Whoever says looks aren't important is either blind, ugly or a lying sack of shit. No one ever gazed across a crowded room and thought, "Holy fuck, look at the personality on that!" But appearances can only keep you interested for so long unless you yourself have the personality of a spanner in which case if you were looking for something long term you should probably grab anything with a pulse and lock it in the basement.
Cyprus is a beautiful place, just stunning in parts. The ocean is clear and inviting and there isn't a piece of coastline you can't stand and marvel at, from the sandy beaches to the rugged, moonscape-like rocks. Some of the scenery will take your breath away.
In spring there are endless fields of yellow flowers, a striking contrast to the light blue sky and the dark blue water. In the summer the full moon rises are unreal; Earth's satellite hangs over the horizon, huge, the colour of autumn, it's impossible to photograph and do it justice. The sunsets are spectacular every time; windmills that bore the water from the parched ground are silhouetted against the reds and the oranges as our star descends, putting an end to another hot, laid back day on the island.
But jesus fucking christ, it's boring here! Oh my god, seriously, there isn't enough blasphemy in the world to hammer home just how fucking dull it is. If it were a profession it'd be accounting. If it were a hobby it'd be trainspotting. If Cyprus were a third date you'd pay someone to burst in and stab you in the face over dinner just so you could get away.
Holidaymakers tend to come over to Cyprus for a week or two, I'd say 10 days is a good amount of time to spend here. So yeah, the 328 days I stayed in Cyprus could be construed as somewhat excessive, but I rocked up here penniless and if it wasn't for the kindness of my Parental Unit I'd have been royally fucked. They gave me a place to stay and fed me and put up with my mood swings as I switched from one medication to another. High five for long-suffering parents everywhere.
Tomorrow I head back to the UK for the first time in 5½ years. I don't know whether to run around the room clapping like a retarded seal or curl up in a cupboard with a blanket over my head and weep. There are definite pros and cons to returning to the UK but I can see the country in a different light now. Before I left, the grass was always greener overseas, the UK had nothing to offer me, there was nothing to do there, I was hopping from job to job, I felt like I was waiting to die.
At least now, having met people that had visited the country I grew up in and had stories to tell, listening to the way they spoke about London or York as if they were places of interests, destinations to be explored, at least now I realise it isn't the cess pit of doom intent on stealing my soul that I thought it was. I'm even looking forward to checking out what Britain has to offer, to being a backpacker in my own country.
I've come a long way since I first stepped onto that plane in 2006. I'm a different person now from the one that first shuffled into a shower at an Australian camp site, anxiously looking around for spiders the size of cats that most probably wanted my liver. 5½ years ago, I would never have even dreamed of getting onto a plane on my own, standing at an airport, sipping my beer and waiting for my gate to be announced. Flying to New Zealand to start a brand new life, entirely alone, would never have even crossed my mind and I would certainly never have entertained the thought of heading to a continent where I didn't even speak the language, clutching a copy of the Lonely Planet, wondering how in hell I was going to navigate my way from the airport to a backpackers.
Cyprus played its part too, it made me realise that I'm not as invincible as I was beginning to think I was, that not everything is going to go my way. It brought me down a peg or two which means I now have a lot of confidence to rebuild, but I'll work it out. I always do, one way or another.
And it's by no means over; There's still a wealth of countries out there waiting to be visited, so many more cultures to learn about, I'm not even close to done yet. I still thirst for adventure, but travelling has forced me to take a step back and view my country with new eyes, so tomorrow the Motherland finally gets me back. I'm pretty sure David Cameron is having the red carpet dry cleaned as we speak.
That's That, Then
Monday, November 14, 2011
Ξυλοφάγου, GB.03, Cyprus
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Comments

2025-02-11
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aeriol
2011-11-14
I love the way you write!!!
You are just as bitter and evil as me!
critters and crayons
2011-11-14
Claire- good luck on your voyage home! Funny you thought of Britain as boring- We loved it and thought it was exciting!
Grandma and Grandad
2011-11-15
Lovely to read you blog. Hope you enjoy your stay inEngland before you set off on your travels again. Have a good journey and keep safe.xx
travelnshit
2011-11-18
aeriol, I feel we shall get on well. Piss up in Bristol it is. Just let me get one of those job things that seem to be evading me first.
Patricia, I reckon it's a case of where you're from. I love Auckland so much, but my mates from Auckland? They can' wait to get away :D
Grandma and Grandad, I'll be up for a visit as soon as I have an income. Love you both, hope you're well :)