Larnaca, Larnaca, Cyprus
This morning I was leaving Cyprus after six nites. I had a surprisingly interesting stay on the island discovering many of its historical secrets and look forward to a return trip.
I left my hotel by 7.20am and walked to the beachfront to where the airport bus arrives. I looked up several bus routes that goto the airport. The best route was # 425 which comes every 30 minutes. The bus arrived at 7.40 and was 1.50 EU cash fare.
It was only a 15 min ride to the airport and I printed my boarding pass. My water bottle had been leaking thru to my pants and I finished off some food before going thru security.
With my window seat I'm always calculating which is the best side to sit. I was on the left for this flight and we flew over two coastal cities. First was Limassol which borders a square piece of land that sticks out and is owned by the UK as a military base.
Next we flew over Paphos where I had stayed for two nites. I saw the Archaeological Park which also sticks out as a square into the ocean and the span of the town spreading out from there.
For the Greek Islands we flew over Rhodes. Being on the left side I only saw the less populated south of the island not the north where Rhodes Town is.
On descent into Athens you see some of the city from the left side. However the new airport is further out and mountains block the city view. All of central Athens is blocked by mountains.
I wasnt that excited to be back in Athens, I'd had enough and it was making me sick with coughing and runny nose. I was arriving by noon and the plan originally was to take the train back to the city and visit some museums. However at this point now I had no desire to return back and pay 10 EU each way for the train.
At passport control they seemed to think I was lost, the lone brown guy going into the EU line, so I had to show my UK passport.
I'd chosen a guest house 10 mins from the airport for my 6am flight out tomorrow morning. I had to call the driver for their free pickup. I didnt know if there were any shops by the guesthouse so I got some food and drink to last me to tomorrow mornings flight.
I wasnt expecting much with this guesthouse and just treating it as an overnight pitstop expecting to be back in the city during the day. Their photos weren't that great but it was actually much nicer and a quiet relaxing place to stay for the day.
They said they can offer meals for extra price or could drive me to the nearby beach. I was too tired to be going out and didnt want to be in the sun so decided just to stay indoors, watch tv, and rest.
On google maps I was able to find some shops nearby. This is a residential area with no shops or street lighting. You have to walk for about 10 mins down a dirt track and a side street to get back to the main branch road where there is a bus stop, convenience store, and bakery. I got some pastries and it was a nice quiet sleepy place to hang out for my morning connection.
crowdywendy
2017-11-13
You sure chose the right seat on the aircraft Asif! The guest house and surrounds at Athens airport sound like our sort of place too. Interesting read! Thank you.