Day 24 - Ucagiz

Today, nothing happened.  Well, we walked the few hours into Ucagiz, but nothing else happened.  But this absence of obvious content creates an opportunity, as Fiona has been wanting me to provide more information on the track conditions under foot.  While the track conditions do vary greatly, the most common theme is sharp edged loose stones, up to the size of a person's fist.  These are very tough on both feet and footwear.  

An example of the most common form that the track takes.

NASA's Mars Rover test facility.  Note how easy the terrain that it is training on looks.  Bring that 6x6 toaster over to the Lycian and see how long it lasts.

Today's tortoise count : 2

Day 23 - Bogazcik to 6km WSW of Ucagiz

We walk to the ruins of two ancient cities, Appollonia and Aperlae.  Both are in fairly remote locations, and we are the only people there.  At Aperlae there are fragments of pottery and carved marble scattered across the site.  Previous visitors have picked up some of the more interesting looking pieces and arranged them on the walls for others to look at.  It's a great experience, exploring these sites that were inhabited 2500 years ago, and finding the creator's thumb print marked on a piece of pottery.  The signs around the Aperlae site state that it gained its wealth as a major manufacturing site of..... the colour purple!  They harvested thousands of one particular type of shellfish, smashed them open, and used the contents to dye fabric purple.  For many centuries this was the only way to make purple fabric.  So purple fabric was a fabulously rare, and expensive, commodity; and Aperlae became a wealthy city on the basis of shellfish guts.  If people had been willing to settle for either blue or red fabric, Aperlae may never have existed.

Fifth century BC Cubism at Appollonia.

Aperlae, the sort of walls that only purple can buy.

We camp out in an isolated olive grove six kilometers short of our next destination.  In the middle of the night a bunch of wild pigs turn up and hold a porcine party next door.  I yell at them to get them to keep the noise down; the inconsiderate.... well.... pigs.

Camp Get Down Tonight, with me modeling the Rasputin look - which is gonna be huge this year - just remember that you read it here first. 

Today's tortoise count : 1 

and 2 snakes - Fiona is not happy!

Day 22 - Karadere to Bogazcik

We continue our walk along a remote stretch of coastline, past two Roman watchtowers. We encounter eight other walkers, which constitutes a busy day on the Lycian.  Both Fiona and I are feeling better about our physical states.  We probably now have the level of fitness that we should have had before starting this walk, and the bits of our bodies that have been causing us the most concern (knees, achillles, and feet) are not feeling any worse; and maybe, just maybe, are feeling a little more settled.

We must now be about half way through the walk, and we are still "in the game".

Ruins of Roman watchtower.  I imagine that there would have been worse postings in the Roman army.

Other walkers on the Lycian. We demand a refund!

Today's tortoise count : 0

Day 21 - Kas to Karadere

A pleasant days walk in overcast conditions, which knock the temperature back from high twenties to low twenties.  I hate overcast days at home, but they are great for walking in Turkey.  Most of the day is along a remote wind swept coast.  In one of the bays below, a Bronze Age ship wreck was discovered in 1982.  It was excavated over the following 12 years; proving that in 1800BC there were people moving copper, tin, glass, ostrich eggs, ivory, ebony and amber around the Mediterranean.  Amazing.

We have dinner at a remote, and rather expensive, cafe; then push on for another hour before finding a lovely campsite above the sea.  The only downside is that it is packed with insects.  We are normally very proficient at keeping insects out of our tent, but the ones that we encounter here just swarm our clothing and hair.  Inside the tent I find 15 of them have come inside with me.  Fortunately they are rather docile and very easy to swat.  As I whack another three, l ask myself how such a defenseless organism ever survived the evolutionary process.  Five minutes later, half of the answer becomes obvious, they just won't stay dead.  I've practically got to dismember them to prevent them from popping back to life.  It is completely disgusting.  The second half of the answer is even more disgusting.  I wake up in the middle of the night covered in blisters, on every part of my skin that contacted one of these things.  So they are amazingly resilient and secrete something toxic.  Evolution is a wonderful thing. 

Camp Le Freak - idyllic except for...

The blisters caused by the toxin secreting insects

Today's tortoise count : 0

Days 19 & 20 - Rest days in Kas,

We take two rest days in Kas and:

- repair bodies 

- repair those bits of our gear that have become damaged 

- meet up with people that we had encountered on the walk 

Fiona purchased some silicon inner soles for her boots.  The chemist told her that this was the model that all of the Turkish boys brought before their compulsory military service.  I liked the look of them so much that I then brought a pair.

Day 18 - Pinarbasi to Kas

A short day with less than 2.5 hours walking.  We descend off the plateau upon which the village of Pinarbasi is located, over a goat covered plain, and steeply down into the town of Kas.

An autobahn by Lycian Way standards 

View down into Kas from the cliffs above.

Looking back to the cliffs from the streets of Kas.

Today's tortoise count : 0

Day 17 - Gokceoren to Pinarbasi

The guide book states that the next village is over 22km away. A long day for us, although fortunately over relatively gentle terrain.  We have camped out for the night, meaning that we've eaten our breakfast and dinner supplies.  We must either complete the whole 22km, or find some more food along the way.

While communing with nature, Fiona has an exciting start to the day; discovering a small green snake watching her from under a nearby shrub.  Unfortunately, by the time that I arrive on the scene it has departed.  I have only ever seen one and a quarter snakes, in the wild, in my life.  In South Sudan I saw a snake very briefly as it dashed across the road in front of the car I was traveling in, and a few days ago I saw part of a snake as it made a rapid exit through some long grass.  I had begun the Lycian by telling Fiona that I would be disappointed if I didn't get to see a snake.  We have even done some internet research on snakes in Turkey.  My odds didn't seem too good, as the internet is full of "I've lived in Turkey for 20 years and only ever seen four snakes" stories.  Fiona is already running well ahead of the odds, having seen two snakes in two days.  She is taking great comfort in the "they are more afraid of you than you are of them" advice that also abounds on the internet.  

Ongoing repairs.  Totally not snake related.

Today's temperatures are in the mid-twenties, a relatively cool day for late May.  We plod on, being overtaken by eight other walkers; a hectic day on the Lycian. By the time that we have put 12km behind us, levels of enthusiasm within the team are starting to wane.  It would be great to have the option of camping out, but we are short on food.  Then we come across a team of Turkish forestry workers, who are more than happy to replenish our food supplies (at no cost).  There is that Turkish hospitality thing again.

Now we are back to having the option of camping out.  More plodding on, then a flash of movement at my side.  I turn around, but I'm already too late.  A snake has shot out of the bushes to my right, passed between Fiona and I, and exited to my left.  I dont get to see it; but Fiona says that it was a metre long, black, and close enough to me that she thought that I might have stood on it.  I hadn't, or I'm sure that I would have felt it.  I still haven't got a good look at a snake, but Fiona has now seen three in two days!  This close encounter of the reptilian kind puts a noticeable extra spring in Fiona's step.  We are certainly not going to camp in this spot.  

Yet more plodding on.  After another hour we still have 7km to go, the pace is slackening, and Fiona is complaining that her 2nd wind is becalmed.  Then there is a yell behind me.  I turn around and get a great look at a metre plus black snake sliding across the road three metres from me.  Very exciting.  Apparently even more exciting for Fiona.

Kim - "I got to see a snake."

Fiona - "It touched me."

Kim - "I got to see a snake."

Fiona - "It could have gone a different way, but it charged at my feet."

Kim - "I got to see a snake."

Fiona is now totally unconvinced by the "they are more afraid of you" argument.  "If it was so afraid of me, why did it charge two metres across the road at me, when it could have just gone the opposite way?"  But on the positive side, Fiona's 2nd, 3rd and 4th winds now all arrive.  With Fiona pushing me in front with her Leki pole, we make good progress over the final kilometres.  All thoughts of fatigue and camping out now vanquished.  

Fiona has now seen four snakes in two days (more than most Turkish internet commentators have seen in twenty years apparently) and even had one brush up against her.   She is blessed indeed.

Lycian tombs - sorry, but the snakes didn't stay still for long enough to be photographed.

Two bedroom pension and cafe.  Our eventual refuge from the day's reptilian adventures.

Today's tortoise count : 1

Full description of the snake that charged Fiona:

- Black 

- 1m to 1.2m in length 

- Spitting fire from its nostrils 

- Secreting acid

- With the words "I kill for laughs" emblazoned on its sides

Day 16 - Saribelen to Gokceoren

Fiona and I head off for a relatively long but flat day from Saribelen to Gokceoren.  Fiona wants to take this opportunity to test how her feet are healing.  A series of odd rock formations mean that we soon find ourselves in a mystical landscape. There is an eerie song on the wind.  Don't ask me to explain.  Maybe someone is just messing with the tourists!

Stone circle : site of ancient sacrifices, UFO landing platform, or something to do with the manufacture of charcoal? You be the judge. 

After a few hours walking we encounter a small farm.  The shepherd, his wife and daughter-in-law, invite us in for a tea.  He notices that I'm constantly blowing my nose.  I've had bad hayfever since the first day of the walk, and have been constantly knocking back anti-histamines to try and get on top of it.  He goes into his house and comes back with a small bottle of clear liquid that he tells me to smear around the inside of my nose.  After two weeks of sneezing I'm pretty much ready to try anything.  The liquid burns and sets my eyes watering, but after a few minutes my nose stops running, and it behaves for four hours.  A better result than I am getting from the anti-histamines.

Kitchen in shepherd's house.  A wood fired stove, but they did also have satellite TV run off a generator.

Turkish Shepherd dog, explaining to Fiona that she is trespassing on his patch, but that for a scratch behind the ears or a biscuit he is willing to overlook the infraction this time 

Half an hour beyond Gokceoren we start looking for a place to camp.  A goat herder spots us in his fields and comes over.  With some mime I explain what we are looking for.  He finds a nice camping spot for us, and asks us if we want any food.  The rural Turks really are very hospitable.

Camp Jive Talkin 

Today's tortoise count : 6

Day 15 - Kalkan to Saribelen

The path climbs quickly out of Kalkan, before leveling off and passing through fields and olive groves.  Then I begin an ascent, taking several hours, onto the plateau in the hills above Kalkan.  More great views, more goats.  For a change the weather is overcast, and I walk for part of the way in cloud.  It is cooling, and reminds me of home.  By 4pm I reach the village of Bezirgan, feeling pleased with my efforts and expecting that that my final destination for the day will be only 45 minutes away.  But no, there is a heart-breaking road sign stating that I still seven kilometers to go.  I trudge on up another hill, then discover that the Lycian Way iPhone app wants me to go a different way than the track markers are indicating.  I spend half an hour investigating this (in the end I could not find a path where the app was indicating) before electing to follow the painted track markers. This leads me through a steep downhill beside a stretch of road, over which many people have been dumping garbage.  I eventually reach Saribelen at 7pm; where I met up with Fiona (who had caught the bus there).

House in field at Bezirgan 

Today's tortoise count : 3

Day 14 - rest day in Kalkan

A rest day in Kalkan.  I've got a sore left knee, and two sore achilles tendons.  Fiona has sharp pains in her feet, and two sore achilles tendons.  We are trying to keep this plethora of aches and pains under control.  It is already clear that we are not going to finish the Lycian Way in the 30 to 35 days documented in the guide book, but we do still want to finish it.

We both wash our clothes in the hotel's hand basin.  Then Fiona catches a bus to Kas to see if she can find some heavier hiking boots, because we are becoming concerned that her foot pain is a result of her boots not providing enough protection to her feet, and I head into Kalkan for a hair cut (because we are becoming concerned that I'm being slowed down by half a kilo of unnecessary hair).

Kalkan - bar beside a mosque

Day 13 - Yali Burun to Kalkan

Got started before 9am.  Unheard of when we are camping.  I discovered a snake about 50m from our campsite.  At least I think that it was a snake, but it took off so fast that I barely had time to think "is that a s...."  We have seen a lot of geckos, skinks, and other forms of lizard, in the last 13 days; but this thing moved differently.

 Fiona located an old water storage cistern behind an abandoned stone cottage.  We filled up here and added lots of aquatabs.  Yummy swimming pool tasting water for the rest of the day.

Lycian Way Sports Water - with extra protein and nutrients 

Then out onto an isolated headland, with lots of little bays, and more amazing views.  After a couple of hours walking we find a small beach.  Time for the first swim of the walk.  The water is so clear, but surprisingly cool.  As we finish up two small charter boats arrive.  A reminder that we are now not far from the tourist town of Kalkan. 

More walking above lovely coves, drinking swimming pool water.  It's damn hot (we would later find out that it had been 32 degrees). The track briefly returns to the aqueduct that I had passed three days earlier, then winds for two hours along the coast into Kalkan.  This section involves lots of clambering over rocks, and in the hot sun is particularly tiring.  At 4:30pm we arrive, looking more than a little bedraggled, at the same hotel at which we had previously taken two rest days.  A lot of food is consumed. 

The Lycian Way follow-the-rockfall-over-a-cliff challenge

Today's tortoise count : 0

Day 12 - Gelemis to Yali Burun

Spent the first half of the day looking at the ruins of Patara; the major seaport of the Lycian Kingdom, and also significant for the Greeks, Romans and Byzantines. Lots to see.  In fact, we run out of time and decide to add Patara to the "must return to one day" list.

Then approximately four hours walk onto our next campsite.  I'm trying to adhere to the official Lycian Way route.  This takes me out of the ruins of Patara, across a farmer's field, and straight up a hill.  Fiona had earlier decided to leave her pack at the pension, so she goes back to retrieve it then takes a far more practical route along some nice roads.

My "straight up a hill" route immediately leads me into a forest of thorn bushes.  At first I think that I must have the navigation wrong; but "no", I can see the red and white trail markers heading into the thorns, and the Lycian Way iPhone app, which I'm carrying, says that I'm on the right track.  I try to brute force it.  Within 10m I've doubled the already considerable number of thorn scars and welts that I'm carrying.  I stop and get out my cold/wet weather clothing, put it all on, and try to brute force it again.  I make it another 10m into the thorn forest and have to give up.  I still have another 180m of thorns to go, I'm already wearing all of my clothing (in 30 degree heat), and I'm a mass of scars.  I can't see how anyone could complete this stretch of the Lycian without a machete or body armour.  I retrace my steps, sidle 150m around the hill, find another path heading up, follow that, and rejoin the Lycian Way 300m above.  This is the first stretch in which I haven't been able to follow the official Lycian Way route exactly.  The next day I rediscovered the notes that I made when we went to visit the Cultural Routes Society before starting the walk, and see that they had advised us not to attempt this section.  DOH!

First metre of the Lycian Way Thorn Challenge; only 199m to go.

Fiona and I meet on top of the hill, and continue on, through more idyllic scenary, before setting up camp at 6pm in a forest clearing beside an olive grove, about 2km short of Yali Burun.  Bread and cup-a-soup for dinner.

Camp Staying Alive 

Today's tortoise count : 0

Day 11 - Uzumlu to Gelemis

A seven and a half hour walk, in hot sun, mostly following the course of an ancient aqueduct.  When I reach the outer edge of my destination town, I turn my tee-shirt inside out, because I'm too embarrassed to walk through a civilised area with so many sweat stains showing.  Lunch, had en-route, was one and a half packets of biscuits.  Dinner was a pide (Turkish pizza), plate of heavily salted chips, glass of aryan  (a salted yogurt drink), fresh watermelon juice, and a lot of water.

The elevated portion of the aqueduct 

A hillside spring; a piece of infrastructure with great ROI stats.  A welcome sight to hot/thirsty travelers 2500 years ago, and still a welcome sight now.

Today's tortoise count : 2 

Day 10 - Kinik to Uzumlu

We catch the bus back to Kinik, to resume the walk where we had left off. Past the ruined city of Xanthos, that we investigated yesterday, then over open parkland before rejoining the road for a 4km slog. I notice a dog circling and watching me intently. I bend down and pick up a few stones. He comes tearing towards me, fangs bared. The first stone causes him to re-assess the wisdom of his actions, and the second / third send him into retreat. Wolves zero, tool-using apes one; although I must confess that none of the stones actually hit the intended target.

The rest of the day is a walk in low bush, on the side of a hill. It is a bit under-whelming when compared to the scenary on most of the earlier days. The only noticeable thing about it is that much of the walk is on an ancient aqueduct. This is a trench cut into the rock on the side of a hill, designed to carry water out of the hills and to the nearby towns.



Spectacular views of the tomato growing area.

Fiona has some different adventures. She decides to skip the more boring stretches of today's walk to help correct her unhappy feet. As a result she ends up being invited by two Turkish women to their house for lunch. Fiona is definitely getting more contact with the locals than me.

A couple of hours before dusk we are befriended by a street dog. I nick-name her "Trojan"; because she has such tiny legs but puts in such a big effort to keep up. When we camp for the night, Trojan sleeps at the end of the tent. And in the morning, with much good intent but little effect, Trojan tries to scare off a visiting shepherd and his two (much larger) dogs. I'm very tempted to let Trojan follow us on the walk, but this is a daft idea. At some stage we would need to get Trojan back to her village, and the further we travel the more complicated that would be (and the harder it would be to say goodbye). But Trojan is not taking "go home" for an answer. For the second time in 24 hours I find myself throwing stones at a dog; although for completely different reasons, and this time I aim to miss.



Fiona and Trojan having a debate about the purpose of books; to convey knowledge, or to sharpen teeth.



Camp Night Fever

Today's tortoise count : 1

Day 9 - Rest day exploring Xanthos

We caught a dolmus (local bus) to explore Xanthos, the largest city in Lycia in approx 500BC.

Once the tombs of the most powerful men and women in a kingdom; now a theme park for goats.

Back to walking tomorrow.

Day 8 - Rest day

International Day of Knee Preservation

Stayed in a hotel in Kalkan and caught up on the laundry 

Day 7 - Pydnai to Kinik

I leave my pack at the Pagodas of Doom, and walk 1km back along the track to explore the ruined castle that I'd been too tired to explore yesterday.






Boys fishing at Pydnai


Then an 11am start on the walk; a kilometre or two past some marsh land, made more difficult by the fact that the first few hundred metres of the track is flooded, then a few kilometres through scrub and forestry land. This section of the Lycian Way is almost un-marked, and I navigate off a map on my smart phone. There are few signs that other people are walking this section. I meet no-one; and in a couple of hours walking, often over soft ground, I see only a couple of foot prints.

Then two hours of walking on roads past tomato growing warehouses. This is a section where the designers of the Lycian Way had no choice; as there were no tracks, good or bad, that they could send us down. The highlight of the day is a visit to the ruins of the Lycian and Greek religious site at Letoon. Fiona did the practical thing and caught a bus to Kinik, where I meet up with her again at 5pm. Fiona's foot, and my achillles and knees, could all do with a rest day or two. There is no accommodation in Kinik, so we catch a local bus the 10km to Kalkan and book a hotel on our smart phones while en-route. The technology is wonderful when it actually works.



The Pydnai to Kinik walk will be a highlight for anyone with a passion for tomato hothouses.




Ruined temple at Letoon


Today's tortoise count : 1

Day 6 - Bel to Pydnai

We head along the dirt roads that run through the hills from Bel. The guide book states that we need to turn right at the big juniper tree, but we don't know what a juniper tree looks like. Eventually we find our way off the road and along a forest path; before descending, past clusters of grazing goats, on another stony path back to the Mediterranean. There was a major thunder storm last night, and the weather is cool and misty. A stone rolls under Fiona's boot, slightly injuring her foot. We slow our pace, but still manage to reach the day's destination before lunch.



The owners of the guest house at Bel

Cool weather in the hills




After lunch, and feeling impressed by our obvious athleticism, we decide to push onto the next town. This leg turns out to be a classic example of the Lycian Way's course. The designers seem to have had one principle in mind - "never use a road where you can use a good track, and never use a good track where you could use a bad one". There is an easy road heading directly to our next destination, which would have us there in an hour. Instead we are taken on circuitous meanderings over the hills, seemingly for the sole purpose of avoiding the roads. Four hours later, and thoroughly knackered, we emerge at our next stop, Pydnai. Pydnai is not a town or a village; it is a restaurant, with some accommodation attached, located on the beach. The accommodation is pagodas with canvas walls. It is late and we are both so tired that we need to sort out a place to stay with a minimum of fuss, so we opt for one of the pagodas. It's a great choice. We should have canvas walled pagodas in NZ. We go to sleep to the sound of the sea. About midnight the mosquitoes find their way inside en-mass, and at 1am the boy racers arrive. Canvas walled pagodas are a terrible idea and should be banned world wide. To add insult to injury the restaurant / campsite owners have a policy of charging extravagantly for everything that we use. Our awful canvas pagoda stay ends up costing us nearly twice what we have paid anywhere else. Fortunately we manage to get out before the owner has time to count the sheets of loo paper that we have used.



View from the hill above Pydnai


Due to a supply miscalculation we are currently on one third toothpaste rations. I feel that our situation is now similar to that of Scott's 1912 Antarctic expedition. "I am just going out for a floss and may be sometime."


Today's tortoise count : 1