The bus from Nicosia is 7.5 E and is completely full by the time we reach the city limits. It is a big modern bus with AC. Two hours later we pulled into Kavalla Station. We need to take a city bus to get close to our hotel. 2 E each. Then about a 20 minute walk, all flat. Our hotel has a swimming pool and our room is like a studio apartment. Has a stove and small fridge and is steps from the pool. Very basic but ok for 3 nights, quiet and not really close to anything. There's a small market like a convenience store five minutes away. Jeff grabbed some groceries, not the best prices but cheaper than eating out. This hotel has no free coffee or anything else - you can purchase a cup of instant for 3.75 Canadian. Ouch. But our room has good AC, there's a tv and every once in awhile show a program in English. Not right now though.
So Saturday morning we were sitting on the common patio and there were no staff around. A lady was trying to check out so we had a little chat. She was from Dublin, traveling alone, had quite a small backpack, maybe a few years younger than me, seemed mildly confused. She was moving to cheaper accommodation and didn't have a clue how to get there. We helped her figure out how to get there, two buses, quite a distance away. Eventually a staff walked by, she accepted the keys but couldn't offer any insight into buses. Our new Irish friend took our written instructions and hugged us goodbye, wishing us the luck of the Irish. Not easy traveling around alone - good for her!!
We walked to the old town and stopped for a coffee - like five dollars for a cup but the environment was nice, like a big garden with lemon and Pomegranite trees.
The "old town" is lined with souvenir shops and cafes. Since it is uphill we were happy there was an elevator to take us up the hill 
We bought some salty rusks and had a little snack before coming back via the convenience store. Now we have instant coffee so can make it ourselves. I have a beer for later and Jeff has coke so we can lounge by the pool - it's 27 C and hot in the sun. While we were in the old town an older woman, dark hair, no teeth asked us for a Euro. She spoke English with a British accent but was likely Roma. We didn't give her a Euro so she meandered off to other perhaps more generous tourists.
Just a comment: although they tend towards olive skin,dark hair and brown eyes some Greeks have fair hair and blue eyes. Occasionally Turks have blonde hair also. Many Turks resemble Arabs but they started out as Mongolians when Ghengis Khan rolled through Asia into Europe. The Mongolians had a heavy presence in Hungary as well. The Ottoman Empire was vast and included many areas where people of Slavic descent lived - Bosnia has a number of blonde blue eyed Muslims. So there are many ethnic influences over centuries. Including Vikings.
It's nice to have the pool to ourselves. Nobody has used it since we got here.
Cyprus is named after the Latin word for copper. Copper was mined here in 4000 BC and was a major export for centuries. Paphos is where Aphrodite rose from the sea, Lazarus - yes, that Lazarus, is supposedly buried in Cyprus. People have lived here for 11000 years. It is the third largest and most easterly island in the Mediterranean. It has the world's only divided city. (Nicosia).
Tourism is a major industry.
Real estate seems to be booming and there are numerous real estate offices, signs, etc on both sides of the green line. Big apartment buildings are under construction near our hotel (which is an apartment hotel). Paphos is not a big city, around 65,000 people. Nicosia is the capital and the unoccupied side has over 200,000 and the occupied side (also the capital of the occupied side) has over 100,000. Total population of Cyprus is 1,362,000 (and change). We met a couple from Sweden who own a place in North Cyprus and spend several months there every year. So there are all kinds of expats here. They make up 22% of the total population. Travel and tourism generate approximately 20 percent of the GDP. Over 4 million tourists per year mostly from UK, some from Germany and Sweden.The cost of living is relatively high.
Olives, grapes, citrus fruits and cereal grains are grown here and it is said (by some and debatable) that the world's first wine came from Cyprus.
Cyprus has an area of 9.251 sq. kilometers. It has a maximum length of 240 kms from east to west and a maximum width of 100 kms from north to south. Cyprus lies about 40 miles (65 km) south of Turkey, 60 miles (100 km) west of Syria, and 480 miles (770 km) southeast of mainland Greece.
Sunday 27 Oct - high will be 27 C.
We walked to Venus Beach. About 15 minutes.
Jeff was in the water for two hours altogether, came out 3 times for 10 minutes.
I went in once, the beach is sandy, the seabed is sandy and there is a little slope at the edge but very gradual after that. Lots of people, it's the weekend. Families with kids and some pretty dedicated sunbathers, we look pretty pasty in comparison.
I only waded in to my chest, the water was sparkling all around me, really beautiful. Coming out I fell, soft landing so got wet to the neck. That slope was tricky for me to navigate, and the sand was really loose near the shore, so shifting. Vertigo.
I was content to lay on the sunbed in the shade, just looking at the water and the people around me. This time I had to pay five euro for the equipment. Cheap entertainment. By the time we left the chairs were almost all in use, lots of people.
We stopped at a grocery store, Lidl, and I got some supplies including grapes which were delicious, so sweet. Now we are looking for an ATM to get some Euros. Some charge a lot! 
We kind of miss our beautiful clean spacious apartment in Famagusta!! It had such a good shower, this place is tired, the shower is barely lukewarm, but hey there's a pool and it's 15 minutes walk to a sandy beach so good for a budget tourist. It is not the worse place we have stayed in. That bunk bed in Belfast was pretty basic but the staff were nice. The hotel in Dublin was very nice but the staff were oh, shrug, not attentive so that makes a difference.
We are off to Italy on 28 Oct (tomorrow) with Ryanair. I didn't pay to select seats so can't check in until 24 hours in advance, 815 pm. So when you check in you have to scan your passport every time. We got aisle seats two rows apart assigned so that's ok with me.
Jeff bought Salep packets in North Cyprus so tonight Jeff boiled milk and we had some - very good. We will have some in the morning too just to use up the milk.
This featured blog entry was written by CherylGypsyRose from the blog Europe on a Budget 2024.
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