Finally a break with these fearful afternoon winds. Overnight all is dead calm but by noon the west winds pick up to Force 6 to 7 with some gusts to 40 knots!! After extending our 'one night only' stay at San Raphael Marina into three (Tom is quite the charmer with the front office ladies) we departed Limassol at 545 am and made excellent time on the 30 nm trip to Larnaca. The west winds did come early however making our docking maneuvers challenging. This marina is full up as well so we ended up in the lift well until Monday when the winds are forecast to be a bit less.
Larnaca marina is opposite the main town square. Shopping, cafes, restaurants all abound close by. After a day at sea we all felt like a walk. Took a wonderful hike along the seaside boardwalk, past a Crusader fort, and on to the old Turk quarter near the well kept fishing harbour. Many seafood restaurants along the shore here and based on a recommendation from a local we had a wonderful meal of Sea Bream, Sea Bass and Calamari at his wife's cousin's husbands place. Highly satisfying and not expensive.
Larnaca is a small city of 70,000. It is also the site of ancient Kition where some of the Achaean Greeks settled after the Trojan Wars (13th century BC). There is a long Greek history here on the island of Cyprus. The language is Greek with most folks speaking quite good English as well. Cyprus is part of the EU so the currency is in Euros.
(As a side note; we were buying Euros for $1.79 during the Spanish Campaign of 2009. Getting Euros for $1.28 now. Makes quite a difference for cruising Canadians!)
Next on the agenda: A tour of Larnaca and surrounding area.