For the 11th and last holiday of the year I went to Cyprus to explore the history, politics and tourism of the Mediterranean island.

Unfortunately as this was now the winter season, I was limited to a twice-weekly Monarch service from Luton to Larnaca - where I wanted to base myself, and this is where I realised just how bad a service this airline provides now. They clearly are on the back foot in terms of proving a no frills service - with expensive seat selection, no food or entertainment, and old planes (with bulky seats) squashed together so much that half the plane probably ended up with DVT by the time they arrived on the island.

Although I had to pay £10 to make sure I had a window seat (so at least for the 5 hours I would have something to lean on), it ended up being quite fortunate, as the two people next to me moved to spare seats at the back of the plane meaning I therefore had the whole row to myself - possibly worth the £10 charge?












 



 
After the disappointing flight, however, my room at the hotel was amazing! Being super modern, there was a digital box outside the room showing the room number and the message to leave - instead of a paper hanger on the door requesting not to be disturbed, or to have the room made up, a touch pad inside lit up the desired notification on the box outside. There was also a speaker in the bathroom, connected to the TV, so you could still listen whilst showering, LED lighting around the ceiling, and a balcony with a sea view. The most awesome hotel I'd stayed in in a long time!

 
 
After waking up the next day for breakfast with a sea view, I caught the bus to Limassol, where after taking a quick look at the castle and promenade, transferred to another bus ending up at the historic site of Kourion, located just within the Akrotiri base. This contained a restored amphitheatre facing the sea, as well as many ruins that could be walked amongst and some historical mosaics.







 

 





 
As there were only a few buses on Sundays I had to watch my timings to make sure I didn't get stuck in the middle of nowhere, but as I was on time I had an extra ten minutes before needing to make my way to the bus. I therefore decided to go back to the amphitheatre to take some more photos, and decided it might look good to take a photo of myself on the other side of the ring. However as the time only had ten seconds and it was quite a large structure, I had to run as fast as I could around it to the spot I had selected with just enough time to turn around and pose. After waiting for other people to clear the area I needed, I made it to the right spot on time as the other tourists watched in bemusement at what I was doing. Nevertheless it made a nice photo!

Despite being two hours away by bus from Larnaca, it was definitely worth visiting, and gave me the historical basis to begin my journey in Cyprus.