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Lazy day in Larnaca
Helle slept badly and for once I'm the first to rise. After breakfast they phone from Startour and say that the trip tomorrow, "Wine And Villages", has been cancelled - too few tickets sold. However we can go on another trip, "Cyprus à la carte," if we want. We don't want to spend the day homeless in Larnaca and accept at once. We pronounce this day to be lazy-day and armed with the new edition of Cyprus Weekly we go to Julios to spend an hour drinking coffee, reading and watching the local men discussing referendum, sports, orange prices or whatever. At the supermarket we buy three small halloumi cheeses in need of a good home in Denmark. Back in the room we settle on the balcony with books, newspaper etc. The coaster has left and is replaced by another smaller one. Maybe it is the dot I can see on the horizon; it was still here this morning. The wind has risen as usual and dark clouds from the inland mountains are sneaking towards us. Later I go the Internet café, but it is closed even though it should be open. An elderly gentleman tells me there's another Internet café at a hotel nearby, close to the Lazarus church. He speaks 95% Greek and 5% English, but the message gets through anyway. I thank him politely and find the place easily. When I get back home we pack what can be packed and then go to Hobo's. With a cup of Cypriot coffee it is proper to get a glass of water. I like that; if by accident you get too close to the sediment in the cup it is nice to rinse with water, and when you have finished the coffee the water provides you with the perfect alibi to stay for a while, even though that alibi is hardly necessary here.
Today however the wind is chilly so we don't nurse the water for long, but retreat to the shopping streets. Again we notice several windows with the sign "New Arrivals" and wonder if it is a leftover from the days when new goods arrived by ship from time to time. We kill time at The Meeting Pub until the sun has set. The single daddy with the not so pretty children is having a pork chop with chips, and when we arrive at restaurant Militzis, Harris the waiter welcomes us.
It is a busy Friday night, very busy. Tonight it is Helle's turn to taste stifado and I get lamb kleftico; delicious as always. A waiter flying by drops our bill on the table and is gone. We haven't asked for the bill, but perhaps some movement has been misunderstood. I catch the attention of one of the older waiters, explains about the UFO that just landed and asks for coffee. Later, when we ask for and get the bill, the coffee is on the house with an apology. And thus ends our last evening in Larnaca and at the hospitable Militzis.
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