TheFlyingDoctor

From wheels down to landside took less than fifteen minutes, since (for now) we could breeze through the EU lane, and had no luggage to collect. Although I'd loaded up on roaming credit, the airport had serviceable free wifi, so I took the opportunity to book us a place to stay whilst Luke figured out transport to town. Only once have I arrived somewhere without accommodation already arranged - taking a side trip to Gothenburg during a Stockholm-based trip almost a decade ago. Back then, we had only a paper guide book, and started our visit with a traipse around potential lodgings before realising that the guide prices were per person, not per room... Now, though, smartphones exist, and a quick flick through the booking.com app revealed dozens of options; fearing western European hotel rates, I'd budgeted £100 for a twin room, but here we had options for a third of that. I quickly settled on a two bedroom apartment that seemed fairly central, and £80 or so secured it for arrival in a hour's time. Easy!

Escaping the airport was harder, although mostly due to mistakes on our part. Luke had established which buses we could use, and after some milling around, we were even reasonably certain we knew where the bus stop was- just not how to reach it! The trick is to ignore the signs for buses and taxis (which lead you only to the taxis) and instead head up to departures before exiting the terminal. Sadly, we would continue to struggle with this building...

I'm still not entirely sure that we what we caught was actually a bus service rather than an enterprising chap in a transit van, but for €1.50 each we were conveyed to central Larnaca in half an hour or so, which beats any airport transfer I've used recently. We definitely lucked out with the apartment: it turned out to be located on the coastline at Finikoudes beach, and the 'side sea view' translated to a pair of balconies facing the bay. It was also substantially larger than my flat back in the UK!




Once we'd settled in - that is, discarded wet weather gear and Scandinavian currencies - it was off to discover more of the town. In the limited time available, we stuck to Larnaca rather than hiring a car and venturing further afield. Much of the time was spent just enjoying the coastal setting - although it was starting to look like Spring back in the UK, the weather here was already clearing mid-20s, with the edge taken off by the sea breeze. Most beach-facing establishments had set up open air seating, and even on a Sunday they stayed open until 11pm, creating an evening scene that was 'cafe culture' rather than 'pub crawl'. Sitting out on the balcony in the fading heat, our own conversations mingling with those below and the sounds of the sea, made for a very pleasant evening.




We took in a few of the cultural sites - the main one is the 9th century Greek Orthodox Church of Saint Lazarus, which was closed for a service when we wandered past on Sunday, but rewarded a second attempt on Monday (although the remains of Lazarus have long since left this second tomb, although less dramatically than his first). Also on our itinerary was a pair of small but bargain-priced archaeological sites - the museum, and the Kition ruins. The town itself was architecturally interesting, both for its unfamiliarity (of places I've been before, only Malta felt similar) and the disconnect between the seafront tourist polish and the dereliction that could be found if you drifted just a few streets in the wrong direction.



A final highlight was the food. Everywhere seemed to have an array of reasonably-priced options, all the more so given the portion sizes: try as I might, I never finished a meal, much to the consternation of staff. Sadly, this meant I never made it as far as any of the tasty-looking desserts, but I can definitely vouch for the savouries... Apart from Sunday's dinner, we took all our meals in the aforementioned sea front cafes / restaurants, which seem to be competing with each other for who can give away the biggest meal with a morning coffee.



Given the unprepared nature of the trip, we certainly landed on our feet, as Larnaca turned out to be very easy-going for a British tourist. I'm not sure what influence the UK has had here historically, but the result is driving on the left, infrastructural items such as road crossings identical to those from home, and a complete lack of language barrier. Street signs, menus, and information boards at the museums were generally dual greek / english, and everyone from restaurant staff to the fishing pensioner we got talking to on the sea wall had no problems understanding the double-whammy of our estuary and brummie accents!