The weather forecast is 16 degrees and heavy rain today. That would really annoy me if I had come out from the UK for an expensive holiday in the sun, with no sun…. A friend sent me a message on Facebook saying that the sun was shining in London and it made her think of me in Cyprus; she was jealous. Well nothing to be jealous of at the moment. Went to lunch at a friend’s house in Larnaca yesterday, sat outside and nearly froze before I had to borrow an overcoat. The prospect is even worse today.
It can’t last. And when the sun does finally come out for good, it will be extreme and unbearable heat for several months; one extreme to the other. Last weekend when there was actually sunshine and warmth, we were all too busy eating souvla to enjoy it. What about the tourists though? I met someone yesterday who had just arrived for a few days of warm weather but sadly missed the Easter weekend sunshine bonanza. Might have been better off staying in London and saving the money.
At the beginning of the week, when it was still pretty hot, my daughter tried to find a swimming pool to go to in Nicosia. Guess what? She couldn’t find any open. Which was probably just as well as I couldn’t find any sun cream in any of the shops either. (My personal stash of factor 30 brought from London was unacceptably high and would hinder the tanning process). It seems that in Cyprus summer only happens between 15 May, when the municipal swimming pool opens and mid September when everyone goes back to school. It doesn’t matter if it is 30 degrees at any other time of year; it is not officially summer, so we don’t need pools or sun cream.
The Hilton park pool was closed this week and apparently they are re-furbishing the pool at the Hilton. Why now? Has everyone forgotten that it is actually the start of the holiday season and people come here to enjoy the sun (when it is out) and swim? Just because some people who live in Cyprus might not be able to get into a pool unless it is 42 degrees and the world and his wife is already in it, tourists actually come to stay in Cyprus hotels with swimming pools with the express intention of using them at this time of year. What other reason do have for coming here?
As a last resort my daughter was forced to go to the beach. How awful, everyone knows that swimming pools are so much better than beaches. She came back ranting about driving all the way to Nissi beach to be rained off after an hour and a half. And in that hour and a half she was forced to spend €3.50 on an ice cream for her brother and €2 on a packet of crisps. At those prices, the beaches might actually be worth going to in the summer as there won’t be any tourists left on them!
