After saying goodbye to Limassol this morning, we headed to Petra tou Romiou, or Aphrodite’s Rock. Our guide Dimitria filled us in on the backstory: Aphrodite, the goddess of love, was said to be born from the foam of the sea on this rock. The sea is also said to have magical properties, as anyone who swims to the rock where she was born at midnight on a full moon will gain eternal youth. Whether or not this is true, it was still a very interesting attraction to visit, and it reminded me very much of the mythology class I took in high school.

The second stop was at the ancient city of Paphos, where we toured the excavation site and its mosaics, which were found in what is called the House of Dionysus. Dionysus was a winemaker and wine merchant, whose great riches let him build a beautiful house. The corridors and rooms were intricately floored with mosaics depicting scenes of Greek mythology and geometric craftsmanship. An interesting story depicted was that of the first men to drink wine, which was a gift from the gods. Unsurprisingly, they drank too much and became drunk. Maybe a lesson here for us all to learn.

To wrap up the midday before the long ride to Nicosia, we spent some free time in Paphos. I enjoyed a chicken penne lunch by the marina and toured some of the souvenir shops along the pier. Paphos was perhaps the most “tourist trap” area. Servers from the line of restaurants on the pier all approached us inviting us to dine with them, and the prices were noticeably higher than other places we ate on the island. One server even gave us a card for 10% off, which we happily used. We also noticed many more British tourists there, so perhaps that was why. Paphos, however, was a worthy stop and it would have been nice to spend more time here.