Spring Break: Kayaking from Adrasan to Olympos

On our final day in Antalya, we went kayaking from Adrasan to Olympos, an 8 mile trip up the coast.  This was such an unforgettable day.  We were the only ones out on the water except for a few fishing boats that we could see in the distance.  Not many people vacation to the Meditteranean in the spring.  I'm not sure why...maybe being Seattle-ites, 70 degrees seemed ideal and just right for boats and bathing suits.  Regardless, we had the rugged Lycian coastline and glassy ocean water to ourselves.  A family of dolphins swam about a half a mile off from us in the same direction as we  paddled northward toward Olympos.  Ry and the kids saw a sea turtle and some flying fish. 

Ready for push-off 

Exploring caves

 

Mia and I

 

The caves were beautiful

The water was like glass 

Mia & I were kayaking buddies

We stopped in this pretty lagoon for lunch 

The water was pretty chilly but it didn't keep J&J from taking a dip 

Josie and I were kayaking partners on the last leg of our trip and watched the others race back to the beach at Olympos.  We moseyed along and dipped our toes in the water as we paddled along.  She was great company!  Do all good things have to come to an end?  We look back on these pics, remembering the crazy-fun adventures we had that week and ask ourselves, "Did we really get to do these things?"  I can't imagine that we will ever have as much fun on a family trip again...unless of course...we go back someday!

 

 

 

 

 

Spring Break: Hiking the Lycian Way



One of the "outings" I had been most excited about taking the family on during our time in Turkey was a day-hike somewhere along the Lycian Trail, or Likya Yolu.  The trail winds it's way around the southern coast of Turkey from Fethiye to Antalya (close to 500 km in total).  When we decided to make a road trip of it to Antalya, I knew that might be our chance to make a hike work.  Staying in Olympos proved to be a great jumping off point for the hike to the Gelidonya Lighthouse.  This was a super long day for the little ones, but they made it...just about 12 miles I believe!

Ready to Roll 

Onward, to Gelidonya... 

Turkish poppies and the Meditteranean Coast 

 Taking a look up the coastline

My boys

 

At one point, Ryan veered off of the beaten path, as he often does, and headed down to the waterfront.  We hiked along the shore for a long time, which was great fun, except that Jake & Josies shoes were soaked by the time we made it back to the trail.  Sigh!

We had a good time exploring the tidepools 

Jake built a raft 

Thys made a wildlife discovery 

And Ry made some discoveries of his own 

The water was so beautiful! 

And the drinking water we happened upon was well-recieved

Mia found a monster wishie! 

We came to a fork in the trail that led up another mile or so to the lighthouse.  The hike was pretty steep... a stretch in ability, and patience, for some of us. 

The views were well worth the climb 

Ry climbs for a better look

Gelidonya Lighthouse

How long has THAT been there? 

Once we made it to the lighthouse, we discovered that Jake & Josie were getting blisters from hiking in their wet shoes.  The hike back meant treading carefully for them.  We had no bandaids (lesson learned), so Ry rigged up some little bandages for their feet and the older kids took turns offering piggy-backs to J&J when the going got rough. 

We made it back to the trailhead by dusk with some tired little bodies in tow.  But, we made some great memories that day and saw some earthly beauties we may never see again!   

On our way back to Olympos we found a gozleme shack, which meant good grubbin'

 Jake and Josie found a retired pink volkswagon to dine on...good times!

Spring Break: Olympos

Another day at the beach, this time, in beautiful Olympos.  Olympos felt like a small slice of northern California to me (only sunny) with the earthy crowd that it draws.  We loved driving through the little town where people stay in "treehouse pensions" and hang out at the little tea shacks.  Our walk through the ruins of Olympos, down to the sea, was really lovely...

Jake constructs a raft

Ryan and Thys give oysters a try

Throwing rocks never gets old

Josie finds a new best friend (a resemblance I think?)

One-Eye, drinking his Nar Suyu (Pomegranate juice)

These two are an awful lot alike! 

Walking through ruins, on our way back from the beach

They take good care of what is left of Olympos

 No shoes

Arches 

 

 

 

 

 



Spring Break: Termessos





Termessos:  ancient city whose crumbled remains sit high on a hilltop above Antalya.  The Romans didn't mess with the inhabitants of this great city, on account of their convenient geographic location and barbaric tendencies.  Centuries and several earthquakes later the only remaining occupants are noxious weeds and lots of wildlife.  We spent four hours or so exploring these incredible ruins and witnessing some amazing views.  Once again, we were suprised to find that we were the only visitors on this sunny April afternoon...

 Just a door...

 Waterways

 Sarcophagi

 Back from the dead... 

 Blazing a trail up the hill: 

We took the path less traveled that opened up into this  

Splendid theatre 

 Mia

 Tomb Raider

 Spring flowers, featuring:  Queen Anne's lace

 Apollo's frisbee

 Beautiful mountain views

 All together 

 We hiked back down to the Agora

 You could really picture how beautiful the colonnaded streets must have been

We discovered some cool tombs, cut into the rock face

Hadrians Temple 

The end of a pretty cool hike...