Crossing back to “the south”

Above: People dining on Farenomeni Square.

Today we return to “the south” or the Republic of Cyprus.  We departed our lovely apartment in Gazimagusa’s old city around 0930 for the 1h drive to Ledra Palace Crossing.

We managed to find parking without too much difficulty or circling around.  Once parked, we waited for the car rental rep to turn up at 1100, which was the finish time of our rental period.  When no one turned up at 1105, we left the key under the driver’s mat as instructed.

It was a 10 min walk to the Castelli Hotel.  Despite some shade, I was drenched by the time we reached the hotel.  The maximum for the day was expected to be 41 degC.

One of the first sights upon entering the south is the town hall in exile for Kyrenia, our first stop in the north five nights ago.

As it was only 1130, we didn’t have a room available yet.  We left our bags and headed out in the heat to find a comfortable lunch spot in the pedestrian mall.

Back after 1300, it was a short wait before we had a room.  The heat had really got to Kim and we stayed indoors till around 1715 when we went out for a wander.

It was still plenty hot and my plan to walk him around the green line and the buffer zone, to the Famagusta Gate didn’t go well.  Despite managing to stay in the shadow of the buildings most of the time, he still found the heat too much.

He sat down in defeat once but did continue the walk to the end.  We ended up seeing less than what I had seen by myself when the weather was cooler on my last visit.  It did put a lot of pressure on me in terms of how I can show him around within the limitations of heat and walking distance.

Back in the pedestrian area, we weren’t too hungry and opted for kebab sandwiches as a light dinner.  While cheap at around EUR5 (compared to a typical meal of EUR9), they were generously packed, heavy to hold and then filling.

I finished the evening with repeated visits to the laundry, first to start the wash and then to put the dryer on and then collect the finished output.  In between, I fit in a long walk in the warm night air.

There was a lovely area of sidewalk restaurants near the Faneromeni Church.  Meanwhile, Eleftheria Square was busy with many migrant workers enjoying a breezier atmosphere, as it was more open to air circulation.