Отдых на острове Афродиты Holidays on the island of Aphrodite

We rested in Cyprus from 26.09. 2012 to 06.10. 2012. They flew from Sheremetyevo F, the airline "Transaero". We were very satisfied with the service of the airline, the flight was wonderful, we can say that the vacation began already on the plane, right from the friendly service of the crew and a delicious breakfast. We flew to Paphos for 3 hours, and about the same time we got a transfer to our hotel.
Cyprus met us with stunningly bright sun and warmth, especially considering that when we flew away from Moscow, it was something like +9 degrees. For some time I had to stand in a huge queue for passport control, as 2 Boeing 747-400s landed at the same time, and there were a lot of passengers. The Cypriots opened all the counters to make the process go faster. But now, passport control has been passed, luggage has been safely collected, the host (we were traveling with Natalie Tours) met us and directs us to the bus for further transfer of ourselves, precious ones, to hotels. Slightly intoxicated by the heat, we did not even immediately catch that the doors on the bus were on the wrong side! And only in the bus, blissful from the coolness of the air conditioner, do you realize that the traffic in Cyprus is left-handed. (Well, yes, a former British colony, logically). It seems that theoretically we knew this, but practically it is still unusual and it seems that we are about to “hook” someone, but we are turning the wrong way! However, you quickly get used to it, and now you joyfully see the Cypriot landscapes and resort towns.
For the first time in Cyprus, we probably imagined everything a little differently. And, to be honest, the first feeling from the resort towns was a kind of slight disappointment. Expected to see something like "Ah! " or “Wow! ”, and here... little white houses, lack of greenery, a lot of empty sites, construction sites, and a feeling of unkemptness, or something. Everything seemed to be immaculately clean. Perhaps it was the impression of last year's Spain, where the city was impeccably licked, there was a lot of greenery, It seemed that Cyprus would be even more impeccable... However, this in no way can spoil the feeling of relaxation.

We arrived at the hotel by the time we checked in, so we didn't have to wait. They filled out some small questionnaires, then they took our passports (we did not quite understand why, but the next day they were taken away without any problems). And now - we are already in our room, on the third floor, with a view of McDonald's, the entrance to the "Singing and Dancing" fountains and a side view of the sea. The room is quite standard, the safe is only at the reception (but we didn’t take it), you can rent a kettle and a refrigerator (1.5 euros per day, “wholesale” is cheaper - but somehow we didn’t need it either), there is a hairdryer in the room , air conditioning, the TV was immediately with a remote control (there are hotels where the remote control needs to be taken to the reception on bail, but this is not the case). It was not entirely clear why the TV was standing right in front of the mirror and blocking the view of itself, loved ones. It's kind of funny to see mainly the back of the TV in reflection, and not your person, but it's just funny, and certainly didn't cause any problems for us personally. There is an ironing board and an iron on the floor, in a "niche" near the second elevator. But, if there is a need to iron something, it is better to bring an iron from home, since the ironing board seems to have gone through a difficult battle path, experienced and seen a lot, and its relief resembles, rather, a distant “relative” - a washboard. In any case, I did not manage to iron my skirt or my husband's shirt, although I honestly tried, and even dragged a blanket from the room to cover the ridged relief of the board. But where is it! She returned to her room and took out her iron. (Cyprus has a different mains voltage, and they have different sockets. You need a special adapter adapter. We borrowed it from friends who had previously vacationed in Cyprus in advance of the trip, but in principle, you can buy it in almost any store, for about 2 euros . ) Judging by the trace on the carpet, we were not the first to iron in the room. Someone before us left a mark from the sole of the iron on the floor near the table  But we adapted to iron on a small table.
We were able to get to the sea right on the first day. Walk not far, about 5 minutes, there are, of course, a lot of people on the beach. But sea! It's just a fairy tale! Clean, transparent, azure. . . Amazingly warm (+28). . . Corals grow in places near the shore, but finding a soft, velvety, sandy entrance is not a problem. The depth increases gradually, which is especially good for those with children. We traveled a lot, but I have never seen such a sea that you fall in love with right away.
After such a sea, all thoughts of some kind of disappointment and that we were waiting for something else - disappeared on their own. Especially since dinner was ahead.
As for the food, it was amazing. Yes, indeed, breakfasts are less varied, dinners are simply delicious (we didn’t take lunches, so I can’t say anything about them). Among the waiters there are many who speak Russian, the menu for drinks is also in Russian (drinks for dinner are paid, we preferred large fresh juice - 0.5 liters - 4 euros, fruit punches for 2.5 euros, and small decanters with local wine). On the tables, when you come, candles are lit. The drinks are decorated beautifully, the waiters are very friendly and efficient. The food is beyond praise! And when there were meat tables, shish kebabs!... It's such a delicious treat! With fruits, however, not so lucky. The grapes and oranges were delicious. The melons were kind of cottony. And the pears were tasteless. But these are trifles.

And after the first dinner, we already understood why the guide accompanying us on the bus said that by the end of the rest we would begin to sing a certain set of songs. Uh-huh... Fountain show... No, the repertoire, of course, is wide - from the classics - Ravel's Bolero, Khachaturian's saber dance, to Sirtaki, Kalinka-Malinka, Besame Mucho and the final chord - the composition of the Europa group - "The Final countdown". But the music is very loud. True, if the balcony is closed, it’s as if it’s not so audible, but then it’s hot. You turn on the air conditioner. And it hums like a good-powered lawn mower. And how boring! But it is located in such a way that it does not blow directly on a sleeping person, and this, of course, is a plus. The entrance ticket to the fountain show cost, as we were told, at a table without dinner, 23 euros. But for the residents of our hotel, watching the show was not a problem. A magnificent view opened from the roof of the hotel (it did not close, access to it is free), and from the landings, where everything was perfectly visible and audible through the open windows, people attracted chairs from the room, sat down and enjoyed. Very nice, bright and colorful. But, in principle, one time is enough to see.
As for the excursion program, it was here in Cyprus that we tried an individual excursion for the first time. Its cost from our tour operator was 320 euros for two. But, given that we liked three of the standard set of excursions, and the cost of each was about 60 euros per person, we probably won. Since the individual tour included a trip by car for about 8 hours (we ended up with a little more) with a guide, only my husband and I. We chose the time of departure and the route of the trip ourselves. I want to say right away that we were just amazingly lucky with the guide! Elena, that was the name of our guide, had a magical tour for us. We saw both what we planned ourselves and what she suggested to us along the way. Infinitely pleasant in communication, interestingly telling, not imposing anything! Despite the fact that the tour lasted longer than it should have, she did not show any haste and gave us the opportunity to enjoy everything where we wanted to stay. We visited the village of Omodos in the mountains, where they make indescribably beautiful lace and silver products, visited a winery, where we enjoyed Cypriot wines, and tried the famous “Commandaria” - they put the emphasis on “i”, Local moonshine “Zivania”. We chose some of the wine and home, of course. We had lunch in one of the restaurants overlooking Olympus (Of course, not Greek, but somehow, it turns out that Cyprus has its own Mount Olympus) . . We did not even have time to announce that we would like to try the Cypriot national dish " kleftiko”, and Elena has already gone and ordered it for us. As well as a local delicious apple pie. Rather, they are baked apples, topped with large crumbs of crumbly dough and with a white delicate cream on a plate... Prices in a mountain restaurant were two times lower than in a resort town. And the food melted in your mouth. Everything was so delicious, so fresh! Washed down with local homemade lemonade. Even the memory is salivating!
We visited the monastery of Troodotissa, stayed in Nicosia, the capital of Cyprus. However, in the local language it is called Levkosia, and the signs on the motorway are all to Levkosia. The capital, like Berlin once, is divided by a wall separating the Greek and Turkish parts. If you have a passport, you can get through the border checkpoint and to the Turkish part. You fill out a small migration card - Name, Surname, passport number and citizenship, and you go. Stamps are put only in this card, no marks are made in the passport. Of course we went there too. The difference is immediately visible - you get from Europe to the Turkish market. Just like in our movie classic - "The Diamond Arm" - Nicosia is a city of contrasts!
All in all, the excursion was amazing. Informative, voluminous, interesting, and most importantly - you don’t have to wait for anyone, everything is just for you personally. And all in one day. So I strongly advise if you want to visit several places and they are not completed in one “ready-made” excursion - take an individual one and comfort will be provided.

But we ordered a walk on a sea boat at the Nissiotis pier, there are ticket offices there and for 10 euros per person we ordered an excursion walk with a “swim” towards Famagusta, and then to Cape Greco. And a half-hour stop in the Blue Bay for swimming in the open sea. They said that the depth there is 6 meters. But the water is so clear that you can see the bottom!
Swimming was a delight! Comparable only with a parachute flight from a boat (25 euros per person). If there is no fear of heights - it's worth a try, Raise high, fly, soar over the sea, the beauty is below, and it takes your breath away from the feeling of endless happiness! And then they also give you a certificate that you flew at an altitude of 300 meters, on such and such a date, and in general, that's what a fine fellow you are!
However, on vacation everything should please! Moreover, the Cypriots are infinitely friendly and benevolent people, they treat Russians very well, they learn Russian themselves and in almost any shop they can speak Russian with you. And they are also very happy when we try to answer them in their native Greek. At least the same "thank you" - "efharisto" - and they just shine with a joyful smile!
In the town itself on the mountain there is a chapel of St. Elijah. there you can climb the stairs to see the whole of Protaras at a glance
If you wish, you can go to the neighboring towns and the water park yourself. The street on which the hotel stands is one-way, and buses stop at two stops - right outside the hotel. They are signed - on one you can go to Ayia Napa, and on the other to Paralimni and the water park (this is in the opposite direction to Ayia Napa). And buses run regularly, including at night. So, if you wish, you can visit the party-disco Ayia Napa and go back without any problems).
As for shops, we bought food in a shop on the way to the beach. It was very inexpensive. You can walk a little further, 10 minutes walk, there is a Lidl supermarket. There you can buy local Halloumi cheese.

Naturally, there are many souvenir shops for every taste. Lots of shops with watches (? ). Alcohol in some stores is even cheaper than in Duty Free. In any case, we bought a Martini (1 liter) for 6 euros, and in Dutik the price was 7.5. Although this, by and large, is not important. By the way, you can also buy Cypriot sweets - Turkish delight and suzukos - in Dyutik. But we did not know and bought a couple of boxes for treats back in Protaras.
The weather kept us happy throughout our stay. It rained once, and then for 40 seconds. But on the day of departure at the airport, we were met by a thunderstorm, but our flight was delayed with a departure from Moscow, and just because of this, we missed the thunderstorm. And they were already flying into the sky, on which two large beautiful rainbows flaunted across the whole sky... A gift with love at parting from the island of Aphrodite...