September 9
OMG, if we were worried about catching a ferry to Kos and not having tickets booked to then get to Turkey, we should have been more worried about the present! So we loaded up the van to get from Perissa to the Port to catch the ferry to Kos. Instead of the owner driving us, he arranged for Papa and Mama to take us to the port so he could get some sleep...i'm glad someone did!
So Papa finally wakes up 15 mins late and we are on our way...we start off quite slowly and we are nervous about getting to the port on time...the roads we were on started to get a bit narrower, yet was still quite open, and i noticed Lisa's hands move towards something to hold on to, just as mine were doing...i don't know whether Papa was still asleep, but we were starting to get concerned not if we would get there on time, but whether we would get there in one piece! haha...and if we thought the open roads were bad, then we def needed new underwear when it came to navigating the windy steep road from the top of the island back down to the port (check out the photos!). By some freak luck chance of nature, we made it to the port in one piece and with plenty of time for the ferry.
Our next nervousness occured when we got onto the ferry (again, check out the photos)...we were directed to the third level, and when we opened the door, it looked like we were in a refugee centre! There were kids and kids and parents strewn everywhere on the floor with bright blankets tucked around them, one kid still had a bottle in its mouth that we swear was drinking while asleep...plastic chairs and tables covered in filth completed the picture. Now Lisa and i expect second class status, but this was ridiculous! Lucky we are nice girls, and i was able to sweet talk the porter to letting us down a level and made ourselves comfortable on the couches.
Arriving in Kos at 5am and it was still dark, so if there had of been no clouds we would actually have seen the sunrise, but was unfort too overcast for this. At 10am we boarded the ferry to Bodrum in southern Turkey and an our later we found ourselves buying a visa for Turkey at the wonderful price of 15euro, and finally got a stamp for my passport, yay!
Bodrum we soon found out is a very new up and coming tourist town, and as soon as we stepped off the ferry we were greeted with sales people selling everything you could think of, including very cheap perfume!
We didn't have a hostel booked, but a guy we met on the ferry from Kos said he had booked one and they were coming to pick him up, so we just hitched a ride to his hostel and thankfully they had a couple of extra beds for Lisa and I.
We must now have been running on adrenaline and not thinking, because instead of going to bed for some sleep (after getting none the night before), we said yes for going on a tour of a village.
An hour later and we were at the Village Etrim drinking Turkish coffee and Sage tea at a coffee house. There were old men there playing games kind of like dominoes and women herding cows by to milk, just as you would totally expect in Turkey, was crazy!
We were then taken by the guide to his parents house and his lovely mum brought us lunch which was beyond delicious! (LOVE turkish food!) and then took us into the house to show us the carpets that the local women make. Was pretty unbelievable...most of the carpets take at least 4 months and some up to a year! They were really beautiful and some of the best ones were made of silk. Lisa was clearly running on nothing, because she was talked into buying a silk carpet, but was absolutely gorgeous! and last time she was in Turkey, her Grandmother and her nearly bought one, and this was much cheaper so she jumped at the opportunity. The setup is really good, as the company is run as a cooperative, so 95% goes to the women and community, and the company keeps 5% as commission.
After spending about 5 hours in the village, we headed back and had a traditional Turkish dinner cooked by another Mamma! Man, the food is seriously sooooooo good! Who knew i even liked eggplant!
September 10
Up early this morning to be taken scuba diving...in Turkey! We got picked up, and after dropping in at the supermarket to pick up ingredients for lunch, we were at the dock and getting onto the boat. Was a very nice boat, and we headed upstairs to enjoy the sunshine while we motored our way to the dive site. There were four experienced divers so they went first, and then when they returned Lisa, myself and an English lady took our turn. Was really beautiful, lots of different fish to see and coral, and black sea sponge stuff and visibility was pretty unbelievable!
Back up and have some lunch, then another sunbake before our second dive. This time we went down to about 12-15m and saw some more fish, a star fish, sea grass and some other cool stuff. Back home about 5pm and quite stuffed, so we chilled in the pool, and then again back upstairs to the restaurant for another mamma's special (so good, and mum you'll be impressed because it is soooooooo healthy!). A bit of tv watching then we caught the 10.30pm bus for overnight travel to Istanbul. We are hoping that the floods that have apparently killed 23 so far, haven't reached southern Istanbul (they are about 150kms north west)...the girls on the boat said their mum was a tour guide and her work hadn't been interrupted, but spose we'll just have to wait till we hit Istanbul in about 12hours time!
