Friday, September 07, 2007

Roasted Turkey

At the end of July, my wife and I went on holiday to Turkey, and boy was it HOT!

We went with Exclusive Escapes, a tour company we had used two years previously, and they had looked after us quite well then.

This time, instead of returning to the Dalyan and Marmaris areas, we chose a hotel near Kas, and one near Fethiye at Ulu Deniz. We flew in to Dalaman, the same airport as two years ago, but now it had a brand new terminal building, and had been brought well and truly into the 21st century,

We were driven across to Kas through the night, which was shame, as we knew the countryside was spectacular.

Our hotel was built onto the side of a peninsula, just outside the town of Kas (pronounced Cash); steps led down to the rocks by the sea, and our room had a very good view across the sound to the mainland.

The weather at that time in Southern Europe was scorching, and had been up to 46 degrees Celsius the week before we arrived (about 115F). Luckily (!), our week in Kas saw temperatures drop to a mere 42 degrees on a average day!

Quite frankly, the first week we had in Turkey was very quiet; we did go into town a few times (mainly for evening drinks and dinner), but during the day it was way too hot to do anything much, other than sit and bask on the loungers by the sea.

We did have a day’s gullet cruise along with other guests, where we went along the coast and into quieter areas where the sea was crystal clear and very warm. Options for water-ski-ing and such were taken, and it was fun watching some guests trying their luck at this sport for the first (and maybe last) time.

On another day, we caught the ferry over to the Greek island of Castelerizo, which the Turks call Meis. There, we walked up the steep cliff face to a small semi-abandoned church, and back, in blistering heat. We did get a terrific view of the small harbour below (left), and the pretty houses surrounding it. It was strange being back in the land of the Euro, and we had to use a cash-point order to get some currency to pay for a lovely whole fish (Grouper) lunch we had.

The evenings in Kas we spent drinking in some nice bars, taking photo’s of sunsets and cats (every bar/restaurant seems to have a family…), before heading back to our hotel.

Sadly, some guests at a nearby villa, who were also with Exclusive Escapes, behaved quite badly and one (mother) had to be sent home for allegedly abusing her teenage son while drink. At least it gave us plenty to gossip about!

We then transferred to the hotel for our second week, at the end of the beach at Ulu Deniz. This small town has a lovely beach, and it is protected, so no new hotels can be built on it. The town is therefore served by smaller “tourist” towns up in the hills above the beach, and by the large town of Fethiye about ten miles away.

Our hotel was a converted restaurant, and the best in the area. It had its own steps down to the beach, and also a very attentive host in Mustafa, who looked after your every need. Mustafa made sure I got my full food intake (I’m a fussy eater) and was most aggrieved when we said we were to eat in town one night!

The weirdest thing about Ulu Deniz, which we didn’t realize until we arrived, was that it is one of the best places in the world to paraglide. From our hotel at the end of the beach (and from practically any other vantage pint you stopped at), you could watch literally hundreds of paragliders coming down over the ridge each day, coasting through the air until making their landing approach and coming to rest (mainly) on the paved promenade (see top picture).

We had to have a go, and chose to do this first thing Monday morning, before it got too hot or busy. It’s not cheap, but the company who took us were experienced and safe we were told. As you are bussed up the 6550 foot mountain, you can chat to fellow jumpers, and calm the nerves a little, while being videoed as you go!

Strapped in to a safety harness, helmet on, with your pilot behind you, you wait till the chute is filled, then run until the chute pulls you up into the air. Then it is just serene. I went first and must admit that I forgot mainly about the wife, who was following on behind. I did look for her a couple of times as we floated in this direction or that, but then got on with enjoying myself and taking in the magnificent views.

Amazingly, the pilot helped take off my crash helmet after a few minutes, and you then get the full rush of air on your face and head. You can see for miles and miles and it was truly a wonderful experience to be up there floating around on the wind, totally in control.

We flew out over the sea, along the beach, where I could take photos of our hotel (left) and the whole scene (above).

Our biggest worries all along was the landing, and sure enough, this was pretty scary. We floated down and down, getting closer to the buildings, then turned and approached the promenade landing area over the line of restaurants and bars. I was quite happy with all this, having watched many land safely themselves from such an approach, but then as we got lower, I sensed all was not right.

First, we seemed to be coming in to land right on a tree! I braced myself but the pilot turned us away and my doubts seemed unjustified. However, in these final seconds, it wasn't the tree or bush beyond that I should worry about, but a waste-paper bin (trash-can) that we turned and headed for. Too late to adjust (I'm not sure the pilot even saw it!), I raised my feet and tried to protect myself by placing my soles against the bin itself as we hit it. Crazily, and it all happeend in split seconds, my feet hit the bin, the bin turned upside down as my feet went through it (emptying its contents on me!), and the pilot landed on his feet and stopped our forward momentum. I ended up with my legs under the bin, with the pilot trying to lift me back and out while the parachute came down on our heads.

I thought it hilarious (possibly a self-preservation reaction as I was not hurt in any way) and it caused a commotion as staff came running over to help us out. My wife then wandered across; I had no idea if she had seen what happened or if she had landed before or after me.

The photos and video are quite funny, knowing that no damage was done. I even had my picture taken next to the broken bin which was dented and lifted from it's concrete base!

We had plenty to drink after that and spent the rest of the day relaxing - re-telling our various flying stories!

The next day, we travelled over the mountain to the strange ghost town of Kaya (left). This is an amazing site, as it has been uninhabited since 1923. That was when Greece and Turkey traded lands (and citizens) as they carved new boundaries after many years of warring. Sadly, many who lived on the Turkish mainland had to be shipped over to Rhodes or similar, while Macedonian Greeks were asked (forced) to move and live in Kaya. They didn't stay long, as the land wasn't as fertile as they were used to, and the town has been empty ever since. It was extremely strange to wander through these "new" ruins, with only a few goats for company.

The remainder of our holiday time was spent watching the paragliders, and soaking up the sun (it was a little cooler during our second week).

We had a really relaxing time in Turkey, and would recommend anyone who hasn't been who likes local custom to give the country a try.

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Wednesday, September 05, 2007

Granada, Spain

My wife took me to Granada in Spain for my birthday a couple of weeks back.
We have been to Spian quite a few times now; mainly Madrid, which we love, but also to many of the towns within a train ride of Madrid, and to Seville, like Granada, also in the South of the country.
Sadly, getting there was quite painful. We left home at 9am, getting a cab to Heathrow, and arriving at 10.20 for our 1pm flight. We checked in, shopped, had brunch, and made our way to our gate. We boarded our plane, and then the pilot said that there would be a slight delay (maybe 40 minutes, most of which we could make up due to a tail wind) due to traffic congestion. Eventually, we taxied out toward the runway. Then we hit problems; a technical fault meant the pilot would not take off, so we returned to a service area. Eventually, an engineer looked at the problem but could not fix it. We had been on board for two hours by now... The pilot told the plane that there was a replacement available, and he would arrange buses to take us across to it. Then, later, he said that we would actually have to go via the terminal, but we should all make our way directly to gate 41. We were on board the plane for over three hours and didn't go anywhere! We had to go through security again too, so all the liquids (coke, water etc) that we had bought airside for the flight had to be dumped. As we neared the gate, we saw some of the other passengers walking away; they told us the flight had been cancelled, as the crew had "run out of hours".
We then had to recover our bag from the baggage hall, and go to ticketing which is land-side. Luckily, as we only had one bag, my wife waited for it and I went to ticketing. There were five people in the queue ahead of me when I joined it, and half an hour later, when I got to see a clerk, the line was over fifty metres long with our plane's passengers!
Of course, there were no more flights to Madrid available that evening, so, after another 75 mnutes negotiation, we were billetted in the Hilton (an upgrade on the Renaissence where most others were sent due to my birthday...), and spent the evening there. A lovely birthday (not) at Heathrow!
The flight they (BA) got us on was an additional one, due to the cancellation, and it left at 8am the next morning, so we had to be up at 5am to check in by six. Again, we were lucky to get an upgrade to Business Class (probably as we were nice to the ticketing staff...) which softened the blow (and allowed us some free breakfast in the lounge).
Through Madrid but having to change terminals (not easy...), we eventually caught our Granada flight and arrived 22 hours late.
Our hotel and room were very nice, and we had switched our birthday meal reservation back a night. However, we did not envisage the trouble we would have finding the restaurant (set well into the Albaicin backstreets), and when we did arrive, it was too windy to sit outside on the patio as expected. We did have a nice meal with Cava though, but I think we were too exhausted to enjoy it that much.
The next day, we set about walking the streets and enjoying the city. The cathedral was close by (left, as seen from our hotel one evening), and we walked through Sacromonte and Albaicin (in daylight this time, which was much more comfortable) before having lunch in a small square. After the meal, and just before leaving, we noticed it got quite windy again; what we hadn't realised in our enclosed square, was that we were in the middle of a sand-storm! The views we had had prior to lunch were now pretty much obscurd by dust/sand, and it made it quite uncomfortable to see where you were going.
That evening, our planned meal plan was dropped as the weather took a turn for the worse, and it rained (quite unusual for Spain in August!). We therefore satisfied ourselves with beer and tapas!

The next morning, we had tickets booked for the Alhambra (top), and spent all morning and early afternoon there. The carvings and decorations are pretty awesome (the inscription on the left reads "There is no Conquerer but God"), and we took lots of photos.

The gardens and courtyards are very pretty, and they would be awesomely tranquil (see top picture) were it not for the hundreds of tourists who visit each day.
Sadly, some noisy Australians did spoil our visit a small amount, but we just sat a while until they had moved on, and what peace there was returned.
Our favourite part of the Alhambra was not the Nazires Palaces which are pictured in all the tourist brochures, but the Generalife (left) which housed the summer palace. Less tourists made there way to this part of the complex, and it was much nicer for that.
After lunch, we walked back into the main town, and had a lovely siesta back at the hotel. That evening, we finally made our dinner rondezvous we planned for the previous night, and had a lovely meal outside on a square.
We had just about enough time to go inside the cathedral on our last morning, and then caught a cab to the airport for a pain-free journey home.
It was a nice weekend, but one where any expectation we may have had was ruined by the nightmare trip out to Granada. BA will be getting a letter of complaint very soon.

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