We have made the conscious decision not to trek the huge mountain that is in our way heading east. The itinerary was to climb half way up on day one and then get picked up and returned to our new base on the other side of the mountain. Day 2 get dropped off where we finished the previous day and go up and over to half way down and get picked up and on day 3 finish off the downhill. All that we have read is that there are no villages, there is nowhere to buy water, there are no fountains or wells and it’s poorly marked and overgrown. Possibly the maintenance of the track is poor because on advice most people skip it. With the decision not to climb it gave us another rest day in Ucagiz so we joined one of the hundreds of day tours on a boat.
We had the whole day on a boat and we were lucky to have only about 20 on board. The boat probably takes about 50 and interestingly I could only see about 8-10 life jackets. We stopped about 5 times for swims in little bays always along with 4-6 other boats. Most of the time it was just off the back of the boat but at two places you could actually swim ashore and walk to ruins or have a mud bath. The sea was so clear, and very salty. It was almost impossible to sink and we just bobbed along like corks. The water was warm, about 23C. The boat cruised along and over the sunken city. It fell into the water as a result of an earthquake about 2000 years ago. You can no longer swim or snorkel over the ruins but we got a reasonable view from the boat.
Our last stop was at the harbour of Kalekoy where one again there was a castle ruin on top of the hill along with small amphitheater and ruins and tombs on land and in the water. Kalekoys other claim to fame is ice cream made from goats milk. I had the plain which tasted a bit like a frozen mild goats cheese and a scoop of pomegranate ice cream. Yummy.
Back home and after a shower and pre- dinner drinks at our third harbour side restaurant it was home for dinner, this time meatballs. Just as we were finishing up two Americans turned up and said they were hoping to walk some of the Lycian way tomorrow. Halil our host tried to help them and suggested the stretch we had done yesterday but 6 hours of walking was going to be too much for them. We suggested walking the 3 hours to Aperlei and catching the boat back in, which they thought would be good, but it was a bit concerning that they didn’t have a map, didn’t have a guide or GPS app and didn’t know about the markers. I somehow wouldn’t advise doing this trek as your first trek.
It’s back up to 27C tomorrow and we are only going to trek about 2-3 hours then have a look around the ruins and towns of Myra and Demre and then we meet our new host in a bakers shop on the highway. Maybe a kanafi pie on the menu tomorrow!
Jane treks Lycian Way 2022 