I can honestly say that I do not remember a time when Larnaca was without bumps, hazards and diversions, otherwise known as 'roadworks', and I think that despite our irritation at this status quo, most of us have become completely and utterly used to a lifetime of upheaval and construction.
It seems that no matter how many times they dig the darn things up and re-tarmac them, the roads are never, ever smooth, even, one colour or without potholes. I would love to know (or I probably wouldn't…) how much of my car's wear and tear costs are as a direct result of the bad state of the roads. And there can't be a single parent who hasn't cursed the bumpy ride with sleeping babies in the back that you do not – under any circumstances - want to wake.
And it's not just the roads. On a daily basis, year-round, the town is built, rebuilt, smashed up, jiggled about and changed, but nothing actually changes at all!
There is also a strange habit for major construction or road works to be started as the tourist season begins. There will be no activity during the quieter months then as soon as the first planeload of sun-seekers arrives to herald the start of the warmer months, in come the bulldozers and diggers. I suppose the 'winter' brings a risk of rain, but our rainy seasons are very short so I don't buy that, and surely working conditions in the burning sun are a lot worse for the crews that toil all day and turn a shade that indicates they have no idea what sunscreen is (probably not manly enough for them).
The other irritating thing is the very unclear diversions that appear. As you are diverted (yet again), a couple of arrows will appear but will suddenly disappear leaving you driving round in circles. The next morning you may smugly congratulate yourself on remembering there are roadworks and take a different route only to find the works and diversion have moved and are once again directly in your path.
I often try to look at the town through a visitor's eyes, as I have indeed become immune and accustomed to the sight of building sites and torn up roads, and it ain't pretty. I can only console myself with the thought that visitors assume that they have come at a time when works have started and are not aware that it is a permanent feature of our town.
Still, we can't grumble too much as Larnaca is still pretty easy to get around with reasonable traffic at peak times compared to the traffic hell of Nicosia. And besides, my children are at an age now where it is not imperative to get them to sleep in the car, so we just make the potholes and bumps a game. But I do hope that by the time they are old enough to drive, the town will have reached completion of whatever all these works and construction were all for in the first place!
First appeared in The Cyprus Weekly, 18/01/14
