Day #7: Limassol, Cyprus

As I write this entry, we're just leaving the pier in Limassol.

Limassol seems to be a large, sprawling, and (if I'm honest) mostly charmless city. For a number of logistic reasons (such as resting my leg before tomorrow's busy day in Egypt), we planned to not do much here and simply explored the old port area, including Limassol Castle. Well, that worked out – not too much to do in Limassol. Indeed, even the castle was underwhelming. Remember the line in the movie Four Weddings and a Funeral describing the friend's supposedly smallish castle? “One up, one down.” Good punch line. Sadly, it's actually true at the castle here (unless you count the roof).Here's a photo from the top of the castle:


That said, I'm sure Cyprus is lovely and best experienced outside of Limassol (just like the state of New Jersey shouldn't be judged by Newark). Indeed, going outside of Limassol is my recommendation. If/when we return under different circumstances, we'll make a point of seeing the island more completely.

A few helpful hints: due to the short duration of the time in Cyprus, I'd consider a ship-based excursion as some folks nearly missed the ship today and had to pay exorbitant taxi fees in an effort to expedite their return. Also, if you're just going to explore Limassol like we did, use the ship's shuttle buses for $5/pp round trip – they are well organized and hassle free!

We were back aboard Brilliance in just a couple of hours. That worked out well, as the ship was still largely vacant allowing me to take many unobstructed pictures (all of which I will post upon our return). We also enjoyed a nice lunch at the Windjammer (finally some elbow room!) and some fancy coffee-based drinks at Latte-tudes. This afternoon we attended the port lecture on Egypt, which was interesting and primarily covered the reign of Ramses II (who ruled Egypt for about 60 years, lived to nearly 90, and had over 200 children!).