Vacation in Fethiye, Turkey

September 12, 2005

Vacation in Fethiye, Turkey

I've been back now for 5 days from our vacation in Turkey and I am still trying to adjust being back. Why can't vacations last longer than they do? Why is coming back always such a disappointing experience?

We've had a really good time. The weather was just wonderful: it was really hot, but who would complain about that when you can spend your days at the beach and jump in the water whenever you start sweating. I just adore it when I can be outside late at night in a T-shirt, having a drink outside on a terrace. There weren't even mosquito's out there!

Our hotel was like a big village on a peninsula, with 3 little beaches on little bays and a walk-way all around the peninsula with sunbeds. I just spend a lazy vacation there, didn't do much visiting at all but it was great. In the company of 3 books, the sun, the crystal clear see... I had a good time.

We also enjoyed the all in formula very much. Turkish food is good! Turkish food in big buffets almost all day is great ;-). Especially the fresh beignets at 4-5 PM at the pool!

Jan and I both tried diving for the first time. Much to our pleasure we could take our first beginner dive immediately in the open water of the sea. After some instructions on how to breath, how to swim and how to pop our ears; after learning some essential sign language for "ok? ok!" "problem" "need to go up" ..., we were all geared up by our instructors. The first dive goes down a 3 meters, all hand in hand with one instructor that checks our equipment all the time and if our ears and breathing and nerves are ok. It's fun to be able to start from your hips in the water in a little bay. As true underwater tourists we fed some bread to the fish and took underwater pictures. The first dive was a bit weird, I had cramps in my foot and no way to communicate that to the instructor and breathing is strange and balancing the equipment on my back as well. In the afternoon we made a second dive there up to 6 meters which was fun and I felt a lot more at ease.

Jan subscriped for the PADI open water course and as a result I spend a few days on my own in the hotel. I did join him on his last day of the course though just to see him study hard and write his theoretic exam on the boat and to make his exam dive. I could make 2 more dives, up to 9 meters.

We also went on a really fun jeep safari through the green back country of Turkey (apparently we were in tomato country!). One of the highlights there was our excursion in the Saklikent Canyon, the 2nd biggest of Europe, 18 km long. Nobody has been able to tell me which one is the biggest in Europe though. Any hints??