TRAVEL: Larnaca, Cyprus (Part 2) - pottery, mosques, and museums!

Please note that everything I did on this trip was done with utmost care and attention to corona regulations. If you're going to travel, travel safe! 

After spending some busy days visiting other cities around Cyprus (read about my trip to Ayia Napa here), it was back to my homebase of Larnaca. Relaxing doesn't come easily to me, but the longer I spent in Larnaca, the more I realised that it's okay to not always be doing something. Mid-morning the next day, I wandered my way into town for coffee. Unfortunately the place I'd set my sights on was closed for refurbishment, so I ended up at Coffee Culture along Finikoudes Beach for a lush lemon cheesecake and milkshake. Back amongst the chain restaurants in this area of Larnaca, the prices were more 'European' so this treat was relatively expensive in terms of what I'd become accustomed to, but a good place to spend an hour or so sitting and reading in the pleasant shade.

It was back to the beach that afternoon before an activity that I had been keen to try out - pottery at Emira. We were welcomed into the back studio by Michael, who walked us both through making our own clay creation for about 25 minutes each. We learnt how to work the wheel and shape the clay to whatever design we wanted, then having the opportunity to add a design if we wished. I was very pleased with my vase, which I'd be quite happy to display in a store, looking fully professional but also handmade. We'd be back later in the week to paint our pots once they'd been in the kiln. €50 for a private lesson for two, including glazing and firing of two pots - not bad.

Dinner was at Souvlaki.gr. After my coffee and cake a few hours earlier, I wasn't too hungry so just had pita and dip for the crazy price of €1.50! We love a good budget holiday. Then back to the Salt Lake to dance and laugh in front of yet another beautiful sunset.

In spite of being a sun, sea and sand holiday, I'm still getting my exercise in, and spent the next morning trekking towards Hala Sultan Tekke, which claims to be the most important mosque in all of Cyprus. Situated on the other side of the Salt Lake, it was nice to see the lake from a different perspective, although it was stiflingly hot.

I'd read from the reviews online that the exterior of the building was the main pull for visitors, and the location coupled with the domed roof and minaret was certainly a pleasant site. As the weather means few visitors show up in long sleeves and trousers, gowns are available for guests wishing to head inside, so I grabbed one and spent some time looking inside. Nearby, heaps of cats rested in the shade where they are fed and watered by locals - nice to see that some of Cyprus' many stray cats have a place to call home.

A lazy afternoon of beachin' ensued, followed by a return to our favourite breakfast spot, Stoana Kato, for dinner with the same fantastic service as before.

The next day was spent undertaking an amazing underwater activity (check that out here) After all of that excitement, I spent a chill afternoon at the beach, and then headed to my new favourite place - the Salt Lake - for yet another beautiful sunset. Dinner that evening was at Panos Steakhouse which, as the name might suggest, did not have the biggest selection of vegetarian dishes, but did have a pretty decent veggie moussaka, and I was told the meat was very good. We sat along the seafront, listening to buskers serenade us, and enjoyed the warm night air. Nice.

My weekend was extraordinarily busy with day trips galore (read about them here). The hot bus trips certainly merited more dips in the sea, after which on one day we returned to visit Michael at Emira Pottery to paint our works of art prior to their final firing. I chose a turquoise dip, first dipping in the blue glaze before overlapping slightly with clear glaze to create a speckled line down the middle. I think it turned out rather nice.

Dinner was in the terrace restaurant at The Belfry, next to the church of St Lazarus. I can't say I was that hungry, so their tapas menu seemed ideal and I thought the trio of dips, and halloumi wrapped in filo would be perfect. Little did I know that just one of these delicious dishes would have been more than sufficient. A definite recommend. 

After another day trip the next day, the evening was spent at Savino Rock Bar, enjoying the warm summer air and pleasant atmosphere and getting ready for the next day's adventures!

And so I came to my final day in Cyprus. Whilst at the beginning I had wondered what I was going to do with 10 days of relaxing, I think I'd planned my days very well. First call of action for my last day was breakfast, and we made our way to Estrella, a cafe hidden down one of the side streets.

I felt like being a bit indulgent so ordered cinnamon roll caramel pancakes and an iced chocolate. My three pancakes came smothered in a mountain of cinnamon cream cheese and I really struggled to make my way through only half of my meal. Totally delicious, just a lot! 

There were just a few more things to do in Larnaca, so I walked about an hour towards the outside of the city to see the aqueduct which was very well maintained and looked great. Less well maintained was Ancient Kition, ruins which paled in comparison to the day before, mainly because they were just so ruined that they looked more like a pile of rocks. If these are the only Cypriot ruins you'll see, by all means go, but if you're seeing any others, I'd say it's not worth it. Still, I was glad to have gone, as the site had not seen any visitors for days prior to my visit.

Perhaps the most surprising attraction that I visited in Larnaca was the Salt and Pepper Museum. My €3 entry (which I was pleased to hear was donated to children's charities) let me in to the small museum home to over 20,000 salt and pepper shakers from all over the world. There seemed to be a salt and pepper shaker for every single occasion and from every country. The volunteer at the museum was able to point out some of interest, including a blue china collection from my temporary home of the Netherlands, some centuries old shakers, the original monkey shaker that started the whole collection, and the most expensive pair - a rather unassuming pair which I believe had come from a British royal palace and had been bought for the low, low price of $17,000. I could've spent hours there, simply because there's more to see than your eyes can even take in. Very niche, but I thought it was cool.

All that walking had left me with very tired feet so I was keen to rest my legs before heading back to the beach. Sadly this meant that we were too late to rent jet skis from the Finikoudes kiosk, but the owner was happy for us to take out one of the inflatables, so we spent about 15 minutes being dragged along haphazardly behind a boat in a 'crazy UFO', having the time of our lives. Indeed, I'm glad we did that instead of the jet skis - I'm sure I'm more likely to jet ski again, but crazy UFO? Who knows!  

Of course I had to spend my final night in Cyprus watching the sunset down at the Salt Lake. I think out of all of my experiences in Cyprus, that would have to be my favourite. As luck would have it, my body clock decided to wake me up the following morning just in time for sunrise, which was just as beautiful. Poetic.

In summary, would I recommend visiting Cyprus? Of course. It has a great balance of relaxing and culture, great food, and very hot weather if that's what you're into. Having said that, would I recommend travelling anywhere right now? I'm not sure. I truly believe that I travelled in a safe manner given the current circumstances, however the fact that you can't control how other people respond to the current situation would make me hesitant to tell you now is an okay time to travel. For every person diligently wearing their mask, sanitising everything, and keeping their distance; there's another sitting on the bus with mask around their chin, not washing their hands enough, and getting way too close. Stay safe.

Thank you so much for reading my Cyprus blog series and continuing to support Ciara's Country - I truly appreciate it! I love connecting with aspiring travellers from around the globe so I'd love to hear more about your travels, where you've been and where you want to go - get in touch on Twitter @CiarasCountry or drop me a message in the comments below. Happy travels!