Fethiye
Trip Start
Jul 06, 2008
1
16
26
Trip End
Aug 18, 2008
Fethiye,
Turkish Aegean Coast,
Turkey
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
We have been here 3 days now, and have walked along the inner bay - a natural harbour - every evening, stopping for supper to overlook the boats in the water and watching the sunset through the sails and lines that reach up into the sky. It is a bazaar feeling to be sitting at small restaurant here. It is just as the movies portray it - only we're IN the movie. We sit outside at a small, cozy table, with dinner plates already set out on a a simple but pleasant table cloth. The sea-breeze gently cools our skin and we are happy to be sitting after walking on the cobblestone streets for the afternoon. Music is playing in the background and water is lapping along the boats in the marina. All is calm and the local people are so friendly that we can see a twinkle on their faces when they talk to us.
Our choice in Pansiyon this time around definitely left something to be desired. Rather than doing our usual routine of searching for a while and asking at at least 3 places for their prices, while also inspecting the rooms - we had our heart set on 'Ideal Pansiyon' a place listed in the guide book. We were suckered into going there because the book said it was run by a retired teacher and that there were offers of free boat trips if you stayed 3 nights. Since we were planning on staying 3 nights - and since we are both teachers, we thought this would be perfect.
From the bus stop, we boarded a dolmus (mini-bus) and asked the driver if it would go past our pansiyon. He nodded yes and sped away - picking up and dropping people off as he went. All we knew was that the place was near the marina. When we passed the marina and kept going - and going - and going - we figured something had gone amiss! (very clever, we are). It was pleasant enough driving -and beautiful, so we didn't mind too much really. Knowing that we have now gone completely WAY past our pansiyon of choice, we began looking back to where we HAD been...we were now pretty much on the OTHER side of the marina - looking BACK at where we KNEW we were SUPPOSED to be. (yes I realize this is a lot of CAPS LOCK writing - but really...it is not like us to mess a mere bus ride up this badly - the CAPS is warranted. Trevor stumbled to the front of the dolmus and pointed to our little map stating our pansiyon name again - I think the driver said he "forgot about us" - no problem really - we weren't worried - just tired of driving and looking forward to eventually settling in to this great pansiyon (teacher - owned...it must be great, right!)
The driver seemed to wave to us and said, "No problem". The next dolmus he saw going in the other direction, he honked at (which could mean, "Get out of the +&=\* way", or "move over!" or "I'm going to pass you", or "Hey buddy how's it going?!".
01. On Our Way to Fethiye
This time it meant, "Hey stop! I've got these two stupid Canadians on my dolmus and they didn't bother to tell me they have missed their stop by over 15 minutes - will you take them off my hands for me?". OK OK OK, knowing the Turkish people the little bit that we do - he probably was very kind and simply asked the other driver to take us back to the road that our pansiyon was located. Both dolmuses were stopped in the middle of the road - blocking any potential traffic that would be coming through. We hopped off the current dolmus and scuttled across the street and hopped on the second one, heading back in the direction we had just come from. Within about 10-15, minutes our new driver had pulled over near the marina and was pointing up a street. We thanked him kindly and began to climb a very steep hill (with our large, heavy packs on) and finally found the place. We headed to reception and were ready to check in - if all seemed well. There were two young guys in the reception area - one of which seemed to understand most of what we were saying and would then translate it to the other who appreared to be in charge. We decided to look at a dorm room or a triple room thinking that since it is not busy here - it is unlikely that anyone else would be placed in the room with us, and it would end up like a double room anyways - but with the price of a cheaper one. (Ah yes, back to being the whiley vet's that we are). We took at look at a triple room, and appeared to be just fine - a little dark perhaps, but nothing horrible, so we took it.
As we were getting our bags organized and trying to settle into the room, a third boy (guy? young man?) came into our room trying to explain that there had been a mistake. We were confused. He asked us to follow him - stating in very broken English that he was the receptionist and this was not the dorm room that we were supposed to have. He smiled and asked us to follow him - we were less than eager as we had already begun to unpack and we had already 'checked in'.
He led us back down the hall and down to the bottom floor and showed us a dorm room (3 single beds as well). It was the same as the one we were in - but on the lower floor - then we noticed it had no A/C. We tried to explain that we had checked in with the other boy/guy/young man - but he insisted that there had been a mistake and told us that this was the actual dorm room, and A/C was more. We didn't think he was trying to pull a fast one on us - but we did want to get settled in sooner than later. Probably noticing the confusion and hint of frustration on our faces - he said he would show us another room. He led us down the hall and showed us the next room. Now we were looking at a double again...what happened to this great plan of paying less for a dorm??? When we asked him the price of this room, he told us - and it was less than we would have paid in the triple anyways. Very Confusing! We were about to take it, when we noticed the broken window in the bathroom making it quite easy for passersby to have a free show during a shower. He said, "No problem" and took us next door. Same room again - windows in tact. Almost exasperated - we sat down and said, "OK." The 'Ideal Pansiyon' hadn't started out too well. We'd give it a C- right now. Hopefully the owner would make it worth while - and we'd warm up to the place a bit.
We decidedto wander down to the marina and check out the town a bit hoping to find some information on what we might do for a day or two. It ended up that the information booth was closed as it was Sunday - so that didn't work out - but the walk was lovely.
Thinking (hoping) that we might be able to ask some questions about what to do back at our pansiyon, we made our way back and headed upstairs to the restaurant/reception area. Apparently the owner - former teacher - must have been away and left his young son and his 2 buddies in charge. It wasn't that they were rude by any means - they just were not overly interested in being helpful. Not one of them looked up from their card game as we came up and began looking through brochures and pamphlets which were full of group day trips and rather touristy looking events. When we did catch one of the boys' eye and asked him if he could answer some questions, he came over to us and had to bring his buddy to help translate. This did not really get us anywhere - and they did not seem to offer very much information in the first place. It was becoming more and more clear that we should perhaps look for a new place for the next couple of nights.
Off we went in search of a pansiyon that we really should have gone to in the first place. The owner had seen us at the otoguard (bus stop) and asked if we would like to come and see his hotel - complete with pool - free breakfast and everything. Not accepting this offer was almost an example of being TOO much of verterans. We never go with the pansiyons that people are offering at the bus stop...sometimes they're too pushy there. It was about 10 minutes farther away from downtown, and we soon came across a group of pansiyons all with pools that we could keep cool in during the day. The first one we checked out that said 'swimming pool' was more more of a large bath tub or dunk tank - next place please. Across and up the street - we came to another one with a pool. The workers here were also young - but they were very friendly and helpful and extremely welcoming. They showed us a room that we might take - it was a huge double - the size of hotel room here, with the largest bathroom we have seen in Turkey so far. The pool was a great size and the view was spectacular. How could we possibly get through a night at our current pansiyon when we know this gem was just waiting here calling our names? (Insert soft, melodic voice here: "Dana...
02. Great Ocean Road???
Trevor... come stay here...come swim in my nice pool...you know you want to... Dana... Trevor")The kind workers - Yunus and Haka - told us they would check us in. We explained that we had already checked into a different pansiyon - but we would love to stay here. They said it would be no problem - that we should just switch...ýf we hadn't paid yet - not to worry! 'Just tell them you are staying with your sister!'. They told us. (Oh yes - we just happened to forget our sister was here in Turkey -silly us!)
We were a wee bit worried as we had 'technically' checked in by writing our passport numbers down and such - but it was true - we hadn't paid any money yet. After much deliberation, we thought we might as well try. What's the worst that could happen? (other than they call the tourist police and we end up in jail - Turkish prison isn't that bad is it? Do you think it has a pool?) Rather than have to lug our heavy packs the 10 minutes uphill to get back to this pansiyon, Haka told us we could get a ride, and he scurried downstairs.
A few minutes later he came rushing up again, with a blonde woman behond him. She was the owner and it appeared she had been woken up for this. Oops #1. What if we can't get out of our other pansiyon now??? Pressure's on. On the drive, we found out that she was from England and she had just bought this pansiyon a month ago. We also found out that Haka hadn't told her that we were trying to switch pansiyons - Oops #2.
We pulled up to our pansiyon and I asked Jackie (our ride) if she'd mind being our cousin for the next 5 minutes. That wasn't a problem. In we went and gathered our bags - leaving our room in the same condition as when we checked in. It was interesting to see how quickly the boys hopped up when they saw us at reception with all of our packs on. That was a very different speed than earlier today! Upon explaining that our cousin was here with her car (fancy that! Our cousin is in Turkey too!) - they did not have any objections and we left without a problem - no Turkish prison for us. Bring on the pool!
When we arrived back at our new and dmuch improved pansiyon, we could barely throw our things down fast enough and jump in the pool. Everyone together............"Ahhhhhhhh."
We planned on heading to Öuladeniz the next day. It was about a 45 minute bus ride - but we were prepared for a great beach and some relaxing. When we arrived, we came to the beach that had lounge chairs and umbrellas all the way down it. We quickly grabbed oursleves two chairs and an umbrella and began to settle in. Within moments, two workers came up to us and let us know that it would be $15 ($5 for each item) to stay there. Yowza. We had brought our own beach mat which is what we normally use, so we paid for an umbrella and relaxed in the sand. After much reading and jumping in the water - we decided to check out the Blue Lagoon down at the other end of the beach. An extra 6 Lira got us to that side of the beach and we quickly checked it out. This was far too touristy for our taste - a bit too much like Sylvan Lake - but with better views. Being as we had been there for a few hours - we felt ready to head back to Fethiye and get cleaned up for supper. Back to the bus stop to catch a dolmus back again.
The drive back was just fine, although the driver seemed to constantly slam on the brakes to slow down, rather than to apply constant pressure. It was alright though - it kind of reminded us of home for some reason.
We spent a good chunk of our time in the pool at our pansiyon over the next day or two. We also played some tile rummy with Haka and Yunus. They taught us the rules they knew - which was more or less like rummy with cards - no switching or trading of tiles. We then asked if they would like to learn the rules that we knew. Yunus did and Haka had to work. After showing Yunus our rules, he quite took a liking to the new game - however neither of us seem to remember any cheating (of any sort) being described - so when he seemed to use this as his main tactic, there didn't seem to be much we could do! He asked us a couple of times during our stay to play again, and we had a good enough time, but he was able to see almost every tile we picked up, and instead of truly mixing the tiles between games, he would keep his fingers on ones he knew were groupings from the previous round and then pick them up for the new one. This combined with peeking over our boards and combining tactics with Haka who would stroll by every so often - we did not have a chance of winning - not with these amazing strategies.
Our stay was absolutely wonderful! We really enjoyed the people who ran the pansiyon we were at, and we loved having supper along the marina. Fethiye was a great stop for us indeed!
Hugs and Love,
Dana and Trevor.
03. Haze in the Distance
