Woke up this morning at 7.30am with the pleasant realisation that I didn’t have to go to work today. The reason? We were heading off on another holiday! Not a cruise this time; rather, a land-based trip to Paphos, Cyprus. We should have been in the Philippines right now, but our trip was cancelled, due to too few people booking the holiday to make it worth going ahead.
As we hadn’t already been to Cyprus, we thought it was worth a visit, especially as everyone we know who has been to Cyprus thoroughly recommends it.
The good thing was that the flight was only from Newcastle Airport, which is only half an hour’s drive away from home. The cold weather and rain had been relentless so far this week, and today was no exception. We left the house at 10.30am as we had to drop Cedric, our cat, off at the luxury cat hotel en route to the airport. He was not impressed at being placed into his cat carrier for the 15 minute journey, and he protested loudly all the way.
Once we’d dropped him off, we set off up the A1 towards Newcastle Airport, as the rain poured down, the windscreen wipers going whup whup as we drove along. There was a bit of a traffic bottle-neck the closer we got, and we were pleased we’d left the house in good time.
We found a space in the long stay car park and, donning our cagoules, we made our way into the main terminal building and to the Tui check-in desk. It didn’t take long at all, and all we had to do was go through security before we could relax in the Aspire lounge. “All we had to do“… if only it had been that easy! As it happened, a ship had been docked in Newcastle the previous day, and many of the Filipino crew members were obviously flying home. They were trying to sneak all sorts of stuff through security, and the guy in front of me had a set of screwdrivers secreted in his hand luggage! The security staff took some time to explain to him that they were not allowed, and he had the choice of going back downstairs and checking them in as hold baggage, or having them confiscated.
Meanwhile, the queue was getting longer and longer while they checked the other bags of the crew members; in fact, it took us 45 minutes to get through; longer than our drive to the airport!
Eventually though, we made our way to the Aspire lounge. By now, it was 12.30pm and our flight was at 14.25 hours, so we probably had an hour and a half in the lounge. As it had a hot and cold buffet we enjoyed some lunch washed down with beer and wine.
Soon the departures board told us that we had to proceed to Gate 16 and off we went. It looked as though it would be a busy flight; after all, Cyprus is a popular holiday destination and most people we know couldn’t believe we hadn’t already been. Cyprus will be our 95th country visited. ☺
The aircraft was only 10 minutes late, which is better than nearly two hours which happened to this flight last week. I have been watching it on FlightRadar24 for the last few weeks, and it is rare that it actually took off on time, 10 minutes late was actually quite good! ☺
The flight was fairly smooth and uneventful, which is exactly how you want a flight to be. We enjoyed a couple more drinks and a snack, then spent the time reading, browsing the in-flight magazine and looking out of the window. We could see the patchwork of green below us, and every now and again the shining silver ribbon of a river meandering far below us.
Our starboard seat gave us a great view of the engine and wing and, as the sun dropped lower in the sky, I was able to get some fantastic photos of the aeroplane wing outlined against the sunset and orange-tinged sky.
Soon the pilot announced that we would be landing in approximately 20 minutes, and asked everyone to take their seats. Out of the window we could see the twinkling lights of the dwellings and other buildings below us as the aircraft began its ascent, lower and lower, until we finally landed with a bump. We were here! ☺
We left the aircraft and walked down the steps into the balmy night air. Despite it being 9.00pm local time it was still pleasantly warm, about 23 degrees. We made our way to the waiting shuttle bus, which delivered us to the terminal. Then it was along to the luggage carousel, where it didn’t take long for our single large suitcase to appear. As we weren’t on a cruise this time, there was no need for all our formal clothes (and an extra suitcase full of shoes!) so we were travelling light.
Inside the terminal we went to the desk as advised in our travelling instructions, where a lady ticked our name off on a list and told us we were on shuttle bus A1. We had a wait of about 20 minutes before the mini–bus number was called, and several of us crossed the road and placed our bags in the back; the bus would be calling at several hotels on the way.
Once we heard the call of “Paphiessa!” we alighted from the mini-bus and retrieved our case from the back. A lit-up sign proclaimed Paphiessa Hotel and we made our way inside, where a guy soon appeared at the reception desk to check us in.
We were allocated room 028 and we had to go outside, cross a small courtyard with sheltered tables and chairs and a covered pool table, and ascend about a dozen steps before reaching the door of 028. We passed several stray cats on the way, and some of them brushed around our legs and waited extectantly outside our door, no doubt hoping for a tasty titbit.
Our room was very large and contained two single beds pushed together to form a double, a separate single bed and a studio couch that converted to a fourth bed if required. We also had a kitchenette at one end, containing fridge, microwave, kettle, toaster and a hotplate. Cupboards on a wall contained plates, bowls, cups and glasses, as well as pots and pans. There was also a cutlery drawer. Everything you needed for self-catering, as well as a large kitchen table and three chairs at which to eat it.
The room also had a dressing table, chair and mirror, and ensuite bathroom containing a bathtub with a shower over it. We were lucky enough to have a room with a balcony, containing a small table and two chairs. It was at the back of the hotel, however, and overlooked the dual carriageway.
We could hear loud music playing, as well as chatter and laughter so, after dumping our bags, we decided to head towards the hotel bar. It was 11.00pm now, and as it was about a 15 minute walk to the harbour and main drag, we thought we’d just stay in the hotel tonight.
A karaoke was in progress and the bar was lively and noisy, and appeared to be filled mainly with Brits, all out for some holiday fun. We ordered a freezing cold pint of local beer each, and sat at a table with comfortable chairs; just what we needed. We watched/listened to the karaoke with amusement as some absolutely horrendous singers got up and murdered their favourite songs, and everyone joined in when they knew the chorus. It was a happy, friendly atmosphere.
At some point in the evening the proprietor appeared, and came over to our table to introduce himself and welcomed us to Cyprus.
The karaoke ended at midnight; I don’t know whether there is some sort of noise-abatement rule in force, but from then on peace and quiet reigned. It was another hour before the left the bar and made our way back to room 028. 1.00am in Cyprus is 11.00pm in Britain, so we weren’t really tired.
The evening was still very sultry, so we turned on the air-conditioning in our room, and settled down for our first night on Cypriot soil. ☺