Sunday, 17 May 2015

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



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