GREETINGS ALL!
How is North America treatin' ya? Well let me tell YOUS that Turkey is treating me oh so right! It just keeps getting better and better! Wow. So where did I end off last time? Hmmmm... Let me check the ol' parietal filing cabinet...
So my last entry was about Ephesus, the formidable Roman empire unearthed. We didn't spend too much time in Selçuk cuz we were primarily there to see the old city. There wasn't much to do there anyhow.
We wanted to move on to other sites such as Pamucale (pa-moo-ka-lai): home of the CRAZY CALCIUM DEPOSITS!!! So we spent one more night there and left the next early afternoon for Selçuk. Awesome pics dudes! Awesome scenary! Awesome feeling being there... Imagine a place you had only seen in pictures and had dreamed of seeing with your own eyes someday, and then imagine opening your eyes and BEING there! Looking out onto the deposits, warm spring mountain water flowing, tiny rivulets in the calcium creating a sort of grippy effect... The backdrop to this place was absolutely gorgeous! Mountains and farm fields and a quaint little town, imagine the panoramic view... I hope to help you out a bit with pics... patience
is a virtue. We climbed up to the top and you'd think it was so slippery cuz the calcium resembles ice but no way José! I am experiencing things I never thought I'd ever come close to... Turkey was never a place I thought I'd go but I have been witness to some amazing views and the people are so friggen NICE! It's awesome. Pamucale was probably one the highlights of my trips and I will be seriously dissapointed in anyone who comes to Turkey and DOESN'T visit that place. Be warned. ;-)
So, one night in Pamukale and we moved on to Fethiye (feh-ti-yeh) where we took a minibus to a town called Ölüdeniz (o-lu-de-naiz). WOW! The mountains are so lush and green and the beach at the bottom with waters so clear you can see bottom from 20m out from the shore!! Yet another paradise I've experienced!! Our hostel was called Öba and we lived in a little hut called The Moon House. The restaurant was so cool cuz there were pillows and small tables laid out in one corner and so you had to take your shoes off before mounting onto the carpeted platform. I spent much time there reading, especially the first day cuz we arrived during a TERRENTIAL DOWNPOOR! They had only had rain 1 other day that year and this one was the worst! You should have seen the streets were like rivers, the seweres were spewing and the people were huddled in the tiny shops trying to wait it out. We of course got soaking wet and so to hang out in that restaurant was so perfect, just relaxing... The next day we went to the beach and took a boat taxi out to a place called Butterfly Valley. Pulling up to shore you can see tents everywhere along the beach, a small café, vegetable and druit gardens in the back at the bottom of what was the most picturesque scene I've seen yet: the valley came to a V and you could see so far beyond, all the moutains forming various Vs so you could walk down through the valley and follow along the crevace for a long time. It was like the movie The Beach cuz there were people who actually lived there for free as long as they helped out in the garden and caught fish for everyone to eat that night... I'm totally coming back here and living here for a few months... I felt the vibe for sure. That night we went out drinkin and got pretty wasted. Paul puked. haha
The next day we of course went back to the Valley and spent the entire day there. I finished my book The Da Vinci Code while Monique and Paul went exploring the valley. It was another perfect day. Swimming was so much fun! Upon arriving this day, Monique and I decided to just jump off the side of the boat and swim to shore. Very cool! I was so sad to be leaving... They played St. Germaine on the boat and you should seriously check out that music! Totally groovin!
From Fethiye we moved on to Olympos and stayed in the famous treehouses!! Well, they were more like houses made of trees on stilts rather than actual treehouses, although there were a few genuine treehouses I will admit. haha 15 YTL gets you accommodation, turkish breakfast (which I am so comepltely SICK of)
and an AWESOME warm supper. The hostel is called The Turkman Pension. Awesome music at night!! It was pretty cool and the walk to the beach was very unique: old roman ruins! We spent only 2 nights there cuz we had to move on to where we are currently...
Capadocia!! Home of the cave and underground cities!! Our hostel is in a cave! It's called Shoestring Pension and it's so neat to be actually sleeping in friggen CAVE! haha We crashed out for a fewhours upon arriving since we took an overnight bus and didn't get that much sleep. We woke up and walked the long walk to the open-air museum of the 11th Century cave cities... We have some HILARIOUS pictures and I just can't wait for y'all to see them!! Trust me: you will not only sigh from the crazy beauty but you will cry from laughing. Well... maybe not CRY, but they are pretty funny. I don't even think I can describe what we saw -and what we are living in- because my words won't do it justice. But here's something that maybe you can picture: Star Wars Episode IV - A New Hope. Luc, as a young child, living with adoptive parents in that cave city place. If you can picture that then you can picture what we will be seeing for the next 2 days.
Tomorrow we're taking a 6.5 hour hike to see more ruins and an underground city. Tonight we are going out for Paul's 25th birthday, seeing The Whirling Dirvishes, belly dancers, fire dancers, and most importantly: all you can drink drinks!! heehee I'll write my final Turkish entry from Istanbul on the 13th or so before we head off to AMSTERDAM!! moi ah ah ahhhh! It's been quite the trip and like I said, it's only getting better. It looks like I'll be changing my plans after Ireland and won't be touring Europe but S.E. Asia instead... So after Holland, it's Germany, and then finally Ireland. I'll be leaving Ireland at Christmas time and most-likely flying to Bangkok, Thailand where I will be meeting up with my new and awesome friend Carly who'll be in the area since she's working in Cambodia. Maybe New Year's in Laos? So excited!! I'll explain once I know more details of course. The way I see it is if I'm flying there anyhow it makes no sense to fly all the way back to Europe and then go back to Thailand before I go home. This way the money I'll have will go a lot farther then if I stayed in Europe cuz it is FRIGGEN EXPENSIVE! Monique will be going back to Canada for Christmas and it is still unsure as to whether she will be meeting me in Asia. It's all good! Plans change and we are following our hearts. Like I said, I'll keep you posted on all the latest developments. Until next time, keep the emails coming and the voicemails too!! I love hearºng familiar voices and learning that everyone's still alive and well back home. You are all in my heart. I miss you very much. I hope you're enjoying my detailed accounts and I will soon have a website for viewing photos... just keep checking the yahoo photo album! A la prochaine!!
How is North America treatin' ya? Well let me tell YOUS that Turkey is treating me oh so right! It just keeps getting better and better! Wow. So where did I end off last time? Hmmmm... Let me check the ol' parietal filing cabinet...
So my last entry was about Ephesus, the formidable Roman empire unearthed. We didn't spend too much time in Selçuk cuz we were primarily there to see the old city. There wasn't much to do there anyhow.
We wanted to move on to other sites such as Pamucale (pa-moo-ka-lai): home of the CRAZY CALCIUM DEPOSITS!!! So we spent one more night there and left the next early afternoon for Selçuk. Awesome pics dudes! Awesome scenary! Awesome feeling being there... Imagine a place you had only seen in pictures and had dreamed of seeing with your own eyes someday, and then imagine opening your eyes and BEING there! Looking out onto the deposits, warm spring mountain water flowing, tiny rivulets in the calcium creating a sort of grippy effect... The backdrop to this place was absolutely gorgeous! Mountains and farm fields and a quaint little town, imagine the panoramic view... I hope to help you out a bit with pics... patience
is a virtue. We climbed up to the top and you'd think it was so slippery cuz the calcium resembles ice but no way José! I am experiencing things I never thought I'd ever come close to... Turkey was never a place I thought I'd go but I have been witness to some amazing views and the people are so friggen NICE! It's awesome. Pamucale was probably one the highlights of my trips and I will be seriously dissapointed in anyone who comes to Turkey and DOESN'T visit that place. Be warned. ;-)
So, one night in Pamukale and we moved on to Fethiye (feh-ti-yeh) where we took a minibus to a town called Ölüdeniz (o-lu-de-naiz). WOW! The mountains are so lush and green and the beach at the bottom with waters so clear you can see bottom from 20m out from the shore!! Yet another paradise I've experienced!! Our hostel was called Öba and we lived in a little hut called The Moon House. The restaurant was so cool cuz there were pillows and small tables laid out in one corner and so you had to take your shoes off before mounting onto the carpeted platform. I spent much time there reading, especially the first day cuz we arrived during a TERRENTIAL DOWNPOOR! They had only had rain 1 other day that year and this one was the worst! You should have seen the streets were like rivers, the seweres were spewing and the people were huddled in the tiny shops trying to wait it out. We of course got soaking wet and so to hang out in that restaurant was so perfect, just relaxing... The next day we went to the beach and took a boat taxi out to a place called Butterfly Valley. Pulling up to shore you can see tents everywhere along the beach, a small café, vegetable and druit gardens in the back at the bottom of what was the most picturesque scene I've seen yet: the valley came to a V and you could see so far beyond, all the moutains forming various Vs so you could walk down through the valley and follow along the crevace for a long time. It was like the movie The Beach cuz there were people who actually lived there for free as long as they helped out in the garden and caught fish for everyone to eat that night... I'm totally coming back here and living here for a few months... I felt the vibe for sure. That night we went out drinkin and got pretty wasted. Paul puked. haha
The next day we of course went back to the Valley and spent the entire day there. I finished my book The Da Vinci Code while Monique and Paul went exploring the valley. It was another perfect day. Swimming was so much fun! Upon arriving this day, Monique and I decided to just jump off the side of the boat and swim to shore. Very cool! I was so sad to be leaving... They played St. Germaine on the boat and you should seriously check out that music! Totally groovin!
From Fethiye we moved on to Olympos and stayed in the famous treehouses!! Well, they were more like houses made of trees on stilts rather than actual treehouses, although there were a few genuine treehouses I will admit. haha 15 YTL gets you accommodation, turkish breakfast (which I am so comepltely SICK of)
and an AWESOME warm supper. The hostel is called The Turkman Pension. Awesome music at night!! It was pretty cool and the walk to the beach was very unique: old roman ruins! We spent only 2 nights there cuz we had to move on to where we are currently...
Capadocia!! Home of the cave and underground cities!! Our hostel is in a cave! It's called Shoestring Pension and it's so neat to be actually sleeping in friggen CAVE! haha We crashed out for a fewhours upon arriving since we took an overnight bus and didn't get that much sleep. We woke up and walked the long walk to the open-air museum of the 11th Century cave cities... We have some HILARIOUS pictures and I just can't wait for y'all to see them!! Trust me: you will not only sigh from the crazy beauty but you will cry from laughing. Well... maybe not CRY, but they are pretty funny. I don't even think I can describe what we saw -and what we are living in- because my words won't do it justice. But here's something that maybe you can picture: Star Wars Episode IV - A New Hope. Luc, as a young child, living with adoptive parents in that cave city place. If you can picture that then you can picture what we will be seeing for the next 2 days.
Tomorrow we're taking a 6.5 hour hike to see more ruins and an underground city. Tonight we are going out for Paul's 25th birthday, seeing The Whirling Dirvishes, belly dancers, fire dancers, and most importantly: all you can drink drinks!! heehee I'll write my final Turkish entry from Istanbul on the 13th or so before we head off to AMSTERDAM!! moi ah ah ahhhh! It's been quite the trip and like I said, it's only getting better. It looks like I'll be changing my plans after Ireland and won't be touring Europe but S.E. Asia instead... So after Holland, it's Germany, and then finally Ireland. I'll be leaving Ireland at Christmas time and most-likely flying to Bangkok, Thailand where I will be meeting up with my new and awesome friend Carly who'll be in the area since she's working in Cambodia. Maybe New Year's in Laos? So excited!! I'll explain once I know more details of course. The way I see it is if I'm flying there anyhow it makes no sense to fly all the way back to Europe and then go back to Thailand before I go home. This way the money I'll have will go a lot farther then if I stayed in Europe cuz it is FRIGGEN EXPENSIVE! Monique will be going back to Canada for Christmas and it is still unsure as to whether she will be meeting me in Asia. It's all good! Plans change and we are following our hearts. Like I said, I'll keep you posted on all the latest developments. Until next time, keep the emails coming and the voicemails too!! I love hearºng familiar voices and learning that everyone's still alive and well back home. You are all in my heart. I miss you very much. I hope you're enjoying my detailed accounts and I will soon have a website for viewing photos... just keep checking the yahoo photo album! A la prochaine!!
