Tag Archives: Kaş

Day 311 – Pamukkale

On the last stretch of coastal road

On the last stretch of coastal road

Breakfast right at the ocean was still nice even after having had it three times in a row. Pamukkale was the destination for today; it is one of the top experiences in Turkey according to the Lonely Planet. It wouldn’t be a long day on the bike as it is only 200km away from Kaş. So we packed up and left. Flo grumbled about the “service” of the camp ground which meant we couldn’t take the bike to the tent. Instead, all our stuff was transported on a tiny pick-up to the bike…and then we had to strap everything to the bike for the next 15 minutes, in the sun.

Beautiful but rather chilly place

Beautiful but rather chilly place

We followed the Mediterranean Sea for another 100km before turning inwards to get to Pamukkale. As soon as we started to go up into the mountains, it got much cooler again. Flo actually started to feel cold with the compañeros letting the wind through. For lunch, we decided on a picnic once more and all we needed was some bread which was easily found. Then, we turned off the road at a promising looking dirt track, went up a hill and had a great spot with a view. Because of the wind, we both felt like having a nice cup of tea. A bit of organizing later, the cooker was out of the pannier and we got to have a great break.

About an hour later, we were in Denizli, the big town before Pamukkale. The couple from twentyonesteps.net had recommended a camp ground so we knew where we were going. Buying groceries for dinner was all that was left to do. I slightly overdid it when I went into a bakery for bread and left a while later again with baklava and bread. Well, at some point we will not get baklava anymore and that time is approaching fast.

A geese pond in front of Pamukkale

A geese pond in front of Pamukkale

The camp ground was nothing special except that you are right at the terraces of the Pamukkale sight. So even from our tent, we could look onto the white mass on the hillside. However, both of us were so tired that we needed two hours just for relaxing before we thought about anything else again. Starting, we first went to the Nature Park below the hillside. It looked like the entrance might be in there and you got to play around a bit. Looked like fun and it was. 🙂

Entering the real site, we nearly turned around. 35 lira per person is the most we have paid for an “attraction” in Turkey. Flo decided that we’d still do it and I am glad that we did but it hurt our budget. Also, all the tickets had been adorned with “35 lira” stickers and when you looked underneath it said “25”. *hmpf*

More still to go

More still to go

Pamukkale. From a distance, it just looks like a blindingly white hill. The path and the people on it are visible but the beauty lies in the details. The whole hill has or has had water flowing down over it, depositing calcite on every surface. The so-called terrace walk lets you walk up. As soon as you hit the calcite, you have to go barefoot as shoes would destroy the intricate patterns that the flowing water has carved into the surfaces. Some water is still flowing down the hillside and additional pools have been created so getting wet feet is expected. And much fun. I really enjoyed the look and feel of the calcite. Where it is in standing water, it is slippery and soft. With just a little stream of water flowing over it, it is rock solid. Flo claimed that we will have baby-soft feet once we’re back down.

Ancient theater of Hierapolis

Ancient theater of Hierapolis

On top of the hill are the ruins of Hierapolis. We tried to see some of them but first, the museum had an extra entry fee of 5 lira per person and second, the ancient pools had an entry fee of 32 lira per person. Annoyed about not being properly informed at the gates on the base of the hill, we skipped all of it and made our way back down again over the terraces. Still great fun…even the second time around. 🙂 Back on the camp ground, the usual evening routine set in and we were both incredibly tired from a long day.

Day 308 – Opportunities

Using some time after breakfast for blogging

Using some time after breakfast for blogging

What a blissful night! The bed was really fantastic. Our hosts had to leave for work early, but kindly allowed us to sleep in and take the time we needed. When I got up, I had a text telling me that they even left some breakfast outside for us. Thank you so much!

Last night I got a message from a good friend about a job currently on offer in Frankfurt. After having missed the opportunity to fix up my application papers in Oman while staying with Lina, I thought I would leave any job hunting until we reach my dad’s place in Würzburg. This one really was too good to let slip, I had to admit. That meant I would have to call them at some point today to get some more details. Then, I probably would need a day dedicated to writing the cover letter, wrapping up a German style CV and gathering all the required documents from their various storage places.

Isn't Tiny cute? She pretended to sleep but kept an eye on us while we packed

Isn’t Tiny cute? She pretended to sleep but kept an eye on us while we packed

After a brief discussion with Nina, we decided that a nice campground on the Turkish Mediterranean coast would be just the perfect place to do so, provided Nina would be allowed to buy her next book. 😉 So we packed our bike, said goodbye to “Villa Naz” and headed towards Kaş.

We were hoping to find a place somewhere along the way, or if not to go to the campground we heard about in Kaş. Of the attractions along the way, the only one marked as a must by Nina was the sunken Lycian city of Simena. Although this was best accessed via Üçağız, only 35 km from Kaş, so we could also do it as a day trip from there.

Beautiful coast

Beautiful coast

None of the other bits along the road really tickled our fancy that day, apart from the scenery on the coastal road section. But these were taken in anyway. We had our lunch picnic in the woods near the road after first failing to find a nice beach and then refusing to pay 40 lira to get to the one we saw from the road.

So we rolled on, with the mood getting a bit better along the coast, but my mind constantly drifting towards the job offer. What to write, what to say, how not to bumble like the fool when trying to sound professional in German (remember, no practice for four years). When we came to the turn off to Üçağız, we gave it a pass and pushed on to the campground. It was late enough that I would need to call Germany soon before they would go home for the day.

The view from our tent

The view from our tent

The campground offered a pretty cool location. Lucky for us, not too much is going on right now. The arrangements of the camp spots has a lot in common with the locally famous sardine dishes … but it was only maybe 15% full. The host is also a bit quirky, refusing to let us get our bike down to the spot. So we had to strip the bike at the entrance without shade and have him taxi all our gear down in a cartoonish electric trike.

We finished setting up the tent and I had my call. Afterwards, I only was more excited for the job. Needs must, tomorrow I would need to set my application straight. So excited!

During dinner, cats appeared looking very hopeful

During dinner, cats appeared looking very hopeful

Dinner was another sad fail, on both the main and the dessert part, unfortunately. We went to a fish restaurant recommended by the Lonely Planet. The place managed to go down to abysmal quality and raise their prices in the short time since our edition came out. Quite the feat. The fries were half raw and dripping and the anchovies soggy and bland. To make up for it, Nina felt like having a waffle. We both nearly choked, though when we heard that it would cost 15 lira, for a single half-cooked waffle with way too much cheap Nutella knock-off slabbed on top of it. Welcome back to tourist land …

We did jump into the sea at out campground, which made for a pretty lovely end for a very mixed day.