Sunday October 27
Cycle: 66.79km//4hr17min//15.58km/hr
It was a slow start to the morning. No hurry to get on the road, the road we already know, the road that climbs for a good hour before descending back to Lake Koycegiz. The very same road we road yesterday, in the other direction. I never would have guessed getting to Marmaris would be, could be, so difficult. Up we went, past the very same bees, the very same trees, same rivers, same water fountains, same hairpin turn after hairpin turn. Hello familiar things. Oh wait, there were a couple of new sights. One, a Turkish wedding. Cram too many people into a car. Play Turkish folk music with a Zurna. Shoot guns. Drive. Somewhere.. past us. We also saw another cycle tourist! This one, Turkish, male, middle aged, and very interested in escorting us to Mugla, oddly, his destination, not ours. We tried to shake him on a downhill by taking pictures, and going very slow. Does he take the hint? No. Instead, he stops where we stop, and offers us Turkish tea. Yes, cay! In the middle of the road. In the middle of a hill. In the middle of a forest. In the middle of nowhere. What, will he whip out his camp stove? I wonder. No we don't want Turkish tea, and then we wait. Eventually he realizes its probably not going to happen, and rolls way still waving for us to follow him. Jenn and I take bets on whether he's waiting for us at the next major junction. Thankfully, he is not. All in all, the ride back the fateful junction where we turned off yesterday isn't too bad. And, the ride north along Lake Koycegiz is beautiful. Unfortunately, at some point, Jenn's freewheel decides to stop working, and Tatanka turns into a fixed gear (except, well, she can still changes gears, which really means its not fixed gear, but you get the idea... she had to pedal always). Not wanting to go back to Dalyan for repairs, the thought it just too depressing, we decide to push on to Marmaris along the D400, hearing the clanking of Jenn's chain every time she forgets to pedal. As we join the highway from our side road, along comes Fraser from Scotland, 3 months into a 4 year long journey around the world. We exchange route information, blogs, etc (and visa versa), and bid him a fond farewell. Joining the highway, we're treated to a newly paved surface that is perfectly smooth. A cyclists dream! Not the mention, no hills. What, is this still Turkey? We make good time along the highway, but its pretty clear we won't make it to Marmaris by nightfall. We grab some provisions at a roadside market, grab an Efes at a gas station, and roll to the nearest set of power lines to find our camp for the night. As per usual, a beautiful sunset, this time witnessed flying down a hill heading in the direction of Akyaka.
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| I recognize those bee boxes from yesterday. |
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| Pollen heavy bees fly in. The door man checks their ID. |
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| Overlooking Lake Koycegiz. Madalene looks back. Collectively we're trying to shake our new found friend, seen here. |
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| Lake Koycegiz in all its glory. |
