Thursday October 17
Cycle: 71.87km//5hr14min// 13.69km/hr
We awoke in the wee hours of the morn to lightning illuminated the skies, thunder rolling in, and a flash flood (minor) streaming past our tent. Suddenly, we were very thankful that we'd found a tunnel under a highway to camp in. Who would have thought? The morning brought warm sun, but also, the appearance of a scooter and a car at 'our' abandoned resort. We thought it prudent to pack quickly and make breakfast, but not fast enough, we soon hear voices and see two men walking towards us through the tunnel. Jenn uses her strategy of accosting them with "good mornings and hellos" before they know whats happening. They manage a 'nice camp', admire our breakfast, look us and our gear up and down, and walk on (shotguns in tow).
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| Our tunnel, with a view towards the ocean. |
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| Our abandoned sea side resort. Not so abandoned at 8am. |
The morning cycle along the coast was very interesting and beautiful. The rock itself was pretty, a pale yellow/gold that changes colour depending on the light, shadows, and elements (in the rock). An early start meant that the traffic was minimal, and the highway was ours to weave around on. Light rain would not dampen our fun! We rolled into Demre, the site of, among many other things, the Myra ruins. We're not big on ruins, especially when we have to leave the bikes sitting outside with all of our gear unsecure. However, these looked to good to be missed. We even rented the audio tour! Ha.
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| She's a beauty. |
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| A cove in the elbow on the road. |
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| Some would claim that buses are the better way to get around... |
After touring the ruins, we sat drinking an Efes and eating our lunch. Suddenly, RAIN! Sheets and sheets or rain. And wind. A flash storm descended and everything was flooded in less than two minutes. The locals looked as bewildered as us, and were frantically trying to tie down (tarps, tableclothes), or lift up (rivers quickly forming). Meanwhile, tour buses continued to arrive and try to unload, amidst this crazy storm. In total it lasted 30 minutes, but the real entertainment began after it ended: tourist trying to navigate massive puddles in slipper like shoes. We settled in for the show, and to give time for things to dry of a bit. One Turkish man hurried to take apart patio stones, and construct a walk way through the puddles, from the buses to the tourist site. Win. Another solution? Remove your shoes and walk barefoot through the puddle. Also witnessed.
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| Lycian tombs in Myra. |
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| Intricate carvings above some of the tombs. Thank god for a camera with a good zoom!!! |
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| Myra! |
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| Insert caption here: _____________________ |
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| This went on for a while.... |
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| Sitting Madalene in Myra. |
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| Sitting Jenn |
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| Flash flood! |
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| Puddle walk 101. |
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| Someone get these spectators a cay. |
This day was FAR from over. What awaited us on the road outside Demre was an incredibly long first ascent, followed by ever lasting rolling hills. In 4 hours, we managed 45 km! Painful. The first climb out of Demre (sea level) was to 750 meters in <5km of road. Ugh. To add to the fun, every hour or so, we would cycle through a rain storm, absolutely drenching us in minute. I would dry off, just in time for the next one. Did I mention the honking ? NOTE: If you want to share your excitement and support with a cycle tourist, honk and thumbs up if you're oncoming traffic, not if you're behind, it just scares the shit out of us. Piece de resistance: thick fog rolls in, making the last 15 kms a nail bitter. Finally, our hair raising descent back to sea level at dusk/dark into Kas. To tired to consider cooking, we dine out, tradition Turkish home cooking. Delicious.
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| View of Kas from above. |
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| After a day like today, this is what you look like! But you don't care, because there's spicy lentil soup to make it better. |
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| And kofte with eggplant and baklava. |
