Alanya, Turkey

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The goal today was to finally swim in the Mediterranean Sea. It seemed like a simple and attainable goal, but in the end required some patience and perseverance. We left the pier and quickly got lost. We grew discouraged walking in the intense heat - trying to make our way through town and over the steep peninsula to reach the beach and Damlatas caves waiting for us on the other side. A taxi driver stopped and offered to take us for a ride (pun intended) and I agreed to his first price of 5 euros instead of bargaining. He drove us a short distance down the hill and in a minute or less we were there. Kleopatra Beach was quite crowded but we made the best of it and took in the beauty of the deep blue water. The shore was full of pebbles and smooth stones instead of sand. The waves crashed on a slippery rock bottom that was quite difficult to negotiate. It was nearly impossible to enter the water gracefully, so we more or less fell into the sea and swam together for a while in the cool clean water. The taxi driver back to the pier only charged us 3 euro - so I felt better that it averaged out to an 8 euro (or $12) trip.
After lunch we went to the local bazaar and I bargained for a full set of turkish bowls. We had dinner at the Polo Grill (filet mignon) and then enjoyed a delightful show of broadway favorites. I then struck up a converstation with Ed Taylor at the blackjack table and figured out his wife is Barbara Brown Taylor (named one of the top 10 preachers of our time). Janine and I have been interacting with them since day one, but never caught their names. No wonder she looked so familiar to me this entire time. Maybe the 4 of us can get together before the cruise is over...

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