Cheers to a Killer Summer Vacay

Despite COVID’s attempt to wreck havoc on 2020–both in everyday life and around travel which is what most of us international educators do with our summers–I am here to share about a surprisingly wonderful summer vacation adventure right here in Turkey. I survived the tedious travel necessary to return from the U.S. and self-quarantined for the recommended two weeks. But then my real summer vacation kicked off–a two week trip here in Turkey with my best gal pal, Ginger. Using that newly issued driver’s license, we rented a car and embarked on a three part journey–Kaynarpınar, Dalyan, and Datça. 

Kaynarpınar is located here in the province of İzmir, out on the peninsula known as Karaburun. Ginger had rented the place for a week and once my DL arrived I drove out to spend a couple nights with her there. We had THE best view in the harbor and wonderful hosts–Derya Hanım and Fatih Bey–that invited us to enjoy village wine and cheese with them on their open air dining room space.

We swam in the clear Aegean and enjoyed a wonderful seafood meal at the restaurant in the harbor. It was THE best calamari I have had to-date. I mean, it was a straight up food orgasm as Ginger captured in this photo (below). Later that night we sat on our 4th floor balcony and stared up at the star filled sky in a place with no light pollution. Yes, I could feel it–this was just the start of something great. And thanks to our hosts we had a 5L jug of that village wine to take with us for what came next!

We returned to İzmir for one night only–just enough time to unpack and repack our bags, and the rental car, for Ginger & Heather’s Excellent Adventure (take 3–with Kiev/Chernobyl and Çanakkale/Bozcaada as our previous adventures). This was a full two weeks of exploring and adventuring. Each time we travel together we learn how to use our individual strengths and interests to enhance the trip for one another. It’s not easy to find people you can travel AND travel well with–Ginger and I are grateful to have discovered that not only do we travel well together, but we have a damn good time together. Cheers to that!

We did have to endure some travel traffic on that first long-drive Saturday as it was the Kurban Bayram holiday. But we achieved our first destination–Dalyan– around 17.00, and where we proceeded to spend an entire week. This was a bit of a forced time allotment as all of the Airbnbs in the area required a minimum seven night stay. I wondered if we would need to make day trips to keep ourselves entertained, but as experience proved, there was MUCH to discover and enjoy about this gem of a destination.

The village of Dalyan is located on the Dalyan River which connects Köycegiz Lake to the Mediterranean Sea–the area is soaked in green and has it’s historic ruins as well. For an overview of how this unique ecosystem was created check out this page from one of the local tour companies in the area. 

In Dalyan I felt completely immersed in nature. The concrete jungle of our home in İzmir seemed so very far away. Don’t get me wrong, I love where I live and it is the most progressive/liberal city in all of Turkey, but it is very much a city with its 4+M inhabitants and all the apartment complexes necessary to house them!

Our AirBNB in Dalyan was located right on the river and just north of the downtown area meaning we could easily walk wherever we wanted to go AND we did not have the hustle and bustle of night life sounds from town. Dalyan is a place where you want to spend a good bit of time on a boat. And so we did.

We spent the greater part of the first four days on a boat–first on the lake and then on the sea and at Iztuzu Beach. I can only assume that COVID had its impacts on Dalyan this summer and that the amount of other visitors we saw was much less than a normal summer. That said, it often felt like we had the place to ourselves, especially on Lake Köycegiz. After our first quick boat trip on Sunday–a midday swim and time to drink beer and take in the nature of the marsh and the mountains surrounding us–we booked a moonlight boat trip for the next night. Monday, August 3rd, was to be a full moon–what better time to be on a boat in the middle of a lake in the wilds (almost) of Turkey? 

At 18.30 we arrived in the harbor to board our boat–and yes, we did rent an entire boat for just the two of us. We know this was a luxury but with COVID ever present, and our being confined to Turkey for travels, we made the most of it and delighted in investing in the local economy. Here is a short video of us getting ready to disembark with our young captain, Ozzie (not sure about spelling–this is my phonetic interpretation), who would also be our chef for the night.

That night on the boat will go down as one of the best memories of all time! First, we enjoyed the peaceful ride through the marshes and out into the lake.

Our captain anchored the boat and we jumped off the top deck to begin our first swim. The water of this lake is especially warm as there are thermal hot springs on the southwestern end of the lake. It’s not exactly a refreshing swim as it’s a bit like bathwater, but it also has a silky, slippery feel to its texture that makes for a pleasant experience. The sulfur from the hot springs was so strong in the water that my sterling silver jewelry turned copper!  

But the evening unraveled in perfect harmony. We watched the sun set behind the mountains to our west, swam, and drank our lovely village wine while waiting for the full moon to rise. To our wonderful surprise, not only did it rise, but it rose blood red! Our captain grilled dinner and made an amazing roasted aubergine and red pepper salad (the BEST we’ve had so far in Turkey!) to accompany the grilled chicken and kofte. 

There was only one other boat on the entire lake and it was some distance behind us–it was as if we had front row and the only seats to this glorious night. We spoke of gratitude and appreciation for the moment and for our lives here in Turkey. And in that moment, COVID was absent from our minds. What a bliss! 

Tuesday and Wednesday moved us into stage two of three for our experience of Dalyan. We moved from going upriver to the lake, to going downriver to the sea where we swam in a small volcanic lake, went crabbing for blue crabs, ate great grilled food, drank beer, and then swam in the glorious Mediterranean, which WAS refreshingly cool after all the lake swims. Let me pause to share with you the incredible view as seen from the top of our boat, the Black Pearl. 

We were on the boat from about 14.30 until after 19.00 that Tuesday. It was SO much fun that we did it again on Wednesday, but started a couple hours earlier. We enjoyed the company of our captain from the previous day, along with his friend from the UK, and a younger captain and his beautiful family. Business was slow in Dalyan which meant the locals had some leisure time and we were more than happy to make new friends. 

Ginger LOVED the blue crab–I did try them, but I’m only a fan of some seafood, it seems. My favorite food on the boat was the lamb shish kebabs! There are always homemade salads to accompany the grilled meats. No one ever goes hungry! Nor thirsty for that matter!

Stage three took us by rental car to the famous Iztuzu or Turtle Beach. This is a public beach and is a protected beach as it is where the Loggerhead turtles lay their eggs. Because it is protected it is NOT over developed, and they adhere to rules that protect the turtles. For example, the beach closes at 20.00 and we know this because we were some of the last people leaving the beach on our last full day in Dalyan. About an hour before closing employees go up and down the beach, blowing a whistle, and informing visitors that time to depart is approaching. 

While there is a section of the beach where one can rent lounge chairs and umbrellas, and a small restaurant or pub (just the one!), we opted to walk past the hordes and stake our claim on a spot of sand. It is yet the time of COVID and we wanted to have a lot of fresh air between us and the next family of sunbathers. This was easy to achieve with just a little more walking. We arrived both afternoons after the heat of the day was over and stayed till evening.

We walked the beach, napped, swam, drank beer,  and swam again all the while enjoying the glorious view of mountain, sand, and sea. We lingered as long as we could and did manage to watch the sun set from the beach. Our drive home had us stopping at an overlook restaurant where we had some terrible wine and a DELICIOUS meal of “cheese bread” which we are yet hoping to find again. This is one of the best things about how we travel together–I manage the logistics of getting from point A to B, and Ginger chooses places along the way to stop for a bite or a drink, or both! The memories made are priceless–and this was another one of those moments. ♥

And before we knew it another Saturday had arrived and we had to pack up our little rental car and drive on down the road. We did not want to say goodbye to this oasis of green and water, but we did so knowing full well that we will return to this destination.

We drove on to Datça with a quick stop in Hisarönü where we met a colleague for a long lunch–time to catch up on summer adventures and discuss the upcoming school year. 

Once settled into our AirBNB in Datça we met up with my friend Barış, a local, who was kind enough to share his preferred and more private beach in the area. This allowed us to avoid crowds and to enjoy a more secluded place to swim and snorkel. I have always been afraid to snorkel. I don’t much like to think about all the creatures swimming around down underneath me. But thanks to Barış, who kindly chided me, and to Ginger for her support, I gave it a try. I only stayed on the surface, but to wear the mask and snorkel was pretty incredible. I admit it was fun to watch the various fish swim amongst the rocks and vegetation down below. I don’t think I’ll be pursuing scuba diving in the future, but snorkeling, yes!

Barış took up spearfishing with a pole spear in recent months and we had the pleasure of watching him hunt and kill a couple of scorpion fish. It was like being LIVE on the set of a nature show. 

Our days in Datça were easy going and started with swimming, snorkeling, and beers on our private pebbly beach. After showering we moved on to other activities such as exploring Eski Datça, the two wineries in the area (we CAN recommend the Knidos Winery), and The Olive Farm where we bought a host of products to try out–their aftersun Aloe care gel is amazing!

My highlight for the area was the 10 km roundtrip hike that Barış took me on–we hiked along the sea, through an ancient abandoned village, and over a rocky mountain into the ancient port city of Knidos. We did not encounter another soul on the hike–it was so wonderful to be fully out and in nature where we were surrounded by rocky mountains, olive trees, and bird life. We were surprised by partridges that flushed from some trees nearby. We both jumped at the abrupt sound from the silence that had enveloped us. He was afraid at first that it was a wild boar! After reaching our destination, we explored the ruins and then parked ourselves atop the mountain to drink some wine and watch the sun set.

The only downside was this meant half of the hike back to the car was done in the dark! But what is vacation without a little (mis)adventure mixed in? He had done the hike before a couple of times and I had a strong sense of direction. Using the flashlights on our phones, we made it out and during our drive back into the city we saw a fox and two wild boars cross the road in front of us. This was the first real wildlife I have seen in Turkey. 

After a final dinner out in Eski Datça and a couple drinks of rakı at home on our balcony we called it a night–our last night of vacation. The next morning we packed up and began the journey home. Five plus hours later we were unpacking in our respective homes. Ziggy was elated to have me back!

We have been home now for nearly three weeks and it has not been easy to transition from that summer vacation free-frame-of-mind and back to a routine and the structure of work and everyday life. The last two weeks have been meetings and trainings and preparation. Tomorrow we begin distance learning with our students and will do that for at least the first three weeks. Then we will see what the government of Turkey will determine is best as we swing into the fall. 

As I finish this lengthy post on a Sunday afternoon from within my air conditioned apartment I confess that while I LOVE the start of a new school year, my heart and senses are still very much longing to be back on summer vacation–drinking a cold Efes on Lake Köycegiz, savoring the flavors of this amazing beetroot pasta with tulum and capers (we HIGHLY recommend Serendip restaurant), or riding a boat through the marshes of Dalyan.

Yes, that Summertime Sadness has set its hooks in me. Time marches on and we will, each of us, move forward into the next phase of life, and yes, it is still impacted by COVID. But my memories are priceless and free to visit whenever I want to escape. I thank you for journeying on this very LONG post with me. I hope the pictures and videos provided a sense of the places we journeyed. I had more than 600 images and it was not easy to narrow down which details and images to try and best illustrate what we lived. I hope you felt a sense of escape and wonderment as well–even if for a moment. 

So with a toast of cheers, I thank you, Turkey, for sharing your natural wonders–sea, sun, mountain, and marsh–with this traveler. And I thank Ginger for all the ways she made the trip a grand success. Here’s to sharing in the retelling of this vacation, of those adventures that came before, and to imagining what future adventures we want to pursue. Though uncertainty seems to be our constant companion in these times, thankfully our imaginations are free to dream!