Where are Kevin and Ruth now? Playa del Carmen, Mexico.
Where are Kevin and Ruth going next? Toluca on December 24th!
Friday, November 27, 2020
Photos of our new motorhome, and a fantastic canyon visit
Lots to talk about today!
First off, happy 59th birthday to the better half of this website... my beautiful wife and traveling partner Ruth! She figured out the other day that she has spent her birthday in 7 different countries since we set out 13 years ago.
Next up, we received some photos of our new European motorhome. Unfortunately they aren't the best quality and they are just low resolution iPhone photos, but I'll show you a few of them.
Of course when we meet him and give him a name in March, we will give you a full tour with full quality photos and video!
2021 Adria Matrix 520 ST...
Hmm. What else? Oh... it's Black Friday today.
There are simply too many deals on Amazon today. Here, I'll give you an example...
Just click on the top right corner of the Tilley website to get to the Canadian, U.S., or UK/Europe version of the site.
Okay, so with that stuff out of the way, let's show you where we went yesterday.
We drove about an hour from here to the Saklikent Canyon National Park here in Turkey.
The coastal road is really pretty... and fun to drive!
We had to drive by the tomato growing area.
And then head inland towards the mountains.
Some of these mountains are at 10,000'.
You can make out the canyon in the center of this photo.
We had seen photos of just how busy this place can get. It's a very popular spot to cool off in the baking hot Turkish summer.
But we figured that with very few tourists around that it would be pretty quiet, and we were correct.
We paid the 9 lira ($1.50 CAD, $1.15 USD) per person entrance fee and headed down the narrow walkway at the beginning of the canyon entrance...
Ruth, and the Turkish flag at Saklikent Canyon.
An underground river coming out of the rocks
Very cool.
There are two water sources in the canyon. One is near the beginning of the canyon, right close to the entrance. Fresh clear cold spring water is just pouring out of a bunch of rocks. And it is cold, with a year round water temperature of just 9C (48F).
The other, is muddy water than flows down from the mountains above. It's mostly runoff water, which at this time of year is very low. But after a couple of days of rain like we have apparently headed our way next week, this will be a raging torrent and the canyon will be closed to visitors.
But right now, we are able to walk up the canyon. The problem is, you will get a bit wet. We knew that, and had shorts on. And we knew that you could buy or rent water shoes. But it was the end of the season and they didn't have many sizes available. They were cheap junk disposable water shoes that cost 20 lira ($3.35 CAD. $2.60 USD). We each tried on the closest size they had available and bought them.
I shouldn't have, because after a few steps, I knew they were going to be too tight.
We need to cross this!
Even these young guys were having a problem.
Here goes Ruth!
She made it through the worst of it.
The water was COLD.
Me and cold water don't get along to begin with, but with the overly tight shoes this was not going to be an enjoyable experience.
About 100 meters in, I decided to try it with bare feet. It was better, but pretty slow going. There was no way I was going to make it the full one kilometer. Normally, I can walk one kilometer in less than ten minutes. This would have taken an hour, and with very sore feet.
Plus, it was so cold, I couldn't feel my toes.
But, it was absolutely gorgeous.
I hate to say it, but I gave up. The rocks were just too hard on my feet.
I handed the camera to Ruth, and let her carry on to the end.
Ruth took a video for you... turn up your volume for the commentary...
What a neat place. At least I got to see it, even if I didn't see the whole thing. And, with hardly any other people around.
We drove back home, and along the way saw an odd sight...
This was not there when we drove by earlier that day on our way out.
Some kind of dead sea lion or something. We didn't need to get any closer like these people did.
Another beautiful day, and we are going to hike up a very steep cliff that is near town. It's only a 1.7 km (1 mile) trail, but it's straight up!
Happy Birthday Ruth. That canyon looked really interesting, not sure I would of liked the cold moving water. Well done for going through to show us. New motor home looks lovely, I could nearly smell the newness.
Yep, the water was pretty darn cold but you also were walking in it the whole time either. You would not have like that first part, trying to get over all the rocks and across the stream, I almost lost it one time, some how or another I managed to save myself, lol.
It does look lovely doesn't it! It can sleep four by the way, just a thought for a holiday next summer. :-)
Happy Birthday Ruth. Looks like you have a manual transmission in your MH. More economical to drive but more driver intense. Beautiful Scenery. Like you my feet are sensitive and worse when cold. Be Safe and Enjoy!
We tried that before with the Little Blue Car and it was a total fail, lol! Nope, we have a couple of names in mind but we want to meet him first before we make a decision. :-)
Nope, our friends have had many motorhomes and the couple of times that they gave the motorhomes a female name they turned out to only cause them problems, they used another word for it, lol! We will just stick with a masculine name, it worked well with Sherman. :-)
Happy birthday Ruth, all the best. We visited Istanbul and Canakale back in the late 70’s. Wish we could have visited more of the country, it looks amazing. Speaking of amazing, love the new R.V. Cheers!
Happy birthday, Ruth! We are now the same age until I hit the big milestone 6-0 in April! Good for you for making it through that canyon. You are one tough gal -- I suspect I would have been back with Kevin, as cold water and I are not good buddies. You got some lovely shots, though, and your motorhome looks GREAT!
Thank you Emily! So it looks like we will both be hitting the big 6-0 next year!
You say good for you for making it through the canyon but believe it or not, it goes on about another 5km from the 1km/1000m mark. We were told before we crossed the river/stream to only go to the 1000m mark, after that you need a guide at this time of year as it "can" be dangerous. Also the water starts to get higher once you pass that small waterfall with the lady standing in the picture. Apparently there are places where the water can get up to your chest. August or early September are actually the best times of the year to go into the canyon as the water is usually at it's lowest levels. Maybe we will just have to go back there with the proper footwear when we return to Turkey with our motorhome. It was definitely pretty spectacular in the canyon all the same.
Happy Birthday Ruth! Your right about the the highs and lows, in my book of life, it says it on page 27 in my book! Ha! I promise I won't ask what your naming your new rig!...although you could give me a hint...I apologize! We will wait in your time! Take care, Rawn & Joann Stone(& Peanut Joy Stone)
We have a couple of names in mind for our new motorhome but we won't decide which one we will go with until we actually see the unit with our own eyes and get a feel for it. When we know, we will make sure that everyone knows! :-)
Happy Birthday Ruth.
ReplyDeleteThat canyon looked really interesting, not sure I would of liked the cold moving water. Well done for going through to show us. New motor home looks lovely, I could nearly smell the newness.
Thank you Helen!
DeleteYep, the water was pretty darn cold but you also were walking in it the whole time either. You would not have like that first part, trying to get over all the rocks and across the stream, I almost lost it one time, some how or another I managed to save myself, lol.
It does look lovely doesn't it! It can sleep four by the way, just a thought for a holiday next summer. :-)
Now there's an idea :)
DeleteHappy Birthday Ruth! I know you do enjoy every day of this trip but I hope you had a particularly nice one for your birthday!
ReplyDeleteThank you very much! I do enjoy each and every day but yes, yesterday was an extra nice one. :-)
DeleteI suppose you could call your new rig 'German', until a formal naming can occur. I think Sherman would like the resonance.
ReplyDeleteLol, no I don't think so but Herman has crossed our minds! We will make the decision when we actually get there and meet him.
DeleteHappy Birthday, Ruth. Here’s to many many more.
ReplyDeleteThank you Erin! Looking forward to what's still ahead of us. :-)
DeleteHappy Birthday, Ruth! Thanks for the video - cool area.
ReplyDeleteThank you Elaine!
DeleteGlad that you enjoyed the video, it really was a cool place.
Happy Birthday Ruth.
ReplyDeleteLooks like you have a manual transmission in your MH. More economical to drive but more driver intense.
Beautiful Scenery. Like you my feet are sensitive and worse when cold.
Be Safe and Enjoy!
It's about time.
I have no problem driving a standard... I don't even think about it actually.
DeleteThank you for the birthday wishes! :-)
DeleteHappy birthday Ruth! What a remarkable place to celebrate it.
ReplyDeleteThank you Peter! It was a pretty cool area
DeleteI think you should have an RV naming contest.
ReplyDeleteWe tried that before with the Little Blue Car and it was a total fail, lol! Nope, we have a couple of names in mind but we want to meet him first before we make a decision. :-)
DeleteI think the new RV needs a feminine name!!
ReplyDeleteNope, our friends have had many motorhomes and the couple of times that they gave the motorhomes a female name they turned out to only cause them problems, they used another word for it, lol! We will just stick with a masculine name, it worked well with Sherman. :-)
DeleteHappy birthday Ruth, all the best. We visited Istanbul and Canakale back in the late 70’s. Wish we could have visited more of the country, it looks amazing. Speaking of amazing, love the new R.V. Cheers!
ReplyDeleteThank you!
Deleteyou will just need to come back and visit more of Turkey then, that is only a tiny area of the country that you have seen.
Sweet looking ride!....I can't wait to view more pictures.
ReplyDeleteThank you! We can't wait to take more pictures of it as well. :-)
DeleteHappy birthday, Ruth! We are now the same age until I hit the big milestone 6-0 in April! Good for you for making it through that canyon. You are one tough gal -- I suspect I would have been back with Kevin, as cold water and I are not good buddies. You got some lovely shots, though, and your motorhome looks GREAT!
ReplyDeleteThank you Emily! So it looks like we will both be hitting the big 6-0 next year!
DeleteYou say good for you for making it through the canyon but believe it or not, it goes on about another 5km from the 1km/1000m mark. We were told before we crossed the river/stream to only go to the 1000m mark, after that you need a guide at this time of year as it "can" be dangerous. Also the water starts to get higher once you pass that small waterfall with the lady standing in the picture. Apparently there are places where the water can get up to your chest. August or early September are actually the best times of the year to go into the canyon as the water is usually at it's lowest levels. Maybe we will just have to go back there with the proper footwear when we return to Turkey with our motorhome. It was definitely pretty spectacular in the canyon all the same.
Hope you had a wonderful birthday Ruth. Great pictures and video of the canyon!
ReplyDeleteI did have a wonderful birthday, thank you. :-)
DeleteHappy Birthday Ruth! Your right about the the highs and lows, in my book of life, it says it on page 27 in my book! Ha! I promise I won't ask what your naming your new rig!...although you could give me a hint...I apologize! We will wait in your time! Take care, Rawn & Joann Stone(& Peanut Joy Stone)
ReplyDeleteWe have a couple of names in mind for our new motorhome but we won't decide which one we will go with until we actually see the unit with our own eyes and get a feel for it. When we know, we will make sure that everyone knows! :-)
Delete