Paphos in Spring

Chris and I last visited Cyprus in 2001 when we got married in Limassol, but we decided on Paphos this time as we were showing Bobbi some of the island and wanted a base in Paphos.

The Elysium is situated a good 30-minute walk from the centre of Paphos, right next door to The Tomb of The Kings where we spent a few hours on our second day. Then we headed down to the small, sandy beach at the bottom of the hotel gardens. It was lovely to go for a swim in the sea after navigating the rocky entrance but there’s a jetty with a ladder if you don’t fancy a wincing hobble over the rocks!

We drove up to the Akamas Peninsula, right up on the north-west and after visiting the baths of Aphrodite headed over to pretty Polis for a spot of lunch in the shade of the village square. A short detour on the way back took us to the amazing Agios Neophytos Monastery. The hermit and writer carved a cave out of the mountains called the ‘Enkleistra’, which is covered with some of the finest examples of Byzantine frescoes that date back from the 12th to the 15th centuries. The museum and later church are also well worth a visit.

I used to work in Pissouri, what feels like aeons ago, and was sure it would have changed by all recognition, so was delighted to see that not much was different to a brief visit in 2001, even recognising some of the locals and having a chat.

The Troodos Mountains are always worth a visit, especially in the height of summer to escape the heat and we made the drive up and stretched our legs for a few hours, making stops along the way to enjoy the scenery both ways. Omodhos has always been a favourite of mine and we called on the way back for a late lunch and a meander through the lanes stopping to buy a few souvenirs and some local olive oil.

And of course, we had to pop over to Limassol whilst we were there. Bobbi wanted to see St Barnabas Church where Chris and I married. It took us ages to find it! Limassol must have doubled in size, so we enlisted the help of the local tourist office to get our bearings. The church is much as it was back then with just a few additions like wheelchair access and a tidier parking area.

On our way back, we went via the Kouris Valley to Kolossi Castle, dating back from the Knights Hospitaller, and I was delighted to see that the magnificent, ancient Peruvian Pepper Tree is still going strong, albeit with the help of some strategically placed props!

Kolossi Castle is actually within the confines of the British Sovereign Base Area of Akrotiri and we stayed on the base and enjoyed the scenic drive with the views out over Episkopi Bay, ending up at Avdimou which is very close to Pissouri, so we called in again and had a drink before heading back to Paphos.

Other than a couple of coastal walks down to Paphos Harbour to visit the castle and see the resident pelicans we didn’t see much of Paphos itself this time but had a great time revisiting lots of places we’d both been to separately before. I’m sure Bobbi would have been more than happy just chilling by the pool for the whole week but she did enjoy most of our venturing out, even when we managed to get lost a few times!