Limassol and Paphos

Allan and I decided to rent a car for the weekend so we could drive to Paphos and do some sightseeing. To be accurate, Allan drove and I tried to navigate using the maps provided with the car (which were not detailed enough). Suffice to say that Allan managed to stay on the right side of the road -- that is, the left side which is the correct side -- and I did get us from Nicosia to Paphos and back.

What we didnt foresee though was the time that we would spend in one place. It took us more than hour to just go around Kurion. The ruins with their mosaics and remains of public baths, pillars, columns and the theatre along with the magnificant views of the sea and surrounding hills and plains was just not that easy to leave behind. We had three more sights to see, and an entire town choc-ful of spots to visit...but what the hey, the whole point in renting a car and doing some exploring on our own was so we could take our time and spend as much time in one place as we thought fit.

After a late lunch, we made our way onwards, moving forward and backtracking every few times whenever we make wrong turns. Our next stop was the Sanctuary of Apollo to pay homage to the Greek God. Again, we're faced with more ruins, remains of what was obviously a vast area where people commune to do, well, whatever it was they needed to do. A temple here, mosaics there, columns and pillars here and there...Kurion was obvoiusly, once a very very busy area.



Moving foward through our scenic route, my attempts to find english songs over the local radio channels would be periodically interrupted with oohs and aahs and pleased reactions to what we passed. Just going past a bend in the road meant we may probably be gifted with another breathtaking view of the coastline, or possibly, a particuarly impressive cliff. At one point, Allan did stop at a roadside parking area to take in the view and take photos...a few meters later, we realize that what we were looking at was actually what we were supposed to visit next, Aphrodite's Rock, where, as Mythology suggests, the goddess was born. Stopping once more (twice actually), we couldnt figure out which rock was which...that being the only downside to not having a tour guide. Whichever rock it may be, we have photos and we've seen it.

When we reached the Sanctuary of Aphrodite...we were greeted with closed gates. Our visit to Kurion took longer than we thought and it was already 4 pm when we reached the place....and from there Paphos was something like 20 km away still. It meant we may not be able to go around Paphos...but when you're almost there anyway, why turn back?

Once in Paphos, we confirmed that the sights were closed and opted instead to stay at the harbour to grab a bite before the drive home. There would be other weekends and we can always return. Next time we head off to Paphos, Allan would be even more comfortable driving on the other side of the road, and well, I will insist that he look for the radio remote way before we go on the road.