Big Bus

This morning we left our gullet behind and transferred back to a bus for the long overland trip to Antalya. Since we are down to only 9 travelers, a 46 passenger bus was a bit much, especially on very steep, winding mountain roads.

Sunrise through the porthole in our cabin

One woman stood up to take a photo out the window, and fell over. She injured her knee and had difficulty walking the rest of the day. It may be a more severe injury that will keep her in pain the rest of the trip.

At our first pit stop, a couple hours down the highway, we visited a hot-house farm. There are hundreds of acres of land covered by these semi-permanent plastic tents. Beneath them, tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, and any number of other fruits and vegetables being grown. They look even bigger on the inside than they do from the outside.

Near lunch time, we stopped in the city of Kaş (pronounce “kosh”). This was a very charming little seaside resort town. Old houses of a fishing village had been converted to shops and restaurants.

Unfortunately, the shoppers in our group lost themselves in the whole atmosphere. We were supposed to be back on the bus by 11 a.m., but Mark and Mary were the only two who made it on time. We waited 25 minutes for the rest of the group to arrive. We’ve never had that happen on an OAT group before.

Finally, we got everyone on board and moved on to the city of Demre where we were served a huge lunch, with our choice of kebab meats. After 3 days of eating big and sitting much on the gullet, this much food was the last thing we needed. However, none of us seemed to constrain our consumption.

Just a short walk around the corner from our restaurant were the ruins of the Church of Saint Nicholas. This part of town is built over the ancient city of Myra.

The church where St. Nick actually preached has not survived, but this ruin is still well over 1,000 years old. Many of the frescoes are remarkably preserved.

Nicholas is especially revered in the Orthodox tradition, and many Russian tourists flock here.

On the road again, we finally reached Antalya by late afternoon. The long public park that follows the shoreline is quite impressive. Our hotel is deep in the Old Town, near the harbor, and is a remodeled block of old Ottoman houses. It’s nice to have some space again after four nights in a cramped sailboat cabin.

The group enjoyed yet another huge meal at the hotel. Tomorrow only breakfast and dinner are provided — we think it will be good for us to start skipping a few meals!

After dinner, we took a walk along the harbor and saw a waiter from a local restaurant putting out table scraps on the ground. He banged a fork on the china platter loudly, and about 20 cats came running from all directions for the free meal.

After that entertainment, it was time for bed.