My Experience in Cyprus

Back in 2009, I spent roughly ten days in Cyprus....on a vacation.  It was one of those oddball trips that you'd take in your life.  Resort.  All-inclusive beverage deal (drink as much as you want, twenty-four hours a day). Beach.

With the recent financial mess going on, I follow the events more closely than most folks.

There's roughly ten things that I came away from the trip....on Cyprus:

1.  There's a heck of a lot of folks walking around the island who speak Russian.  From employees at hotels, to 'guests'.

2.  You don't flush any toilet paper down the pipes in Cyprus....there's always a little can by the toilet and you put the paper in there.  They just don't have adequate water supplies to flush anything of a paper nature.

3.  Electricity is fairly expensive.

4.  In 2009, there were a heck of a lot of construction projects going on, and new roads and streets being built everywhere....like they had tons of money.

5.  About every fourth person you ran into....was British.  Long-term resident of the isle, as I got the impression.

6.  There's an absolute hatred of Turks.  But beyond that initial hatred, no one can say much except how Turkey helped take over the north side of the island.

7.  After reading two weeks worth of local newspapers....I got the impression that politics is a full-time thing and they must have a Fox News-like network on Cyprus to help generate that much enthusiasm 

8.  It's actually a tiny island, with only around a million residents.  There's maybe 50k visitors there throughout the summer months.

9.  Just about every single dish they serve.....has some quantity of olive oil or vinegar added to it.

10.  Even if you go in September....you'd best dress as lightly as possible.  You still sweat twenty-four hours a day.