Day 58
Sleeping location: The edge of Guver Canyon, near Antalya, Turkey
Distance (km today/total): 57 / 5425
Estimated climb (m today/total): 200 / 46100
Campsite rank: #1
Day in three words: In precarious positions
It was sad saying goodbye to M&D and to the easy life of the last few days. It probably helped that I was in a (as it turned out, totally unnecessary) rush to get to the bus station* and it wasn’t drawn out. I had confirmed that taking a bike on the bus would be ok the day before, and the man confirmed again and said to wait for the bus. As it turned out the bus was very much mini, and the driver had not been consulted about this in advance. His solution was to take all my luggage off Maggie and unceremoniously hoik her up onto the the roof, where she was tied down with some very thin looking rope. I had absolutely no input in this process and was terrified he would either bash her around or not tie her up properly, but she stayed put for 150km and didn’t seem worse for wear upon arrival. I had been quoted a price of 8 lira the day before; turned out he meant 80. I only had 60 so there was some fuss involving a card machine in a shop when we arrived. Based on the prices shown in the bus 80 was extortionate, but there wasn’t much I could do at this point. On the way back to Korkuteli it was fun seeing the same beautiful scenery in reverse, and with nicer weather this time. I looked for the evil dogs that got dad, but they had clearly gone into hiding.
Annoyingly the bus station in Korkuteli was on the edge of town in the direction of Antalya, so I had to make a 6km detour to go into town and back to link up with the previous route. I went to the same tasty restaurant as five days ago, which effectively became the return point (and did an excellent bean dish this time). Korkuteli is the last familiar place I will visit on this trip; from here on, everything is unknown. The route towards Antalya was mostly downhill, but on a dual carriageway with an inconsistent shoulder and a pesky headwind, so it wasn’t that fun. At one stage there was a steep bit and I went VERY fast (around 70kph) for a few km, which was moderately terrifying but also exhilarating.
Going off a tip from dad I had planned to visit the ruined city of Termessos towards the bottom, but my plans were dashed by the fact that the entrance gate was some 9km (and 500m of climb) from the ruins. They (correctly) surmised that I couldn’t get up there, see the ruins and get out in time, and would therefore need to wild camp, which wasn’t allowed, so they flat out refused to let me in. This was a pain but actually turned out to be a huge stroke of luck. I saw on the map that there was another road leading into the national park a little further on, and decided to check it out with a view to finding a campsite there. And as it happened, this road led to an absolutely magnificent canyon. At the end of the road/track there was a sort of canyon “junction” with absolutely staggering views. On the left, through a gap in the cliffs, you could see Antalya and the sea, and to the right, back up the canyon, were huge mountains and endless forests.
It was Sunday and there were quite a lot of people about, including a nice family who gave me some water and melon because I looked hot, but unfortunately also including two drone wankers**. I spent an hour exploring and scoping the area out and spotted an absolutely dynamite camp spot, right on the edge of the canyon. It was quite exposed so I waited until almost dark before putting the tent. I also considered bivvying but was genuinely scared that I might roll over in my sleep and fall to my death, so tent it was. There was a nice little stone ledge and it was all so beautiful that I just sat there and watched the darkness fall over everything. The lights came on in Antalya and in the faraway mountains, then the stars came out, then there were some distant fireworks. I don’t often descend into sentimental language, but it was fucking magical. A wonderful last night in Turkey.
*I was taking the bus back to Korkuteli to reconnect with the route from Istanbul and head to Antalya from there. For more explanation, see day 53
**One of my pet hates. Everyone is trying to enjoy the natural beauty of the canyon/mountain/waterfall, and the constant high pitched whine of your stupid little toy completely detracts from this. All so you can post your crappy footage on youtube and get 27 views, mostly from your family. Grow up and appreciate things with your eyes and ears.
Distance (km today/total): 57 / 5425
Estimated climb (m today/total): 200 / 46100
Campsite rank: #1
Day in three words: In precarious positions
It was sad saying goodbye to M&D and to the easy life of the last few days. It probably helped that I was in a (as it turned out, totally unnecessary) rush to get to the bus station* and it wasn’t drawn out. I had confirmed that taking a bike on the bus would be ok the day before, and the man confirmed again and said to wait for the bus. As it turned out the bus was very much mini, and the driver had not been consulted about this in advance. His solution was to take all my luggage off Maggie and unceremoniously hoik her up onto the the roof, where she was tied down with some very thin looking rope. I had absolutely no input in this process and was terrified he would either bash her around or not tie her up properly, but she stayed put for 150km and didn’t seem worse for wear upon arrival. I had been quoted a price of 8 lira the day before; turned out he meant 80. I only had 60 so there was some fuss involving a card machine in a shop when we arrived. Based on the prices shown in the bus 80 was extortionate, but there wasn’t much I could do at this point. On the way back to Korkuteli it was fun seeing the same beautiful scenery in reverse, and with nicer weather this time. I looked for the evil dogs that got dad, but they had clearly gone into hiding.
Annoyingly the bus station in Korkuteli was on the edge of town in the direction of Antalya, so I had to make a 6km detour to go into town and back to link up with the previous route. I went to the same tasty restaurant as five days ago, which effectively became the return point (and did an excellent bean dish this time). Korkuteli is the last familiar place I will visit on this trip; from here on, everything is unknown. The route towards Antalya was mostly downhill, but on a dual carriageway with an inconsistent shoulder and a pesky headwind, so it wasn’t that fun. At one stage there was a steep bit and I went VERY fast (around 70kph) for a few km, which was moderately terrifying but also exhilarating.
Going off a tip from dad I had planned to visit the ruined city of Termessos towards the bottom, but my plans were dashed by the fact that the entrance gate was some 9km (and 500m of climb) from the ruins. They (correctly) surmised that I couldn’t get up there, see the ruins and get out in time, and would therefore need to wild camp, which wasn’t allowed, so they flat out refused to let me in. This was a pain but actually turned out to be a huge stroke of luck. I saw on the map that there was another road leading into the national park a little further on, and decided to check it out with a view to finding a campsite there. And as it happened, this road led to an absolutely magnificent canyon. At the end of the road/track there was a sort of canyon “junction” with absolutely staggering views. On the left, through a gap in the cliffs, you could see Antalya and the sea, and to the right, back up the canyon, were huge mountains and endless forests.
It was Sunday and there were quite a lot of people about, including a nice family who gave me some water and melon because I looked hot, but unfortunately also including two drone wankers**. I spent an hour exploring and scoping the area out and spotted an absolutely dynamite camp spot, right on the edge of the canyon. It was quite exposed so I waited until almost dark before putting the tent. I also considered bivvying but was genuinely scared that I might roll over in my sleep and fall to my death, so tent it was. There was a nice little stone ledge and it was all so beautiful that I just sat there and watched the darkness fall over everything. The lights came on in Antalya and in the faraway mountains, then the stars came out, then there were some distant fireworks. I don’t often descend into sentimental language, but it was fucking magical. A wonderful last night in Turkey.
*I was taking the bus back to Korkuteli to reconnect with the route from Istanbul and head to Antalya from there. For more explanation, see day 53
**One of my pet hates. Everyone is trying to enjoy the natural beauty of the canyon/mountain/waterfall, and the constant high pitched whine of your stupid little toy completely detracts from this. All so you can post your crappy footage on youtube and get 27 views, mostly from your family. Grow up and appreciate things with your eyes and ears.
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