World Cyprus Larnaca

Cyprus & Turkey 2004

Saint Lazarus of the Beach Jul 5, 2004

Nicosia, just freaking hot.

Today we went to the beach by way of the church of Saint Lazarus. A strange amalgamation that seems to be rather typical of Cyprus. Go see the shrine of the man raised from the dead by Jesus himself and then go to the beach where you can swim in the crystal clear blue water accompanied by lots of topless European women defying gravity with their every step. The church was nice but small and I was rather bored with the endless lectures that seem to accompany every. single. icon.

The beach we went to was at a place called Protaras, a place that before 1974 would have been considered a suburb of Famagusta, which is of course now in that place up North. Protaras is Vegas with a beach - the only Bennigan's in Cyprus is in Protaras, as is Burger King, McDonald's, and nearly every other gaudy/trashy western import. You're more likely to hear British accents or German or Swedish on the beach there. It's the sort of place I would never go to normally, but it was nice to crash out on the beach and turn my pasty white boy skin a slightly less pasty shade of white. (Next to people like Rob and Beach Blanket Ann for whom pale is about ten shades darker than me with a sunburn).

I have no strong opinions of today - whether it be the sun, the sand, the surf, or the saint. The political angle is either beginning to wear me down or to simply pass me by (isn't that sad?), but today was one of those days where my strongest desire was to simply get off the bus, or perhaps order one of those ridiculous drinks with a little umbrella in them.

The days are beginning to blur together. When we got back this afternoon I went shopping to pick up little items for a teaching trunk, but I need to go back into the North to get some stuff and don't know when I'll have the chance. I found some great things at Woolworth's of all places. Let's go to another country and go shopping at a British department store. What a great idea. Next I'll be buying postcards at Marks and Spencer.

I have decided that I like Cyprus. For all its contradictions - and I'm not the only one trying to reconcile them - it is a very nice place. Optimism is in short supply in this world of ours, and I guess I'm impressed by an entire nation of people who are bound and determined - perhaps almost stupidly - to be optimistic.

Or maybe it I'm just suffering from sunstroke. One or the other.