Saturday 29 October
We land in Paphos after dark so there’s not much to see of Cyprus on our first day. We do encounter a handful of classic Greek/Cypriot men between the airport, rental place and hotel: stocky, barrel-chested and darkly bushy-bearded every one.
We collect our tiny hire car and head north to Aphrodite Beach Hotel. The drive is intriguing: occasional little villages and tavernas that appear out of the darkness and disappear behind us, occasional sprinkles of light a long way off to the right give the only clue that we’re driving down one side of a huge valley scattered with hamlets.
Our hotel room is kinda spartan. It’s very large, perfectly well equipped, and utterly devoid of any warmth or character. Late dinner at 9:15pm and so we head for bed still trying to digest a gigantic plate of heart-warming beef stifado and a giant earthenware pot of lamb moussaka. Both chips and rice with my stifado?! Not to mention a lovely garlicky hummus and grilled halloumi. We’re going to need to do a lot of hiking.
Related Images: