After a few weeks at a raw vegan culinary school and waking up at 530am every day for a group run and yoga, it was safe to I was ready to answer the call of the ‘ turquoise coast’. We arrived by overnight bus from ismit (note: not ismir) to Fethiye. Usually we avoid ‘touristy’ destinations but I felt that Fethiye was a good base for what we wanted to accomplish in the next few days. After a night with not too much sleep we were pointed in the direction of a dolmos (mini bus) heading to the centre from the Ottogar. We told the bus driver the address of the apartment we were staying in and relaxed. As the driver began to drop off each passanger one by one we realized that dolmos dont really work like a bus in north america. People get on all the time and get off often when the bus is moving. We unfortunately found ourselves as the last passangers on the bus and realized the driver had forgotten to let us out, or we missed our cue. The driver pointed us in the direction of one of the streets we needed and told us to ask someone else as he drove off. We did find the apartment eventually and I had a serious moment of joy when I opened up the door. I'm one of those people who fall for strange, beautiful, and romantic things. Our apartment was an attic apartment fit with wood panneling and fairly modern upgrades. Looking at the bed, with the sea in the background and the unfinished yet perfect appeal it had really made my morning.
Fethiye was not what I expected. Hearing it described as a 'resort town' in most guidebooks I expected chain hotels and designer boutiques. Instead I found a bit of a hodgepodge between euro and turkish small cities. I wasnt initially all that impressed, the waters gave off a slightly grey-blue hinge and were not crystal clear like Croatia. There were two major highlights of our stay in Fethiye.
Both had to do with hiking. The first hike we went on I highly reccomend, seriously I almost insist you do it. The hike goes from Fethiye to Kayakoy and then on to Ölüdeniz. The second hike is down to Butterfly Valley which is also spectacular, see my next post. The first leg of the hike you follow red/white equals-like signs often painted on trees and poles to Kayakoy. The path is fairly well marked but do your research on where to start. After arriving home and researching more I realize either we went the wrong way, but somehow the path was still marked and ended up in the right place, or there are a few 'right' ways to go. We followed the initial sign to Kayakoy marked 7k and quickly hit a road. Stick with your gut intentions and follow the road until you hit the next sign towards Kayakoy. Continue following the road until there is a slight turn off on your right which is a stone road and you will see the red/white marker. This was the most challenging part but using intuition we managed quite well. The path weaves partly through forest and partly through local roads. Its spectacular and we never saw a single person! The first major stop we took was in Kayakoy. Take some time to explore the ruins here!
From now on you will follow the red/yellow marker you see in the photo of the ruins. They are often on the ground and very well marked. Get ready for some spectacular views! The photo of me is taken at the first clearing called 'rest rock'. There are nice views of cold bay and some islands but keep trekking until you find yourself at another clearing. You will see some footpaths going towards the ledge for a good view, go check it out. You will find this:
Enjoy the view, eat some bananas, and continue back down the path until you reach the beach. From here you can take a dolmos bus back to Fethiye :)