When I chose the destinations for this vacation, Cyprus was a bonus spot. It wasn’t until AFTER I returned home that I learned Cyprus has MORE cats than humans on the entire island. This fact alone would have been enough for me to book a trip exclusively to Cyprus. My first impression was fast and furious, I enjoyed the latter half of our day, but I didn’t feel the need to go back.
Until I discovered the cat fact.
Our day in Cyprus started early and ended early. We only had five hours to explore, and we booked a tour to show us a few spots near our docking port in Limmasol. I will spare you all my true thoughts on how bad our tour guide was. She did her best, but the woman was not fluent in English and her lack of enthusiasm sucked the excitement right out of me.
It was so hard to listen to her I eventually stopped all together.
I fully understand that when I am in these foreign countries I am the minority. I never expect locals to speak my language, and I think it’s rude to speak to someone in English without attempting to learn a bit of their local language. However, when booking an English speaking tour I do believe the guide should be fluent in English. This goes for any language, if I book a Spanish tour I would hope the guide would be fluent in Spanish. Alas, this is the last you’ll hear of my grievances with these guided tours.
Thankfully Cyprus is not a place I felt a need for endless information, and I instead used the tour as an opportunity to be transported around with ease.
We started our day with a very quick visit to the archeological remains of Kourion, a city with evidence connecting it to the Greek legend of Argos of Peloponnese. We sat down with our group in this large amphitheater, before deciding to stray off on our own. This decision was half fueled by the fact I could not understand anything being said (wasting time sitting in one spot), and half fueled by my overwhelming need to get away from the small child who was sitting behind me on our tour bus.
Was it the broken English that caused me not to hear our guide, or the child who would not stop talking at the top of her lungs? Jury is still out.
I’m thankful we broke away, because there was so much more to this site than what our guide was showing us. I would have loved to wander this area on my own with endless time, but even the short bit we saw was beautiful. We didn’t wander too far, we only had about 30-45 minutes total at this place, but we wandered just far enough to get a view of the water and more of the ruins.
From Kourion we drove to the Sanctuary of Apollo Hylates. I wasted no time deviating from the group once we arrived, and I was immediately blessed with my first friend of the day. A small black and white feline with a tick on his head. I did my good deed for the day and removed the tick with a piece of paper. I then proceeded to pet him regardless of the tick sighting.
What can I say, I like to walk on the wild side.
This area was small, but without the struggle of trying to focus on someone speaking I was able to enjoy myself more. I wandered the ruins and soaked in the history, but truth be told these types of sites don’t really tickle my fancy. Unless I have time to read more about what I am looking at. Ruins are fascinating, and I do enjoy history, but as one of the couples we met on this trip said: “once you’ve seen one you’ve seen them all.”
I don’t entirely agree with that, but there are certain ruins I feel more connected to. Either way this site was a sight to see.
I said goodbye to my new friend, and we hopped back on the bus for a 30 minute drive to our final stop of the day. We drove to the small town of Omodos, and this was my favorite part of the tour. We parked the bus and walked as a group towards the city, passing by some cats in a small park. It was as if the Greek Gods sent us good vibes after visiting the sanctuary.
We aggregated as a group in front of a church where we were given the green light to break off and meet back in an hour and a half. I couldn’t go inside the church because I was wearing shorts, and both Duncan and I wanted to wander as much of the town as possible. We beelined back to the cats before weaving in and out of the small narrow streets.
I quickly discovered Duncan is just as keen on wandering European streets as I am, and we covered as much ground as possible in our short time. We passed a man watering his plants who asked us where we were from. We exchanged a few words before moving on to find more cats. I eventually lost count of how many cats we found, but the amount of dopamine I received after each sighting was enough to keep me at a forever high.
We saved just enough time to sit in the center of the city while Duncan enjoyed some ice cream, and I enjoyed some honey covered cashews I bought before we started wandering. The shop claimed they were locally made, and one sample was all it took. My only regret was not buying two bags. I ended up eating these cashews as my dessert most nights after dinner.
Before we knew it we were back on the ship with the entire second half of the day ahead of us. I enjoyed having a half day in Cyprus, it was just enough to see some new places, while balancing rest after the two previous longer days. The morning started a bit rocky with the tour guide and the linoleum lizard behind me on the bus, but the afternoon in Omodos ended with relaxation and my cup filled with joy.
Give me cats and candy cashews and I’m a happy gal.
We spent the rest of the day eating, walking the ship, enjoying the views, and watching the onboard entertainment before slipping off into a slumber. I didn’t think I needed to go back to Cyprus, but now I imagine how many more cats there are that I could say hello to. Thankfully my cat quota was filled again the very next day…Next up: the back roads of Rhodes.
Q: If you saw the stray cats of the Mediterranean would you say hello or avoid them? They were all so friendly.
Blissfulbritt 
29 thoughts on “Cashews and Cats of Cyprus”
Sheree
I had no idea about the cats
Brittany
I knew there would be cats, but the outcome exceeded my expectations! 🤣
Sheree
🐱
Liz H
I’d say hello, but I don’t know if I’d be brave enough to wrestle with that tick!
Oh the Tortoise Shells! ❤❤
Brittany
I don’t know what I was thinking, the tick was easy to flick off with the paper otherwise I probably wouldn’t have gone near it. Poor little baby.
Liz H
😏 I pictured a tick that had been feasting. Flick-able much more manageable!
Grace @ Cultural Life
My partner and I recently spent two weeks hiking the Corfu Trail (Corfu is such a gorgeous, green and peaceful island) and we met so many street cats, and discovered a litter of kittens in the Old Fortress in Corfu Town ❤
There was one particular cat with a grey face and white socks who 'adopted' us on part of the trail, and I felt really sad that she/he was having to cope as a stray. I wish I could have taken some of the cats home, if only it was possible to smuggle them through security in my backpack haha. But I tried to do a good deed by messaging a local volunteer-run cat charity and letting them know the location of the kittens in the hope they can at least neuter the mother and kittens when they're old enough.
I'll be interested to read your next blog post about Rhodes. I've never been there, but Greece is my favourite of the places I've travelled (although, of course, all the islands are different and have their own flavour).
Brittany
Oh gosh. This breaks my heart. I know the feeling of wanting to take some home. I met a little black cat right on one of the ports as we exited, and he was there when we returned (he will make his cameo soon.) I wanted to smuggle him onto the ship so bad. I like to think they enjoy being wild and free, with some human run ins, but I’m sure they’d love a home. Poor babies. You did the best you could!
Atheria
Now I know why I like you. Not only do you love cats, you also love cemeteries! 😉 My luggage would have been filled with kitties. You have self control.
Brittany
Cemeteries are calming to me, I don’t know why! I wanted to smuggle so many cats onto the ship, damn those security points.
marietoday
I also love going to cemeteries! The names and monuments are so interesting to look at
Brittany
I agree. I enjoy the ones with small bits of information, or notes from family. The older the headstone the more interesting I find them. Some of them are very sad as well.
Pam
Oh my love all the cats…….could totally see myself lost in time trying to get as much kitty love as possible😻
I too love meandering thru a good cemetery…..I always wander what each headstone’s story is…..
Look forward to more cats please🫶
Brittany
I find the headstones fascinating, especially the older ones. And the energy feels calming. I wouldn’t want to be in one at night though. Too many heebie jeebies!
Roy McCarthy
Were there no dogs, or did the two species live together in harmony? I’m a sucker for cemeteries too, I could easily be a night time caretaker in one of the big places in London or Paris – or Dublin (Glasnevin).
Brittany
I don’t recall many dogs in Cyprus, but once we got to Turkey (those posts will be coming soon), we saw plenty of dogs. They coexisted in harmony and it was quite beautiful.
While night time in a cemetery sounds spooky (anything night time is spooky for me), I too would enjoy being a caretaker at any of those locations. 😍
Some Small Things
I love all the cats and the snuggling with them! So nice that you removed the tick from his little head. They are all so sweet, and I want to take every one of them home. This is why I must turn away every time I see the pop-up adoption centers. I would have hundreds.
Would love to visit Cyprus some day.
Brittany
I think I was microchipped as a child to have an uncontrollable need to touch every cat I see. I’m drawn to them all, and I wish I could keep them all!
MaryBeth
I literally *just* finished reading a book mainly based out of Cyprus. It was fun reading the places you mentioned as they mentioned some of it in the book! Funny too, Ben’s brother was just in Cyprus for a week or so with his girlfriend. Ben’s parents just got back last week from Rhodes! Can’t wait to hear all about Greece 🙂 I like cats and dogs, but something about strays always has me a little apprehensive! I commend you for all the loving you gave to these little creatures.
Brittany
I don’t blame you for your apprehension. In America I wouldn’t even look at a stray dog. Granted dogs scare me, but in Turkey there were dogs all over too and all so friendly. These animals clearly have adapted to exist as they are with humans taking care of them and they are all so friendly. I of course needed to wash my hands after each touch, but the cats were a highlight of my trip. Hahaha.
How funny about your book. I’d also be curious to hear about where Ben’s brother went, Cyprus is so small that it would be easy to conquer in a week. Lots of good beaches which I think is it’s main attracted for tourists.
gpavants
Brittney,
Cats are great even if their English isn’t so good. Is this the same guide from last timd that you could not understand?
Thanks, Gary
Brittany
No, this was a different guide and MUCH worse. The previous guide I couldn’t understand mostly because it was loud and she was putting her mouth too close to her microphone.
This woman unfortunately didn’t speak fluent English and it was harder to focus. You win some, you loose some!
gpavants
Got it. You still had a great time.
tammiefowles
I so enjoyed reading about your visit to Greece. I loved my time there and was so struck by the cats that seemed to be everywhere! We found that certain communities did a really good job of caring for them while other communities pretty much left them to fend for themselves.
Brittany
I definitely noticed certain areas were more keen on leaving food out than others. As a whole the cats seemed to be respected even if they were not actively fed. I hope they are happy little cats!
samstarbucks
On my island hopping tour in Greece (Rhodes was the first of 5) I said hello to so many cats, my friend – who is more of a dog person – almost lost it. There were cats everywhere and I had to pat them all because I miss my own kitty so badly when I’m traveling.
Looking forward to the next chapter of your cruise. Awesome times!
Brittany
This is absolutely me! I miss my cat so, SO much when I’m away from him. Any cat I see I must pet if they’ll let me. I’m thankful Duncan is both a dog and a cat person, because he wanted to pet some kitties too.
The Oceanside Animals
Charlee: “Hello, kitties! Especially our Tuxedo cousin!”
Brittany
They were all so sweet!