What a ride… We were prepared that taking the ferry could be quite an exciting undertaking. But this is not quite what I expected. After another day of relaxing in the mountains near Mut, we drive to Tasucu and arrive there in the early evening. After a quick and not very good dinner at the harbor, we check in at the ferry operator’s office around 8:30 pm. We drive to the port and wait there for one hour. Passport control takes another hour. We are supposed to leave at 23:30. Or so we thought… turns out the port closes at that time, so they just print that time on the tickets. What really happens is that we sit and wait in the port for another 3 hours or so. Meanwhile we see one truck after another disappearing into the depths of the ferry, which in my mind seems to be a real black hole and not a ship, because it really doesn’t look like it can hold that many cars and trucks.
Around 2:30 am or so, it’s our turn to get on board. And now we understand where all the vehicles are going. In a brilliant stroke of engineering, the inside of the ferry has an elevator that can transport a truck (or two to three cars) to the upper level. There may also be a lower level, but I’m not sure. Then we have to wait again, squeezed in between the trucks. Luckily we can stay in the van and go to bed soon after. I don’t know exactly when the ferry left, I think it was around 3:30 am or so. We set the alarm for 8:00 and are awakened by beautiful weather and soon see land: Cyprus, the island of Aphrodite, awaits us!
Naively thinking that the odyssey is now over, we get a reality check just 10 minutes after leaving the ferry. To make a long story short, both Apollo and the camper cause some problems and we’re not allowed to enter this part of Cyprus, which is under Turkish occupation. Luckily though, they do let us in, but tell us that we should continue on to the Greek part of Cyprus that day.
So, after a short stop in Girne (Kyrenia) for lunch, we begin this seemingly never-ending journey and drive through Nikosia (it’s already so late that we get stuck in the rush hour) and finally reach the southeastern coast of the island. After all this driving we are blessed with a fantastic camping spot for the night. Close to Kiti, and about 30 minutes from Larkana, we find a small grove right next to the beach, where we finally, finally get some rest.
And some rest it is indeed. It’s the best campsite on the trip so far, and we make the most of it by staying here for 5 full days, having dinner three times in a wonderful tavern nearby, and visiting Larnaka for a day. What a relaxing start to this part of the Great Journey. We had planned to stay in Cyprus for three weeks. But now we’re not so sure and are considering extending our stay if it’s possible to change the ferry ticket to a later date. But for now, no more planning, just relaxing!