Fethiye

We were stunned by the scenery the minute we arrived on Calis beach. A huge bay in front of us, with small islands dotted about and Fethiye centre to the left, reachable by water taxi. The first couple of days were hot enough to swim and sunbathe or read on the (unfortunately very dirty) beach. Evenings were spent being beckoned into various restaurants along the beach, where you can eat anything from Chinese to Italian food. We also walked along to Fethiye and took in the ancient rock tombs. The sky clouded over on day 3, as we spent the day touring the 12 islands by boat, but the sea was still inviting. The following day, though not really warm, saw us trekking up Saklikent Gorge, knee deep in freezing water, and bathing in mud. At the end of the day we washed the mud off in the freezing, fast flowing river. Invigorating! By day 5 it was comfortable enough to walk, so walk we did, across the hills (or mountains, depending on your view of how big each is), to Kayakoy, an abandoned Greek village. It took a few hours, and created the biggest blister I've ever had, but the scenery was breathtaking in parts, which made up for all the rubbish strewn along the way, and we saw not another soul until we got there. Well, not a human soul. We did see a huge cricket, about 20cm long, lots of butterflies, and a few squashed frogs. It was amazing to arrive and see the town built into the hillside, complete with hundreds of houses, a town hall and two churches, all completely abandoned. By the time we left Fethiye, we had sampled the delicious pomegranate juice, eaten lots of sesame covered snacks, chilled out a lot, and seen some of the local area. We were so sad to miss my friend Mary and her family, who live there, but happy to have seen a little of the life they lead. I can understand why she's so happy there.