Home » Cyprus » Cyprus 2002 - part I.

Takeoff for Larnaca, Cyprus, is Saturday April 6th at 13.05 with StarTour from Aalborg Airport. We have got a week's holiday left and long for early spring.

Cyprus 2002 - part I.

Eric
2005-12-02 17:39:03

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Cyprus was chosen for convenience mostly. If you want to fly directly from Aalborg at this time of year you can choose between The Canary Islands and Cyprus. For other destinations you must go to Copenhagen or Billund, the airport further south.

We know from experience that it is wise to deliver the cat at her "holiday resort" the day before our departure. The last time we went to Copenhagen the delivery was agreed to be one hour before leaving, but as soon as the cat saw Helle with the transport box, she ran off like lightning, and it took us quite a while to find the scared creature in a closet on the first floor. I guess the box brings back unpleasant memories of visits to the vet. We caught the train at the last moment.

Aircraft-designers seem to have overlooked the fact, that most people have got legs nowadays, but the flight is uneventful except for crying babies. The plane is from EuroCypria, an AirBus designed for 180 passengers without legs. We go via Copenhagen to unload the last passengers, who returned from Cyprus on the same plane, and to top up with more Danish and Swedish tourists. When we enter Cyprus' airspace it is dark, but I get a faint impression of wild rugged mountains before we land in Larnaca ca. 19.40 local time. Local time is CET +1, so we have been in the plane for ca. 5½ hours. Back home it would still be light, but here the sun has set.

We have brought nothing but Danish kroner, so at the airport my credit card gets on friendly terms with a money-machine. Plastic is indeed convenient compared to the times when you had to bring a supply of currency, travellers cheques, giro cards etc. 1 Cypriot pound is 13,12 Danish kroner.

It takes but 10 minutes by bus to Larnaca, but everything is minutely planned. The Swedish guide gives practical information such as where to find the fire extinguishers and emergency exits, about scarce water, sanitary conditions and exchange rates. At about 9 we have checked in at the apartment hotel, Kition, and stretch our legs along the beach promenade. The evening is warm and the air like velvet. Those who are booked for the beach resorts, Agia Napa or Fig Tree Bay, will be in the bus for another hour. A cold pint of lager is just what we need, and that is what we get; first at "The Bull'n Bush" and later at "The Meeting Pub", where a young Englishman is fascinated by the fact that I smoke the pipe.

Along the promenade with all its restaurants, cafés and bars there are tourists galore, but also a fair number of local boys and girls. There's a steady flow of cars. Many with open windows and loud music and most with young men who just cruise in a circle along the one-way promenade and back via the parallel street. A pint of the local and excellent "Keo" is 1.5 £, and we go to bed just after midnight, tired and well done.