Ruins and a swim

Nea Paphos

For today I had planned to visit Nea Paphos, the city’s main archaeological site, nice and early to avoid the heat. But with end of daylight saving, we had an extra hour in bed, which meant that it would be sunnier by the time I got there. Ahh well.

Buffet breakfast at hotel was superb even though the place was nearly empty before being mothballed for winter.

Determined to walk less today, I decided to take the bus to town. But being before 0800 on Sunday, I had to wait for a bus (before they become every 10 mins a little later). Nevertheless, it all ended well as I got to the archaeological site at 0840, which was 10 mins after its opening time.

The site dates back from 4BC to 4AD when it declined after being stuck by earthquake. It is famous for its fine mosaic. While some have been well-restored there were plenty of sand and gravel pits which have been marked with what the mosaics had depicted. The mosaic tiles must be somewhere else being reassembled.

It drizzled a little and it seemed I had picked the perfect day for not over-cooking myself. I spent about 1h40 there before leaving.

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Upper Paphos

I took the bus to Upper Paphos which is the old town centre as far as locals are concerned. It was nice enough with contemporary buildings amongst some older ones, a pedestrian mall and some nice government buildings.

It wasn’t anything to write home about but it was nice enough. That’s a description, not a criticism. I took lunch here before returning to the hotel by bus via the Harbour bus station at Lower Paphos.

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Coral Bay

After a brief rest, I took the bus from near the hotel to Coral Bay beach. I was sceptical about swimming in the sea after yesterday’s chilly dip in the hotel pool. To my surprise the water was pleasant despite being overcast all day.

The profile of the seabed was also perfect. It was an easy walk-in into the clear water and it was a very swimmable depth instantly. I stayed about an hour before taking a quick shower (EUR1) at the facilities nearby.

At Coral Bay beach, I didn’t use the banana loungers because I couldn’t’ find anyone to ask or pay. I later found that they are sold by pairs at EUR7.50 with further loungers at EUR2.50. I guess I wouldn’t have paid EUR7.50 when I only needed one. This appears to be run by the council as opposed to some places where it is run commercially, and it’s nearly free if you buy a drink.

I was back in my room around 1545, feeling like I’ve done everything I wanted to do in Paphos. I rested and took dinner at the corner sports bar, having just a chicken Caesar for dinner. I had snacked up on nuts too much during the afternoon awaiting dinner time, due to the one hour time change.

Beer at this bar was cheap! A draught beer was the same price as bottled water! I never expected to see that in a developed EU country. It’s the kind of thing I used to see a couple of decades ago in the developing world where beer was “local” whereas bottled water was for rich foreigners (as locals would drink tap water).