The Longer I Stay Here…

…the more I like Cyprus…!!

A thing that everyday Cypriots long for, but still seems out of reach for the time being...

It has all the modern amenities of Europe, (not to mention the prices…!!), yet it is laid back and tranquil… It has obviously benefited from its inclusion in the EU, and the building of new infrastructure is continuing apace… Luckily, most of this is in or near the major cities, but just a few short kilometres from these city centre’s, you can be out in the countryside…

The boys from Daghistan pose with Willi and I... They are part of the Russian Tri-Athlone team, who are on a training camp here in Cyprus, and staying at our hotel...

There is a wide range of things to see and do here, and in summer, the beach-fronts are crowded with tourists… Right now, things are much quieter, but tourists are still being ferried up into the mountains in the interior, where many monasteries and old churches are located…

The roads here are mostly paved, and although in some of the more remote areas I have ridden, they are a little cracked and potholed, for the most part, they are in excellent condition… And speaking of roads and riding, I received the first of many pleasant surprises when I first stopped to refuel on my way down to Limassol on my first day here…

Willi partakes in a spot of navel contemplation, while we "people-watch" from a pavement restaurant...

But first let me explain about fuel in Turkey… I have not mentioned this before, but Turkey has the most expensive fuel of all 60 countries I have ridden in so far…!! At an eye-watering R18.25 a litre, you will understand why I will never recommend you take a self drive holiday in Turkey…!! It will cost a mere R1000.00 a pop, to fill the tank of your rental car…!!  The Big Fella cost around R400.00 to fill each time we went to the pumps…!!

I am reliably told that fuel is so expensive in Turkey, because the Turkish people have an enormous aversion to paying tax, and the government has little choice but to place huge surcharges on its fuel, in order to get money into its coffers…

As an example of this tardiness to income declarations, I can tell you that only one of the hotels I made use of in Turkey, actually gave me a receipt or invoice when I paid for my room… They took my money and gave me the usual “Have a nice day”, as if I’d just bought a bunch of grapes from a street seller…!!

Food is not cheap here... This club sandwich and a bottle of mineral water, set me back about R80.00...!!

Here in Cyprus, fuel is almost half the price of that in Turkey, and hundreds of rental cars can be seen all over the island, proof that riding here is not any more expensive than in the majority of Europe…

English is also widely spoken here, which makes things a whole lot easier… There are two British army bases on the island and many of Her Majesty’s elderly subjects have fled the terrible weather of their homeland, to retire in the warmth of the Cypriot sunshine…

In Limassol, the islands second largest city, tourist information is readily available at  a large centre near the post office, and maps and other literature on the island is made available free of charge… No need to buy expensive maps and books on the history of the island…!! Turkey and other European cities take note…!!

The entry to this Mexican restaurant was cleverly decorated...

Cyprus is the third largest island in the Mediterranean, and stands at the cross roads of three continents –Europe, Asia and Africa… It has over the last 3500 years, been ruled by the Greeks, the Phoenicians, Assyrians, Venetians, Egyptians, Ottomans and finally, the British… And it is currently engaged in fisticuffs with Turkey… Conflict has always been a part of the history of this island, but despite this, the people are friendly and eager to assist with advice and ideas for places to see…

The island is like one huge open air museum… You can visit prehistoric settlements, Greek Temples, Roman ruins, Christian Basilicas, Byzantine churches and monasteries, Gothic Cathedrals, Venetian fortifications in Nicosia, Moslem Mosques and British colonial buildings… It all here on this small island…!!

The Island gets its name from the copper that was mined here since before the birth of Christ, the Latin name for copper being “cuprum” … The Apostles Paul and Barnabas walked the hills and valleys, converting the islanders to Christianity…

We could not decide what to do first, and our indecision was made worse by the fact that Willi had decided to sell his bike to a local dealer, and needed to begin preparing it for the official handover… We took time stripping the bikes down to the bare minimum to make riding through traffic a little easier, and then left Larnaca and headed for the highway…

We took a ride to Nicosia, and strolled down the main shopping avenue, where I bought a few pairs of long pants to take the place of the jeans that I had been wearing… (Having lost a bit of weight since I kicked off my tour, I am now able to pull my jeans off without loosening button and zip…!!)

I also managed to find a paperback copy of Wilbur Smith’s last novel and now need to find the time to read the bloody thing…!!

Border post along the Green Line in Nicosia...

We sat at a little pavement bistro, watching the Cypriots go about their daily business, then wandered down to one of the pedestrian border posts to see if we could get through to the Turkish Republic without our passports… Yeah, right…!! We were politely told that we were not allowed to cross over without our “proper documentation”, which we accepted without argument… Things are a little touchy along the Green Line…!!

We walked back to the bikes, which we had parked near the town hall, and while Willi rode off to Limassol to continue his negotiations with regard to the sale of his bike, I rode back to Larnaca to plan a long solo ride to the far side of the island…

Near the border post, this old man seemed to be wondering how much longer his people would have to wait for an end to the North-South hostilities...

With so much to see, my plan was a bit ambitious, and ended up taking me 10 hours to ride 465 km…!! It was a long day, which saw me riding the last two hours in complete darkness… But man, was it worth it…!!

©GBWT 2010