OUR WEDDING ANNIVERSARY
We had a lovely day today. Woke up to blue skies and sunshine once again on today, our 36th wedding anniversary. We could think of worse places to be spending it in! 🙂
Tonight we were booked on the four-hour Dinner Cruise, which set off at sunset and included four hours of superb entertainment, a three-course buffet dinner, a fireworks display and door-to-door transport. It sounded an ideal way to celebrate our anniversary. 🙂
Going out onto our balcony, it seemed strange to see a view of the traffic roaring past on the dual carriageway rather than the miles of glittering blue sea we are accustomed to seeing from a balcony. Neverthless it gave us some sun and fresh air and somewhere to relax with a good book and a refreshing drink. 🙂
We went down to the dining room where I settled for a couple of slices of toast with jam and a cup of coffee. I’d given up on the bland, greasy bacon and eggs by now. I turned to the BBC Sounds app on my phone and selected Radio Newcastle to listen to the familiar dulcet tones of Matt Bailey, the breakfast show DJ. Every morning they set a little cryptic clue for listeners to try to solve and either phone, text or WhatsApp in their answers, so I sent in mine.
About 20 minutes later, as we were sitting outside enjoying another cup of coffee, the phone rang! It was Radio Newcastle, wanting to know if I would like to come on air and give the answer to the Canny Cryptic Clue! As I participate regularly in the little quizzes they do I agreed, and went on the show live, where I correctly solved the clue and had some banter and chat with Matt, especially when he discovered we were in Cyprus where it was 27°C, against the 3°C temperatures currently being experienced at home. 🙂
Afterwards, we decided to get our cossies and go and sit by the pool for a while, and maybe even enjoy a swim. It was pleasant sitting there in the shade, and we went into the water to do a few lengths; the water seemed very cold when we first entered the pool, but once we were used to it, it was a very pleasant swim.
Wrapping ourselves in our towels, we went to bar and ordered a freezing cold beer each, then sat and people-watched as we enjoyed our drinks until it was nearly time for lunch. Then we returned to 028 and I decided to have a hot shower and wash and blow-dry my hair. It was when I was sitting at the dressing table drying my hair with my hot brush that it suddenly started making a strange noise and overheated. I hurriedly turned it off and I could smell an unpleasant burning smell. I wouldn’t dare turn it back on again; in fact, as I have had that hot brush for quite a few years I decided it had had it’s day, and it was now time to get a new one.
All I could do was comb out my hair and let it dry naturally; I could always scrape it back into a ponytail later on. 🙂
We spent the afternoon just pottering around until it was time to walk to Mikey’s Bar for the afternoon trivia quiz. When we arrived, the quiz was obviously popular because the place was full, with a lively crowd of mainy British ex-pats and visitors. We found ourselves a table, collected a pencil and a quiz paper and ordered a beer each and a large bag of crisps between us; we didn’t want a lot to eat as we knew we’d be getting a three-course meal later on.
The quiz was great fun! There were several categories from general knowledge to the picture round, geography, movies and music. We were rubbish at the movies and picture round, but fairly decent in the music and geography categories. The team whose paper we marked were very good, and from the groans and heckles when they were announced the winners it sounded as if they were regulars in Mikey’s.
We stayed in the pub until about 4.45pm, then we had exactly one our to be back at the hotel and get ready for the coach picking us up at 5.45pm, ready for our yacht to sail at 6.30pm.
I tried to make my hair as neat as I could, then did my makeup and dressed in a maxi dress in shades of green and purple, topped with a black mesh shrug. Trevor wore black trousers and a checked shirt. Once we were ready, we made our way to the bus stop on the dual carriageway, just outside the hotel, to await our coach. The coach, however, went to the bus stop on the other side of the carriageway, and we had to run to the pedestrian crossing and make our way over the road, where the driver checked the booking on my phone and ticked our names off his list.
It only took about 15 minutes, after picking up several other couples, to arrive at the Port of Paphos where we were directed to board the yacht Wave Dancer I for our cruise. Right from boarding the vessel the service was fantastic; each party, whether it was two people or six, had their own table reserved on the top deck, and we were shown to our table for two by a smiling member of staff who took our drinks orders. I noticed they had caipirinha, my favourite cocktail, on the list, so I ordered one of those while Trevor stuck to the local beer.
The sun was just going down and the evening air was warm and pleasant, with a gentle breeze carrying the scents of the sea with it. We set off on time, and I took some photographs of the other boats and the harbour as the sky behind it glowed with shades of pink and orange. It was fantastic. 🙂
Soon the evening’s compère introduced himself, as well as those who would be entertaining us later on. We each ordered another drink from our attentive waiter, and asked someone on an adjacent table to take our photograph. 🙂
Then everyone took their seats as the music started, the lights dimmed, and some dancers in very colourful costumes took to the stage.
The dancing and music was excellent, and the dancers left the stage as a singing duo took their place, a guy playing the guitar and a woman singer. They were very good indeed; the guitarist was excellent and the pair of them could have been snapped up by any of the large cruise lines. When the singer left the stage, the guitarist did a solo rendition of Dire Straits’ Brothers in Arms that was absolutely superb; as good as Mark Knopfler himself. Wow! 🙂
Once he left the stage, to enthusiastic applause and cheers, there was a lull in the entertainment while we enjoyed a few more cocktails and the Wave Dancer I glided along on the calm Mediterranean sea. The compère then announced that dinner was ready, but to avoid any unnecessary queueing, he would invite groups of tables to go to the buffet to collect their food.
The food was amazing! It was a large selection of freshly cooked local dishes, lots of salad and barbecued meats, stifado, gyros, meze and fresh vegetables. You could either collect a starter, then a main etc. but we just piled our starters and mains onto our plate; we could always go back later for dessert.
Taking our food back to our table, we tucked in; it was tasty and plentiful. Trevor went back to get some dessert, but as I had had quite enough to eat I declined. 🙂
Once everyone was fed and watered and our plates removed, the entertainment recommenced with an acrobatics team.
The show was excellent. It started off with an aerialist who performed in a hoop above the deck; she swung to and fro as she lithely stretched and did the splits and seemed to dance in mid air. She was followed by a couple of acrobats who did a number of balancing acts; a big strong bloke and a little bloke who could not have weighed more than nine stone (54kg). All in all it was really good entertainment and we liked it a lot.
The Wave Dancer I continued on into the night, gliding placidly along in the balmy Mediterranean air. We enjoyed some cocktails, and then the compère announced that soon a fantastic fireworks display would be put on for us, and for everyone to try to find a space on a platform on the upper deck, constructed for the purpose. As we would be looking up, everyone, he said, would get a good view. 🙂
Trevor and I, however, went to the topmost deck where no-one else was standing. Soon the sky lit up with the glitters, and sparkling colours, whirls and sprays of coloured fireworks, accompanied by the usual whistles and bangs. Against the dark starry sky it looked fabulous, and I was glad my Samsung phone takes excellent night-time photos and videos without needing flash.
We really enjoyed the fireworks display; it was exhilarating. Once we returned to our seats, the compère announced the names of people who were celebrating a birthday, then he asked if anyone had anything else to celebrate, such as a wedding anniversary or honeymoon. When we put our hands up, along with three other couples, we were invited onto the stage and asked how many years we’d been married. Trevor and I, with 36 years, had been married the longest, another couple had 10 years, for one couple it was their honeymoon… and the final couple had only just got engaged. In fact, he had proposed during the fireworks display. How fantastic was that? 🙂
A tray containing glasses of prosecco was brought out, and everyone on stage took one and toasted each other. It was the icing on the cake of what had been a fabulous evening.
By now, we could see the lights of Paphos harbour approaching, so we made our way to the lower deck, ready to disembark. Once ashore, we found our coach and took our seats for the short journey back to the Paphiessa, arriving just before 11.00pm.
Of course, the night was still young, so we sat in the hotel bar and enjoyed a couple more drinks (they do a fantastic mojito here!) and talked over the evening’s cruise. At around £58.00 per head we thought it was very good value for money for what we got, and we’d certainly recommend the Wave Dancer I to anyone going to Paphos. It was brilliant! 🙂
Back in room 028, we got washed and undressed and into our ‘jamas ready to settle down for our final sleep on Cypriot soil, as we would be flying home tomorrow night. 🙁