Europe

[Visited: August 2020]

It is still pitch dark when I wake up in Paphos, and light is starting to be visible in the sky when I drive north. I am out for a long hike, and I want to avoid the heat as much as possible. To my surprise, I find clouds sailing in, and even fog when I get a little higher up the hills on the road north. But once I park at an empty parking lot near the end of the road at the east side, the sun is shining bright. I first have a look at Aphrodite's Bath, where the goddess of love is supposed to have bathed with her lover Adonis. Unfortunately, the goddess is not there, and without her, the pool seems rather dark. I have no time to lose, so I continue to walk the Aphrodite trail for a short while, until I find the main track leading north. On my map, Akamas peninsula is criss-crossed with trails, but they turn out to be dirt tracks. Heading north, the road takes me along the rocky coast, with small beaches below. The sun is burning in my neck, and I wonder how much harder it will burn a few hours down the road. When I find a water source, I make sure to drink as much as I can.
When the road veers left, the landscape opens up, and I can now see far ahead along the east coast of Akamas. I try to walk down to the small bays below, but thorny plants and steep drop-offs make that impossible. Then, I manage to scramble down a dry crack in the earth, and find a lovely beach where the waves are quietly licking the shoreline. To my surprise, I find two 4WDs parked, with tents erected next to them. The people are just waking up, and I walk to the next bay. Again, a lovely beach, but also more tents. I follow the shoreline for a while, then meet the track again and continue my way north. There are more lovely bays, more beaches, and all of them are occupied by 4WDs and tents. I had expected to be hiking nature trails, finding desolate bays, but in reality the dirt track means that all these bays are accessible by vehicles - and a favourite destination for many locals. Which does not make the landscape less beautiful, of course.
After Amphitheatre Bay, the Blue Lagoon, Fontana Amorosa, and other bays, all protected and quiet, the track becomes rougher. From now on, I see no more vehicles. When I make it to a small shrine near the northern cape, I take a break, have grapes, and a dip in the delightful waters of the small bay. Looking west, I see a much more rugged coastline, with cliffs and rocks, leading straight up to a hill further south. Instead of hiking back the same way, I have decided to try and climb to that hill first. I follow the coastline, where rocks have crumbled off the island, the sea bed full of rocks as well. No lovely bays here: this is a different, rough terrain. I follow the ridge further up, jumping over shrubbery, and somehow manage to make my way up. I hope the dead snake I see is not a bad sign. When I hear voices, I am confident that I am close, and indeed, a little later, I am standing next to the building I have seen from below, and enjoy the views of the peninsula from above. From here, I hike a rocky track through the heartland of the peninsula, which becomes dusty a little later on. The trail takes me higher and higher, and I decide to climb to the top of Akamas: Moutti tis Sotiras, at 370 metres. It gives sweeping views over the peninsula; I can retrace my entire hike from here. I see that all those quiet bays on the east coast are now filled with boats. I descend and hike the Aphrodite trail on the last stretch back to what now is a full car park. After this long hike in the heat, the ice cream I treat myself to feels well-deserved.

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Akamas Peninsula (Cyprus)

Akamas Peninsula > Cyprus > Europe

[Visited: August 2020]

Around the World in 80 Clicks