Sleeping under stars, sailing and saluting the rising sun, Turkey

An entire day by the pool, as we got too drunk the night before, then a bus to Palmakale and onto Turgetries, beers circumcision, and our apartment, market and beach, beers, and a night club street, home at 5am, slept till 4, beach, gozlemes, home, morning bus to fethiye, shuttle to ideal pension, shit hostel, 

How ironic, it seems that my last entry ended with “we may never leave…” as a matter of ‘fact’ we have indeed left, but unfortunately another two nights late, as one beer by the pool side at Atillas led to another and before too long it was 3am and we were canceling our leave! We had made ourselves very comfortable at the lovely guest house and made good friends with the owner and the workers; MC from aus and Phil from Canada! We woke the next day at around 12 thankful we had bailed on our 8am departure plans! The sun was shining so the lazy day was spent by the pool reading and feeding on fruit salad! Another delicious and hearty home cooked meal later we escaped off to pack up our bags to avoid last nights escapades. Returning to say our goodnights and goodbyes and clanging to our farewell over one last Efes Pilsar we were in bed by 12. The next morning we were on the bus by 8:30 am and arrived in Palmakale at around 12.30. Heading straight with the tour group to a local resturant for a buffet lunch…lots of oily but delicious egg plant, grilled chicken, chickpea salad and fried and seasoned beans! One food coma later and we made our way to the top of the hill to walk down by the springs and check out the ancient ruins of a no longer existing town. The landscape is absolutely captivating and bizarrely surreal, set upon a mountain the entire hill is covered in calcite (calcium deposits? This still confuses me) which in turn actually just looks like snow, but felt like smooth rock. The water from the springs would trickle down the entire mountain forming little pools, (some man made for touristsm) and where the water settled it made a cement like mud. The water was a magnificent baby blue emphasized by the white landscape, contrasting this the hills in the background are a that of a lush green. After spending the afternoon making our way down the hill, splashing in springs and snapping away, we met at the travel agency at the bottom to collect our bags and head off on a 5pm bus, Bodrum bound.

We decided to head there as we contacted the friends we had partied with in Bergarma the week before and they still wanted us to join them at their summer house! The buses in turkey are great, we even opted for a smaller one as the big coach left half an hour later! On board snacks and drinks are served and most buses have direct routes to almost anywhere which makes everyone here possible! We arrived into bodrum just after 9 and swapped onto a local bus to Turgetries (where the family were to meet us). We got off the shuttle and found a busy little bus station where people were already setting up for Saturday market. Before too long we were reunited with Aylin and Ozgar and they took us to the marina for a drink. It’s so good to see an area through the eyes of a local, as we walked through the busy bustling streets, the bars and restaurants were packed…with English people!!! As it turns out this popular destination is full of them, and in particular this area, so we walked around the corner to find a less packed street which happen inhabit mainly Turkish people! Finding a nice quiet bar we retired to a view of the sea view, a meze plate and a cold beer. One the most bizare sights we came across happened to be in the English street, where a crowd of people gathered a round a small boy aged about 6. He was dressed like a little prince and had a giant throne covered in baby blue and white balloons at the head of a long table full of middle aged and elderly guests. A large white cake with sparklers was brought out as they clapped and cheered, whist a very breasty belly dancer jiggled in the young one’s face, his bottom lip quivered and he looked upset, confused and tired. As it turns out the ceremony we had witnessed was that of a circumcision celebration! I couldn’t believe the extravagance of such a thing; it’s just a little bit of foreskin!?!? Supposedly making him now a man!!

After a big day of traveling we headed back to their apartment, they even let us have their entire bottom self contained flat inclusive of two beds, a small kitchette and an ensuite…not to mention the most incredible view of the ocean which was plotted with small islands! Now let me just go back a step here and remind you how we met these lovely people.. Their 2yr old daughter approached us over dinner and was speaking turkish to us, one thing led to another and 6hrs later we’re in a gentleman’s club dancing around poles and playing the drums, one phone call and four days later they are putting us up in their beautiful home with open arms…luck? Uhuh! The next morning we decided to check out the Saturday market on a girls shopping trip, starting with a stop to the best ice-cream in Bodrum we then crawled the busy streets ignoring the ridiculous comments “Jlo, spice girls, basically for free, cheaper than eBay…” it seems the best lesson learnt was to always take a local, as their is definitely a difference between local price and tourist prices. So a few hours later, and too many liras spent we left with some bargains, hot and exhausted and keen for a drink! We landed at their local beach/bay area to watch the sun disappear over beers and hot chips before making our way back home to get ready to head out. The sunset was incredible as it set behind the silhouette of the islands, the hills on shore were lined with white houses all resembling each other (as there is a law to ensure all houses are white). Adding to this, beautiful flowers climb between the homes and dance along the steep streets and paths.

After a quick change and a few pre drinks that consisted of Dan’s duty free Jameson, soda and lemon… Not the usual ale and lime but went down smoothly, we jumped on a shuttle to town only to fall to sleep like dominos within the 30 minute trip. Waking at the buses halt we sheepishly stepped off, out of our dreamy hazes and into the pumping party streets of Bodrum. Settling for what we thought was an acceptably priced bar, full of single women eyeing off every male and horribly cheesy music, we were served warm beers which we refused, downing a semi cold one it turned out the price was four times that of a normal bar. Leaving quickly, annoyed and thirsty we stopped by a corner shop for a few take always and took them to the marina to watch the expensive yachts come and go. We then made our way to a bizarre little lane which was full of bars, so close that they shared their music, and their tables! Picking one; they all looked the same we spent the rest of the eve dancing on tables and catching up! Again falling asleep on the shuttle home, it seemed that once off the bus on the short 6am stroll home in day light, our new found friends found it in them to go swimming whist Dan and I retired to bed. The next morning; due to be our departure day had unfortunately almost escaped us, as we crawled out of the dark room to find it was just short of 4pm the next day! Luckily they extended the offer for us to stay another night, seeing out the rest of the day with more beers and gozlemes by the beach. 

Up and packed the next day by 8am we said our goodbyes to Aylin, Ozgar and Irkin (who could now say ‘good girl’ in her tiny little two yr old english) and thanked them for our lovely home stay and escape from the dorm rooms and shared bathrooms! Arriving into bodrum we were straight back onto our direct four and a half hour bus to Fetiyre. We then caught a free shuttle to our hostel that we had booked online; Ideal Pension. We should have went with the initial feeling…there’s nothing ideal putting a hostel up a hill with the reception on the top floor…hot and we bothered we checked in and were shown to our cramped and unclean room. I’m not one to complain in regards to hostel standards, let’s just say I have slept in some pretty horrific places along my journeys but in this place I really felt dirty…the shower didn’t work and the beds felt like they were sweating a damp and rusty fluid…I couldn’t even take my thongs off. Eager to get out and see some sights, equally to escape our accommodation, we headed down to another guest house where we had worked out a friend…of a friend, of Dans was staying. (these girls were following each other on instagram and realized they were in the same town). Meeting Angela and her swedeish friend Lee, Dan and I felt like we were on a blind date, but as it turns out the girls were really lovely and we all became the best of friends, so we all went out for dinner to what looked like a fast food diner but in fact served us some delicious shish kebabs and cold beers. 

The next morning Dan and I sporadically decided to check out of ideal and head to Fetiyre guest house where the girls where staying, this was decided by the fact that the manager there gave us two free nights accom if we booked our sailing trip through him, so without further hesitation it was finalized. The four of us then headed straight towards the Tuesday market, stopping just short of it in the 11am heat for a shandy which put a quick kick back into our step! The markets were lanes upon lanes of all sorts, from imitation converses to strange head pieces (of course I invested in both), we haggled our afternoon away, exhausting ourselves in a dusty sweat. Heading home for some sneaky pre drinking in the girls private room we headed out for an early celebration of Ange’s birthday that we were to miss. A few pizzas, a cake and several drinks later we ended up at the most popular bar in town with live music; the Car Cemetery. We stole the dance floor, invested in souvenir tshirts and spent the eve making new friends! Come 4am we ended up at an after party up the hill at the bands house! Day light seemed to have burdened us all too soon and we made our way home realizing we were to be woken for a jeep safari in a mere two hours. Untested and irritable we all fell out of bed into our matching souvenir drunk purchases and denim shorts and belted up in the back of a jeep. 

Our jeep then joined several others and the army of us made for the hills before drenching each other with water buckets and pistols…why did we wear white tshirts!?! With the music blaring, the wind blowing and the sun shining…it was infact the best hungover day! Considering we had barely slept two hours we made the most of it; checking our ruins, being hosed off by local village people and cleansing ourselves in a giant mud bath holding hands in a circle…it was one massive water fight and we got to see small country towns which is what I had been anticipating the whole of Turkey to be like. It is bizarre how developed and commercialized a lot of Turkey is, as their tourism industry is booming and as I mentioned earlier they basically have direct and incredibly comfortable clean coaches to almost any destination…I didnt expect travels here to be so easy! After an extremely long but fun day our tour finished around 7, so we quickly cleaned ourselves up and headed for our last supper together. A few delicious gozlemes and pides later we headed home to meet the three cyclist (that we had met in Istanbul; facebook page: daring dynamos) so impressed with boys efforts who are In fact riding for charity we all went out for a few drinks ending up at the Car Cemetery again! Whilst the others retired home exhausted Dan, Tom and I kicked on, dancing the night away and strolling home in the early hours of the morning. Still dumbfounded by their stamina and intense drive, the three of them are incredibly lovely and inspiring and I feel lucky to have met them along our journey! 

The next morning we all had breaky together before farewelling as Dan and I made tracks for our 10am 3 night sailing tour with Alaturka. We joined 18 others on the boat, with 3 crew members…5 Young Aussie lads from Melbourne, an Estonian family; Commissioner (father), son (Terminator…who did not speak) and Marina (daughter), Blair (of Blair witch project, a mid 40’s Italian lady that moaned and groaned a lot and had an irritably anxious aura…that supposedly slept with a young Aussie on the last night!!!), another 2 more Aussie boys from Syd, a couple from Perth who we have adopted as family (Nic and Callam) and last but not least Bambi and Marco from England who are a hoot! Day one for me was rough…the sea was wild, rocking the boat radically I spent a good few hours hugging the toilet and finding comfort lying on the damp but dirty tiles in our bathroom. Finally finding strength in the late hours of the afternoon and escaping our claustrophobic and cluttered cabin I resumed upstairs to find out we had skipped Butterfly Valley and the Blue Lagoon due to unfit weather conditions (these two happened to be the places I was looking forward to most!) 

Docking at St Nicolas Island (where Santa Claus was originally put to rest) Dan and I swam over to shore to stretch our legs. Making friends with the care taker of the Island; Willy, he took it upon himself to settle my sore stomach. Serving us a complimentary tea, we then all took a position on his balcony beds and did a mix of strange yoga/Pilates/meditation/massage which he joyfully led. One of the strangest but funniest experience so far and It actually did leave me feeling better!! Back on the boat, a small dingy floated by with an elderly couple selling us yummy banana and chocolate gozlemes made on a hot flat rock right then and there saw us through the afternoon swims. That eve we climbed the island to the highest point to enjoy a spectacular sunset before resting back on the boat with a delicious meal of fish and salad. Our nights were spent under the stars on cushioned sunbeds as some opted for the cramped sauna like cabins, Dan and I liked the fresh air. Although a disturbed sleep; with the rocking of the boat and blazing 6am sun rays burning upon our resting selves I enjoyed waking up to crystal clear skies, luminous blue waters and intimidating mountains. On the second day we headed through the choppy seas and further along the Mediteranian waters until we came to Kas, where we stopped for a few hours to shop around and see the small town. Breaky, lunch and dinner were all included and served on board which left us always contempt and pleased. 

The food was traditionally Turkish, a range of salads, rice, chicken, fish, meat balls and oily veggie mixes were usually on offer and served around a large dining table which we all squeezed onto. That afternoon we all just chilled out playing cards, sharing stories over beers, swimming and reading! The next morning we headed to another small town to check out some ruins by the name of Kalekoy. Spending a few hours crawling around before too long we were back on the water waiting for departure. Stopping off at a small bay like area it was known for its extremely cold waters rising up from the rocks, so the water near it was all luke warm in comparison to that rising from beneath. Docking that eve at another bay we kicked off our last night with a few drinking games before being picked up by a small boat and driven to a small bar around the corner; smugglers cove. The group bonded over radical dance offs and drunken chat before returning to our floating home. 

The next morning we finished early at about 11 docking at a port just east of Olympos. We then caught an hour bus to the quaint village of Olympos. I felt like we had gone back in time driving down the winding dirt road into one small little street scattered with tree house pensions and cafes. Olympos prides itself on their authentic accommodation, whilst you might have the cliched tree house in your head, think more along the lines of a cuby house on stills. The small simple wooden rooms with no air con were not enough to temp Dan and myself opting for a air con dorm at Sabah Tree House Pension, with breaky and dinner included it worked out only about$16 Aussie a night! That eve, still in the company of Marco, Bambi, Nic and Callam (from our sailing trip) we all booked a flame tour unsure as to what we were going to see. It was just short of an hour drive out of town, departing at 9pm we arrived to find bus loads of tourists trekking up hill in the dark with flash lights. Following the crowds up a steep and sweaty 15 minute climb we finally came to an area scattered with flames; fire that was blazing out of pure rock. Burning colors of red, orange and blue it is still a mystery as to how these flames stay alight?! Bizarre and intriguing we sat and watched with our burning curiosity before heading home to bed. 

Waking up to a complimentary breaky we all headed down to the beach, paying an entrance fee as you walk through beautiful ruins en route. The beach went for miles and was scattered with umbrellas, small stones and cigarette butts…such incredible blue waters and people polite it…it bewilders me!!! Even the salty refreshing sea wasn’t enough to keep us captive in the heat so we made our way back for some delicious gozlemes at a near by cafe! I received an email from Tom, one of our cycling friends, as they weren’t going to make it to Olympos that day stopping short due to the heat, with that in mind Dan and I decided to check out late and book an over night bus due to leave that eve to Cappadocia with Nic and Callam. Setting off at 6pm, we headed on a local bus to Antalya, stopping there for dinner and swapping onto a coach departing at 10pm. The bus was not full so we have been able to stretch out on our seats and try to sleep the night away. Unfortunately due to Ramadan the bus driver is stopping for extended stops to feed so the night so far has been restless and broken. Due to arrive into Goreme at 7am I am excited to see Cappadocia and hopefully not sleep the day away as my eyes are already heavy and it’s just past 12…it’s going to be a long night!