So we arrive in Cyprus with no plan, no organized tour, and simply beautiful weather. We had an idea to just get off the boat and hire a cabbie to drive us around for the 4 hours we were to be on the island. We got off the boat, and we did just that. But, not only did we find a cabbie, we found Giorgio and his black stretch Mercedes Benz. He looked like Anthony Quinn and sounded like Telly Savales. He was cooler than cool, and he knew every nook and cranny of his island, and the history...HOLY COW!!!!
The 5 of us piled in and were awaiting for Giorgio to speak....little did we know..once he got started...
Our first stop was the Kolossi Castle where there was a rare Cypriot Sasquatch sighting in the stairwell. He was tracking me for sometime, and I finally captured him on film....
We were like kids in a candy store running around taking pictures and going basically nuts. The day before was so intense in Egypt that this was a nutso run-about for each of us.....The castle was amazingly preserved. It was a stronghold for the Knights Templar, and it had a view that stretched for miles. Around the top of the castle, there was a gap with grates in it. This is where they used to pour the hot oil down to stop intruders. To get to the top, it was about 3 stories of spiral stairs.
After the castle we drove along the coast and went to an ancient amphitheater called Kourion. It overlooked the cliff and the water. One of the girls from our trip ended up there too, and after I got finished reciting shakespeare, she got up and started singing Ain't No Mountain. Pretty cool. We ran all over the amphitheater to hear the difference in acoustics in each spot, then we ran up the hill to the House of Eustolios.
It overlooked the cliff, had in tact piping for the toilets. This house dates back to about 50 B.C.
We then kept cruising down the coast to Pafos, or the birthplace of Giorgio's Great Great Grandmother, Aphrodite
We stopped off at a little roadside eatery and shop. I grabbed a small bottle of white wine, Aphrodite White, none the less....and it was DELICIOUS. Cyprus is known for its wine, and I can see why. Typically when you find a small bottle of wine in a rest stop, you prepare for the worse. I was so surprised, it was delicious! We met another tour guide whle we were there, who was a good friend of Giorgio. She let us in on the fact that he gave up giving regular tours and went out on his own because he couldn't stay within the constraints of what he really wanted to say. I can attest to that, his commentary was both fascinating and challenging.
After these stops our four hours were almost up and we had to get back to our Mediterranean Rust bucket. Before departing, I was talking about coming back for the September Wine Festival, and Giorgio asked that I come back with my sisters and any other beautfiul women that I knew. He was in the middle of a break-up with his English girlfriend.
One intersting note: Cyprus is a big disembarkation site for folks from Siberia, Russia. I was told by another passsenger who had property in Cyprus that Russians walked in, handed him a bag of cash for his property, and he basically walked out. Because of leniency on visas when on a cruise, the Russians get off a boat and stay there to live. How about that......
