After an extremely disappointing organised tour, where we spent nine hours in a bus to visit one of the only non-world-heritage listed churches in the Troodos mountains, we cancelled the rest of our tours and decided to take up residence by the beach instead. Even Adrian said that he would prefer sitting by the water rather than in a bus for several hours to see a pile of old rocks.

My next few days began at 5:30 am, where I would wrap a blanket around my shoulders and sit on the balcony to watch the sun rise over the ocean. Then I would wander down to the buffet restaurant for my first breakfast of the day, perhaps some porridge with walnuts, sultanas, and golden syrup. Exhausted by all this activity, I would nap until mid-morning when I would join Adrian and John for breakfast number two, usually some eggs and baked beans, followed by waffles and fresh Cypriot oranges.

We would then amble down to the water’s edge, where I worked my way through The Exception, while the boys argued over America’s history of foreign policy or the relative merits of Obama’s healthcare bill. By lunch time we might have worked up the energy to leave the hotel and amble down the road to find a restaurant for lunch, perhaps kebaps, usually accompanied by a cute couple of kittens begging for scraps.

I would then head back to enjoy nap number two, while John would meet up with new friends and Adrian would bury his head in a newspaper or check-up on the lab back home. After a quick swim, dinner time would soon arrive, and we would again venture out to sample the local cuisine. As the day drew to a close, I would return to our room to again look out at the ocean, temporarily decorated with the twinkling lights of the Israel-bound “Pride North America” oil-rig, with Orion and Sirius standing guard overhead, and fall asleep to the sounds of the waves gentle lapping against the shore.

John’s new friend Anton offered to take us around and show us the best of South Cyprus for the day. We started with a drive up the coast to Coral Bay, past some herding ruminants, and then stopped in to see the national bird and animal park. After admiring the puzzle-solving abilities of the parrots, fearsome owls straight out of Ga’Hoole, we dropped in on the show-pony peacocks, the cute ring-tailed lemurs and the huddling little owls.

We promenaded down the Paphos Boulevard with an ice-cream in one hand, and then Anton took us to his favourite restaurant, a small place on the shore, where the chef brought out fresh fish for my approval before grilling up a delicious sea bass. On our way back, we stopped at Aphrodite’s legendary birthplace, a scene of serene blue water and shapely rocks.

Advertising is supposed to be aspirational. Therefore I think you should stop using Belgian beaches in your promotional material. I do not want to know that the only place that I get to wear this new outfit will be on a freezing rock under a grey sky near some frosty water:

Just for the record, beaches really should look like this:

In Australia, international borders are very uncomplicated. Once you reach the ocean, the country stops. Over here, things are a lot more complex. Armenia has closed its borders to Turkey, Russia has closed its borders to Georgia, and Azerbaijan has closed its borders to Armenia. Within Georgia itself, there are three autonomous regions – the infamous South Ossetia, as well as Abkhazia and Adjara (spelled Ajaria on the map below).

Image from newzar

We weren’t able to visit South Ossetia, as the borders are still closed and it is not considered safe. However, we were able to spend a lovely day by the Black Sea in Batumi, the capital of The Autonomous Republic of Adjara. Our guide told us that they manage all local politics and issues internally, but international decisions are still made by Georgia.

This is the most popular holiday spot in Georgia, with a long stretch of (grey pebbly) beach lined by cafes, restaurants, and apartment blocks. We ate our lunch in a bungalow, looking out across the water appreciating the cool breezes that mitigated the heat. There is a million-dollar statue of Medea holding Jason’s Golden Fleece in the main square, and we wandered through the park watching children running through fountains in the bright summer sun. Happily, this state seems to have found an equilibrium that permits autonomy of its inhabitants while allowing integration with Georgia.