Argaki tou Vasilikou

Had a bit of crazy weather as we moved from Kourion to Aphrodite's Rock outside of Paphos. The skies darkened. We'd heard the prediction of rain, and rain it did, along with some lightning. The only thing we could do was cross our fingers that the weather would dry out quickly before our next destination. What looked like wet snow on the window was not promising, but it did clear up soon enough.

We pulled over on the road by some cliffs overlooking the beach where Aphrodite's Rock was located. Depending on which legend you hear, you'll find different reasons to swim out to and around Aphrodite's Rock. One version has to do with love while another of course is youth and beauty. You could also find true love, supposedly, if you find a heart shaped pebble on the beach. I'm admittedly guilty of picking up a few pebbles here, one sort of heart shaped, but nothing like what a fellow traveler found. Got too distracted at one point on the beach and didn't make it further along. Oops...perhaps I shall return here on a previous trip.

The city of Paphos is the smallest on Cyprus I believe. Now that I'm here, I'm really glad I decided to make Limassol my base instead of Paphos and flying out from here. There's a few sights to see like the Saint Solomoni catacombs where she was first imprisoned for her faith, the tortured and killed. There's a large tree as well with numerous ribbons of cloth tied here. The ribbons represent prayers and hope for a cure for those who are ill. One person even tied on baby shoes.

Onwards to St Paul's Pillar where the apostle was flogged, it's near a site with ruins of past churches, although a small one still stands today. Perhaps the biggest highlight of Paphos was the Archaeological Park. Filled not only with ruins, but also some stunning mosaics remaining from earlier times. The House of Dionysos is supposed to contain the best, but I think the best one is located at the House of Theseus. It's definitely worth exploring here for an hour or two.

Time flew and we had to leave before we could see more of Paphos. I'm glad I took this tour as it helped make it an easy and focused day, not to mentioned a few sites like Aphrodite's Rock that would've been challenging to get to on my own.Read more