Hiking in Göynük Canyon, and into the big city of Antalya

We slept Thursday night at the Göynük Canyon parking lot. Total peace and quiet... it actually would have been good for a two night stop except that we had to get to Antalya for our eye doctor appointment on Saturday morning.

This whole area has a lot of trails, and the famous Lycian Way trail goes through this area as well. I had seen a cave marked on the map, so we decided to hike up there first. 

The abandoned Eco Dream Club Resort

One of the stops we wanted to make yesterday was at the very strange Eco Dream Club Resort. There are a lot of all inclusive style resorts along this part of Turkiye's coastline. They're very quiet at this time of year, and in fact many of them totally close up during the winter and re-open in March. 

But there is one big resort here that closed up in 2014, and never re-opened. The abandoned Naturland Holiday Area Eco Dream Club Resort.

Made another doctor appointment

We have our ophthalmologist appointment on Saturday morning. That is why we are heading to Antalya fairly quickly.

Regular readers will remember that we had refractive lens exchange surgery done here in Turkey back in late December of 2020. You can read all the details here. We are going to see our ophthalmologist just for a checkup since we are in the area. 

Views above Kas, Turkiye

When we had been in Kas in the fall of 2020, we had done a hike up the mountain behind the town. It is part of the Lycian Way hiking trail which runs about 500 kms (300 miles) along the southern coast. We wanted to continue further along that trail to see what there was to see, so we headed up the same mountain again yesterday.

The weather has continued to be perfect! Sunshine, blue skies, and temperature about 18C (66F).

Beautiful southern coastline

This week is going to go by quickly, as we have to be in Antalya by Saturday morning for our eye doctor appointment. We did that on purpose though, otherwise we wouldn't get through this area fast enough!

Part of our goal on this Turkish trip is to see some of the area east of Antalya towards the Syrian border and if we're going to do that we have to get a move on. So booking the eye doctor for Saturday gives us the push we need.

The ancient city of Pinara, Turkiye

Sunday is market day in Calis Beach, so we walked over with Aly and Martin at about 10:00am and did our weekly fruits and vegetables shopping. When things are so cheap, it's actually fun to go out and do the shopping!

After that, we needed to get going, so we said our goodbyes. Much thanks to Aly and Martin for looking after us, and Max feels great too with a full fresh water tank, and empty toilet tank!

It was another beautiful day!

We hopped back on the bikes Saturday morning, and Martin came along with us. 

This time, we headed north up along the bay to an area where they have built a huge five star resort complex. There's still a lot of construction going on in the area, and there are rumors of a cruise ship port that is going to be built up there as well.

It's days like this that we're so glad we have the bikes with us

I am reminded why we liked Fethiye. And I don't blame the 10,000 or so British expats for living here. It's a really nice city.

Yesterday, we got the bikes off and went for a ride. We knew that there is a 6 km cycle path that runs the length of the coastline here at Fethiye. It is lined with park space, and a running/walking track, and cafes. It's really pretty, especially on a beautiful blue sky day. 

Made it to Fethiye

Woke up to a gorgeous blue sky and sunshine and the forecast says it's going to be the same thing for the next week or more. Finally. It seems like ever since we left Germany at the beginning of October we've been constantly searching for nice weather. 

It's still not tropical by any means, but with highs of 17C to 19C over the next week, it's not bad when the sun is beating down on you.

One of the best things about living on the road

Tuesday was quite the change from the beautiful day we had on Monday. Tuesday was a stormy day. Overcast, showers, and a really strong wind. We just stayed put in the parking lot of the municipal beach at Sarıgerme. 

Fortunately, it was only a one day event and we were back to sunshine and blue skies on Wednesday.

How did it all begin?

Yesterday, we heard from Beth, a long time reader who says she never comments. But she sent us a very nice email instead. She had some questions about our history and how we got into this abnormal lifestyle and how we can afford to travel full time. She apologized for being nosy, but we don't mind telling the story! I did write about it once about ten years ago, but there are more details I should have included. And of course we've got a lot of readers who would have never read that particular post from so long ago.

So here is the whole story...

Finally got out for a bike ride!

I had a great birthday, thank you all for the birthday love!

This area is really fantastic for bike riding. And yesterday was perfect weather for doing exactly that! So I got the bikes off, and we went for a bike ride. I had a route planned that led to a cave, but I wasn't exactly sure what we would find there.

Today is a special day

Late Sunday morning, we drove from Marmaris to Sarıgerme Beach. About 100 kms (60 miles). Not a very exciting drive, mostly on a four lane highway. But the road was in great condition. Max really enjoyed it!

We arrived at a large paved beach parking lot. It was about 1/3 full, and we parked at the back away from everybody else. But by mid afternoon, the lot was packed and Max was no longer on his own!

A question for the boaters out there...

Woke up to another beautiful day. This is the kind of weather we came here for! 

In the morning, we hiked up to the antenna towers on the hill in behind where we are parked. We figured it would give us a great view of Marmaris, and it did...

A beautiful day in Marmaris, Turkiye

We woke up to blue sky and sunshine, and it stayed with us all day. Even better, it looks like it's going to be a beautiful weekend as well, and right through into Monday.

We drove into Marmaris for a few reasons. We needed to do laundry, and there is one here that gets great reviews, and it has a big grocery store that is likely to have our gluten free bread. Also, because we had been here in November of 2020,  we knew that it has a nice waterfront walkway that goes for 5 kms (3 miles) in each direction. Great for people watching, and enjoying the nice weather.