I started off the day by walking along the beach back towards the Paphos Castle. The beach was a surprisingly narrow strip, with most of the activity happening a little further from the water on solid ground, and the promenade was more upscale and permanent than anything I’ve seen at a typical American boardwalk-style beach. Eventually, I turned back and walked to meet up with the group towards the other side of the strip, passing by a ton of tourists along the way. The Cyprus economy is heavily dependent on tourism (20-25% of the GDP), and as I saw today, this is reflected in the culture surrounding popular attractions.

After playing “volleyball” on the beach for a while, I went to the rooftop bar of the Antasia Beach Club for lunch. I got the line caught Norwegian salmon—marinated salmon with sake, yuzu, seaweed and avocado—and my order ended up taking nearly half an hour despite being a single 8-piece roll for takeout. That’s another inescapable aspect of Cyprus culture—your food will take forever to arrive compared to the fast-paced restaurant settings of the US. The sushi was great, at least.