Breaking the Habit: Random Ramblings Across the Globe

"The brakes feel like they are starting to go - you really have to stomp on the pedal to bring the car to a stop. And there's a problem with the fan - sometimes it's extremely weak, sometimes no air comes out at all, but the problem is intermittent and usually only lasts for twenty to thirty minutes". That was my response to the attendant when I dropped off the rental car at the airport at 4 AM today, when he asked if there were any problems with the car.

The response? "It's a Micra!" the rental car attendant said with a smirk and a shrug. Normally, complaints of brake problems on a rental car from one of the biggest rental agencies in the World would elicit a concerned reaction, but apparently not when it comes to this piece of crap car! So ended my time in Cyprus, with a response that was similar to my feelings about Cyprus - it was far from perfect, but it got the job done, and it was time to move on from it!

This was a bit of an oddball trip, one with distinct highs and lows, some of it perhaps a result of certain expectations of the places we visited. Not expecting much of Delphi, Crete, and Troodos, they turned out to be some of the highlights of the trip, while Santorini fell fall short of our high expectations. Though we felt that Meteora was sure to be phenomenal, it was even better than advertised, and while we didn't think Paphos or Larnaca would be all that great prior to arriving, they proved to be even less appealing than we had imagined.

Larnaca definitely was not the best place to end off this trip, as finishing up on a low certainly doesn't leave a great overall impression. For the first time I can remember in a long time, I was actually looking forward to getting the Hell out of someplace and going home! Don't get me wrong, as there certainly were some amazing and unforgettable moments during the past few weeks - it's just that Larnaca was that bad, dulling the highs of the previous two-and-a-half weeks.

You live and you learn ... many times in the past I've found that the places I expected nothing from turned out to be the most memorable. Unfortunately, that didn't turn out to be the case with Paphos and Larnaca but as always, there are never any real regrets with travel - if you didn't make the effort to go somewhere, you'd never know for certain if you would like it or not. Perhaps the proper approach with travel is that when you discover a place that isn't to your liking, you make a mental note to never return, but also remember that place the next time you are somewhere amazing - that way, you can understand exactly how fortunate you are to have discovered a place that you do love. Looking back on this year so far, it's been about as good as it gets when it comes to travel - taking so many shorter breaks, you really don't realize exactly how much time you've taken off, and it's only now that I can step back and see that. It's been pretty damn good!!! But there was something very strange about this year - did you catch it? It was easy to miss, but once I tell you exactly what it was, you'll wonder how you missed it.

For the first time in eight years ... I did not go to Spain!!! Not once!!! And no, that is not a typo!!! OMG, this must mean the World is ending! So with that revelation, the title of this blog finally makes some sense - Spain was replaced with a series of random stops around the World, so this year was all about Breaking the Habit. That is the problem with taking more frequent, shorter trips - Spain was always easy to squeeze into a longer trip, but this summer's itinerary was far too cramped to include one more country.

So in the spirit of broken habits, inspiration for the theme song for this trip goes back to the very start of this most recent trip, to the first few days in Greece when we were in Meteora. As mentioned before, Meteora was the inspiration for Linkin Park's second studio album, and the song "Breaking the Habit" was the fifth and final hit single released from that album. Upon first inspection, the song seemingly has nothing to do with this trip, other than the song's title and the name of this blog.

However, closer inspection reveals a connection, albeit a somewhat dubious one - in the most absurd attempt at drawing parallels in the history of travel blogs, and perhaps even in the entire history of literature, I will try to link the song's themes of drug addiction with my longstanding addiction to Spain. Even worse, I will venture to do the same with my new found addiction - snorting fallen powdered sugar from Turkish delight!

Nobody Can Resist Turkish Delight Powdered Sugar!!

No Sacher Torte ...

Surprisingly-Good Airport Meal ...

After our first night in Larnaca, we really didn't want to come back here for another night, let alone two - but it was a necessary evil, as the only real options for flying out of the country are either here or Paphos. Unfortunately, there was a far better selection of flights available from Larnaca, so this is where we stayed for the final two nights in Cyprus.

Originally, I had grand plans of driving out to Agia Napa, the area of Cyprus known for having the nicest beaches - powdery white sands and crystal-clear waters ... but that all changed after having to wake up early to drop Benita off at the airport to catch her flight to Italy, as she has a little over a week than me left in her trip. BTW, that's just plain wrong - how can anybody get more time off than me? Something isn't right with the Universe!

By the time I got back to the hotel and crashed for a few more hours, the morning was pretty much over, and a quick look at a map revealed that Agia Napa was more like a 45-minute drive away, and not twenty minutes like I had originally thought. The beaches of Agia Napa are also known for their party atmosphere, and I really didn't want anything more than a quiet and lazy final day in Cyprus, having been beat up pretty good by yesterday's oppressive heat in Nicosia.

While Larnaca's weather today was cool in comparison to Nicosia (if you really consider 34 C to be really that much cooler than 37 C), it was still disgustingly hot, with the higher humidity on the coast. A short five-minute walk to pick up some groceries for breakfast left me soaking wet and exhausted, so the plan quickly became hanging around the pool until it was time to grab some lunch, and then hitting up nearby Makenzy Beach for one final dip in the warm waters of Cyprus.

Nobody considers Larnaca's beaches to be beautiful, and for good reason - though Makenzy is considered the best of the lot, it's still pretty sub-standard in comparison to the other offerings in Cyprus ... grey, hard-packed sand with murky-looking waters, these aren't the kinds of beaches the Cypriot tourist board wants to advertise in its brochures. Having said that, if you all you want is a quick sun tan and subsequent dip in the sea afterward to cool off, I suppose it's not the worst place to be.

While the neighbourhood we stayed in is convenient to the airport, it's even more soulless than the rest of Larnaca, set in an area comprised completely of tourist apartment blocks. There are a few restaurants and bars within a five-minute stroll, but the better option is still taking a 25-30 minute walk to downtown Larnaca for dinner. The only problem is that what should be a beautiful seaside stroll is actually taken through a 2 km long construction zone, as it appears that a project to renovate the entire seafront promenade has stalled, perhaps due to the country's recent and ongoing economic woes.

The entire promenade is lined with open trenches, piles of dirt, and concrete jersey barriers - not exactly pleasant, and especially not when lighting is nearly non-existent, making a sprained ankle a real possibility while walking along the rough and uneven dirt portions of the road. It's my fault in the end, as I easily could've driven into town, but feeling lazy and pudgy from too many good eats the past couple of weeks, I needed some exercise tonight, even if it was along an ugly stretch of road. Being a Saturday night, Finikoudes, Larnaca's seafront promenade, was hopping with people out strolling, and also catching a performance of traditional Cypriot folk dancing, making for a half-decent final evening in Cyprus. So the final night in Cyprus ended up pretty much the same as the first night - back at Tuck Inn for one more killer kebab!

Agios Lazaros ...

Last Piece of Halloumi For the Trip ...

Swordfish ...

Interesting Combo ...

Once Again at Tuck Inn ...

Billed as the last divided capital city in the World, I'm not sure if it's stated as such with pride, or with sarcasm. Cyprus's history is littered with invasions by foreign empires and colonization, dating back to ancient times - Ancient Greeks, Phoenicians, Egyptians, Byzantines, Romans, Venetians, Ottomans, the British ... it's a nation that has rarely achieved independence in its long and storied history, and on one of the few instances where it actually did achieve independence, a divided country was all that was left in the aftermath. Nicosia/North Nicosia/Lefkosia ... whatever you want to call it, it's one of the most pronounced remnants of the most recent chapter in the country's tale of adversity. Cyprus became an independent republic in 1960, but as is usually the case with a nascent country, a cause to celebrate quickly deteriorated into violence and a fractionated nation, as old animosities reared their ugly heads.

The UN soon arrived in the capital, and the infamous Green Line was born - as quick as the stroke of a green pen to draw a line on a map of Nicosia, the city was divided between the Greek and Turkish parts, and the rest of the country followed suit. Cypriots segregated themselves along that line, with Turkish Cypriots migrating to Northern Cyprus, and Greek Cypriots remaining behind in the Republic of the south.

Nicosia and Lefkosia, the two halves of this divided city, have evolved completely differently since the Green Line was drawn. While there is a certain feeling of desolation on both sides in areas immediately adjacent to the border, that's probably the only thing the two cities have in common. Nicosia is markedly more affluent, with shops and cafes that wouldn't be out of place in any other European capital, a reminder of the stronger economy that the Republic enjoys, even with the recent economic crisis.

Crossing into Lefkosia, you can see the result of years of economic embargoes on Northern Cyprus - even with Turkey pouring hundreds of millions of Euros into the economy every year, it's obvious that it isn't as rich as the Republic. Cypriots from the Republic that have visited the North in recent years remark that it's almost as if time has stood still for the past thirty years on this side of the fence, compared to the over-development found in the South. Perhaps that's the charm of Lefkosia, as it offers a completely distinct experience from the glitter of the Republic.

The most interesting aspect of Lefkosia was the unique mosques, with the contrast between gothic arches and minarets, a result of the Ottoman Empire modifying existing churches and cathedrals during their occupation of Cyprus. There are few things more tragic than a divided nation, but at least the struggles of Cyprus left behind more than just a legacy of physical scars on its cities, and emotional ones on its people - whatever the problems of the past may have been, this beautifully-seamless blend of architectural styles does offer a ray of hope, as a shining example of how opposing ideologies can exist harmoniously, side-by-side.

In a gross oversimplification of the situation, can it not be as simple as that for people? Can people not look past the history of hate and violence, and past their differences? Sadly, history has proven time and time again that such animosity born from differing ideologies takes generations to die out. Who knows if reunification of Cyprus will ever happen in our lifetimes ... but all of Cyprus was shocked ten years ago when the North finally opened up its borders, allowing citizens to freely cross from one side to the other. It may have been a small step, but it was an important one, the first of many required to hopefully one day reunite this divided nation ...

Welcome To The Other Side ...

Gothic and Ottoman Architectural Harmony

Buyuk Khan ...

No Idea What This Is

Border Checkpoint ...

More Addictive Than Coke ...

Unbelievable Variety ...

First Order of Business in Nicosia ...

Common Cypriot Leftovers ...

One More Meze at Militzis Taverna ...

Soggy Calamari ...

Stewed Items ...

Meat Mastery ...

Sometimes there can be too much of a good thing, and though our itinerary has been dominated by beach destinations, mixing things up for a few nights and checking out the Troodos Massif ended up being a great choice, as our two nights there were one of the highlights of the trip. Beyond the hospitable people, hiking, neat little villages, and wine, the fact that it offered a cool respite from the heat elsewhere in the country, if you consider 29 C cool, was also a nice bonus.

Cyprus is infamous for being a package holiday destination for people from the UK, and for good reason - beautiful beaches, tropical weather, good food, reasonable prices ... why wouldn't it be? Of course, seeing firsthand what holidaymakers from the UK have done to places like Spain's Costa del Sol gave me some hesitation about coming to Cyprus ... but like any backpacker, such reservations didn't matter in the end - if there is a country in the World, it must eventually be visited!

Our hope was that Cyprus would be somewhat like Malta, another country famous as being a holiday destination for the UK crowd, but one we thoroughly enjoyed last year. Similar to Malta, Cyprus was once a British colony, a distinction which I believed differentiated Malta from Spain's overdeveloped coastal areas, giving it more of a hybrid culture instead of Spain's the-Brits-have-Invaded-Spain-and-built-pubs-and-fish-and-chip-shops-everywhere feel.

Unfortunately, yesterday we found that Paphos is no Malta, as we descended from the mountains of Cyprus to its most popular coastal resort area. While I wouldn't put Paphos on the same low level as Larnaca, it's still pretty soulless, even though the waterfront area does have a nice buzz and is actually a pretty nice spot for a stroll. It's just the annoying touts at all the touristy restaurants and cafes that get on your nerves after a while ...

So today, we attempted to escape from all of that to the Akamas Heights, home to Lara Beach, where a turtle hatchery keeps the developers at bay, meaning that this beach is the complete opposite of Paphos - wonderfully uncrowded and devoid of the masses of tourists! Truth be told, that's the best part of Lara Beach - while it's definitely a nice beach, it really wasn't special enough to be worth the effort of getting here, driving over terribly rocky and rough dirt roads for nearly 45 minutes, simply for the views. But it was worth the effort to come here and get away from it all ...

View at Breakfast at the Hotel

Lara Restaurant ...

Lara Beach From Above

Relatively Deserted ...

Turtle Conservation ...

Tweedie's ...

Lemon Thyme Bread ...

Tiger Prawns ...

Poor Choice ...

Duck Breast ...

Roasted Lamb Shoulder ...

Voodoo Potatoes ...

Plum, Limoncello, Almond Tart ...

It's the infamous meal found in Cyprus, Greece, the Balkans, and the Middle East - meze, described by the guidebook as a non-stop culinary assault, it sounds like the volume of food served at this type of feast is sufficient to cause injuries, and perhaps even death. Calamari tentacles sticking out of your nose, tzatziki oozing out of your ears, choking to death on a big fat sieftalia ... tonight's dinner was fraught with peril, but being food adrenaline junkies, we were up for the challenge!

The food comes in waves, with the first invasion being bread, salad, and assorted dips - it's just to get things going and isn't overly substantial, though care must be taken not to overeat right away, as bread and dips can be the worst enemy of the volume eater, especially once bread expands upon contact with any drinks in your stomach. After the warm-up, the real meal begins - various hot dishes, which can include meatballs, smoked ham, and stewed beef or lamb, or assorted seafood such as fish, shrimp, and calamari, if the seafood version of meze is available. Or, you can do what we did tonight, which was order the mixed meze, giving us a bit of both.

But it's not over yet, those hot dishes were just the middle period - a final death blow is still to come, in the form of grilled meats, expertly-prepared as is common in this part of the World - juicy with that wonderful flavour that only a charcoal or wood fire can impart. At the end of it all, some twenty-odd different foods have appeared on the table and crossed your lips - definitely a lot of food, but still not quite what we had expected.

Tonight, we were the victim of expectations, perhaps even impossible ones that were given to us be our guidebook. It suggested that there were going to be thirty dishes, and while twenty definitely is nothing to sneeze at, it's still a far cry from thirty. Even the guidebook's recommended plan of attack was flawed, with instructions to barely sample any dish that hits the table, saving yourself for the biggies that come at the end, in the form of grilled meats.

There was also talk of fruits and pastries for dessert, which was obviously not part of this particular meze - of course, not that we are really complaining about that, as we were more than satiated after tonight's experience. I suppose we also can't overly fault the guidebook for recommending that diners should take it easy during the meze - though the sheer volume of food was nowhere near what was described, there definitely is a possibility of over stuffing yourself to the point of discomfort, but following the guidebook's advice, we managed to avoid doing so.

Of course, this was only a single meze experience, and we have no idea of knowing where the guidebook author had theirs - perhaps it was up in the mountains where portions are much larger and more varied, or maybe it was with a massive group of people, resulting in far more food being served. No matter what, tonight's meal was a still a good one, though we can never quite experience a true meze with just the two of us. For Cypriots, meze is perhaps more about the social interaction than about the actual consumption of food - it's a long and drawn out affair over several hours, and seems to be a bit of a cultural institution in Cyprus.

In a way, the guidebook set us up this evening with some rather unrealistic expectations - normally, unrealistic expectations result in disappointment, but tonight was one of those rare occasions where, even though expectations weren't quite met, we didn't care, as we still enjoyed a quintessential Cypriot experience at the Alkion Taverna. All in all, our first meze adventure was great, but probably the best part was the excellent and personable service, which we have become accustomed to on this trip. We were taken care very nicely in the typically hospitable Cypriot way - and it's that hospitality that has been the highlight of our time in Cyprus, so far.

Aphrodite's Rock ...

Sunset View From Our Hotel Balcony ...

Traffic Jam in Cyprus ...

Start of the Meze Parade - Simple Salad

Dips ...

The Next Round ...

Final Round ...

Look Closely ...

Love Notes or Ribbons ...

Just Wrong ...