Thursday 11 May Athens - Cyprus

Today was a day with a lot of impressions for the runners. A new country was ahead of us: The beautiful island of Cyprus. We left very early in the morning to be on time for our flight from Athens to Larnaka. From the airplane we had our first nice view of Cyprus. The central Troodos massive, that rises very steeply from sea level, was clearly visible. It is famous for its distinct fauna and ancient monasteries. Through the centuries, Cyprus has been a meeting place for many different cultures; Egyptians, Romans, Turks, Crusaders, Venetians and the British all had their share in creating the history of this sunny island. According to Greek mythology, Aphrodite, the goddess of love and beauty, was born from the foam of the sea. It was widely believed that this symbolised Cyprus, since Cyprus, geologically speaking, rose from the sea.

In Larnaka we rented two cars and drove to Nicosia, the capital. We went to the police station to arrange for the afternoon run and tomorrow's run. At the police station, Chief Inspector Paliomilites helped us to arrange a city run in the evening. He is also going to provide us with a police car tomorrow when we run to Limassol on the other (south) side of the island. Furthermore, we were very, very lucky to meet officer Leonidas at the police station. He is an excellent runner who has run a marathon in 2 hours and 25 minutes! He is probably one of the fastest runners on Cyprus. His chief kindly granted him a day off so tomorrow he will be able to run with us all the way to Limassol!

After a long-awaited lunch we prepared for our run in the early evening. We started at half past six in front of the Holiday Inn Hotel. The Cyprus Television was also present, and we made the official start of The World Harmony Run in Cyprus. It was a run of roughly two kilometers to the famous Famagusta Gate.

We agreed to run slowly, but as soon as Sarah got hold of the torch she increased the speed like anything and gave everyone a good sweat. The torch carries such an energy that it is hard to keep a slow pace! We passed the big city walls that were built by the Venetians and followed a policeman on a motorcycle towards the Famagusta Gate. We made a short picture break and returned to the Hotel.

In the late evening we were invited to dinner by Mrs. Tserioti, the Deputy Mayor of Nicosia. We met her and two of her friends in the Italian restaurant of the Holiday Inn. We exchanged stories from the road with stories about Cyprus while eating a delicious meal. Tomorrow Mrs. Tserioti will also come to the start of our run towards Limassol. At eleven o'clock after having a very inspiring evening, we said goodbye and went to bed.

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