Acts 27:3-8 3And the next day, we put in at Sidon. And Julius treated Paul kindly and allowed him to go to his friends to be cared for. 4And from there, after putting out to sea, we sailed to the lee of Cyprus because the winds were against us. 5And when we had sailed across the open sea along the coast of Cilicia and Pamphylia, we came to Myra in Lycia. 6There, the centurion found a ship of Alexandria sailing for Italy and put us on board. 7After sailing slowly for many days with difficulty, we arrived off Cnidus, and since the wind did not allow us to go farther, we sailed under the lee of Crete off Salmone. 8And coasting along it with difficulty, we came to a place called Fair Havens, near which was the city of Lasea.
Luke mentions various places along the route. The initial ship was not bound all the way to Rome, so plans had to be made for a transfer at a later point. When the ship had traveled about seventy miles north to Sidon, Paul had an opportunity to visit the believers there. Julius must have had some trust in Paul that Paul would not seek to escape anywhere along this route. The mention of Paul being cared for at the end of verse 3 suggests that he may have suffered in some way during his imprisonment or during the travel. Seeing friends would have also brought great comfort. That Paul would have friends in such a place was also remarkable, showing how well-known he was and how he had contacts all over. At some point, it is possible Paul had stopped in that city, or minimally, there were believers there who knew of Paul. The early church was unified in many remarkable ways. They were friends, a powerful testimony to the close bond of love that showed how the early Christians enjoyed fellowship and showed love to one another. Even if Paul did not personally know these believers, they were still his friends.
The journey became difficult because of the time of year. The prevailing winds made travel slow. The ship had to go on the leeward side of Cyprus, meaning the side that did not have the direct Mediterranean winds. Most ships tried to stay along the coasts. Open sea travel was especially long and dangerous. The ship needed to cross over from Cyprus to Asia Minor, to Cilicia and Pamphylia, where Paul visited on his first and third missionary journeys. He was familiar with this area, since it was also close to his hometown of Tarsus. Though travel was apparently slow and difficult, it must have given Paul, Luke, and Aristarchus opportunity for fellowship together and witness to others on board the ship. God’s grace continued to guide the voyage.