Day 1, Wednesday 5 October
Arrived Gatwick in good time for our 0735 flight. As a consequence of a foul-up with EasyJet’s bag drop system it counted one extra bag resulting in a £32 extra baggage charge. Subsequently we all sat on the plane for an extra 50 minutes because of "a paperwork problem" - the bag and passenger counts didn’t tally perhaps??
On arrival at our hotel all were allocated nice rooms save for three of us. That resulted in those unfortunates being billotted in another hotel for 2 nights until acceptable rooms became available. Not a good start.
Day 2
Still in alternative hotel. Being ferried to and from Corallia Beach hotel. Had a roll-up on Peyia club’s green, 50yds away from the hotel. Joined for dinner by the Harts. At one point during the evening Jean Miller stood up and her skirt fell to the floor. Probably no connection.
Day 3
The three amigos returned to Corallia Beach hotel in the morning so missed the match against the Neo club. Very impressive by all accounts. After wrangling with the hard-as-nails hotel owner/manager we finally finally got a room comparable in quality with the rest of our party. Nice south facing sea view suite - then discovered the non-functioning air conditioning! So, 8 days sleeping in a night storage heater! Caught a glimpse of the Astolat team in hotel bar post their match v Peyia.
Day 4
The Harts and the Sheldon's joined in with Peyia club's morning roll-up on the hotel's green. An artificial rink outdoors, so running quick. Members long suspected the green isn't level. I'd concur!
Most of us had a trip to Paphos harbour area in the afternoon via the excellent 615 bus service.
Evening gathering on Barry & Linda's balcony to watch the sunset (hidden behind a cloud!) and witness the worst team award to Linda (a squeaky penguin).
Later, after dinner, dancing with traditional Greek dancers - Linda leading the way! Unfortunately the video evidence of this was another of the casualties of my technical blunder.
Day 5
Match v Aphrodite Bowling Club on the other side of Paphos. Biting flies. Sheldon won penguin! Nice pictures taken - subsequently lost!
Day 6
Our last match v Aliathon club in Paphos. Barry and Eunice Williams turned up from their nearby posh hotel. . Most went out for dinner that evening. Wendy and I had a Chinese with Graham and Margaret. Margaret so eager not to miss the bus back actually threw herself onto the bus ended up prone on the boarding platform with her feet hanging out! Or was it the wine??
Day 7
10 of us went on a boat trip up the coast of the Akamas Peninsular National Park which includes the Lara Beach where green and loggerhead turtles come ashore to lay their eggs. At a snorkelling stop-off Barry got into some slight difficulty. Not a major problem but turned into a massive embarrassment when his rescuer turned out to be a Geordie. Fortunately not a big magpies’ fan but enough of one to threaten to throw Sunderland season ticket holder Barry back over the side.
Meanwhile Tricia, Graham and Margaret were given a conducted tour by the Harts, including a wine tasting where Graham finally find a local red he liked!
Day 8
A free day. Had an abortive excursion to find covered market in Paphos town. Made more problematical by the comprehensive building works preparing for Paphos’s year as European City of Culture in 2017. Ended up touring the new Kings Mall - mainly cos it had AC. Sunset party on our balcony.
This is the sunset......in case you were wondering.
Day 9
Another free day. Few of us actually found our way to the covered market in Paphos town.
Had a farewell meal with members of the Payia club in a traditional Greek Cypriot. 10 courses, strewth! Stuffed! A great evening - and a great tour - arranged by the Harts.
Day 10 - 15 October
Awoke on the Saturday morning to find a text message from our taxi driver - he'd arrived at Gatwick to take us home 24 hours early 'cos I'd told him we were coming back on 15th, but unfortunately I hadn't made clear that we would land on Sunday 16th!!
Made the most of the last of the glorious sunshine until boarding our bus to the airport for our 10:25pm flight home. No delays this time thankfully.
For more pictures follow the link below.
