23rd Post Farewell Finike

On the Chimaera trail

Tomorrow morning we are leaving Finike and heading off in the direction of Rhodes
to continue our odyssey.

I came across the following lines by T.S. Eliot, recently and thought them apt.

We shall not cease from exploration
And the end of all our exploring
Will be to arrive where we started
And know the place for the first time.

Pippa and I have not been completely idle over the last few months. One of our walks took us along part of the Lycian Way to see the site of the Chimaera.
The ever burning flames on the side of a hill can be seen from the sea. No wonder people once thought that dragons inhabited land.

The Chimaera was described by Homer as a fire breathing monster, part lion part goat and part snake. Bellerophon slew the beast by attaching a lump of lead to the point of his spear and thrusting it between the Chimaera's jaws. The creature's fiery breath melted the lead, which trickled down its throat, burning its insides and instantly killing it. Hmmm lovely.

The Chimaera’s lair

Our walk finished at an excellent fish restaurant, in time for a superb lunch of Meze salad & fresh baked flat bread followed by grilled trout.
A second walk was rather more strenuous and a little frustrating, in that we climbed the wrong mountain! Tony and Annie, an Australian couple living aboard their yacht, invited us round for a sundowner or two one evening and as will happen, a plan was hatched

Kara Dag. (Tony’s mountain).

On the appointed day we hired a car and set of for a mountain Tony and Annie had seen from a previous walk, though unfortunately, Annie was unable to join us on this occasion.
Our map was of no use once we had left the main road, but we followed a track until we got to the snow line. We couldn’t see our goal from there so followed a likely looking ridge. After what seemed like hours of up hill slog (It really is difficult to get any level of mountain fitness, living aboard a boat) we found ourselves on a subsidiary summit. We had neither the energy nor the time to continue to the true summit. Another time we would ……………….. But of course there’s not likely to be another time. Never mind, we had a good day out and got some much needed exercise.

Tahtali Dagi.

Tahtali Dagi can be seen from Finike Marina and had winked at us once too often.
We had been a little snooty about it because it has a cable car going to the summit. However it proved to be a fine mountain. Pippa and I set off in our hire car at five in the morning and started walking shortly after six. It was a shrewd move to avoid an ascent during the heat of the day.

Looking for a quiet spot for lunch.

A steep two hour walk led to a coll on the Lycian way. From there we just headed up. The snow proved to be very hard. While trying to kick steps I found that my boot just bounced off. We had not brought crampons, so it was a matter of taking detours to avoid the steep sections of snow. A couple of steep traverses couldn’t be avoided, so my ice axe was employed cutting steps. A technique rarely used in these high tech days. Another two hours of pleasant climbing led to the summit.

The cable car building

An exuberant group were having a snowball fight when we arrived. Everyone was in high spirits and we enjoyed the unusual summit experience. A few people were interested in our climb and one young lady asked most politely if she could take our photo. We were little celebrities for a few minutes.

A different world a short distance from the summit.

The snow had softened by the time we began our descent and in places I was able
to glissade down long stretches of snow ribbons. We arrived back at the car at four o’clock feeling rather tired but very happy. This was to be our last Turkish mountain and it was good to finish on such a high note.

Anemone hortensis

So now it’s time to go. Our stay in Finike has been most pleasant. We have overwintered in a safe and comfortable marina with excellent facilities.

The marina even provides a club room with a bar & library. It’s made full use of by the yachting community, with something happening most days. Events include entertaining and informative topic evenings presented by our fellow yotties.
whose subjects ranged from ‘The most useless thing on my boat’ to ‘DIY computer repairs’. We have had film and quiz nights. A music club was started to cater for a few budding guitarists (including Pippa). There have been regular, organised visits to concerts in Antalya.

Most valuable of all has been the opportunity to meet other like minded Mediterranean and world cruisers and to swap stories, compare notes and to receive advice and encouragement.

The weather has been mostly good.

We will take away many good memories of the place.
Here are a few of them:-

Finike is a proper Turkish town, and despite the international marina, is anything but a tourist resort. The streets are kept clean and tidy, and it’s lovely to see traditionally dressed ladies gardening the roadside verges.

Thanks to Miggy and Neal for the last three pictures

We have enjoyed the very Turkishness of the place. We really are in Asia Minor, the place where East meets West. There is a healthy diversity of dress code with many women choosing to wear the traditional colourful baggy cotton trousers and headscarves. Others, mostly younger women, prefer to wear western style clothes.
On one of our walks we stopped for our lunch and noticed a man, presumably a goat herd watching us. I held up a piece of bread and invited him to join us. He shared our food, and afterwards I asked if I could take his photograph. He said, ‘ yes,’ and immediately jumped up, removed his jacket, combed his hair, and stood to attention. Obviously photography is a serious business for him.

On another walk, we came across an old man riding a donkey while leading another laden with provisions, making his way up a dirt track to a ramshackle hamlet in a high pasture. Later we came across a well dressed man with his son going in the same direction. As he walked he was talking on his mobile phone.

We stopped in a remote village to ask directions. The Imam who spoke to us asked if we were hungry and would like to come into his house for food. But it was getting dark, we were tired, and we needed to get the car back to the hire shop. We were worried that our refusal might offend, but he cheerfully accepted our explanation. But what a missed opportunity.

We have been met with smiles and friendliness at every turn. “Come to my shop for cay (chai)”. Ok, he wants to sell us something, but it’s done in such a nice way.

Walking past the school or a play park, children will often call out in good English “Hellooo, what is your name” . When prompted they will introduce themselves.
“My name is ….A” Then indicating another child will say “and my name is….B”.

I did eventually pluck up the courage to visit the Turkish bath or Hammam as it is known. Well, I had to, didn’t I? It was interesting enough, but being washed by a man in a loin cloth is not really my thing.

The Saturday market

Well, that’s our experience of one small part of Turkey.

The latest version of our plans is to sail from here tomorrow (Thursday April 1st), for Crete, then on to Malta, Southern Sicily, Sardinia, The Balearics, and Gibraltar, that’s only 1800 miles, so shouldn’t take too long.

In July, we would like to visit Madeira before moving on to the Canaries.
Then where do you think we should go after that?