(written by Dave)

Today was a short day – sixth days in a row of riding Turkey’s hills and we kind of wanted a day off.  But, as Nancy mentioned, there is rain forecast for Monday and Tuesday which may provide a forced break anyway.  They are still calling for 1 inch/ 25 mm of rain, which is more than we care to ride in (I know Portland readers, we are weather wimps).  So rather than take the day off in Kalkan, we had a short ride to Kas.

The road from Kalkan to Kas follows what they call the Turquoise Coast, and today it was easy to see why.  The water is vibrant blue and was dazzling in the morning sun.  We had one little climb leaving Kalkan and then pretty much followed the coast all the way to Kas.  This took us up and down and around the shoreline.  I took so many photos that Nancy started to ask “do we need more?”  In spite of slow progress, it was hard not to keep stopping; every corner contained another Kodak wow moment.

I’ve read just about every bicycle touring book that there is but I’ve never heard of the Turquoise Coast.  I’m not sure how such a beautiful ride avoided mention.  Probably because like much of Turkey, those of us living the west tend to think it is mostly sand and desert.  Well today, desert mountains met stunning blue sea with dramatic effect.  Yet another one of those days where you want to bottle the ride and save it to re-do for years to come.  I am not a good enough writer to capture the real beauty so I’ll just have to post a few extra photos today…

We had a couple places picked out in Kas, arriving here in time for lunch and look about.  We were tagged by one pension owner while eating lunch and heard calls from a few more as we rode past after eating.  It would seem that summer business is not yet in full swing.  We tried a hotel first but it didn’t feel very welcoming and they wanted us to park the bikes on the street.  So off we went to the other end of town and Hideaway Hotel/pension.  What a find it turned out to be.  Great room, pretty much all new fit-out and a roof-top terrace that you’d find in travel magazine photos, even before sunset, which I’m sure will be even more stunning.  They serve brekkie and dinner on the terrace.  I’m not sure that we’ll have any reason to go outside the pension during our time here in Kas.  I can already hear Nancy saying, “do we have to leave tomorrow?” on night before whatever day we decide to leave.

We were both feeling a little flat yesterday (probably due to Nancy’s bike issue) but today with the amazing ride and now with our great find in the Hideaway, the trip mojo is back.  We plan on a couple days here, missing the rain and really just relaxing (oh, we have to clean the bikes and complete our US tax returns as well – life could be worse 🙂 ).

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