Escaping to Cyprus
Two weeks of relaxation, sun and beaches gave us a much needed break away from everything.
Hey it’s Matt!
After our failed attempt last year due to the flights being cancelled (although we did manage to get away on holiday to Menorca instead) we jetted off to Cyprus in July.
Hearing all about it from Jodie and the kids who’ve visited many times over the years I was looking forward to being able to see the sights and the amazing beaches for myself.
Hold up, before we continue!
Before the holiday could begin there’s a slight thing about pre-holiday injuries, accidents or medical emergencies!
Before we flew to Menorca last year Jodie happened to be bit by a Horse Fly which led to an infection on her leg and antibiotics being prescribed a day before we flew. With a little panic of “is it ok to fly?” and compression bandages just in case we jumped on the plane the next day and thankfully all was ok!
This year… more antibiotics. Unfortunately Minnie, our youngest came down with tonsillitis which eased up over the first few days while we were away.
On to the flight!
With the flight not until late afternoon the morning was a chance for us to double check we’d packed everything, triple check that we had the passports and chill out until the taxi picked us up for a short trip over to Leeds Bradford Airport.
During the build up all we had heard was long security queues and issues getting through however on arrival while the queue was longer than normal security went by quickly (poor Minnie did end up getting searched again) and we even had time to grab some late-lunch before our flight.
Five hours went by quickly although my entertainment of choice - The Terminal List lasted one episode before deciding it really wasn’t that great!
Toby was on window photo duty and managed to grab a great snap of the Austrian Alps as we flew past, and we all chatted about everything we’d get to look forward to over the next two weeks.
This is your captain speaking, welcome to Larnaca.
Less said about Brexit the better… however I do quite like having my passport stamped as we enter and exit countries within the EU.
Without checked in bags we flew through the airport straight out to meet our transport to the house - a friend of the family kindly offered to pick us up and came in tow with a unique trailer attached - the back half of a car to store the luggage!
A quick car ride later and we arrived in Paralimni our home for the next two weeks. Being late we got everyone settled, turned all the fans on, cranked the AC and relaxed before heading off to bed.
Hello “Brucester” the wild rooster
The phone screen shows 1:00am, everyone is sleeping. Myself and Jodie get in to bed ready to fall asleep until out of nowhere the loudest cock-a-doodle-doo you’ve ever heard bellows from outside, both of us look at each other before bursting out laughing. We had been forewarned about the rooster who lived in the scrub land opposite the house but we certainly didn’t expect him to sing his morning call at that time in the morning!
Sea Turtles, Iggy and Maria’s
Meet Iggy, our adopted cat for the holiday who we all fell in love with - considering I’m not the biggest cat lover that says something! She’s a stray who stuck by us all the way through the holiday, slept outside on the chair on a night and would always come running over when we returned!
Konnos Beach
Konnos pretty much summed up a mediterranean bay perfectly. Crystal clear warm water and a white sandy beach, we visited quite a few times over the holiday however the first one will be in our memories for ever.
Whilst me and Toby had been snorkeling and found an array of fish earlier in the morning Toby was overheard saying that a sea turtle was out in the bay - all of us jumped in to the water to go see and what’s fair to say was an experience in a lifetime we had the chance to swim up close to a wild and quite large sea turtle.
In the evening we removed the swim wear and headed to Maria’s - a place close to Jodie’s heart and with all of us being hungry after a day in the sea and the sun setting to took a walk in to Paralimni.
The Kanati special was on the menu for Jodie - feta cheese wrapped in chicken then lightly fried with the most amazing mashed potato you could ever wish for. Beef stifado was my choice with the same mash and veg. It’s fair to say it very much lived up to the reputation I’d heard!
Slides, a yellow submarine and beach bars
So one time Jasmine managed to cut her foot on the round swimming pool at the beach bar
Unsure how this was possible as round pools generally don’t have any edges… that was until Minnie did the same on a small tile, that answered that question!
The beach bar was a perfect escape, offering a large pool to swim in, close to the sea if you fancied a change and also within walking distance to Zafeiros - a restaurant right by the sea which served some of the best hummus we’ve had and another favourite of Jodie’s on previous visits.
We all live on a yellow submarine
Ayia Napa - the home of a yellow submarine with a very excentric captain! The type of person who was born to entertain and just make you laugh and smile all the way throughout.
After sailing off you’re taken to the sea caves just off of the coast and spend 90 minutes diving from the boat or exploring as Cpt Yioryis guides you through the caves. Swimming through and over small tunnels, in to the “naughty cave” a pitch black section and out in to a natural jacuzzi.
On the way back to the harbour Minnie even had the chance to show off her skills by steering the boat and giving the horn a good blast or two!
A day at the waterpark
Just up from the beach bar there’s a great waterpark offering multiple different slides and places to relax near the pool. It was here where the next injury would happen! The fastest green slide being the culprit as Jodie flew down the slide only to hurt her coccyx as she hit the water, an injury which doesn’t heal quickly and took quite a few weeks after we returned before being back to normal.
Injury aside we spent the entire day having fun, laughing and enjoying the water and sun - something I’m sure we’ll do again next year when we return (have a feeling that green slide might be given a wide berth though!)
A holiday to remember
So much more could be posted, from the return trip to Konnos, Maria’s, Fig Tree Bay where me and Toby spent 30 mins throwing ourselves in to the water from the jungle float to sunny relaxing days and snorkeling in the sea.
Back home we had plenty to think about - from the upcoming wedding of Jodie’s brother to something really exciting - getting everything ready for our new home, something I’m sure we’ll cover in more detail further down the line!