After Kolossi Castle it is time to hurry to Choirokoitia Neolithic Village our last goal for the day. It is also the site that is open the latest till 7 PM and is also an Unesco World Heritage Site, so we really don’t want to miss it. When we arrive we are the only car in the parking lot so our heart sinks but we decide to explore the site a bit as much as we can.
There is a trail from the parking lot and we follow it for a short distance. The first building we find is the toilet so at least we know we are on the right path. And then we find the entrance and it is open, phew. The lady and the guard are surprised there is still someone coming but there is an hour left so in we go, as the only visitors for the rest of the day.
Almost immediately we reach one of the major attractions of the site, a group of houses that were reconstructed so you have an idea how they looked. You can even enter one and we explore them for a short while and take lots of pictures before moving on.
The map we received shows us there is a trail around the site that is relatively short and we think we can make it in the time we have left. On the first part the trail is outside the excavated area but there are some nice views and we even see our first chukar, a really cool sighting for us!
And then we climb and climb up towards the top of the hill we were circling. The views continue to be quite beautiful and we flush a few birds along the way but nothing that exciting.
On the top the excavated area begins, it is actually quite extensive, surprisingly so. From here we can see the parking lot and our car looking all alone in the huge parking lot.
As we start descending towards the entrance station we explore the excavated site, we can see where the walls were and where the oval houses were located, there were quite a few of them.
We wonder how many people were living here, it is similar a bit in structure to the Native American settlements in the Southwest US but those were built much later.
And then it is time to leave and drive the short distance to Larnaca where our AirBnB awaits. It is quite a large AirBnB with three bedrooms so our relatives that will arrive tomorrow can have their own space. We actually have trouble finding a parking space, which is quite rare because most are reserved but in the end we find the one reserved for our car. Then we have to park it in a tight space, but we manage it in the end.
We have a large kitchen but no provisions so it is time to head out on foot and search for something to eat. It is late in the day so we are happy to find a gyro place nearby that we take to go and eat in the apartment. And then we fall asleep almost immediately as we have to wake up relatively early the next day to pick up our relatives from the airport.
