Today was the highly anticipated trip to Paphos! After a quick breakfast, we were out the door and on the bus to our first destination: Aphrodite’s Rock! I was super excited to see this sight, and the views did not disappoint. From the super impressive and large rocks that were known as Aphrodite’s birthplace and the crystal clear water, it was another beach in Cyprus that did not leave me disappointed. We also were able to find super cool rocks to bring home with us at souvenirs, because the beach was all rock, not sand. 

After this visit we headed to the tomb of the kings, which was equally impressive as Aphrodite’s rock, but underground! The most impressive fact to me was that the whole tomb was built out of one rock. It was amazing to me that over all this time, there have not been many structures within the tomb that have fallen or eroded too much to the point where it cannot be a site. The columns built within the tombs were very intricate and were very intact for being so old. Additionally I was impressed with the vast amount of tombs spread across the site. One thing my friends and I discussed was how crazy it was to think that if they had built the sites even one or two feet over, how the whole structure could not have worked, so they were essentially building with only luck to make sure the structure stayed in tact. 

From there, we headed to a more touristy boardwalk in Paphos, where we had lunch and some free-time. I’ve noticed on this trip I tend to prefer the non-touristy areas to the touristy ones. For example, since there are less tourists in the area we stay in, it is easier to explore more authentic places and talk to more locals, while in the more touristy parts everyone is really trying to sell you things and the experience seems a lot less authentic and more stressful. 

While we were on the boardwalk, I tried salmon ravioli for the first time, which although sounding a little unique, turned out to be one of the most delicious meals I’ve had on the trip.

After being full from my lunch and some gelato, we headed to one of my favorite sites of the trip, the mosaics. I was in awe at how intricate the designs were, especially the mosaics that were of people. Demetria explained to us that the first half of the mosaics we saw were from the earlier period, and that was highlighted geometric designs and also mythical characters. As we headed further into the site, we skipped periods and you could see the differences almost automatically between, seeing less mythology and more non-geometric patterns. I also found it interesting that almost every design had had some kind of meaning or lesson it was trying to teach. For example, one was showing a guy sitting over water staring at himself, but the story goes he was too enamored and fell in, showing that vanity is not always good. After the fascinating visit we hopped back on the bus, and made our way back to Limassol.

Little did I know this would need up being one of my most stressful nights on the trip. With our free time, we went around and explored Limassol. All was well, until I checked my pocket, and realized my phone was nowhere to be found! We searched everywhere we had been and retraced our steps over and over, but upon seeing on Find my iPhone that my phone was about a mile away from where we had been, it was shortly realized my phone was indeed taken and would be long gone. Not only was this a lesson to my to be extra careful with everything I had, it also will make me more aware of all my belongings in the future. So while although I will be off the grid the rest of this week I refuse to let it ruin my time here. Get ready for MacBook selfies!