A Weekend in Polis

This weekend the Summer in Cyprus group went to Polis. Although we had to study for our final while there, we still had an amazing time. Friday morning was a bit difficult for me as I got to bed at 4am and had to be on the bus by 8am. I slept the entire bus ride to Polis and we got to the hotel around 11am. Angie and I roomed together and our apartment room was literally right next to the pool! We dropped our bags and went to get lunch on the boardwalk right outside the hotel. We then continued our walk along the rocks and I took a lot of pictures. Angie and I got sunburned - oops. Angie, Alex, and I then went in the pool, which was pretty amazing. It had a water slide, a bridge that was very cavelike, and a small waterfall cave with water jets for a lower back massage. We then played cards with Sarah and Akanksha. As the sun began to set, I dragged everyone down to the beach to take sunset pictures - which came out beautiful and totally put a smile on my face. That evening we ate at Y&P restaurant, which is our GLS advisor's favorite place to eat in Polis. I had sheftalia, which are traditional Cypriot meatballs. We then all bought dessert and traded so we could have a little bit of everything. I understand why this place gets good reviews - the food was delicious! We then went to a bar to watch the futbol game, although the majority of us did not buy any drinks. Angie and I left early to head back to our hotel room for the night.


On Saturday, six of us woke up early to go for an "easy hike." I had forgotten my sneakers back in Nicosia which meant that I hiked the mountain in flip flops - yup, flip flops. It was not that bad of a hike. Sarah only had boat shoes, and me in flip flops, but we were sprinting up the mountain ahead of the rest. Originally, we meant to take the Aphrodite Trail, which leads to the peak and then comes back down the opposite side. To be completely honest, I have no idea which trails we actually took. We started out on a path which brough us by the site where Aphrodite bathes and then ended up on a road. Then, a rainstorm hit us so we were trudging along slower in the rain (and me in flip flops). The rain eventually subsided and we found a path which we believe was the Aphrodite Trail. We summited around 11am and the view was beautiful. On our way down, we got completely lost on the trails, but managed to find an old church, the Adonis Trail, and a dried up river bed. We also climbed a bunch of trees and got some amazing photographs. Eventually we returned to where we had started - five and a half hours later. We ate at the closest restaurant we could find, and ate like savages. The bread and butter was gone within seconds and when our waiter came back to give us our water, his facial expression was hilarious. I think he could not believe that we had already consumed a loaf of bread. With six people and a 5+ hour hike, the bread was gone. Once we got back to the hotel, the majority of us fell asleep. I sat outside and studied for my final until the sun began to set. Alex, Angie and I went to the deck at the hotel restaurant to watch the sunset. It was not as impressive as Friday's and was also much more cloudy, but the photographs still turned out beautiful. The group then headed down to a restaurant on the boardwalk for dinner. I had a traditional Cypriot pork kabob and was sort of hit-on by the Hungarian waiter, which was amusing to say the least. He offered us two bottles of wine on the house, but we had to break it to him that we don't drink. After that, we headed over to meet up with the other GLS students at a bar to watch the futbol game, US vs Ghana. It is disappointing that the US lost, even more that the entire bar was cheering for Ghana and not the US. No worries though, the GLS students certainly cheered on the US. After the game was over we headed back to the apartment for bed. Surprisingly, my feet didn't hurt as bad at I thought they would. Although, one hike in flip flops is enough for me. Now I never have to do it again!



Sunday morning Angie, Alex, and I ate breakfast and then watched a stupid, but cute, kitten for about an hour. The mother was trying to get the kitten to climb up a tree, and the kitten was just not paying attention at all! Checkout was at noon so we all studied in the lobby area until we left to come back to Nicosia. We did not get back to Nicosia until about four hours after we left - long story, you will hve to ask me in person. We grabbed dinner and then I studied for the rest of the evening.