On to Limassol

 

After 5 weeks in Paphos, I figured it was time to explore more of the island.  While I was reasonably comfortable in the apartment, the longer I was there, the more issues I encountered which led me to not extending my stay again.

The floors were constantly covered in this sooty residue and I know I wasn't tracking anything in.  I've mentioned before that the building was old and retained the cold.  I also think that the vents were spitting out this dust.  The constant hacking I heard from the neighbors would seem to confirm that theory (so much noise through the thin walls!).

I came back one day to find that the power had gone out.  No big deal, it's happened before in other Airbnbs.  This time, though, it was just mine and one other building in the immediate area and the power was off for hours.  I didn't want to leave to get dinner and have to fumble my way back in the dark, so I ended up having another no dinner night in the place.  Also, I couldn't take a shower because of the dark, so it was a fun night all around.  Power was mercifully back on by morning. 

So, once the three weeks were up, I thought it time to move on.  At least this time, I knew the bus system and should easily be able to move between the cities.  Right?

Why then was my first experience using the intercity buses so much easier than my second?  Despite knowing what I was doing this time, the travel day ended up being a complete mess.

First off, Google.  The Maps function usually doesn’t steer me wrong, but in this case, it told me to catch the bus in a municipal parking lot.  Okay.  That doesn’t sound right.  I entered ‘bus station’ repeatedly into my phone and it kept telling me to go stand in the middle of a parking lot where there was no signage, no bench, no nothing.  Seriously?

There was an elevator shaft nearby since the parking lot was at the base of a hill.  I took it up, expecting to finally see an actual station.  Nope.  Just a sitting area flanked by taxis.  I asked a cabby where I could catch the bus.  He made some vague gesture that the station was located elsewhere, but notably, did not offer his services.

That’s something I’ve noticed in Cyprus.  Not only are the cabs outrageously expensive, but the cabbies act like they don’t want to get a fare.  When I first left the apartment, I found a taxi stand a short distance away.  I told the lady I needed a ride to the bus station.  She told me it would be 10 euros, but that it was only a 15-minute walk.  Okay.  I guess I can walk it … with all my crap … over uneven Cypriot sidewalks … in the blazing sun … while holding my phone to get directions (to a parking lot).  Sure.  Sounds like fun.

And boy, was it.  I left the second taxi stand, thinking the station was nearby, but no.  After wandering around for a while, I returned to that same taxi stand.  I asked a different dude where I could catch the bus and he told me about the actual bus station that was about a mile away.  Just take me there.  Whatever money you want to charge me is fine – just get me there.

Arrived at Karavella station and waited.  And waited.   And waited.  There was a bus already there with signage for Limassol.  But that wasn’t the bus.  Plenty of other buses arrived that were also not the bus.  I really hate waiting.

Finally, a bus arrived and let out its passengers.  I knew the driver would take a break before reloading, as I’d watched others do during my stupidly long wait.  But, come on, dude!  I’ve already traveled over half the city, I’m tired, I haven’t eaten since breakfast, and I just want to get this travel day over with. 

Then, at last, we were allowed to board.  And no, at no point during the hour-long trip did we ever hit that parking lot that Google recommended.  Thanks for that.

I'm not sure why the bus driver had a mermaid doll splayed on his windshield, but I had to take a picture of it.

The trip went well enough.  The spaces between the cities consists of a whole lot of nothing.  Just huge rock mountains with a few scattered towns.  We hit some traffic coming into the city as Limassol is bigger and a lot busier than Paphos. 

I wasn't sure where the bus route would end but, as I was following our route on my phone, I thought to get myself as close to the apartment as possible.  I watched most of the passengers get off at the Limassol bus station, leaving me and one guy on the bus.  We got to the next stop and the driver got up and asked where we were going.  Before I even had a chance to answer, he yelled that it was the end of the line.  Fine.  I'm leaving.  You could have just said that as soon as you stopped.

Now I'm on the side of the road.  I recognize it as the place where I changed buses on the way to Paphos.  But what do I do now?  I'm staying in the city, I'm at least 2 miles from the apartment (and screw walking all that way after the day I'd had), and I didn't know the local bus system.  Sigh.  Time to catch a cab again.

And again, the taxi drivers ignored me.  I thought maybe they couldn't stop in the bus lane, but, as more and more taxis zoomed by me, I started to take it personally.  They see a woman with luggage on the side of road waving and think what?  I'm just being friendly?

I lugged my crap to a nearby taxi stand and managed to convince a cabby to do his job.  He got me to the place with no problem and I found my way into my new home for the week.

My last place wasn’t as nice as the first place I stayed in Paphos.  It was still cozy enough to extend my stay for 3 weeks.  The new place makes me miss the last place.

It's spacious enough and has a gas stovetop (thank you!) but ....

I hit the bathroom first thing (of course) and immediately noticed that the tub (Yay!) had no shower curtain (Boo!).  Why is this so hard for Europe to get right?  Even the last apartment had a partial partition on the shower stall.  But this place?  Yeesh.

Then, the real corker was the toilet.  Not only is the flushing mechanism confusing -- the knob on top that I kept trying to push down or twist until I figured out that you have to pull it up -- but the toilet lid just fell off when I tried to close it.  Are you kidding me?  You know that whoever cleaned the apartment KNEW that the toilet lid was loose but did nothing about it.  Oh, no, let’s just let it be a surprise for the first sucker who rents the place.

I hate that bathroom.

I messaged the host, not only to get it fixed, but to make sure I didn’t get charged for breaking the thing.  They said they’d be out to fix it at a time that was convenient for me.  We’ll see how that goes.  Until then, I’ll just be staring at a gaping toilet whenever I go in there.  (I’m keeping the door closed).

Once I found the big issues with the apartment, I really began to notice the small things.  And, boy, are there a lot of small things.  

Why is the floor so scuffed up?  I already don't like the white tiles as I prefer the hardwood I've had in most places.  But to see that the floor is this messed up (there are scuffs like this all over the apartment) just makes the place feel scruffy.

Why is there a lock on the refrigerator?  I have never seen that before. 

I’ve also never seen a patio with two sliding glass doors.  No screen door – two sliding glass doors.  WHY???

My first place in Paphos had a screen door – a rarity in Europe.  The only issue?  Whenever I’d open the door in the morning, a cat would appear and immediately start screaming at me.

I miss Paphos.