Miriam Erne settles in Larnaca after years of travel

Larnaca, Cyprus. Miriam Erne, 36, has settled in Larnaca after years of travelling and says she is now focused on “inner journeys” rather than extreme adventures. Her website describes her as a “modern medicine woman”, and she leads monthly full-moon ceremonies on the beach.

Life in Larnaca

Erne has been living in Larnaca full-time since September 2025, although she had previously spent periods in Cyprus, including during the Covid-19 pandemic, over the past eight years.

She met at Bardo, a specialty coffee shop near Saint Lazarus church, and noted that traffic has become a growing issue in the city. Erne said Larnaca is changing.

Leaving southern Germany

Erne grew up near Lake Constance in southern Germany, in a village of about 800 residents surrounded by nature. Her family still lives in the house of her great-grandparents, while one uncle kept bees and another had cows. Her brother is involved in local politics.

She said most of her family remained in the area, while she left after entering a relationship at the age of 19.

Travelling full-time

Erne and her partner were together for 15 years and ran an online business, allowing them to work remotely while travelling. They later bought a self-sufficient mobile home, which could operate for two weeks without water or electricity.

The couple lived in the vehicle from 2022 to 2024, including about a year travelling in Africa. The journey began in Dubai, where the vehicle was delivered, before they travelled through Arabia and took a ferry from Saudi Arabia to Egypt.

In Egypt, they crossed the Sahara for a week with a local guide, following old camel-road tracks and passing the remains of First World War airstrips. Their plan was to continue south to South Africa, but Erne said she needed to stop when they reached Zambia.

Experiences in Africa

Erne said travelling through Sudan and Ethiopia was particularly difficult. She described Ethiopia as the country she would remember for the rest of her life because of what she had witnessed there.

She said she has no regrets about her travels and is grateful for the opportunities they provided, but now feels satisfied and wants to pursue a more spiritual path.