Turgut

Saturday 1st June.

We made an early start for our short drive to Turgut,  another of Clyde and Anna’s “finds”.  We stopped at first at a cafe they had been to many years before which had been a restaurant, and after re-acquainting with the the lady owner we left to find a suitable camping spot. Driving down to the end of a narrow concrete road we stopped to park in a large open area. Near to this was a large gateway with a guard who was keeping out the riff raff. We were soon to discover why; the large resort is one owned by the Turkish prime minister and is an exclusive Muslim hotel complex.

We parked nearby with the idea of getting out and walking around to scout a suitable site to park. While getting locked up,  the guard started to walk towards us, and not knowing if he would give us instructions to clear off, Clyde and Ewout walked over to him to find out. Remarkably he was coming over to inform us of the beach area on the other side of the river where we could camp for free. Who hoo,  nice find. We happily set up on the beachside, with wonderful views of the bay, sailing boats and the resort on the headland.

Soon after parking a Turkish man who was camping nearby came over to us and told us his name was Ali Baba and welcomed us to the spot. He was working on a nearby building and soon had the dilapidated amenities block cleaned and ready for us to use. Clyde gave him a hand with the cleaning and helped him hang a door back on, he then mentioned an offer of electricity when he had it hooked up. Wow, what a great offer, we have been super pleased with the generosity and friendliness we have been show, but this is above and beyond our imagination.

Sitting on the beach by our campers, we have met many locals who have stopped to say hello and show an interest in our trip, our next destination, and many say “welcome”, “have a nice holiday”.

Ali Baba has been a companion by our small campfire at night as well as his wife when she visited for a couple of days. Even without any Turkish and their little English we have been able to communicate in a friendly companiable manner.

So, we have spent a lovely few days sitting by the sea, swimming, snorkeling, sunbasking, watching the local boys play in the water, foraging for wood, a walk to the village and generally enjoying a quiet break from the rigors of touring.

Ewout has found  many “treasures” while snorkelling, 3 knives, a fork, a saw and a fishing reel, not quite the sort he’d hoped, but at this rate we might end up with a full cutlery set.

Of course no place is free of the Muslim call to prayer, which resounds nicely through the bay, and the boom boom of the disco which echos across from the resort until midnight, but these have been minor annoyances and when all have left the cafés, and the nightclub is quiet, is is wonderful to hear the lapping of the waves just 5 meters from my bed.

It really doesn’t get any better than this. Oh and the free wifi has been great to catch up with the blog, skype our family and pay some bills.