I drove from Ephesus to Pumukkale on a highway similar to the Rodgers Pass for three hours. It is actually quite easy to drive here. They are always shocked and take a double look that you are a woman driver but we have had no issues on that front yet. Speed limits on their super highways are 140 km/hour. I am in love with them. They are perfectly maintained pavement and significantly better than the highways at home. We got a tiny bit lost trying to find the actual site of the baths and ended up in Sarahroy. Surprisingly we got directions out of a man who spoke no English and obviously we speak no more Turkish than thank you. The site are these water formations that have collected into being these ice blue pools on the side of a hill in the middle of Turkey. Amazing color and should be googled to see photos. There were tons of Asian your buses dropping off heards of them with their cameras. It was a neat natural wonder to see these pools made of some sort of calcite holding crystal blue water that naturally flowed through it. We climbed the two km down and up in bare feet. Ice cream was our reward at the top again. The top is set upon an Heliopolis. Ruins are ruins after a couple of day of them.
The drive from Pumukkale to Antalya was slow. Our only driver to follow the speed limit drove. We had a set of lovely gentlemen in a car pass us on the right then slow down and pass us on the left several times. We eventually figured out they were creeping hard. The men here sure have game but it borders a fine line of creepy. I have never been so stared at blatantly without makeup and basically covered up from head to toe. They are not used to women drivers. Everyone gives a double take. So far we have seen only three women drivers on the roads. Dinner was Burger King because we couldn't find a McDonald and wanted to get on the road. The scenery reminds me of Nee Zealand with its lush green forests. The surprising part is seeing hills made of marble and them mining it. The dirt here is red. It is a strange combination to see dark green shrubbery with red dirt. Three hours later we got to Antayla.
Antayla reminds me of Cabo San Lucas in the wealthy area but Kelowna in the rest. We drove through these minuscule roads to get to our villa. At some points we legitimately had to close the side mirrors to get through. Our villa was a quaint place that included breakfast called the Sabah Villas in Old Town Kaladsi. The old town is surrounded by giant ruins of walls. It was different for sure. Antayla is not flat nor easy to navigate. The next day we set out by public transport bus to Lara beach to spend a day near the ocean. I put on sunscreen but I guess not enough. I got a little burnt. Not as bad as Christina who four days later is still a lobster but still burnt. We had a quick lunch at their version of Tim Hortons because we got lost on our way back from the beach by about an hours walk. A good afternoons siesta was completed by the three of us. It was Christina's birthday so we woke up, got all dolled up in tanks and jeans because dresses felt a little too revealing, and went out for a nice dinner at Paradise. For a yoghurt dip with bread, an entire plate of garlic shrimp, a steak, an entire fish fillet, and dessert it set us back a whopping $65 CAD. Big spenders. Our restaurant overlooked the Harbour. The waiter was super friendly until he got very creepy and asked if he and the chef could come out with us. Obviously, we said we were just going to bed. We started at the Club Alley, an outdoor night club. It started to pour so we left and went to the roadhouse. It appears that I can find a roadhouse in many different locales. The Roadhouse had a Turk pop band playing. It was hilarious that we knew none of the words but still danced our heats out until 3 in the morning. The band and a lot of people found us hilarious. People don't typically dance I guess in Turkey. We cleared some of the tables to dance. I didn't think twice about it. Christina had a great birthday.
Today we woke up late at 9 am to get a move on to Kas. Sierra decided to not come with us to Greece and went on her own way. To each their own. Turkey is not a county that I would be travelling alone without common sense. It's not a country to be super friendly in but she is well travelled so I hope it is okay. People make their own choices. I drove to Kas as Christina was a little out of commission. It was all along the Turquoise Coast with hairpin turns for 2 solid hours. It was a four and a bit drive but we finally got our McDonalds. I have never hit 30km/hour and been scared that it am going too fast. I got a little car sunburnt today from that drive. Upon getting to Kas we found an ocean front restaurant and had brunch. Ice cream is a staple of this trip I've decided. We hiked to the top of the city to see the views of Kas and Greece. One of the Greek islands is only a 10 minute boat ride away I guess. Kas is the dive hub of the Middle East. It looked amazing but I don't trust the equipment wihthout further research so we just meandered around the city. Saw another ruin theatre. Attempted to find a beach but my idea of a beach and their idea is totally different. Pebbled beaches are not beaches. The water here is a stunning ice blue color with a hint of the color from Kalamellka. Tonight was an early one. We have run constantly for the last week.
I am looking forward to Greece and just relaxing tomorrow. We have a 7 hour drive tomorrow then a ferry to Kos, Greece. It will be good weather hopefully for the drive.
AFN
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