Today i dived the Zenobia wreck again for the 3rd and 4th time. The day started off perfectly as we set off from limassol on our 45 min drive to larnaca port. The sun was shining(as it usualy does here in cyprus) and the weather was good so we was looking forward to warm water and good vis. We arrived at the Queen Zenobia dive boat at around 8.30am and got our equipment onto the boat and were ready to dive befor 9. As the boat left port around 9.25 everyone was feeling exited yet anxiouse, after all this wreck sits in 42m of water and is 172m long with many rooms and tunnels and not to mention the chance of nitrogen narcosis at these depths. Anyway as we all did our giant stride entery into the deep blue water and gatherd at the drop line ready to decend the anxiouse feelings subsided and shere exitement took over. We decended to around 20m onto the starboard(right) side of the boat and readied our selfs for the dive. As we all took off towards the stern(back) we were greated by hundreds of fish all coming to see who was entering there world. There were many large grouper and several average sized barracuda. We swam under the large funnels inspecting some of the 105 articulated lorrys that call the zenobia home. The sight is overwelming. The lorrys are still full of there cargo, some with skelitons of animals that unfortunatly perished when the boat sank. As we made our way threw the enormouse container doors at the back of the ship we was getting pretty close to deco, so we headed up a little and turned around back towards where the props are. As soon as we turned around the corner the props were clearly visable and there were a few divers taking photos of the props. Each blade of the prop is at least as big as a person. We took a steady swim back towards the accent line and by now a few of the divers i was with were running low on air. We made our way to 5m to do our safty stop while watching the wreck below. By now we was yet again exited. Exited that we had another dive to come in only a few hours where we could explore even more of this enormouse wreck. Over all a fantastic dive i would say one of the best if not the best dive site i have ever been to. The staff on the Queen Zen are brillient they cook up a buffet dinner and help you around the boat. It would tipicly cost around £75CYP for 2 dives and hire of equipment if you need it. Oh and that buttet meal.

The last few days i've done absolutely nothing, sat on teh beach, got sunburned, read a couple books, walked around...and its been awsome.  In Limmossol i took a room at a guest house that was nothing but a bed.  The guy working had to be near a 100 years old. and was bundled up as if there was a blizzard out, even though it was 85 degrees, but he was very nice, and i dont think he ever slept.

I took the 1 hour mini bus ride to larnarca, and i had teh same driver that i had a few days earlier.  We had a bout an hour and a half to kill before the bus left, and proceeded to talk cypriot politics.  Especially aroudn the division of the country, and the occupying turks in the north.  when the turks invaded he was driven from his home in north cyprus, and has only been back once.  according to him, the situation is going to explode in the next ten years, even though it seems completely peaceful now, he says cypriots arent going to be able to stand the occupation much longer, and they thought that joining the EU would help rid the country of the turks, but the EU has done little. 

Today I'm in Nicosia (Lefkosia) the capital of cyprus and of northern cyrpus.  Talk about a very strange place.  The city is the alst divided capital in the world.  As i'm walked down the main pedestrian shoppign drag past clothing stores, Mc.D's starbucks...etc all of a sudden the there is a wall with sand bags adn barb wire, a guard tower, cyprus military personell.  i looked over the wall and it was no mans land... Bombed buildings, streets overgrown with weeds, and UN peacekeepers, one of whom, a brit, i had a converstion with through the barbwire.  I followed this dividing line thorugh the capital...every ally, stree, corridor, was blocked off.  One point was iteresting, itwas called check point charely...and it had a cafew, called Berlin 2 cafe... I would imagine that berlin was very similar to this city. 

I'm returning to the apartment i rented in larnaca for 5 days for my last night before hopping on my Aegean air flight to rome tomarrow.  Oh and by the way for the 1 hour flight between athens and cyprus Aegean air served better food than i have every had on an american air carrier...  Next bakc to rome for the third time...i'm seriously going to eat and drink non stop for the three days i'm there. Such good food...alot better than cyprus, i cant even get a decent kebab here.  I tink i'm have KFC tonight.ahah

CP