Sailing into the Sunset

By Ralph Kratzer

Since I have lived on this island, I’ve done several boat tours along our beautiful north coast. But all of them during the day (last time with the The Foreign Residents (TFR) – to remember click here!)

So I gladly accepted the offer of my neighbour Julia, who is responsible for the organization of events as a member of the Board of the British Residents Society, to participate together with my girlfriend on an evening boat trip into the sunset.

A group of about 40 people was taken by a chartered bus to the old harbour of Kyrenia. That was even a good idea, because finding a parking space for your car in the beautiful old port city is sometimes quite annoying.

We boarded the African Queen, one of a number of tour boats that offer trips along the coast of Northern Cyprus.

There was plenty of space on board and the „sunset cruisers“ distributed on and under deck. Everybody easily found a place to sit or even lie on one of the numerous sunbeds. The first drinks from the bar on board were enjoyed and as the boat took off on time at 6pm, it was already a relaxed atmosphere amongst the guests on the vessel.

A musician began to play hits and oldies, which was another good idea at this event, because usually your ears are sonicated with loud music from the CD or the MP3-player on board these excursion boats.

The African Queen first sailed westward in the direction of the famous Escape Beach. But it soon turned out that swell came up and tossed the boat a little bit about. The skipper decided to make a turn and take a course to the east. We drove again along the stunning scenery of Kyrenia. In a small bay east of the new port of Girne we finally dropped anchor.

Some participants took the opportunity to swim in the sea before dinner was served.

The guests on board then passed the time until sunset with some more drinks and lively conversation.

The main spectacle of the tour, namely the sunset over the sea was unfortunately a bit tarnished, first because the sky that evening was pretty hazy and secondly because the backdrop of the new port is of course not as breathtaking as that actually planned at Escape Beach. But what can you do? It was still a beautiful sight.