Thank god we didn’t have to get on that tour bus this morning. After 6 hours of sleep and too much wine it was all I could do to make our 10 o’clock check out time. Despite my touch and go situation the morning was amazing. We met up with Sanjay and started our tour of the country side. Instead of taking the main road, the boys navigated with a very simple (and not to scale map) and we snaked our way through farms on bumpy dirt paths and through villages to find ourselves in Derinkuyu, where we visited an underground city. According to Lonely Planet, these cities were occupied around the 7th century BC. At times of peace, the people lived and farmed above ground. But when they were invaded, they retreated to the underground where they could live safely for up to 6 months. Let’s hope they weren’t invaded much. It was all I could do to make my way down to the bottom of the 7 levels, look up the ventilation shaft and then make my way back out. They say a tour last 45 minutes…no way. Most of the stairways leading you down (which were the same leading you back up) were only shoulder width and maybe 5 feet high. I was praying that we didn’t time our escape at the same time a tour bus was descending. They made them small on purpose so if they were attacked one enemy could be killed at a time. So what happens if you are half way up and then 40 tourists are in front of you trying to get down? With no spear in hand, I didn’t even want to think about it.
As we were walking back to the truck and basking in the sun and fresh air, I was once again sucked in… by a sweet old lady this time. She eyed me on the way in and wanted me to buy one of her dolls. She had a face that was hard to resist, especially when she saw me again, stuck the doll down my shirt and looked up at me with her toothless grin. The doll is kinda strange but the 2 lira is worth the photo!
From there we decided we didn’t have time to drive to Ilhara Valley so started to make our way back to Goreme. This time by winding our way through the most spectacular side roads with scenery ranging from wheat and squash fields, mesa plateaus, canyons, fairy chimneys, lush valleys and lakes. And finally, I feel like I am in Turkey. We drove through small villages where we were definitely the event of the day. Sometimes it seemed like there were more tractors than cars. And a common sight, the women hard at work in the fields adorned in their head scarves and billowy, flower printed pants while the men huddle together in the shade of an outdoor café playing backgammon and dominos.
And of course, a stop for a Ruhf photo shoot!
But all good things must come to an end. We said our goodbyes to Adam and Zoe (you guys couldn’t have timed your visit and friendship any better, thank you!), Sanjay and Ramazan and got on another overnight bus to Marmaris. But we feel rejuvenated and ready to tackle the boat for the final push. This morning we got an email from Mike’s family letting us know that they want us to stay with Independence and continue our adventure. So that’s what we are going to do. Get this boat in the water and sail it home.
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