4 day getaway break

Panoramic view from room balcony

Just back from 4 nights at the Aphrodite Hills Inter Continental hotel and golf resort.  Without doubt a bargain break booked via UK company Golf Breaks.com.  It was far better to book on-line than directly with the hotel.  To be recommended.  The hotel was a typical Inter Con with number of bars and restaurants, not all of which were open but hey it is early December.  Many of the fellow guests were German or Austrian.  An excellent very comfortable room looking out onto the pool, which was not heated.  There was an indoor pool which we went to see, promising to go later in the trip but never happened.

Don't hit it left on this hole

Over the gorge to the green

Two rounds of golf came with the package.  A good job as the normal green fee would have been €101 each to play.  A very good course which is set on a plateau with the stunning backdrop of the Troodos Mountains on one side and magnificent sea views on the other.  It was a very good job that we had buggy carts as some of the distances from green to the next tee were up to 950m and then up and down tight windy cart tracks.  We enjoyed playing very much and each time were paired with a couple from Vienna.  It is always good to play with somebody else but in both cases their english was not great and our german non existing.  But it was fun.  Our play was OK too until we got to the greens which were the quickest and most slopping we had played on for some years.  It made it impossible to score well when you are three and four putting.  It was not just me and Lillian but our partners too.  A couple of holes were very pretty with one hitting over a large gorge.

We had a half board deal with the hotel so with huge buffet breakfasts and a choice of three or four dishes from a set menu in the evening meant we certainly didn't go hungry.  Spent one pleasant evening with a guy who was on a short break from the UK.  Lived in Mill Hill not far from Harrow.

With one day free from golf we drove to areas of the island that  had not been visited previously.  

Polis Beach

The village of Polis on the west coast was a pleasant stop where we walked through the village to the beach.  A quick look at the Baths of Aphrodite - another pile of stones of which there are plenty in Cyprus. We drove back through the Akamas National park, a long drive through the forest back to the hotel. The road on the map looked fine but it was no more than a dirt track with some very steep bends with sheer drops on one side.  Stops were made for Lillian to collect fresh cones from fir trees for Xmas decorations.  She is becoming very skilled at making them each year - pictures to follow.