Thursday 17th April, 2014
First, some photos of Ucagiz, taken late yesterday.....
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| Ucagiz harbour |
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| Creating my 6TL Gozleme |
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| A sicak sut on the waterfront - and on the house! |
Ok. Goodbye, lovely Ucagiz......
Today's walk was the hardest I've done so far. It took me 7 hot hours to do about 20 kms. The profile of the walk is sooooo wrong! Let me show you, and you'll see that I was expecting a stroll in the park...All flat with a little 75m pimple.
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| Profile Ucagiz to Cayagiz - I don't think so! |
As I climbed steadily out of Ucagiz, I figured it had to be wrong - and it only covers half of the distance.
Apart from some flat pastureland near the beginning of the walk, it was mostly up and down over rocky country - the kind of ankle-twisting walking where every footfall has to be considered. Not fun, but very pretty where it followed the coast.
I was very pleased to arrive eventually at Adriake and, from there, catch a cab for the 4kms to Demre (15TL).
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| Last view of Ucagiz |
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| Yes, you are cute, but where is the mean dog? |
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| Distracted by this photo opportunity and lost the path for a while. A hunter with a rifle set me straight. |
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| Not even half way yet! |
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| Adriake is at the furthest point. 4ms to Demre from there |
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| Getting closer |
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| ...and closer..... |
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| Sick of the rocks.... |
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| Finish with a beach walk |
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| But first a bridge... |
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| Adriake - from there, a 15TL taxi ride to Demre |
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| A very sturdy bridge |
Demre doesn't have much going for it. It's not a seaside town or holiday destination, and it is really quite uninspiring. It's newish, with no character or style. In fact, when the language doesn't jump out at me and claim my attention, I have trouble distinguishing a restaurant from a hardware store, flower shop or bank - everything look the same. It's the kind of place that leaves you flat. I think I've been spoiled by Fethiye, Kalkan, Kas and Ucagiz....
But near Demre are the Myra ruins and St Nicholas' church that I want to see. Demre's other claim to fame is that the three-day mountain section, going up to 1800m, also starts here. I've decided not to do that section though. Apart from not wanting to do it on my own, I think it's probably too big for me anyway. (Another flattening thought.) My plan was to see what I want to see tomorrow and then catch a bus to Finike for my next walking section.
The taxi driver who picked me up from Adriake, recommended this hotel Kiyak. It's fine - it has a bed and a bathroom and only costs 60TL B&B, but it's also uninspiring. The manager, however, is a very kindly man and has made a good suggestion for me. I told him my thoughts for my visit and he recommended getting a cab up to the first mountain village on the three-day walk, Zeytin, for 75TL, and then walking back down, without my pack. I could visit the Myra ruins and St Nick's church on the way back. Sounds perfect, but rain is expected tomorrow...... Will think more - after a shower and a feed! Now to hunt down a restaurant....
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| Looks like I'm half way! |
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