Author Archives: Sally

The Wedding Girl

Desperate for a book  to read during our last few days in Turkey and for the flight to Istanbul then home, I found myself in the airport book shop in Antalya.

There was not much choice but I was drawn to the “Wedding Girl ” by Sophie Kinsella.

“Young woman about to get married, all the usual stresses and strains but with a twist. She’s already married – to a gay American who wanted to stay in Britain. Somehow, she’s managed to forget to tell her future (real) husband and with only a couple of days to go, someone else tells on her.”

It had lots of twists and turns and I could not put it down…  an excellent read and finished in a week which is a miracle for me 🙂

I went straight out and bought her newest book “A Desirable Residence”…  but 2 weeks later and I am still trying to find time to start it !

 

 

The Lycian Way

The Trekking Route of the Lycian Way is along the chain of paths connecting the cities of the Lycian Union thousand of years ago.In other words, walking along this way is like going through a tunnel of time leading to present from depths of history.

We walked 260 miles of the 319 route and it was TOTALLY AMAZING, I enjoyed every step we took 🙂

Click on the links below to see just how amazing it was……..

Day 1  Ovacik to Faralya

Day 2  Faralya to Kabak

Day 3  Kabak to Gey

Day 4  Gey to Gavuragili

Day 5  Gavuragili to Xanthos

Day 6  Xanthos to Akbel

Day 7  Patara to Kalkan

Day 8  Rest day in Kalkan

Day 9  Kalkan to Saribelen

Day 10  Sidek to Gokceoren

Day 11  Gokceoren to Cukurbag

Day 12  Cukurbag to Kas

Day 13  Kas to Bogazcik

Day 14  Bogazcik to Ucagiz

Day 15  Ucagiz to Cayagiz

Day 16  Demre to Andraiake Bay

Day 17  Demre to Alakilise

Day 18  Mavikent to Karaoz

Day 19  Karaoz to Adrasan

Day 20  Adrasan to Cirali

Day 21 Cirali to Tekirova

Day 22  Tekirova to Roman bridge

Day 23  Gedelme to Goynuk

Day 24  Goynuk to Hisarcandir.

Day 25  Rest in Antalya

Days 26, 27, 28 in Istanbul 🙂

An Amazing Surprise

While away in Turkey, Geoff gave me a fabulous birthday card by one of my favorite painters, Katty McMurray.

When I opened the card I almost fainted with shock !!

People that know me well, no that I have a “thing” about beach huts and over the years I have collected a few nice paintings

But none of them compare to the Fabulous painting that now hangs on my living room wall 🙂

 

An amazing Gift, from an amazing man 🙂

Lycian way to Hisarcandir

Our last walking day on the Lycian Way was described as a 10 hour or 2 day walking route

There are no supplies, no accommodation and no water till towards the end of the walk.

You also climbed to around 1500m from sea level over a mostly rocky and hard to find path.

BUT we wanted to do this walk so we decided an early start was needed to give us the time to complete it

The route was hard to find at the beginning so after walking up the river bed for 20 mins we turned back and found the right markers straight away

From then on the route was easy to find and very well marked.

The whole walk was amazing, 6 hours of climbing over very mountainous paths, which really reminded me of the GR20 in Corsica

Hole in mountain on Lycian WayWe saw hole mountain, near the peak is a hole that the sky can be seen through, those that have climbed right up say it’s big enough for 2 buses to pass through.

The last couple of meters are over rock slabs and then your on top of the world…. Hudacik ridge , then it’s through a narrow opening and then there is only one way …… Down !!

The hardest part for us was the hours walk down the road to the village

Sally & Geoff at end of Lycian WayBut it was worth every step especially when I found the big sign that marks the finish, especially since a walk guide told me they did not exist.

After photos had been taken we hitched a lift to Antalya where we had a fantastic hamam …. Believe me there is no better way to ease those over worked muscles 🙂

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Location:Kabasakal Cd,Istanbul Province,Turkey

The Lycian way to Goynuk

The walking since I last posted has been brilliant.

Far more mountainous than the first half of the walk

We have had some lovely swimming in the clearest water I have ever seen

Today we had a very long walk putting almost 2 days of walking into 1 day , making it 28 km with a total climb of 1512m

Very different to our normal Cambridge Rambling Club Walks

The reason for this long walk is so tomorrow on our final walking day we can hopefully reach the end at Hisarcandir , which involves a 1650m climb 🙂

Such a shame that our walking companions over the last few days have decided not to
Join us tomorrow

But we shall meet up with them again , hopefully tomorrow evening…… If I survive that climb

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Location:Kazım Karabekir Cd,Göynük,Turkey

The Lycian way to Ucagiz

So far we have had an amazing 13 days walking along the Lycian way in Turkey and have walked around 135 miles.

The walking is very varied and tough but with the most amazing views

We have been up in the turkish hills where local people rescued us from the Turkish storms then provided us with a bed and food.

Pleased to say we are now back in the sun with a perfect walking temperature of around 25 c

We have been sleeping for around 9 hours every night and I have no aches pains or blisters

Rumour has it that the next 13 days will be even harder !

Enjoying Ucagiz after a tough 10m walk

 

– Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Location:Sağlık Ocağı,Kaleüçağız,Turkey

Xanthos to Akbel

We had a lift back up to Xanthos this morning and at 9.30 we continued our walk along the Lycian way to Akbel

Today was a very tough day narrow rocky over grown paths made it hard going and the prickly shrubs irritated my delicate skin 🙁

Once again though we were rewarded with spectacular views especially along the aqueduct.

The route was hard to follow in places today so we didn’t reach Akbel till 4.30pm.

7 hours to walk 13 miles that gives you an idea how tough it was.

Tomorrow it’s a quick look at Patara beach, which is said to be the best in turkey and the only sandy beach too.

Then it’s off on a trek to Kalkan, a beautiful place , so we are told 🙂

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Location:KaÅŸ Kale Yolu,,Turkey

Cheers

Thank you for all my birthday wishes.

It’s been fabulous so far 🙂

50 miles Walked in 5 days in exhausting heat of 30 c and over terrain very very different to what we are used to.

Today we Walked from Gavuragthi to Xanthos. Unfortunately there was no where to stay so we had to catch the bus to Patara.

Although we found time to look round the Roman ruins first.

We shall catch the bus back up to Xanthos to continue the walk tomorrow,  although we may have a day off and enjoy the beach first 🙂

Sad to say the Turkish flies seem to love me as I have many nasty bites thankfully we have cream

Drinking at The LightHouse
– Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Location:KaÅŸ Kale Yolu,,Turkey