Cyprus Insider

No this was not parental advice to my recently divorced friend. I went sailing and did a little snorkeling last weekend. For the first time I found quite a large variety of sea life reasonable close to the shore where before it had been very sparse. Is the water getting cleaner, are the currents changing, I do not know but it was encouraging to see. I like nothing better than fresh sea food but not at the risk of extinction of life around the island. I also noticed a lot of locals around the Rocks of Aphrodite again. Perhaps there is a revival in the myth about love from swimming around the rock.

I have some friends arriving in late September, can anyone recommend a good hotel in Nicosia! Not because I am in Limassol and want them miles away but because they want to stop over for a few days and to go across the border.

My various enquiries have lead me to the Holiday Inn but I would like to hear from anyone with personal experiences of that hotel please.  Also can anyone recommend the best places to visit in Northern Cyprus, general scenery and local life is what we are after, not army bases and tanks.

Having watched the UK flooding and my garden turning browner like my wife who is to say it is always greener on the other side. With August approaching and the thermometer often off the scale it is a tough choice this year in deciding to leave for rain or to stay and suffer in the pool with a little crisp chardonnay. Seems an obvious choice really.

I heard a rumour that Cyprus as a member of the EU will get to take the presidency of the EU for a time. As long as they do not get him to tackle the flooding problems with Cyprus drains (or lack of them it will be ok)

The old airports that we have all spent so much time in are to be replaced soon and construction is underway literally next door to the old buildings. Unlike many new buildings in Cyprus these are going up quickly because it is a provide and manage type contract where the Cyprus Government has leased the new airports to a new company. Hence they want them built and profitable quickly.

But will they be able to train the old staff to unload the bags a bit quicker, to get steps to planes as soon as they land and to stop smoking in the no smoking areas!

If they can get the turnaround quicker then the low-cost airlines will consider the route. It will never be a cheap as Spain, it is simply so much further.

There has been much talk and back slapping at Cyprus HQ over the introduction of the Euro. However what will it really mean for the man (or woman) on the street? Many analysts believe that house prices will increase so many developers are pushing hard - they have been very successful at selling properties in Cyprus on this basis. My sources tell me that behind all the hype some high ranking people in finance at HQ are a bit worried. When the Euro was first introduced into Europe many businesses thought it was a good time to put up prices by at least 10% to take advantage of the confusion - this, in Cyprus’s case could have some serious repercussions. Many people could be worse off… is this really what we need?

On a recent trip out of Cyprus to the UK I had no option to catch the ‘dreaded’ Wednesday flight out from Paphos Airport. After arriving in plenty of time to beat the crowds I was met with what looked like a goldfish bowl with faces pressed against the glass! No, I was not imagining it.. it was in fact departures which was rammed to capacity. I took a deep breath and dived in, and when I managed to get to check in (after about 2 hours and having my foot run over about 10 times) I then had to join the 45 minute queue for passport control. The chaos was unbelievable and as you can imagine, there were not many happy campers. If holiday companies want people to return to Cyprus they need to think about their flight schedules and the airport… well they just need to get organised.

Bar street in Paphos has long been the focal point for the younger element of the tourist population during the summer in Paphos. However, despite the ongoing work that’s happening in the area tourist numbers are down and for every busy bar there are three empty ones. Whilst factors such as the attempted bombing at Glasgow airport has put some people off flying and therefore tourist trade is down generally across Cyprus the days when ‘Bar Street’ was buzzing seems to be over. Maybe the highways department should be looking at the fact that the constant ‘mess’ and road works in the area for the last 5 years or so has damaged the trade. Cyprus shoots itself in the foot yet again.

Welcome to Cyprus Talk. This is where you can comment on any aspect of living and working in Cyprus! In fact if you have anything to do with Cyprus in any way and just want ask a question or vent your frustration or give a your view then please feel free. I am the ‘Cyprus Insider’ and I’ll be dishing the dirt in my regular postings as well as applauding the many worthwhile and good things that happen here in Cyprus.

Together we can hopefully make a difference.