By: Jackson Warner

We have just finished a week in Cyprus, and it has exceeded my expectations completely; it has already been an incredible experience. There are three things I want to bring up about my first week in Cyprus and some advice I’d like to share. First, the city of Larnaca itself. I have walked around the city quite a bit, but I still haven’t seen all it has to offer. However, it is incredibly beautiful and has many streets to walk down. Numerous shops and kiosks offer a variety of items, including water, snacks, soda, and other treats, as well as a large grocery store that provides everything you may need for food and some essential toiletries. My advice would be to not buy too much when you go to the grocery store for the first time. If you don’t want to eat out, that’s understandable, but there are plenty of great places to eat near the hotel. My advice would be to get lunch meat, such as salami, some cheese, any condiments you’d want, and bread. Then, pack a bottle of water and any soda or other drinks, as they are often sold in packs at a lower price. Snacks are also affordable there, but I found that unless you’re extremely hungry, you don’t need many snacks. Next, as for eating out, there are several great options available. Some of these include Pizza Mia, they have delicious pizza that is easy to share as a group. My personal favorite so far has been Capodecina Pasta Bar, which is less than a block away from the hotel and offers amazing pasta that I’ve visited twice in one week. The prices at the pasta bar are also very reasonable, the carbonara I got was only 10 Euro.

There are also other great food options around; I personally have been and would advise walking around and seeing what interests you and stopping in.  My other food-related advice is that after a dig, when you’re hot and sweaty, nothing beats the smoothies at Chris Juice Bar. It’s right around the corner from the Hotel and costs only 4-4.5 euros, making it definitely worth the price.  They are some of the best smoothies I have ever had.  My last piece is about the dig site and dig days.  It is a lot of work, and you need to make sure you drink plenty of water.  Before you go to the dig site, you will visit a bakery where you can purchase snacks and water if you don’t have enough to bring from the Hotel.  The dig site can get very hot, so be sure to stay hydrated. I generally drink about 3 Liters of water on site, and you will sweat it out.  The digging itself is incredibly fun and rewarding!  Luckily, I haven’t been burned; with the times we have dug, I have only needed to put on sunscreen once or twice maximum.  Lightweight boots are probably better than sneakers, I have been using sneakers, and you will get plenty of dirt in them.  You will become more accustomed to the heat within a week but be sure to continue drinking water.