Around and about Fethiye

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Fethiye is a pretty great base for explorations around the the Aegean coast. There are a bunch of things that can be done as day trips or overnights. I stayed at a nice pension Yildirim's in Fethiye and would stay there again. The facilities are not 100% brilliant, but the people that I met there were quite nice and the city of Fethiye itself is quite pleasant, even though there isn't too much to do. It is right on the water, so that adds quite a lot of ambiance to the city.

When I arrived there were two other guys in the dorm, and the first night we had a quiet night.

We awoke for a Turkish breakfast, after which I took a minibus to Kayakoy. My plan was to hike from Kayakoy over the neighboring ridge over to a beach and spend the afternoon on the beach. This plan worked just great until I started to hike the trail. While the trail is ostensibly along the Lycian Way, a blazed trail along the southern part of Turkey, for the area above Kayakoy it is difficult to follow the trail because there are a multitude of paths formed by people and sheep. I was trying to follow the trail, progressively getting lost and unlost until I ran into a Singaporean girl also trying to do the same thing. We agreed to try to do the hike together to help with finding blazes. In sort order we met up with a very friendly English couple and our group of four headed out together. Once you crest the first ridge, the blazes get much easier to follow, though there are a few moments where the trail is a bit unclear. Though it is usually pretty easy to get back on the trail. The views from the hike are well worth the sweat.

Once we arrived in Oludeniz, the English couple took us out for lunch, which was greatly appreciated, and I spent the afternoon swimming and sunning on the beach. The area around Oludeniz is infected with obese English package tourists. From discussing the economics of the package tours with the English couple, I can understand the appeal. It is quite reasonably priced to do one of the package tours, and low effort. Not my thing now, but I can see the appeal.

The beach in Oludeniz is nicer than that on Olympos, though you have to suffer through a much higher density of beach-goers. A different demographic too. In Olympos it is mostly 18-30 travelers and locals, and in Oludeniz it is a lot of older Western travelers. Including quite a number of topless sunbathers, some of whom could have done with a bit more fabric.

The water is such a delightful temperature around here. Just cool enough that you are refreshed getting into the water, but still warm enough that getting into the water is a pleasure. And the water is quite salty to boot, so swimming is quite a lot more effortless than I am used too. Plus very few waves as well. So nice.

The following day I met another girl in the hostel and I tagged along with her to Saklikent gorge and did some hiking up this gorge. It reminded me a lot of Wadi Mujib, but this time, the water was manageable enough that I felt comfortable (or stupid) enough to bring my camera with me. And better company to boot (sorry Tad... ). There is one bit where you have to wade through waist-deep water that is maybe 5C. Brrr..... It was well worth the 2TL that we paid for the entry. The also rented us plastic shoes for 3 TL to maximize traction (something that would also have been good at Wadi Mujib). After we got back she headed to Kas, but I may meet up with her in India in a few weeks.

With a few other people I met in the pension in Fethiye, we continued our beach bumming with a trip to Butterfly Valley. Butterfly Valley is this beach community that is only reachable by boat, trapped between two walls of the valley. As you might imagine, it has a present- and post-hippie population, but it was really nice. Communal dinners and breakfasts are included in the 50 TL price. We spent a night sleeping on the beach, and headed back Fethiye in the late afternoon. I almost did a bit of beginner diving but some interpersonal interactions put me in a properly foul mood, and I was no longer in the mood for diving. A bit of an emotional roller-coaster for me while I was in Butterfly Valley.

I did quite a lot of swimming while I was in Butterfly Valley, pushing my boundaries even further. I swam out something like 100 m from shore and swam back to shore. I kept doing this, going out further each time until I struggled to get back to the shore by the end. Making progress. Still don't really have good form, but hopefully I can develop it. Youtube to the rescue?

The next morning I headed off for Selcuk and Ephesus.

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