One Last Hurrah!

This was the last trip of the semester, and there’s no better place to end than in Ayia Napa – the biggest beach town in Cyprus! Friday - we first stopped in Larnaca and went to a few more sites, I mean I guess we hadn’t seen enough of the religious sites yet. We went to Hala Sulten Tekke, a small mosque – nothing special (I am now ruined after seeing Ayia Sophia and the Blue Mosque because nothing is even close to that impressive). Then we went to St. Lazarus Church. It was pretty with tons of gold and the tomb of St. Lazarus inside/under the church (right). Then we went to the Cultural Center of Famagusta and watched a propaganda film about the Turkish invasion of Famagusta and how they are holding it hostage now. But the lady who talked to us actually lived in Famagusta and was 16 when the Turks invaded; she was still very emotional about it.

And finally, we got to Ayia Napa! Our hotel (above) was awesome and had a huge pool. We got our room and laid by the pool for the rest of the day. Perfect! We had some delicious Mexican food for dinner (first time having it since I’ve been here!) and walked around the main square area. There were bars and clubs all over – that is what Ayia Napa is known for. They were all themed: BedRock Inn (Flinstone themed), Titanic, Castle Club, Pirate Bar, Ice Bar, Black & White Bar, etc. I was glad we took a nap before dinner though, we left “early” = 3 AM.

Saturday – we walked to Nissi Beach – the most famous beach in Cyprus! The water was unbelievably blue! But once you’re in the water it is as clear as bath water! Basically, what you always see on the paradise beach calendars that people put up in their little cubicles at work – that’s where we were! We lay out on the part of the beach that is on all of the post cards – a small sandbar/peninsula connecting the white sandy coast to a little island; it was perfect! It was also an interesting people watching place…yes, interesting. Lots of topless women, thongs, Speedos, and the British tourists who are all either white as snow or red as a tomato!

Then we took a bus to Cape Greco (or Cavo Gkreko) – sea caves in the Mediterranean! We got dropped off at a corner and had no idea where we were. We found a sign that said Cape Greco 2 km, but after that it was not marked anymore. So we wandered around the white coral rocks for a while dodging the lizards that were fast and camouflaged into the rocks and sand perfectly and we over a natural rock bridge trying to figure out where the sea caves were – this was probably the best part actually, being lost and just wandering around. We even named ourselves the Pita Chip Adventure Brigade…long story behind that. Anyways, we finally found a church that had some sea caves, not the most famous ones, but it would suffice for our cliff jumping needs! :) (Don’t worry mom, I did hit any rocks nor did I re-rupture my ear drums)

Sunday – we just walked around Ayia Napa for a bit and laid by the pool and back home to the ugliest part of Cyprus. Ayia Napa was great! The beaches were beautiful and it was so nice to get away before finals and packing this week…whoa, it’s almost over…We went to a nice place for dinner that some of our friends went to the night before and went back and sat on our balcony/veranda all night talking and enjoying the perfect weather that is Cyprus!