Sat Nov 5th Limassol, Cyprus
By Jain
We are in Cyprus, officially our 96th country we have visited since we started travelling some 30 years ago. Trip Advisor ranks Limassol as the 3rd up and coming destination in the world. What we saw of the city, which is admittedly just a fraction of the city, in my opinion, it hasn't yet up and comed. Cyprus was once British but the only British influences I can see is that they drive on the left.
Cyprus since 1974 is an independent country, an island in the Mediterranean Sea west of Turkey. Cyprus Island is divided into two regions one for the Greeks and one for the Turks. They are portioned off by what is called a green line creating a DMZ zone and is taken seriously. UN troops patrol above in their watchtowers carefully watching the barb wire fences. It is obvious the Greeks and Turks don't get along; in fact it would be fair to say they hate each other.
We leave the ship at what is called the new port and decide to walk down to the Old port historical center. It is a half an hour walk, but it took us an hour and a half. We didn't see the sign to Old Town and instead of turning left we walked straight. It turned out OK however because Jay found a store that sold camera cases and he bought one for his new camera.
The weather here is very warm; almost too warm for walking what we estimate was close to 3 miles. Adding that and the miles we did on the treadmill this morning surely qualifies me for some bacon tomorrow morning.
Once we found our way down to the Old port we spun around the various restaurants and shops. We went in gift stores to view the hundreds of olive oil products for sale, because you have to. We were also given a first hand education on various types of natural sea sponges. Interesting but I say if you have seen one sea sponge you have seen them all. After a couple of hours we decide to take the local bus back to the ship with everybody else headed back to the ship. (good choice).
We eat lunch at the Moderna restaurant that is open to those that have a suite. We are reminded how nice it is not to eat in the Zoo. The Zoo is our name for the Market Cafe Buffet where most passengers eat their breakfast and lunch. It is very crowded and noisy and has the ambience of a hospital cafe. It is fun however to grab cookie as we pass by, and Jay loves the self serve soft ice cream cones.
After a week we know at the Moderna restaurant is the place we can get a shrimp cocktail. It has huge shrimps three inches long served in a martini glass with tangy cocktail sauce. We have caught on that most people order a double martini. I mean why have only 3 shrimp when you can have 6!
The table across from us at lunch are people we have seen before. Obviously from their accent they are New Yorkers. They are Isaac and Barbara. They are both pretty funny but Barbara talks a lot and tells really good stories about her money, dead husband, cruising, and Orthodox Jews. Isaac when given a chance has stories of his own to share. Like the day he was working in his office right across from the World Trade Center when it was attacked on 9/11. Unaware of what was happening Barbara called him to get home right now. So he did, he left work hopped on the subway, and minutes later all subways were halted and the World Trade Center fell to the ground. He was lucky to get out.
In the late afternoon we went to the Mandara Spa and relaxed in the Jacuzzi...(my dogs are barking from the walks today). After dinner we go see Adrian Knight who is a mind reader and a hypnotist. The show was entertaining, but we immediately questioned if the participants were for real. Off course we know 2 of them are because we have eaten breakfast with them.
Tomorrow is a big day. We arrive in Haifa, Israel. We plan on taking the train from Haifa to Tel Aviv and switching to the direct train to Jerusalem. We arrive on a Sunday, which is a good thing since there is no public transportation on Shabbat and we would be out of luck.
By Jain
We are in Cyprus, officially our 96th country we have visited since we started travelling some 30 years ago. Trip Advisor ranks Limassol as the 3rd up and coming destination in the world. What we saw of the city, which is admittedly just a fraction of the city, in my opinion, it hasn't yet up and comed. Cyprus was once British but the only British influences I can see is that they drive on the left.
Cyprus since 1974 is an independent country, an island in the Mediterranean Sea west of Turkey. Cyprus Island is divided into two regions one for the Greeks and one for the Turks. They are portioned off by what is called a green line creating a DMZ zone and is taken seriously. UN troops patrol above in their watchtowers carefully watching the barb wire fences. It is obvious the Greeks and Turks don't get along; in fact it would be fair to say they hate each other.
We leave the ship at what is called the new port and decide to walk down to the Old port historical center. It is a half an hour walk, but it took us an hour and a half. We didn't see the sign to Old Town and instead of turning left we walked straight. It turned out OK however because Jay found a store that sold camera cases and he bought one for his new camera.
The weather here is very warm; almost too warm for walking what we estimate was close to 3 miles. Adding that and the miles we did on the treadmill this morning surely qualifies me for some bacon tomorrow morning.
Once we found our way down to the Old port we spun around the various restaurants and shops. We went in gift stores to view the hundreds of olive oil products for sale, because you have to. We were also given a first hand education on various types of natural sea sponges. Interesting but I say if you have seen one sea sponge you have seen them all. After a couple of hours we decide to take the local bus back to the ship with everybody else headed back to the ship. (good choice).
We eat lunch at the Moderna restaurant that is open to those that have a suite. We are reminded how nice it is not to eat in the Zoo. The Zoo is our name for the Market Cafe Buffet where most passengers eat their breakfast and lunch. It is very crowded and noisy and has the ambience of a hospital cafe. It is fun however to grab cookie as we pass by, and Jay loves the self serve soft ice cream cones.
After a week we know at the Moderna restaurant is the place we can get a shrimp cocktail. It has huge shrimps three inches long served in a martini glass with tangy cocktail sauce. We have caught on that most people order a double martini. I mean why have only 3 shrimp when you can have 6!
The table across from us at lunch are people we have seen before. Obviously from their accent they are New Yorkers. They are Isaac and Barbara. They are both pretty funny but Barbara talks a lot and tells really good stories about her money, dead husband, cruising, and Orthodox Jews. Isaac when given a chance has stories of his own to share. Like the day he was working in his office right across from the World Trade Center when it was attacked on 9/11. Unaware of what was happening Barbara called him to get home right now. So he did, he left work hopped on the subway, and minutes later all subways were halted and the World Trade Center fell to the ground. He was lucky to get out.
In the late afternoon we went to the Mandara Spa and relaxed in the Jacuzzi...(my dogs are barking from the walks today). After dinner we go see Adrian Knight who is a mind reader and a hypnotist. The show was entertaining, but we immediately questioned if the participants were for real. Off course we know 2 of them are because we have eaten breakfast with them.
Tomorrow is a big day. We arrive in Haifa, Israel. We plan on taking the train from Haifa to Tel Aviv and switching to the direct train to Jerusalem. We arrive on a Sunday, which is a good thing since there is no public transportation on Shabbat and we would be out of luck.
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