Thursday 28 March 2024

Kabak

We woke to a glorious morning with the early sun lighting up the sheer rock faces of Butterfly Valley.


Our pensiyon included a breakfast so we sat on the terrace enjoying the view and had a  healthy brekky to set us up for a day of hillside trekking.


We had to keep our eyes peeled for the little red and white trail markers. They are often on rocks or trees and very easy to miss. We missed one turn and luckily it's was only 5mins down the track before we realised so we had an extra 5 min hill climb to get back on the trail.


We really were in a goat track today, wandering goats with bells on! 


The  track was all loosely turned over in places which seemed strange until the penny dropped.....the goats and wild boar have been rooting up the wild Iris bulbs that are abundant along the trail


We had been slogging up hill on rough tracks and then our track popped out on to a forest road and there was a wee lean-to selling fresh squeezed juice, wonderful!


This couple drive up the forest road and have a rustic little stall where the sell fresh juice to the hikers. Hubby dropped the lovely lady off and then disappeared in a clapped out old banger leaving her to do the juice stall, she had no English and I had no Turkish but we had a lovely conversation. Very special. 


What a spot, we sat next to a coral with goats and chooks overlooking the most wonderful Mediterranean views. I bet if you came back here in a few years it will be a building site.



There is so much construction all along this coast. Huge villas, big compounds, in-ground pools on multi level terraced properties...


Just when your spirits are flagging a little, natures gives you a little 'pick me up'. 


We came across a turtle enjoying the spring flowers, so sweet. 


We had thought today would be a bit easier but it was quite tough in places, you really had to take it slowly and carefully. 


We made it to Kabak. A small village with amazing sea views, check out our terrace view! Third night in a row we are the only people staying in the place. A lot of the younger ones on the trail are wild camping but our camping days are over, tents add pack weight!


To be sure we don't fade away, we had a good dinner and an early night as tomorrow is a big day . 

We had a friend at dinner. His pleading gig was extra effective as he also had a limp, of course we were weak and snuck him a treat. 

Wednesday 27 March 2024

Lycian Way, Likya Yolu

 We were up early in order to have a good deal of our uphill walking in the shade before the sun became too fierce. We found a lovely little patisserie open and they served great coffee with a slice of hot apple cake straight out of the oven, yum! We had to carry a lot of water today as there were no water fountains for 10ks and the track was pretty much old goat herding trails so no fancy cafes or shops to be found.


It felt good to have our packs on again and be setting out for the day. Our packs are pretty light but with the extra 3 litres of water each, they felt a tad heavier. 


It was  uphill all the way on really tough ground,   you had to really watch your footing. 



The views as we gained elevation were spectacular. We had to keep an eye on the rocks for little red and white track markers to be sure we didn't veer off into the wrong goat track.




As we came around to the corner of a cliff face we met a young man that had set up a spot selling freshly squeezed orange and pomegranate juice. Perfect timing as we were flagging and totally impressed at the entrepreneurial skills of this guy. He had to lug all the juice uphill in coolers and hope for some customers. 


The juice was home made and half frozen, it was divine. 


A bit further on this young lady had set up a stall making fresh gozleme/ spinach and cheese pancakes. This was in the middle of nowhere. 


We walked underneath the site of a huge earthquake that hit the region in 1957 and you could see how great swathes of hillside had just slid down the valley with boulders the size of apartment blocks.

It was good to see the sign for Faralya, our end point for the day. We started a brutal descent that took us through small farm holdings back yards and pasture land. Every so often we passed a new build that had been abandoned, massive structures left half finished and rusting in places. 



We crossed paths  with stock roaming free and you could hear  cow bells high up in  the hills. There were wild flowers everywhere, so pretty.


We saw 11 hikers today. 2 Aussies, 2 from the Netherlands, 2 from Switzerland, 1 Turkish, 1 Spanish, 2 that didn't speak so not sure of their home country and 1 other kiwi. 

 Faralya, we made it! Hard going in places.  


We're staying in a very humble village pansiyon with mamma making us dinner and breakfast. A good day was had by all. 



Tuesday 26 March 2024

Oludeniz


We are on the way to start our big trek on the Lycian Way / Likya Yolu. Today we made it to Oludeniz, just over a big hill from Fethiye.

But before I get into the glories of  Oludeniz just an observation. They sure do smoke a lot here. I've seen so many people, young and old puffing away like chimneys. I did a bit of digging and a total of 31.2% of adults (approximately 16 million) aged 15 years and older are smokers, only 15% of smokers are women. So then I got to thinking how expensive cigarettes are in NZ, (approx $35 a pack) how can Turkish people afford to smoke?  Well you won't believe this,   it's 56 Turkish Lira for a pack 20 Marlborough, so about $2.90 NZ!  No wonder the streets are littered with icky cigarette buts and the out doors  has a whiff of ciggy pong. You don't see anyone vaping here, the only vapers are Poms on holiday necking their larger's🤭

Right back to lovely Oludeniz. You can see why they call it the turquoise coast, the water is so blue. 

Travellers discovered the area in the sixties when there were just basic camping sites, a spectacular beach and a hidden lagoon. Hippies and backpackers soon followed as the word got out and now it's a full on resort with beach bars and tourist touts. When you see signs for 'full English breakfast' you know it's not good. The beach was beautiful and quiet today. It's  pre season and the beach bars and cabanna's are busy getting spruced up for May when the season starts. Glad we saw it uncrowded and peaceful. Just the paragliders gently floating down from the massive cliffs above the bay.


Ölüdeniz, means “dead sea”  named for the  salty calm waters of the hidden lagoon. The first settlers in the bay are likely to have been Christians who set up churches in the area during the time of St. Paul, around 50 AD. There was once a number of churches in the region, but earthquakes, sea bandits and development left most of the churches in ruins or destroyed.

As the years went by, trading ships passed through the bay, and the lagoon became awash pirates. It's now a protected National Park. No pirates anymore but watched as a wild boar came out of the forest and trotted along the beach.


A prime example of nature competing / coexisting with the tourist economy that provides vital income to the locals nine months of the year. 

Monday 25 March 2024

Amyntas Rock Tombs

What a beautiful morning in Fethiye. Spring is definitely in the air. We set off to find a nice spot to have coffee and boy did we find a beauty. Check out the view from this crowns nest outdoor table. 


Coffee on board we went in search of some Lycian rock tombs carved into the hillside. We passed a shepherdess walking her flock.


Not too much further up the road we came to the Amyntas tombs.


As you look up you can suddenly see a range of tombs sprinkled across the cliff face.

This impressive looking tomb was built in 350 BC! It was named after the Greek inscription on the side of it which reads "Amyntou tou Ermagiou", which translated to English means "Amyntas, son of Hermagios". The tomb was built by the Lycians who lived in this area which at the time was part of the Persian Empire.

More exploring on foot around the old town and village. There a lot of magnificent sculptures honouring Turkey's leaders.

As we were walking we heard a repetitive call behind us which turned out to be a local man selling little simmet breads along the waterfront. 
There was plenty of sweet treats to be tempted by, they look so pretty.

The tourist information  office is open tomorrow so we will visit and get a bit more information on the Lycian Way / Likya Yolu trek. It might well be one of the top 10 walks in the world but it sure is hard to nail down a decent map and stage info. Even the online trail maps are a confusion of spaghetti tracks mixed in with a goat herding trails. It's going to be an adventure, watch this space!

Saturday 23 March 2024

Fethiye


We have been very fortunate with the weather so far. Beautiful spring days and the trees are bursting with blossom. Yesterday it was very chilly in Pamukkale,  it almost felt like snow.  We had a 'rats and mice day' where we took the local minibus,  a dolmus, from Pamukkale village to Denizli town. Denizli is a major service town for the area with a big hospital,  lots and lots of manufacturing plants. It was busy, busy, busy compared to the little village of Pamukkale. We bought  tickets for the Intercity bus to Fethiye which we took today.


So it's so long humble little village of Pamukkale and the blue and white Cotton House Hotel. We weren't tempted by the upside down house, meant to attract tourists, sadly it's a bit of a fail.


We were up early at 5:00 a.m. to be standing at the side of the road in Pamukkale village at 6.00am waiting for the little dolmus 14 seater  shuttle bus to take us back down to the big smoke of Denizli  Intercity bus station.  When we were waiting in the little village centre  for the dolmus it was 1°! The local shop owner invited us into his store to wait in the warmth which was very sweet. 


At the main Denizli bus station the usual street dogs were laying about in the heated waiting room, clever doggies.  While we waited for the Intercity  bus, we got talking to a lovely man who wanted to practice his english. He was a psycho,-social youth therapist and was going back up to the village to work with the young people there doing music therapy art therapy etc. He was so lovely and he was explaining to us about the economic situation in Turkey, what the options are for the future of young people and the challenge around education under the current political regime. He was telling us that many, many people in Turkey  are worried about the future and the general feeling of the population is one of angst and stress. The inflation rate here is 64% and still running high. He dreamed he could take his family to relatives in England and create a better future for his son and daughter. Life sure is tough for some folks here.

As we passed through little villages we saw so many houses and hotels and business ventures that have started and then suddenly stopped. Lots of broken dreams.


Looks like a lot of subsistence living in small allotments.


We've had a great trip down on the bus. We skirted around a lot of mountain ranges hugging the valley floor with spectacular snow on the passes. The driver on the bus has an assistant and he has an amazing little invention like a ironing board with high sides on it.


He pulls the ironing board out from under a seat, props up the legs and then runs up and down the aisle of the bus serving complimentary tea and coffee and snacks, ingenious!  Every little village we passed had a mosque of varying degrees of grandeur. 


We arrived in Fethiye around midday and had about a 40 minute walk from the autobus terminal to our hotel. Good training with our packs for the Lycian Way/Likya Yolu track which we will start in a few days. 

Fethiye has changed from a sleepy little village of 30 years ago into a hustling,  bustling, booming tourist town.  You can see why, the harbour is spectacular.

Our hotel looks over the marina and the amount of super yachts moored in the harbour is unbelievable. I think there's a few Russian oligarch super yachts down there but we've yet to go for a walk and discover.  Fun fact Russians are the biggest tourist visitor group to Turkey, ( 456,000 p/a) followed by German visitors.


As we walked from the bus station to our hotel about halfway we stopped at a cafe to have a breather. The cafe was full of men, the only ladies present were the ones clearing the tables. Where are all the ladies having coffee?

After our 5am start it felt like a long day. We checked into our hotel, did our hand washing and then found a supermarket for breakfast supplies. Our hotel has great facilities so we can self cater here, bonus! Plus sitting our our balcony overlooking the marina looks very inviting. 

We had a small stroll along the waterfront after our housework tasks. Good to see the odd old fisherman's boats tied up amongst the Flash Harry boats and charter yachts.