Cyprus

Jordan ended on 12 October 2021 and Cyprus began the same day. There were three of us, Francesco Lietti, Francesco D’Agostino and me, with a rental car that had the steering wheel on the right and traffic on the left. “Couldn’t the British have just stayed at home?” was the first comment of the holiday.

The west and the mountains

Paphos and a beach to start with, then the rusty wreck of the EDRO III run aground on the coast, and the dirt tracks around Neo Chorio until sunset. The car wasn’t an off-roader and we drove it as if it were; in my stories I apologised to the rental company and added, in small print, that last week’s vehicle was better. In Jordan we’d had an SUV.

The next day we drove up into the Troodos, on mountain roads, all the way to the white cross on top of Mount Olympus. By evening we were back by the sea for a six o’clock swim.

Nicosia

Nicosia was the serious day. First a lunch of souvlaki, gyros and tzatziki, then the alleys that end against the line dividing the city from the North, two guards at the gate of the UN Buffer Zone, bullet-riddled buildings behind barbed wire and signs forbidding photos. Walking around a capital cut in two is quite something.

The east and the way back

Larnaca, then the Blue Lagoon with cliff jumps into turquoise water (“still alive, for now”) and sunset at Cape Greco. We’re sunset lovers, and Cyprus has plenty of them. On the last day, Aphrodite’s Rock at Pétra tou Romioú.

The final tally: 1,150 km, 25 degrees and two borders, “Turkey (sort of)” and “England”.

Practical notes

• You drive on the left, with the wheel on the right: the first few kilometres need a bit of concentration.
• Along the Buffer Zone in Nicosia there are signs forbidding photos: respect them.
• In mid-October you can still swim, even at six in the evening.