Day 43 – Nocturne
The plane arrived in Larnaca, Cyprus, at twenty past midnight. By the time I went through passport control and got my luggage it was past 1am. It seemed pointless to find a place to sleep in Larnaca, so I headed to my next destination, Limassol, 65km away. I had contacted my AirB&B host Georgios during my layover, and he agreed to greet me at 6am. So I pressed on.
After the first couple of hundred meters, I found myself on the wrong side of the road, when I saw a sign: “Remember, you drive on the left side”. Ah-ha, the remnants of the British rule. I moved on the “right” left side and continued on a small rural road. Within a few kilometers, the street lights gradually disappeared and I was soon cycling in complete darkness. There were no cars passing in either direction for kilometers at a time. It was fun to ride in the middle of the deserted road with a starry sky above. It was also slightly eerie. I could hear nature’s nightly sounds. At some point I heard the sea surf, but couldn’t see the water. There were occasional villages with street lights, then the road swung back into darkness. That’s when a car passed me by, then stopped. While I, in turn, was passing it, the passenger yelled something I couldn’t understand. I continued, and so did the car, but it slowed down when it got next to me and this time driver yelled something. That got me worried: deserted road, two guys in a car with unclear intentions, a solo cyclist with a few valuable electronics, complete darkness. When I asked “What?” they just took off.
I continued on and reached Limassol around 5am, just in time for the sunrise. I was very surprised to see I wasn’t alone on the waterfront. There were dozens of people already jogging, exercising, swimming. I went to my host’s place, and Georgios was waiting on the doorsteps sipping coffee, just as he said he would. He brewed me fresh coffee, the old fashioned way, on the stove in a Turkish coffee pot or cezve.
Georgios is an artist, so there are sculptures and paintings and objects he created all over the place. He renovated this old house to have a studio to work in as well as a place to live. It’s in the middle of the old town.
Since I arrived early, I have the whole day to recuperate, after my long flight and sleepless night. And what better way to do it than on the beach, next to a tiny kiosk with shady trees and all sorts of refreshments.
Today in numbers:
65 km – distance covered
3h16m – riding time
32h18m – since I last slept
