Leaving Lucky’s…

Lakis and his son pose for a final photo with me... I'm the one on the right...!! Oh, to be young again...!!

Andri, Lakis's daughter wishes me well as I leave the hotel...

I could hardly believe it when I counted up the days and realised that I had stayed at Lucky’s Hotel for 22 of them…!!

It seemed like only yesterday that I rode off the ferry and headed for the mountains behind Kerynia, to cross over into Cyprus, proper…!!

It had been the longest time that I had spent in any single place on my ride so far…!! So leaving there was a strange sensation… Almost like leaving “home”…!!

It was the place I had come back to every day, to the friendliness of Lakis’s family, and the occasional chat with Lakis himself, telling him about the day I had enjoyed and the places I had visited…

On my last afternoon in Larnaca, I went down to the sea for a quick swim… It took almost 100 metres of wading before I got into water deep enough to be able to swim in, and then made my way out to the line of rocks that acted as a breakwater…

I took the Big Fella down to the sea and had a final swim in the Medeterranean....

I had managed to work my way through Willi's stock of grub, leaving only the condiments and a lonely tin of sardines...!!

I was just about to stand on the rocks themselves, when I remembered that there is a healthy population of Stone fish in the Med, and putting your foot down on one of them, could result in severe injury…!! I treaded water for a while, turning to look back at the shore which now seemed a long way away…!!

By the time I had stroked my way back to where I could stand, the muscles in my legs had all but given up in protest…!!

Back at the hotel, I completed my packing, and planned my route to Kerynia in Northern Cyprus… The next day would be a special day for the Big Fella and I, coming hard on the heels of him going over the 90 000 km mark the previous day…

There was another big number in the offing…

As the sun was going down, I rode into Larnaca for the final time, cruising down the seaside boulevard, seeing all the christmas lights that had been erected and switched on… Christmas was only a few weeks away…!! The year had passed me by in blur, or perhaps I had ridden through it in a blur…!! Not quite sure which one applies, but either way, it was almost over…!!

I visited Maria, the “juice lady” to say goodbye. Apart from the hotel staff, she was the only other “regular” in Larnaca, whom I had got to know. We had shared numerous cups of coffee while she served people who visited her juice bar, discussing her interesting take on the “the world and it’s problems”…!! If you want to hear about conspiracy theories, Maria’s juice bar is the place to visit…!!

Take care Maria, and thanks for finding me a doctor to take care of my elbow…!! Much appreciated…!!

Early the next morning, despite knowing that my journey was back on track, I was strangely calm about it all… My elbow was getting better slowly, and I was mentally ready for the unknown…!!

Riding across the Green Line would take me into a different culture, opening my mind again to new experiences and the people who were part of them…

I was ready to embrace that, and everything that came with it…!!

Strangely, the Big Fella seemed closer to the ground than he had been over the last few weeks...!!

©GBWT 2010