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Published: June 10th 2010
I needed to head back to Fethiye in order to make my way from Turkey to the island of Rhodes (Greece) via a hydrofoil. In a flash of poor planning, I failed to look at the ferry schedule and arrived on a Thursday, with the next ferry departing the next Tuesday. Sooo, with very little reluctance, I checked back into the V-Go hostel, complete with bar, pool and a very fun and friendly staff contingent to spend the next 5 days.
My first order of business was to set up another chance at doing my paragliding, but the weather wasn't going to be good for a day or two, so I decided instead that I hadn't had enough boat time and hopped on a boat to cruise around the Fethiye bay to do a little swimming and chilling. I returned from this boat trip sufficiently relaxed and also sufficiently sunburned to keep me out of the sun for a couple days!
The next morning though, I woke up bright and early to head up to the 1960m top of Baba Dagi! The wind was a nice and strong headwind, perfect for paragliding and it showed in our takeoff. The previous attempt (7 days earlier during the boat cruise) had people sprinting off the takeoff area to get enough wind in their sails to get airborne. This time, we took one step forward and instantly shot 15-20m straight up in the air! We buzzed along the cliffside, catching the updrafts and quickly climbed well over the peak of the mountain! My pilot (Ahmed) decided that since he had no other clients for a few hours, we would extend our flight as long as he could, so we floated effortlessly above the mountain enjoying the view from nearly 2200m. From here, we floated out to over the ocean where Ahmed asked me if I would like to partake in a few "tricks". Naturally, I took him up on this and he promptly inverted us a few times and put us into a couple spins which made my stomach drop and maybe giggle like a little girl (only a little). All told, worth every penny! Now I've decided my next adventure should involve skydiving this summer. Anyone care to join?
The next few days consisted of hanging around the pool and hostel, doing my best impression of a sloth. I got to know the staff of the hostel quite well, to the point where new arrivals thought I actually worked there (I did have to reluctantly turn down several summer job offers from V-Go). We went out and partied in a nearby town (Hisaronu)... which may have involved many many beers and dancing on the bar.
But, unfortunately my ferry day arrived and I had to say goodbye to V-Go, Fethiye and Turkey and make my way into the Greek Isles. Turkey was an amazing country with such varied culture and an amazing coastline. I do feel a little sad that I didn't have time to make my way into Eastern Turkey, but I've decided that I can bundle that into a future trip involving Iraqi Kurdistan and Iran! Oh well, off to Rhodos!!
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Barb Howard
non-member comment
little girls
Little girls also love to scream. Did you do that as well Mark?