We woke up again to our typical Turkish Breakfast of tomatoes, cucumbers, cheese, olives, hard boiled egg, and bread, but this time we had an unleavened bread called...? Oh yeah, I remember a lot! It was a stormy day, and the book said not to attempt the cliff-side walk in inclement weather, so after much debate, we decided to hike down the road....
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| Robin at breakfast, Alinca Pansiyon |
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| Baby goats! |
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| Robin and terraced fields, outside Sancakli |
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| Ottoman Cistern, Lycian Way |
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| Coffee break, outside Bogazici |
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| Robin Bogazici |
After this town we started climbing into the mountains again....
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| Overlooking Bogazici |
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| Grant with Goats |
The ruins outside of Sidyma remain some of my favorite, especially since I wasn't jaded yet :) I also liked the yellow flowers and dark skies. Ancient ruins in the middle of fields outside of tiny villages. What's not to like?
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| Grant on Tomb, Sidyma |
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| Lycian Tombs, Sydima |
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| Lycian Tombs, Sidyma |
In the town of Sidyma, we were resting in a park when a nice young lady invited us in for tea. It was very pleasant, though her brother seemed bored by the whole thing...Super nice though. We didn't want to stay in her pansiyon, and they did not charge for the tea. We were just chatting. She tried to put a head scarf on me, showing me how to wear it, and obviously trying to sell it to me. Not only did I not have room for souveniers, I was never going to wear a headscarf. No offense to local culture. They do not really expect non-muslim women to wear this stuff, and in the cities do not expect even the Muslim women to wear it. Truth be told, I felt smothered in the material. After reading another Lycian Way blog, we found that this generocity is repeated day after day to the tourists hiking the Lycian Way. It's the same routine, though it does not diminish how lovely it is to be invited in for tea when you've been hiking all day...If you don't feel smothered and have room in your pack, I really think you should buy a head scarf from them. You will know who they are because they will find you...
We kept hiking, and for the first time got extremely lost. It started when we hiked out Sidyma. We had to scout around a lot more and felt less confident about the trail. Outside of Bel we got totally lost, and had to give up on the trail all together, following the road instead. The guidebook didn't say there were Pansiyons in Bel, but luckily as we decended into town close to sunset, a young girl, maybe 10, came up the road and invited us to stay at her house. We said of course! We didn't actually want to camp next to the mosque in lieu of dinner and breakfast in a bed with the locals :) This is where we stayed...
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| Coming into Bel |
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| Tea, Bel Pansiyon |
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Bel Pansiyon room
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The girl practiced her English on us as long as she was allowed, and once the father came home from herding goats, it was dinner time. We ate by ourselves upstairs on the balcony, but afterwards, the father came up to socialize with his daughter. He spoke no English, but brought us beers!!! And snacks! The little girl and I somehow decided to sing "Head and shoulders knees and toes" together, and we all laughed at our antics. It was awesome. Oh, I forgot, the mother killed a chicken for us, we're pretty sure. Before dinner she brought us tea and made a gesture as if twisting somebody's neck, while smiling and laughing. A few minutes after she left there was a huge commotion, dogs barking, birds squaking, etc... We put two and two together, and I had to tell her I was vegetarian. She looked at me like I was crazy but was super nice about it. Unfortunatly, Grant didn't get any of the chicken dinner either, but her family ate well that night...Ah, the joys of traveling as a vegetarian. I'm so sorry to my hosts for being so damn picky!
At any rate, we learned two very important things this day. A.) We could no longer make fun of other people who reported having trouble following the Lycian Way. The markers are ridiculous, and there is no real map, and it's not a real trail even!!! And B.) Just because the guidebook says something silly like there is no accomodation does not mean a nice little girl won't find you and take you to her house. THERE IS A GREAT PANSIYON IN BEL!!!
And the Day's Map:
http://www.mapmyhike.com/routes/view/195303360
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