicely dried off now and wasn’t sure I wanted to go back on the coach sitting in my damp cossie and sarong. Instead, we would go out on deck to appreciate our surroundings and enjoy the sunshine and the sea air.
We could see why it was called the Blue Lagoon. The water was a stunning turquoise colour set against the rugged mountainous backdrop. We could see a couple of other pleasure cruises which had also dropped anchor. Soon the small pontoon and ladders were put in place, and the swimmers took to the water once more.
After 20 minutes or so, we heard the whistle to announce that all swimmers and snorkellers were to make their way back on board again. Despite the rule about drying themselves off and removing water shoes before entering the lounge/bar area, several people did so, with the result that the tiled flooring was soon dripping wet, and several crew members came armed with large mops to try to dry the floor.
It was inevitable that a gentleman coming back from the bar, pint in hand, slipped and fell on the wet floor near where we were sitting. His plastic glass of beer went into the air and he only narrowly missed hitting his head on the legs of one of the tables. He sat opposite us, a bit shaken but not injured. Once again the mops went into action to dry up the split beer. Soon an announcement was made to remind people not to go inside the vessel and drip water everywhere, and once more the Sea Star weighed anchor and continued on her way again.
The cruise continued and we enjoyed several more drinks, always accompanying each one with a glass of water. Lots of people had clearly been making the most of this “booze cruise” and everyone was pretty rowdy, but it was a happy atmosphere. 🙂
It was about four o’clock when the Sea Star slowly made her way into Latchi and soon she had docked. We were advised that coaches would be waiting to take us on the hour-long ride back to Paphos and drop us at our relevant hotels. What a great day it had been! A proper holiday day. 🙂
We disembarked the Sea Star and made our way to our allocated coach, which was pretty full. We set off, and imagined that it would be pretty quiet as everyone would have been sleeping off the effects of all the beer and cocktails. However, at one point during the journey back, the coach pulled over to the side of the road and stopped. I couldn’t see what was happening from my window seat near the rear of the coach, but Trevor said it was a case of “Stop the bus, I want a wee-wee” as several people left the coach to relieve themselves. That wasn’t all though, apparently someone had been sick on the coach and the driver turfed them off while it was all cleaned up. Yuck! 🙁
Eventually we were on our way again, the driver calling out the name of each hotel at each stop, and people getting off. We soon recogised where we were going and waited for him to call out “Paphiessa”, but he didn’t do so (or if he did, we didn’t hear him) so I had to go to the front and tell him we’d missed our stop. He grumbled a bit, but turned around and started to go back; we spotted the school that was quite near our hotel and asked him to drop us there.
We walked the short distance back to the hotel, then returned to 028 and I got changed out of my damp cossie and things. My hair was beyond messy by now so I just scraped it back and put it into its inevitable short ponytail. It was about 6.00pm by now and almost sunset, and we’d already decided we would just spend this evening at the hotel, rather than get ready and go out again.
We settled down for an hour’s power nap and awoke feeling refreshed. We then went downstairs to the hotel bar, and sat outside where the evening was still warm and sultry. Small fairy light garlands were festooned over the trellises and canopies over our seats, and pleasant background music was playing. One of the hotel’s cats went and sat by the pool and I couldn’t resist a photo; he looked like a silhouette.
By now, it was about eight o’clock and we were feeling a little peckish, as we hadn’t had anything since our barbecue lunch on the Sea Star. Trevor went to the bar to order some drinks as well as a peperoni pizza to share.
The pizza, when it came, was very hot and you had to be careful not to let the cheese burn your mouth! It was very tasty. Several more cats approached us hoping for a titbit, but we had to wait until the peperoni cooled down before we could offer them any. One of the cats, an attractive long-haired tortoiseshell, decided to settle down on Trevor’s lap. He’d made a friend. 🙂
We remained in our pleasant seats for the rest of the evening, enjoying the ambience. It was about 11.30pm before we called it a night and returned to 028, where we got washed and into our ‘jamas and settled down, after turning on the aircon. What a really great day we had had! We looked forward to what tomorrow would bring.