Another week down and one (and a half) to go?

Well, well, well, the sailing portion of my trip is nearing its end. I have not set the exact date for my departure from Trish, but the likelihood is that it will be some time around the 17th. From there I will bus to Bodrum, a town at the southern end of the Aegean. I will meet Burcu there, another Turkish friend, and stay a few days. I will then hop skip and jump up the Aegean towards Istanbul, giving myself four days there to finish up the sites and say good bye to Turkey. Although I still have about three weeks here, it feels as though I have to consider leaving tomorrow, and quite frankly I am not ready for that. As of late, I have been up to the usual (for here)- swimming in the blue waters, catching up on my reading, and playing some games to keep an old lady company. About a week ago, we sailed from Gocek, practically back to Fethiye, and then over into one of the southernmost bays within the protected area. A long sail* (*longest weve done), but a great sail. The wind occasionally picked up to 18 knots, but primarily stayed around 14-16. We were sailing somewhere between 5.5 and 6.1 knots. A pretty good time, and to top it all off, we ended in a beautiful bay. Wall Bay, as it is called- aptly as there is an ancient wall running pretty much directly into the water, was crystal clear! and I mean absolutely crystal. I could see our anchor when it was 30 some odd feet below! There were plenty of fishies and the constant (although often too strong) winds kept us cool. One of the reasons for our choice of Wall Bay were the alleged ruins that lay somewhere up in the mountains around it. The walk sounded appealing and Trish was encouraging (I felt obligated to go). Well after we got settled down, took a day to ensure that the anchor was holding and we wouldnt look up and be on rocks, I departed. I borrowed a pair of Trish's shoes, we wear the same size, and set off. It was lovely, pretty remarkable landscape. After passing Ruin Bay (one to the East) I ran into a split in the trail. Trying to decipher the spray painted sign, I decided that I would chose the trail marked 25 rather than 5 because I wanted to do the long hike first. Well I went up and up and up, switch back after switch back, view after view and my only company was a grasshopper about 6 inches long. Eventually, towards the top of the mountain, I ceased to see the red spray painted dots on random rocks and trees. I came to the conclusion that I had somehow transferred myself to a goat trail. Figuring that it was distinct enough that I could find my way down the mountain I continued. It led me through a small open field with golden wheat looking flora and then further into another field, only very large and very rocky. I tried to figure out if this was supposed to be the "ruins" but figured that I might as well proceed to see what I could see. Upon running head first into a couple of mules (why they stand butt to butt I dont know) I stopped, then hearing voices I sighted a few girls playing in a tree, presumably while a guardian did some sort of work near by. At this point I decided not to intrude and instead to turn and attempt to find the actual trail. It was about this time that the sole of Trish's left shoe fell off. A little startled, I laughed to myself and continued on. Another kilometer or so and I got frustrated and ripped the second sole off- what good would a pair of shoes be with one sole? Anyway, I proceeded, found the original trail which ended in a phenomenal viewpoint, looking not only to Gocek and Fethiye, but out over the open Med as well. The viewpoint concurred, I receded down the hill only to stop at the divide and decide to try the "shorter" trail marked 5, because I had made it that far and whats a few more steps (even though my feet are aching and I am well aware of some monstrous heel blisters). So off I set. However, this short trail is not short and I am pretty sure it was twice as rocky. I was keeping in mind the ruins and saying well it must just be around the corner. Well eventually it was. Back to the top of a second mountain and into a field similar to the previous one. However, there were blatant ruins there. Beautiful and remarkable to think that someone had a city way up high in such a location that was rather difficult to access (safety, I know, but still?!) It was fascinating as interspersed amongst the fallen basilica and odd well/bath thing, were a few ramshackle houses and make shift barnyards. Because I was a bit apprehensive of heat stroke and dehydration, I turned around early and made my way gingerly back down the mountain, trying not to think about what would happen if I stopped moving. However, I made it back to the boat four hours later with aching tired feet. The blisters turned out to be massive, but I survived and am glad I did the hike. The rest of the week I nursed my feet and swam in the clear, cool water. Anyway, that was a summary of my past week. A book about the Black Death shaping history, The Picture of Dorian Gray and The Constant Gardener have all been completed and I have turned my attention to Dickens for my last week of leisure. Hope all is well at home and around the world, and I will be in contact again in another week.

side note- sorry the images from Cappadocia wont load for some of you, they have been working whenever I view the blog so I honestly dont know what to say/do.