The Edro III settled just 15 – 20m from the shore on the rocks by Sea Caves in Peyia (between Coral Bay and St Georges) in the Paphos district.

The 2,517 ton, 83m long freighter was carrying plasterboard to Greece. Our sources tell us there is no environmental risk from this accident. Of the 11 crew, 7 were air lifted to safety and no one was harmed.

It’s not yet clear how the ship will be removed or rescued – perhaps we’ll have another land mark on our coastline, like the Demetrios II on the coast near Chloraka, Paphos.

For more information please click on the link below or visit www.hestia-homes.com;

http://www.hestia-holidays.com/hestia-homes/property-detail.cfm?property_ID=3965

See more details here, along with pictures, virtual tour and satellite map of the house: http://www.hestia-holidays.com/offers.cfm

Book early to avoid disapointment – atleast during February to secure the 10% discount on our villa in Cyprus.

(Take a sneek preview of March’s property of the month – it’s got the BEST views in Cyprus)!!!

Established in 2001, this Paphos-based centre was the first of its kind in Cyprus and offers year round adventure in the form of Climbing, Kayaking, Mountain Biking, Scuba Diving, Skiing, Snorkeling and Trekking. For those of you that don’t fancy scheduled biking, Zephyros also rent bikes to suit all ages and conditions and at extremely good rates…

Zephyros Adventure Sports offers very good value for money with their varied and exciting programme and with the minimum requirement for most activities being only two people, there’s no need to share, you can have a family trip while keeping it in the family! All the tuition and equipment is included in the prices, as is transport to the numerous locations across the island and in some cases, lunch is thrown in as well!

If the stunning Troodos Mountains are your thing, they can be explored on skis during the winter months of January, February and March, when there is often up to 2m of snow to enjoy. Not a skier? No worries, try snowboarding or tobogganing instead. Excluding the water based activities for obvious reasons, all of the other adventures that are available with Zephyros can be done in this region.
If you are a water baby, try diving or snorkeling around the beautiful Paphos coastline, taking in parts of the Akamas Peninsular with a vast array of sea caves and rock formations. Some of these can only be reached from the sea and if you want to get up close and personal, a kayak trip is a must. The Sea Caves Paddle takes you along the coastline where you can explore places that the ordinary holidaymaker will never see – paddling into various caves, all with their own names such as ‘Jonah’, ‘Purple Haze’ and ‘Standing Room Only’. Paddle around the uninhabited Yeronissos island and watch in wonder as various sea birds roost in the rocky crevices and outcrops. Have a swim or relax on the beach afterwards for a truly lovely adventure. For the romantics among you, try the sunset paddle which takes in some of the Sea Caves trip and then heads out to sea a little way heading west, then stops as the sun settles on the horizon so that you can lie back, relax and take in the beautiful colours of a stunning sunset – it’s also a great photo opportunity before you paddle gently home as the orange and yellow hues change into lavender and blue.

Visit the website for Zephyros Adventure Sports for more information and bookings: http://www.enjoycyprus.com/

The best of these and indeed, voted one of the top ten wreck dives in the world, is the Zenobia, a Swedish ro-ro cargo ferry which sank off the coast of Cyprus, on her maiden voyage. She is approx 10,000 tonnes and well over 170m long but unfortunately developed a problem with the computerized ballast system while on her way to her destination in Syria. The captain steered her toward Larnaca when he realised she was listing badly and it was here that she sunk with over 100 trucks and trailers on board. It is generally thought that it needs at least two dives to explore this large wreck to fully appreciate it and probably shouldn’t be attempted as a novice.

There are plenty of other dives around the coast of Cyprus suitable for all levels of experience and some of the more interesting ones can be found around Paphos, around The Akamas or off the East coast near Ayia Napa where simple wrecks and caves can be explored. Although interesting artifacts can be found on the seabed, please be aware that it is strictly forbidden to remove any. The beautiful and rugged Sea Caves and St Georges areas of Paphos host some exciting dives sites along with Yeronissos Island which lies just of this coastline.

There are many differnet Dive Centres accros Cyprus, with shops in Paphos, Limassol, Larnaca, Agia Napa and a few others. One local company, Cydive was established in Paphos around 30 years ago and was the first scuba diving centre in Cyprus to achieve PADI IDC five star accreditation. It also has a second diving centre in Coral Bay and is the longest established dive school on the island. With a whole host of courses run by fully qualified PADI instructors, from beginners and children’s courses, to accredited courses to further your diving career, Cydive has something suitable for all the family if they wish to join in and if not, non-divers are most welcome on dive trips (space permitting).

What a great activity and experience to enjoy whilst on holiday, with one-off introductory dives to PADI ‘Open Water’ courses.

If you have ever considered buying a property abroad, many people investigate an ‘off-plan’ apartment or villa and have the beauty of owning a brand new home in their dream country – Well, you will already be aware that typically you would have to find 30% for the down payment to start with, then meet stage payments / installments during the construction period. These payments will be made either from your own funds or from a mortgage… In any case you have to pay the cost of those borrowings or suffer the loss of interest from those savings for a period of 6, or upto 18 months, even 2 years…

New to the Cyprus market and warrants your serious consideration – we are offering a selection of superb apartments and villas in different locations where you can start with just 10% of the purchase price and defer your mortgage until delivery / completion of the property! It truly is a great opportunity – what are you waiting for?..

Here are some further details of payment plans available;

We have 5 projects which are off-plan / under construction, this includes apartments in Kato Paphos, Tala, Anavargos and close to Sea Caves, along with detached villas in Emba with private swimming pools – for these properties you can chose one of 2 absolutely brilliant payment methods.

METHOD 1 – ‘MONTHLY INSTALMENTS & MONEY BACK BONUS SCHEME’
You pay a 10% initial payment. Plus 10% in equal, interest-free monthly installments to the developer… You pay a further 20% on completion & arrange a 60% bank loan, where the stage payments are made during construction… Provided that all the payments are duly paid on time, you will be eligible for a bonus, MONEY BACK SCHEME OF UPTO 10% of the sale price…
Bank loan notes: Important to note that you pay nothing during the construction period until delivery (not even the interest), then you pay interest only installments for upto 5 years and the remainder of the loan period will be a normal repayment structure.

METHOD 2 – ‘NO MORTGAGE PAYMENTS FOR UP TO THE FIRST 4 YEARS’
You pay a 10% initial payment. Plus 10% after 6 months… You pay a further 20% on completion & arrange a 60% bank loan, where stage payments are met during construction… Provided that all the payments are duly paid on time, the DEVELOPER WILL PAY YOUR MORTAGE FOR THE FIRST 2 YEARS (interest only)… Bank loan notes: Again, nothing to pay during the construction period until delivery (not even the interest), the developer will pay the next 2 years interest payments of your bank loan… You can pay interest only for a further 3 years. The remainder of the load period will be the normal repayments structure.

If you don’t want to wait 12 months or so for your property and prefer something ready or nearly completed, then there is a selection of villas and apartments where you can mortgage upto 80%, again rarely found in the overseas market, you usually would be expected to make a 30% contribution from your own funds…

Here are some more details of the payment scheme;

‘BANK LOAN OF UPTO 80% – LOW DEPOSIT’. You pay a 10% initial payment. You pay a further 10% on completion & arrange an 80% bank loan… Bank loan notes: The loan is a one-off payment upon delivery date of the property, and then you can pay interest only installments for upto 5 years. The remainder of the loan period will be the normal repayment structure.

If required, mortgages are arranged with a local bank in Cyprus. The banking system and procedures are very similar to those in the UK. What’s more, is you have the option to borrow the money with a foreign currency loan, although the developer will be paid in Euros, you may chose to have a Sterling loan as your income is in Sterling, or you may decide to borrow the funds in Swiss Francs as the interest rates is much lower – in the region of 2%… The banks in Cyprus are very pleasant to deal with and extremely efficient, please contact us for further information and any questions you may have.

If you are considering an investment in overseas property, you will struggle to beat this package. Invest your savings wisely – were you would usually use all your capital to purchase an apartment or a villa, either outright or with a mortgage. We are suggesting, if you study the figures and chose the best payment method that suits you, perhaps you could afford to buy 2 or more properties?… Say you take the 10% cash back on your first purchase, this will fully furnished and equip 2 places, or sit in the bank to pay your mortgage or ‘x’ months… Then maybe let the developer pay the interest of your mortgage on the second property for 2 years!… With the potential rental income and capital growth, coupled with lower outgoings (remember the developers paying your mortgage), imagine where you could be in 2 years? Doesn’t sound bad to me…

Please click here to see the properties available and more information.
Disclaimer; The details of these special payment methods, any prices, rates, facts and figures are subject to change and are based on information provided by the seller. These details remain subject to verification to the purchaser’s satisfaction from the developer, lawyer or bank.

Currently the top 10 in March 08 are;

1. Sienna (Chloraka)
2. Gastronomie (Chloraka)
3. Goosefat and Garlic (Sea Caves)
4. Colosseum (Kato Paphos)
5. Flambe Master (Kato Paphos)
6. Viklari (Lara)
7. Taste of India (Kato Paphos)
8. Chloes 2 (Tomb of the Kings)
9. Brasileiro (Kato Paphos)
10. Grazie (Kato Paphos)

Visit their website and share your views of those restaurants featured at www.paphos-eating.com.

Just twenty five minutes from Paphos International Airport, the ‘old town’ area has a selection of shops, banks, bars and restaurants – extending towards the palm tree lined promenade of Kato Paphos which hugs the edge of the Mediterranean and the historic fort at the mouth of the picturesque harbour.

The attraction of the wider area is much more than this traditional tourist ‘hotspot’ – you only have to travel about 12kms west of Paphos to the Coral Bay area to discover a landscape and coastline of increasing contrasts and stark beauty.

Coral Bay, with its horse-shoe shaped sandy beach, is a delightful resort renowned for its superb sandy beaches and calm shallow waters. Away from this idyllic setting, the coastline is dotted with strange rock formations and sea caves steeped with folklore. In common with much of the Paphos region, this was once a rural and barren land which has changed dramatically during recent years.

The Sea Caves area is situated north and is only a five minute drive from the restaurants and bars of the centre of Coral Bay. It is one of the finest residential areas on the island offering some of the most exclusive villas in Cyprus but still retaining its ‘natural’ beauty and privacy. This is hardly surprising considering the breathtaking rugged coastline dotted with ancient smugglers caves and small sandy coves with crystal clear Mediterranean waters that lie close by. The name is derived from the stunning geological formations which have appeared across the centuries caused by the sea gouging out the limestone cliffs.

Just to the west of Sea Caves along the coastline is the small picture-postcard fishing harbour of St George (Agios Georgious) with its beautiful church and sand and shingle beach. This is a perfect spot for snorkeling and scuba diving or topping up your tan. Agios Georgious was formerly the important settlement of ‘Drepanum’ in Roman times. Today it has some of the best fish restaurants in the island, serving fish brought in by the local fishermen on a daily basis.

Important Roman and Christian archaeological sites also lie just inland from here including a complex of rock-cut tombs that go un-noticed by most visitors.

As the coastline of Cyprus is protected and there are no private beaches, you are free to walk along the coastline and enjoy the landscape and breathtaking views. Right on your doorstep is the Akamas Peninsula, totally unspoilt, beautiful scenery, somewhere to escape to for peace & quiet. Just off the coast is the ‘Sacred Island’ of Yerosissos which plays a great part in many photos of the spectacular sunsets!

The whole area invites exploration – and not just of the typical, tourist type trail of looking at ancient monuments and relics in museums. The history of Cyprus as an island is unapologetically linked to its maritime and Mediterranean heritage. So a good place to start the voyage of fresh discovery is the sea itself. Diving and snorkelling is the key to unlocking the adventure. If you’re not experienced, expert help is available from the professional organisers of diving and kayaking trips who operate in the area. They can guide you through the essentials to ensure both your safety as well as your enjoyment of the experience.

Starting from the shallows, you can work your way through sand dunes and channels. Ancient terracotta pots lie everywhere!

The classic Sea Caves tour is very popular. After driving a short distance to a secluded natural bay, you go through some of the ‘basics for beginners ’. This is to ensure that everybody can control their boat safely whilst having fun – so the routine is to put you through a series of ‘fun’ games and challenges to test your boat control and eagerness to get wet! The tour can then begin.

Leaving the bay, you head along the rocky coast to an area of amazing limestone erosion that has formed stacks and arches; you paddle through and it’s here that you can try your luck in the ‘Washing Machine’ a deceptive rotational current that will have you pointing every direction but forwards!

From here you paddle on to the Sea Caves – an impressive series of wet caves an average of 30 meters long – and paddle inside these to explore their physical features which give the caves their names, so you can visit ‘Jonah’, ‘Purple Haze’, ‘Standing Room Only’ and ‘The Big One’, to name a few. Note that these caves are only accessible by kayak so being part of an organised group is absolutely essential, besides which you will have them all to yourself!

The crystal blue sea and the peculiar rock formations are unique to the area – and this is truly a meeting with nature in its most raw and spectacular form. In past times some of the caves have been inhabited by Monk Seals – and some still are.

So, on a routine visit to Paphos, you can enjoy what ‘mainstream’ Cyprus has to offer the tourist – plus a whole lot more besides if you take a relatively small step off the beaten track. Simply scratch beneath the surface of modernity and let your senses touch the fabric of antiquity, preserved so dutifully by nature and protected from the ravages of human intervention by an uncompromising land and seascape.

Hestia Holidays have a superb property available for renting right in the heart of the Sea Caves Area, click on the word ‘Sea Caves’ anywhere in this article to see more details.