We made it!!

Phew.... we made it! Despite me throwing up in the toilets at 7am at Glasgow airport ( I'll never drink green tea and cranberry again!), AND having to be called by name to the gate at the last minute, we arrived, bedraggled and happy, in Cyprus.

It was mid October, sunny and warm (about 27 deg C) and we could hardly believe that we were here for good.

We were met at Larnaca airport by Costas the car man, and so with a Pajero stuffed with 2 adults, 3 children and 10 bags, we set off on our new life. Our first impressions of Cyprus were: hot, dry, desert-like and quiet.

Our first week was spent at Erimi near Limassol. Using holiday accommodation as a base, our mission was to check out the area and find possible houses to rent. Ah, but there's the call of the beach, the waterpark, the swimming pool, plus the groan of the kids about viewing lots of houses....!! A juggling act was the answer, balancing house viewings with trips to interesting places.

We had a lovely few hours here at Aphrodite's Rock, climbing and swimming in the sea. Legend has it that Aphrodite, goddess of love and beauty, rose from the waves at this spot. The rock is limestone so it's lovely to clamber about on, especially as some of it has been well polished by the many hands over the years.

We also had a fun day at the Fasouri waterpark, visited Pissouri, Paphos & Polis, and the lovely Curium Beach. Oh, and we viewed seven places for rent, two of them apartments, and the rest villas or houses. Apartments seem to be about EU650-800, and villas EU800+. We saw a few that would do the job.

On to the Larnaca-end the next week, to do the same thing!! We had a day at Kapparis and Fig Tree Bay, where the beaches are beautiful. Dad and the kids had a blast on a hired jetbike there. We stayed in Pervolia for 7 days, and viewed five houses. It definately seems like you get more house for the same money in the Larnaca area. We finally decided to rent a 3 bed holiday villa at Mazotos for a period of 6 months while we check out locations for a more permanent home. Most of the rental contracts in Cyprus are for 12 or 24 months, so we want to be sure about where we want to live before commiting to that length of time.

Faros Beach at Pervolia where the sand is excellent for sculptures!! This started off as a mushroom, but ended up as this little guy stuck in the sand.