Got up at eight o’clock, which actually felt like six because of the two-hour time difference. The sun was shining brightly through the gap we had left in our curtains. We hadn’t booked any excursions or other events because we wanted to spend the day exploring the immediate vicinity, and perhaps enjoy the hotel pool.
As nearly all of the holidays usually we book are either cruises or escorted tours, where the itinerary and other activities are already planned for you, we weren’t used to making our own arrangements, so it was all just a case of playing each day “off the cuff” as it were.
Going out onto our small balcony, the day was already looking as if it was going to be a scorcher. We got washed and dressed, then made our way downstairs to the hotel dining room, as we had booked the Paphiessa on a bed and breakfast basis.
I was not too impressed with the breakfast to be honest. It was a help-yourself buffet and it looked as though it had all been done as cheaply as possible. There was a selection of unidentifiable cereal put out in large bowls, as well as a cooked breakfast consisting of fatty bacon dripping in grease, fried eggs, small shrivelled smoked sausages and the most anaemic-looking baked beans I have ever seen.
There was also a cold selection consisting of bowls of tinned fruit, plastic cheese slices and several slices of luncheon meat. Brown and white loaves of bread were next to a conveyor toaster, and a large jar of instant coffee was next to the hot-water urn. Even the fruit “juice” was just orange squash. The whole lot was singularly unappetising.
To be fair though, the hotel is only a three-star, and three-star was what we were getting. I had looked at reviews on both TripAdvisor and Google, and noticed that people either loved the Paphiessa or they hated it. There were were several repeat guests who come two and three times a year, but others had written that it was an awful hotel direly in need of refurbishment. So far, we had found it to be neither brilliant nor poor. It did have a certain laid-back charm despite it being a bit frayed around the ages, but we hadn’t been expecting the Ritz so we weren’t disappointed.
After breakfast, during which I had hidden a cut-up slice of bacon in my napkin to feed many of the stray cats we had seen skulking about, we wandered around the hotel grounds for a while, having a look around. As it had been so late when we arrived last night, we hadn’t really seen our surroundings properly. We thought that today we’d take a walk to the harbour and beach, which Google Maps had told us was a 15-minute walk away.
We got ourselves sorted out then exited the hotel via the rear entrance gate, which took us alongside the duel carriageway. Then we set off at a leisurely pace (it was too hot to hurry!) in the general direction of the beach. On the way, we passed an interesting-looking church which was, unfortunately, closed. A quick look at Google Maps (what did we do before Google?!) told us that it was a Greek Orthodox church, the Church of Agion Anargyron. The architecture was lovely, and we hoped we’d be able to visit later on.
Walking along in the 27°C heat was draining, and soon we stopped at a local store and bought a large bottle of water, as well as some postcards and stamps to sit and write out later on. 🙂
Walking past an estate agents, we looked with interest at the properties in the window. The prices seemed very good and the apartments, with their lovely gardens and communal swimming pools, looked fantastic. We wondered what it would be like to live here, and decided the weather would be unbearably hot during the summer months. Maybe we’d be better of living in good old Blighty. 🙂
Soon we spotted the Mediterranean sea between the buildings, glittering and sparkling under the flawless blue sky. We headed towards it, until we were walking along the main drag. As it was now nearly 11.00am, we decided we’d find a bar with a sea view and enjoy a freezing cold beer while writing out the postcards. Proprietors of the various bars and restaurants stood at the front of their establishments, trying to tempt us in. They didn’t have to try very hard, and we selected a table for two in the shade and ordered our beers. 🙂
It was lovely sitting there, and we had that happy “this-is-the-first-full-day-of-our-holiday” feeling. I had Trevor take a photo of me holding up my beer which I then sent to my colleagues at work. 🙂
Once we’d written out the cards, we finished our drinks and decided to have a walk around the harbour, towards an interesting fort/castle we could see. We could also see all the pleasure boats going to and fro and we thought it would be good to take a look and see what cruises were on offer; we had read before we left home that Coral Bay and the Blue Lagoon were certainly worth visiting.
As we walked along the rugged coastline we saw an ice-cream shop and stopped for a cone, “two scoops please”. We’d no sooner left the shop than our generous ice creams started melting, and the drips were running down the cornet faster than I could lick them up! We went to find somewhere in the shade, but the green pistachio drops of ice cream rained down on the pavement relentlessly. My hands (and face) were liberally smeared with the stuff; I have never known an ice-cream melt so fast.
Once we’d eaten them, I made my way to the shoreline and dipped my sticky hands in the sea, splashing the water up my arms and wetting a tissue with which to wipe around my face.
We then decided to have a look for a Geocache, and discovered there was one less than 100 metres away. It was quite easy to find, so it was another one to add to my collection and another country visited. I only discovered Geocaching in May last year, when we met a couple on a Croatian cruise who introduced me to the concept. 🙂
From here, I was able to get some great photos of the rocky, rugged coastline and Paphos Castle.
As we walked towards the castle, we found ourselves at the busy Paphos Port Authority, where the various cruise operators had kiosks with lots of boards advertising the various half-day, full-day and evening cruises on offer. We spotted a full-day cruise which included visits to the Blue Lagoon and Coral Bay, included a couple of swim and snorkel stops, a full buffet lunch, fresh fruit and an open bar – all drinks complimentary. In addition, if offered free pickup from your hotel and returned you afterwards. It looked very good value for money at 69 euros per person, so we booked it and paid our deposit of 10 euros each. A coach would pick us up from the Paphiessa Hotel at 09:10 hours tomorrow morning. Fantastic.
We now decided another beer was in order (it was thirsty work walking around in the 28°C heat) and we walked around until we found another bar/restaurant, called the Captain’s View, which was advertising Happy Hour. Once again, we found a table in the shade and ordered our beers. From here, we could people watch and we saw lots of people swimming and sunbathing, as well as several intrepid souls who had decided to give paragliding a try; we could see the colourful canopies rising into the air in the near distance. Looking at the rocky beach, it reminded me I had forgotten to bring my water shoes, so after our drinks we stopped at a shop selling beachwear and I bought a pair.
We explored a little more, but as it was now after 1.00pm and we had a good 20-minute walk back to the hotel in the heat, we decided we’d head back, and maybe spend some time sitting by the pool.
Back in room 028, we turned the air conditioning on full blast and lay back on our beds. Because we were still quite tired due to feeling as if we had got up at 6.00am, we decided to have a power nap and we set the alarm to go off in an hour’s time.
We awoke feeling refreshed, and then Trevor took a look at Google to see if there were any restaurants nearby with good reviews. We hadn’t eaten since breakfast (apart from our ice creams) so we thought we’d enjoy a good meal tonight. Trevor found a restaurant called Georgia Meze House which had lots of five-star reviews, so we thought we’d go there around 6.00pm, as we like to dine early.
After pottering around in our room for a bit, we got freshened up and headed down to the hotel bar. Several stray cats approached us hopefully, and we bent and gave each one a stroke and chin rub. The cats all appeared to be well-fed; I think the hotel encouraged them to keep any vermin at bay.
We sat out in the shade enjoying a beer each, and just people-watching. Once the heat had gone out of the sun a bit, we decided to take another walk out and find Georgia and see if all the good reviews were worth it. We used Google Maps to direct us there, but we’d actually walked past it before we eventually found it, on a corner.
It was open, but it looked as if we were the first customers of the evening. The proprietor greeted us effusively, and showed us to a table for two. We were good and hungry by now so, after perusing the extensive menu of authentic Mediterranean dishes, we ordered a starter as well as a main course; Trevor accompanied his with a pint of local beer and I ordered a half-litre carafe of the local Village wine. We also asked for a large glass of water each; you cannot overestimate the importance of drinking plenty of water in this heat.
Trevor started with mushroom soup and I had garlic mushrooms. But they weren’t like the type of garlic mushrooms we get at home; they were sliced mushrooms in a delicious sauce. The wine, when it came, was nothing to write home about, but at only 6.50 euros I didn’t expect it to be. It was drinkable though.
For our main courses, Trevor enjoyed chicken kebabs while I had an absolutely scrumptious pepper chicken, lots of tender breast meat in a savoury sauce, accompanied by chips, carrots and peas. The whole meal was very tasty and the service was excellent. As we sat there, the restaurant slowly filled up and we also had a couple of little furry visitors who sat under our table hoping for a morsel of chicken… the proprietor kept chasing them away but they kept returning, table-hopping in their quest for a tasty titbit. 🙂
Once we’d finished our meal, we thanked the waiter and paid our bill. I knew I’d be adding another 5-star review on TripAdvisor, and we decided we’d come back here again another night.
In the meantime, we had the England vs Greece football match on which would be starting at 7.45pm in Britain (9.45pm here in Cyprus) so we decided to find a pub showing the live footy. We’d remembered passing one on the way, so we made our way back towards it.
The pub was called Mikey’s Bar and obviously catered to the British; either the ex-pats of the visitors. We expected the bar to be fuller than it was, but we did get some football fans in later on. I had my tablet and BlueTooth keyboard with me so, while we enjoyed a couple of beers and Trevor watched the match, I sat and did some of this blog.
It was great in the pub! A lovely, relaxed ambience and the staff were polite, friendly and attentive. It was just like being in a cosy pub back home. We also noticed that they did bar meals here, so perhaps this was another place to eat.
The football match ended in a 1-2 defeat for England, but Greece were the better team and deserved to win. It was nearly midnight when we came out of the pub which was only about a seven-minute walk back to the Paphiessa.
We decided to have a nightcap in the bar, which was much quieter than it had been last night with no karaoke and no rowdy crowds. We’d had a good day today and we looked forward to our cruise to the Blue Lagoon tomorrow.
Once again, we slept well.