Thursday October 3, 2019
ISPARTA, Turkey – Once in a while, we know we need to slow down and actually breathe. On Thursday, we tried to do just that, but still managed to run ourselves literally into the ground.
By the time we rolled into Isparta, within 30-minutes of the archaeological site of Kibyra, which we plan to visit on Friday, we felt the effects of 7-hours in the car and two pairs of legs reduced to rubber.
First, we left our hotel room in Marmaris and headed for the car. Across the street, Waynette spotted a convenience store and asked an older guy, minding the shop, if he had ice.
“Ice,” she said with animation. “Cold, ice?”
Yes, he nodded, and opened up a free-standing freezer which stored ice cream novelties. He lifted the rack of Magnums and other other treats and pulled out a bag of ice cubes.
He proceeded to hold up seven fingers and we ascertained the price was 7t, or seven Turkish lira. That’s about $1.25 in US.
Waynette, always the ice queen who made sure to pack an ice cube tray before we left Arizona, was in Arctic heaven.
The ice was packaged in a bag which cannot be obtained in any U.S. convenience store. Rather, this was packaged in a disposable ice cube tray and the cubes were the perfect size. We never purchased anything like that and Waynette didn’t stop talking about this for a while.
From Marmaris, we headed to Fethiye, site of a reported of some of the best beaches in Turkey. Turned out, the beaches were nearly non-existent. Then again, I’m not sure we looked in the right place. That’s because Waynette saw green lines and green coves on a map and we did find these precious expanses of sand.
We did find a small beach, but the area was overrun by school kids apparently on a school outing. We estimated more than 100 running around with little or no supervision. However, there was a stand. This was around 1 p.,m. and we left Marmaris without breakfast. We approached the snack bar and the guy said he was open for just one more hour.
“That’s fine,” we agreed, and ordered two chicken platters with chips (FF). (too many Brits visit here!) and salad. I went to the car, retrieved our water. The guy wiped off an outdoor table and seated Waynette.
Once I returned, we commented on these kids totally out of control and waited for our lunch. Twenty minutes passed, thirty, forty, one hour and the guy was nowhere in sight.
“Well, what do you want to do?” Waynette asked.
“Leave,” was my one word reply.
Without hesitation, we left, returned to the car and found, a few minutes later, a small beach with another outdoor beach bar. This time, the waitress was friendly and we ordered two chicken wraps with fries and a drink.
We finished and like all Europeans lingered for a some time, We checked the news on our phones and delivered texts to our kids. As we were leaving they were setting up a wedding for later that evening. This is now the third wedding that we saw held on the beach!
Around 4:30, we left and decided to drive to Isparta for the night. Waynette usually makes room reservations while on the road, and found a room in a new Hilton Garden Inn for $38. Great room and an even better bargain.
After checking in, we went to the room and made several other travel reservations. By this time, it was after 10 and a Chinese restaurant, located on the ground floor of the Hilton, was the closest restaurant. Quite to the point, I was not getting into the car any time soon and not for any reason!
Perfect, I said because I was tired of driving for the day. Overall, the drive from Fethiye to Isparta was four hours.
Generally, I’m surprised by the good road conditions in Turkey. The autobahns are usually four lanes and the roads are very driveable. That is, no potholes, and no rocks on the shoulder. What’s interesting to note is towns and communities appear nearly without notice right on the highway and it’s easy to pull on and off the highway. At one point, we pulled off the road at one of the many fruit and veggie stands, and Waynette bought a melon for snack time and a lime for her iced tea.
Turkey is quite mountainous and that adds to travel time. While distances on the map appear reasonable, the actual distance is challenging and what appears to be a two-hour drive can easily last twice that time or more.
For Friday, we plan to visit the sites in Kibyra and hope to arrive in Ankara, the national capital, by nightfall.
PICUTRES – Images from Fethiye
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