The campsite man did not get rid of all the roosters last night.There is still one left and let us know that he was still around at 0410 hours this morning. I guess that he will not last too long as he was very noisy! The cats fight just about all night too! I was up at 0445 hours, packed my sleeping bag, mattress and tent then went to light the fire so that breakfast could be ready for 0600 hours. I can now pack everything up in 10 minutes, pretty good going even if I say so myself. A tortoise was found near the fire and safely taken away.
Apart from being wished a happy birthday I was allowed to have the first piece of toast off the fire, a real honour. I even sat near the front of the truck for the first time, not that I wanted to but I had the cake under the seat and hoped that the truck would not bounce about too much to damage the cake.
For the first time in Turkey I saw children going to school or waiting for a bus, this at 07.30 hours. Why this should take so long to happen I do not know. On the way to Olympos the dual carriageway had roundabouts in the central reservation so that once the vehicle was on the roundabout on two sides the traffic could still be going past at 60 mph and it would then have to re-enter the roundabout taking this into consideration. Really weird! The road followed the coast which was all hilly and very rocky but a very pretty ride. Most of the coves had holiday accommodation of different sorts and many had yacht berths, some quite extensive. At one time nearly thirty coaches full of tourists passed us going the other way and I assumed that the planes had just landed at Finike, which would have been the tourist airport for this area. Near Finike I estimated that there were greenhouses and poly tunnels covering an area of about six square miles with both being of interesting shapes, not all rectangular or square. The poly tunnels even had gutters and drainpipes with the rain water collected in man made pools. There were miles and miles of these structures with tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers and aubergines being grown.
We arrived at the Saban Pension, Kumluca in the district of Antalia at 1445 hours where three of us had to clean the inside of the truck before being able to do anything else. The accommodation was a ‘tree house’ but which I said was a wooden house on stilts. Very basic, two mattresses on the floor, sheets, pillow and blankets. A door which did not fit and windows with no glass, but it was clean. Luxury compared with the way we have been living up to now. I shared the room with Derek, which suited me.
It rained for a while after we arrived then cleared up by 1900 hours when everyone arrived at the bar in their party clothes. Considering that they had on a couple of hours to sort out what they wanted to be and make some sort of costume I think that they did a magnificent job with the very little material available, which can be judged from the photographs.
A hearty dinner was eaten at 2000 hours and tasted much better than normal as someone else cooked it for us. We are paying an extra £5 per day for breakfast and dinner while we are here and it is worth the money for just not having to do the cooking and washing up!
My birthday cake was then brought to the table, one I had only seen 15 minutes ago when it was taken out of the fridge and the 70 candles put on it. The staff here thought it was hilarious with the dressing up and then the cake with them delivering it to the table with the candles lit. Seventy candles make a big flame and had to be blown out before the cake melted again. The cake itself was a real surprise to all of us and was enjoyed by all with some of the girls having three pieces. They said that they likes chocolate cake, and proved it to be so!
A few drinks later and we were all in bed by midnight. There were other photographs taken but they are in all sorts of cameras and I cannot get hold of them just yet. Perhaps I do not want to!
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| Jackie with the breakfast tortoise |
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| To prove I was up making the fire |
For the first time in Turkey I saw children going to school or waiting for a bus, this at 07.30 hours. Why this should take so long to happen I do not know. On the way to Olympos the dual carriageway had roundabouts in the central reservation so that once the vehicle was on the roundabout on two sides the traffic could still be going past at 60 mph and it would then have to re-enter the roundabout taking this into consideration. Really weird! The road followed the coast which was all hilly and very rocky but a very pretty ride. Most of the coves had holiday accommodation of different sorts and many had yacht berths, some quite extensive. At one time nearly thirty coaches full of tourists passed us going the other way and I assumed that the planes had just landed at Finike, which would have been the tourist airport for this area. Near Finike I estimated that there were greenhouses and poly tunnels covering an area of about six square miles with both being of interesting shapes, not all rectangular or square. The poly tunnels even had gutters and drainpipes with the rain water collected in man made pools. There were miles and miles of these structures with tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers and aubergines being grown.
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| It was a grey day but you can see what is meant by the extent of the poly tunnels and greenhouses |
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| The 'tree houses' |
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| The inside of our 'tree house' |
It rained for a while after we arrived then cleared up by 1900 hours when everyone arrived at the bar in their party clothes. Considering that they had on a couple of hours to sort out what they wanted to be and make some sort of costume I think that they did a magnificent job with the very little material available, which can be judged from the photographs.
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| The girls plus one! Drag Queen (Jay), Dirt (Rebecca), Doll (Stephanie), Dalmatian (Laura), Disaster (Emily), Daiquiri (Libby). |
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| All of us at the big orange truck |
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| Death and the Druid |
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| Jay the Drag Queen |
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| Tim as 'Dragoman' |
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| Dinner |
My birthday cake was then brought to the table, one I had only seen 15 minutes ago when it was taken out of the fridge and the 70 candles put on it. The staff here thought it was hilarious with the dressing up and then the cake with them delivering it to the table with the candles lit. Seventy candles make a big flame and had to be blown out before the cake melted again. The cake itself was a real surprise to all of us and was enjoyed by all with some of the girls having three pieces. They said that they likes chocolate cake, and proved it to be so!
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| The cake! |
A few drinks later and we were all in bed by midnight. There were other photographs taken but they are in all sorts of cameras and I cannot get hold of them just yet. Perhaps I do not want to!
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| The party |
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| Presents of a card from my family, Turkish Delight from Adam and Helen then Dan and Vicki with the glass from the girls Stephanie, Libby, Laura, Rebecca and Emily who call themselves my adopted daughters, truck daughter and tell me that I have no choice in the matter. |
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| 70 years old today and this was a sneaky photo |
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