Winter Sunshine in Paphos, The Grand Finale

It was Clean Monday, the beginning of Lent for Orthodox Christians and a public holiday in Cyprus (and Greece). What better way to spend a brilliantly sunny March morning than a stroll along the beach?

We caught the 615 from the Tombs of the Kings bus station, which costs, like every bus journey on the island, €2. Coral Bay, a twenty minute ride up the coast, is the largest sandy beach in the area and, during the summer months is hugely popular with young Cypriots who head here at weekends for open air gigs and lively bars.

Early on a Monday morning there was only a handful of visitors and, outside of the summer tourist season, not a single sunbed in sight. Not expecting the weather to be as warm as it was I hadn't packed a bikini and although the majority say that the Med is too cold at this time of year, I'd have been up for a swim.  

After a frappe at a near-deserted beachside cafe with a disproportionate amount of waiting staff, we clambered up the rocks beside the tiny harbour and looked out over the crystal clear Mediterranean.

We followed the signposts to MAA Paleokastro, a Bronze Age archaeological site but of course, being a public holiday it was closed.

Like Paphos, the main street was dazzlingly white and immaculately clean but not tempted the bars offering All Day English Breakfasts or burgers and chips we caught the bus back to Paphos.

 

At Paphos harbour we spotted a table available outside Pinguino, a hip cafe bar which had been rammed every time we'd passed. We tucked into salads - Caesar for Jon, Village for me, which, unlike a Greek salad, comes on a bed of lettuce.

 

We walked off our lunch with a wander along the newly-opened Paphos Skywalk, an accessible walkway linking the archaeological site, Nea Pafos to the catacombs on Fabrica Hill. 

 

We sat for a while in the sunshine watching local families taking advantage of the public holiday by flying kites.

Seeing all the cats tucking into a late lunch, it looked like we'd just missed Gaynor, the Paphos Cat Lady . Originally from the Black Country town of Halesowen, she married a Cypriot and has loved and cared for the cats of Paphos for over thirty years. We'd chatted to her a few days earlier, given her a donation and sent her a little more when we returned home. Times are especially hard outside of the main tourist season.

After a few hours of sunbathing on the balcony we headed out for beers at - you guessed it - O'Neill's followed by dinner at Dias Zeus, a huge vegetarian moussaka for me and a platter of mixed souvlaki for Jon (the first and only time he'd eaten chips all week!)  

This was the view from our balcony, the night skies over Paphos were beautiful.

With the shops closed we'd not been able to buy our breakfast fruit the previous day so on Tuesday morning we walked to the bakery for tahinopita, a sweet Cypriot delicacy eaten during Lent, made with tahini, cinnamon and sugar layered with puff pastry. Seriously, it's worth the five hour flight just to eat one of these!!!

With some many charity shops dotted around Paphos it seemed a shame not to visit them. The stock was mostly Zara and Marks & Spencer - unsurprisingly as there's branches of both shops in the city - the prices were really cheap and almost all of the staff working in them were elderly ex-pats, one even had a resident cat, a toothless ginger boy named Buddy. We didn't buy anything but loved having a rummage!

It's good to see traditional Cypriot life continuing amidst the mass tourism of Paphos, the menfolk enjoying ouzo and backgammon in the sunshine. 

We headed to the coastal boardwalk and enjoyed another long walk along the sea front. 

Before stopping for wine and grilled halloumi at the harbour.

Before returning to Nea Pafos, the archaeological site with the amazing mosaics (seen here) to explore more of the city's treasures.

The Ancient Odeon, carved out of limestone, was built in the 2nd century AD, altered by the Romans and used until the 5th century AD. It is used for open air concerts and festivals throughout the summer.

Rising 36 metres above sea level, the Paphos Lighthouse is a relatively modern construction built in 1888 when Cyprus was under British rule. Acting as a marker for ships heading towards the harbour from the United Kingdom, its light is visible for 17 nautical miles, beaming every fifteen seconds.

The Asklepieion, the sanctuary of Asclepios, served as a treatment or healing centre. 

The castle known as Saranta Kolones (Forty Columns) was built in the 7th Century AD and once served to protect the port and the city from potential Arab raids. The site remained in use until 1223 after an earthquake destroyed it.

After a couple of hours of sun worshipping back on the balcony it was time for our last night out. It was a case of pathos in Paphos as the staff at O'Neill's and at Martelli's, where we had our final dinner, became rather tearful when we said goodbye.

On Wednesday morning we popped out to the bakery for a final bougatsa before packing our bags, handing our keys back to Evelyn and catching the 612 bus to the airport. 

Dubbed "Little Britain", we'd always avoided Paphos but were pleasantly surprised by our week there. Although most of the activities are geared towards the average British holidaymaker there's way more to do than sit in a tourist bar, eating fried food and watching the football. If you enjoy ancient history & mythology and crave some Winter sunshine it's well worth considering - and at just over £200 each for our return flights and a week's self-catering accommodation, it's great value for money, too.

Thanks for reading - and for virtually travelling with us - see you soon!