Sun, Sea and ... Olives!? (Protaras)

Member Name: Sexy Kay

Product:	Protaras
Date:	30/11/02 (3454 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Sunshine, sandy beaches, clear sea.

Disadvantages: Not the real Cyprus.

I suppose he had personality, of a sort, but in the early hours of the morning, after flight delays, the last thing most people want is an all dancing, all singing, full of life coach courier determined to do his full repertoire, no matter how anyone else felt. Ugh! This is why I prefer to be an independent traveller and find my own way about. Mind you he had one good tip - olives! "Ladees", he said in his broken English, "Geeve your man ten oleeves a day and ee won't need Viagra and you will 'ave a verrry good 'oliday."

We were in Cyprus on a last minute Package Deal and were travelling from Larnaca airport to our resort of Protaras - we being my boyfriend and, of course, me.

Protaras is 'the pearl of Cyprus with beautiful scenary', well that's what the brochure stated. As I looked out of the window in the early morning light all I could see was dust, rocks and barren land. It wasn't exactly an awe inspiring sight as we made our way the forty, or whatever, miles to our hotel.

What a relief when we finally arrived, the hotel was fine and slap bang next to the sea. The sun was rising over the horizon. It was going to be a hot day and the water looked crystal clear and blue. Maybe Protaras was going to be okay after all.

Protaras, as far as UK Tour Operators are concerned, is a dot on the map on the south-east coast of Cyprus, just a few miles from the sector that is under Turkish occupation. What they describe as Protaras is a new(ish) purpose built concrete mixture of buildings especially created for the tourist industry - with restaurants, bars, hotels, apartment blocks, tavernas, souvenir shops and so on. To be honest, you couldn't be absolutely sure where you were in the world if someone just plonked you there. The bars are mostly English owned plus there's a McDonalds, a Pizza Hut - I'm sure you get the picture. It's not really what I personally l
ook for when abroad. I prefer to see the 'real' country and people, eat local foods and experience the culture.

Anyway, if you talk to the locals they will tell you that Protaras is actually an area and not a town. Our hotel was in a part of this area known as Pernera and was about two miles from all of those souvenir shops. The Cypriots say that the real town locally is Paralimni, which is a couple of miles inland and has a proper community with traditional shops (though this does include a small Marks & Sparks), banks and churches - much more interesting.

By now you may be thinking that I didn't have a good holiday, but I did. It was just what my boyfriend and I needed. The best part was the coastline, sea and beaches - this is something I just love. I remember when I was 14 or 15 I had this fantasy about living on a picture card desert island with white beaches, blue sea and running about wearing next to nothing in the sunshine (but that's another story!) If it wasn't for people and the hotels Protaras would have been a little bit like that.

The sea is just wonderful and so clear in places. There are three main beaches in the area and they get better as you walk or go westward. The first is Pernera Beach, where our hotel was. This is only small but it is sandy and is okay to flop out on if you can't be bothered to go any further. However about half hours walk (10 minutes on a bus) is Flamingo Beach, which is much bigger and the swimming is better. The only problem with this is that it backs on to what those Tour Operators call the town, so it gets busy.

Keep on walking for another 15 or 20 minutes and you then come to Fig Tree Bay. Now this is excellent with some of the clearest, cleanest waters of the Mediterranean. The sea is a beautiful sparkling blue with soft sand underfoot. It's possible to swim out quite deep and still see the bottom and spot the occasional fish - even without
a snorkel.

When you mix these beaches with the sunshine and blue skies, what more could you wish for? Erm, not so many people for one thing! I was there 20th October to the 4th of November so it wasn't too bad but I can visualise this being packed with visitors at the height of the season, all baking like oiled sardines squashed together on their sunbeds.

The beaches are full of sunbeds for hire at C£1.25 each plus another C£1.25 for a sun-shade. They don't leave much space for anyone who may just wish to lay on a towel for an hour or two.

I'd better quickly say that a Cyprus pound (C£) is worth about £1.10 in UK money. They have 100 cents to one of their pounds.

Along the Protaras beaches are all sorts of water sports: paragliding, jet-skis, water skiing, motor boats, paddle boats etc. Something for most ages. The paragliding is fantastic and quite a buzz! Prices range from C£14 to C£22 a 'flight'.

There are also boat trips from each beach. The most popular is to see the deserted town (from the boat only) of Famagusta situated on the inaccessible Turkish side of the island. The fare is between C£6 and C£10 each, depending on how long at sea and whether alcohol is included.

All of this is magic because of the sunshine. While I was there it was still around 80F but in July and August it can creep up over 95F, so this could be too hot for some, especially small children. Lots of suntan lotion is needed! There are 340 days of sunshine a year. According to our hotel receptionist the best time to visit is September. In May there are mosquitos and there is always a chance of rain or cloudy days from late October to early May.

Take away the sunshine, beaches and sea and for me there isn't much else of any interest. No real history nearby. What is known as Protaras Town does have the Profitis Elias Church perched on a hill which is worth a visit. Outside the church
the trees are covered with handkerchiefs bearing prayers and messages.

Obviously you can go on organised trips to other places but we preferred to use the local buses, much more interesting and cheaper. There is one bus (no.28) that does a circle in both directions linking Pernera with Protaras 'town', Ayia Napa and Paralimni. Go anywhere on the route for just 50 cents. They run every half hour. At least that's the plan, but they don't seem to have a strict timetable - life is much more relaxed here to bother with such things.

We also went by bus to the Sunday Market at Larnaca (about 40 miles each way) for just C£2 return each. We mentioned to the hotel receptionist that we were going so she rang the bus company and asked them to make a detour to pick us up at the hotel entrance!

To travel further afield a car is probably necessary. A small car (usually a Suzuki) is around C£15-C£18 a day and a top of the range Toyota Jeep about C£35. Make sure that full insurance is included.

Moving on - drink / booze. It's cheap! Pop in one of the many small supermarkets and you can pick up a litre bottle of local whisky, white rum or vodka for as little as C£2.50. The cheapest wine we saw was C£1.10 a bottle. We bought what I thought was decent stuff for just over C£2.

Our hotel charged C£1.60 for a pint of lager and the same for a decent sized short. In the 'town' bars and tavernas this drops to as low as C£1 each.

As for food, we had breakfast and our evening meals (with olives!) included in our hotel price. The tourist restaurants mostly offer three courses for between C£5 and C£8 per head. There were full English breakfasts advertised all over for C£2.50 and this included tea or coffee and toast. There's a whole range of places to eat: British, Chinese, Japanese, Italian, McD - and, if you are lucky, you may even find some Cypriot restaurants as well! If you do, a Meze wit
h 20 local dishes can be had for C£6.

The plus points of Protaras? Sunshine, clear water, decent beaches and some good standard hotels backing on to the sea. Though the language is Greek virtually everyone speaks English. I suppose it would be a good place to visit for people who don't like things too 'foreign'. The British have a great influence here. In Cyprus they drive on the left, have the same electric plugs and the locals are friendly - you can feel quite at home, if that is what you like.

The downside? It's not the real Cyprus and there is building work being carried out in some parts. It would be worth checking this with the travel agent before booking a specific hotel or apartment. Also there are many plots of land waiting for development. These can look a bit scruffy and become dumping grounds. On one walk we often did we used to joke about turning left at the abandoned car. Oh yes, and there are lots of lizards. We stopped counting at 25 when we walked along the coast path one morning. They are mostly quite small, say two inches long, but we saw a couple that must have been six inches (male readers may, of course, mistake these for being eight or nine inches in size).

There is one more thing, that some visitors may not like. As with the Greek islands, you are not allowed to put toilet paper down the toilet! It has to go in a bin. This does make some public conveniences (when you can find any) pretty ponky and disgusting. If you are near the McDonalds use theirs - the one in Protaras is spotless.

Overall we had a great time because we wanted sunshine and a rest and loved the actual coastline. It was nice just to pull on some shorts and a top in the morning and mooch along by the sea, have a swim and lay in the sun - topless is okay by the way, but unfortunately nudity isn't allowed. Tell you what though, about those olives. I fed BF ten the first night at dinner, but only two worke
d (for him!)

Would I go back to Protaras again? You never know in life, but I very much doubt it. There are so many other places I would rather see.

- Kay

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