3. Serious travel blog: the toilets of Cyprus

While I’m sure you’re enjoying the newsy updates, it’s time for some serious travel-blog information. This time about toilets. An important element of anyone’s day! Toilets in Cyprus, as is similar to many Mediterranean islands’ where the sewer networks are archaic (much like those in Britain, come to think of it!), are such that toilet paper can’t be flushed and has to be disposed of in the bins. Quite gross. Nonetheless, that hasn’t meant the Cypriots haven’t put quite the effort into making the toilets fancy. The ones in the restaurant bit of our hotel foxed me for a while when I couldn’t find the taps despite the individual ceiling lights each seemed to have …. Until I I turned on the light switch and out the water came. The toilet in our room is an egg that you lift the lid of to access. And of course, as every good shipwreck has, there were a selection of toilets to view on the Zenobia, which is apparently exciting to see. In our dive brief, the man told us about the toilets we could see. Seems odd; I see a toilet literally every day of my life. They’re never usually an attraction … until arriving in Cyprus that was!

On Wednesday this week, after a leisurely breakfast of eggs, bacon, hash brown, tomatoes and a little bowl of olives, we went off in the rattler to a beach on the other side of town for the day. This included passing an interesting Cypriot display of driving care as they were using a cherry picker to put up the Christmas lights. The carrier was blocking the road but as soon as it was high enough, cars were waved by underneath while the men stretched out above and worked on the lights, all without any kind of safety gear, aside from a high-vis vest. At least that way you’ll know you’re about to run someone over when they plunge off the machine into your path! Our day also included a walk along the coastal walkway and up to see the very grandly but somewhat inappropriately named castle and also the church. We couldn’t go inside to be closer to Jesus because sam had her shoulders exposed. She’s not a good Catholic girl like me. We weren’t excluded from the excellent tourist tat shops due to our state of dress so I had a browse and procured myself a lovely magnet! We also walked along the tiny pier and found all the padlocks people have left there. I’m sure there’s a reason or romantic notion that requires it.

Each evening, we switch the air con to low cooling and have a lovely temperate climate conducive to excellent sleeps. We’d done the same on Wednesday night but when I was woken at 2am, I realised it was because I was BOILING! A quick examination of the air con control showed that it had somehow reset itself and was now set to heating with a temp of 28°. Im pretty sure it had achieved its target and no matter water I tried, I couldn’t set it back to cool. Instead I opened the patio doors and let the hot air out as the best I could do! The next morning, I explained to the man on the desk about the malfunction. He seemed a little shocked that such a thing had happened and I hadn’t set it to do that myself. I accompanied further explanation with a reenactment of me waking up boiling from being cooked by the air con, complete with flapping arms, panting breath and general charades of an overheating person. I was obviously so successful that he went off to reset the system and assured me it won’t happen again!

On Thursday, after an excellently diverse yet delicious breakfast of omelette, potatoes wedges, broccoli and fruit with yoghurt, we drove the little rattly car east, past Ayia Napa to a town called Protaras to a beach idyllically named Fig Tree Bay. I’ve realised I don’t know what a fig tree looks like so I can’t identify if the few trees that aren’t palm trees are figs at all. Presumably most of what was here was removed to make room for the hotels, beach walk and bars. Still, it’s a pretty bay with nice clear, blue sea. There are a selection of health and safety nightmare inflatables and floating walking ways that the more adventurous can explore, should they want to discount the safety of going out of their depth and this inviting the sea monsters to come and gobble them all up. We have been fine reading out books, have an occasional swim and eating our Lidl packed lunch!

For our final full day on Friday, we spent the day by our pool on sun beds looking out towards the sea. We enjoyed the usual delicious breakfast; I had green beans with my egg and bacon and for lunch we meandered along the beach to a local coffee shop for sandwiches. When the tea I ordered arrived onto the counter as a tea pot full of hot water the tea bag on the side, I had to get the man to throw away the water, put the tea bag into the pot then pour fresh water into the pot, over the bag while explaining proper British tea. You don’t see them presenting coffee drinkers with a small pile of beans to grind into some tepid water to create their own drink!

For our final evening, we walked along the beach to a lovely seafood restaurant for a yummy dinner then a glass of lady petrol while we made friends with some of the locals!

And tomorrow we begin I out trip home, via Lidl for plane packed tea and to find Andreas to return his car for him and hopefully a smooth journey home!

Contribution from Sam: I did not wake up when our room was apparently boiling, but I have heard all about it.