Saklikent and the river runs through it.

First time we have had to wear our helmets since we got the bike other than for having a laugh. It’s hot until you get going but I definitely prefer these little ones that just sit on top of your head. It seemed quite a long journey but it was a pretty one through the forests where the crickets made an incredible din and following the pretty coloured stream for some of it. But we were soon there and headed off into the canyon where almost all the time you have to walk in the river and it is quite difficult here and there. Good job Claire bought some new waterproof shoes; she loved them and even said that she might keep them. I suppose that means she would normally throw them away then?

It was a sight for saw eyes; I took dozens of pictures but have only included a few here. We stopped off for a quick EFES at the paradise restaurant which was quite pretty too. We stopped off at Xanthos on the way back looking for somewhere to have lunch but all that was there was a load of old ruins that the Romans had built. Back on the road, next stop Patara beach but we had to pay 5TL each to get to it because there was another lot of old ruins there too. Why couldn’t the Romans have built something that didn’t fall down? We did try the restaurant on the beach but they had a very limited tourist menu that was very expensive so we ordered a drink and slipped off before it arrived. Drove back through the ruins and found a nice little restaurant called the Terrace in Patara. We had a great meal, very authentic and it didn’t break the bank either. We had the whole place to ourselves, what a lovely way to finish off our adventure.

We are having a very relaxing evening tonight with drinks on the terrace so I can read the next section of my book ready for my next PADI training course at 10am tomorrow morning. We went out last night and had a bit of a crawl and a great time but I will make a separate entry for that as we already have too many photos for today. There will be days where we don’t do anything so it will fill the boring gaps. While we were out Claire got some prices for her beauty treatment and a Turkish bath and she has booked one up for tomorrow morning at 10am when I do my course and I’m sure she will do her own entry to tell you about that.

Well, we have had another great day again today, we are really starting to unwind now and have almost completely stopped bickering with each other. If you are ever in this area I would highly recommend the Saklikent gorge walk it is quite strenuous but well worth the effort having such spectacular views. The gorge gets narrower and deeper the further you get in and the water is icy cold. It is actually 17km long so it’s not at all practical to walk the whole length of it and back again, especially as it is such slow going having to climb up and down boulders through fast running icy cold water. It is the deepest gorge in Turkey and the second deepest in Europe. The Xantos and Patara ruins are really spectacular as well very well preserved and such allot of them around, not just the few pictures that I have put in. They are both worth a blog in their own right but must get on studying for tomorrow. I bought a new watch recently because my other one used to shave my arm it was so rough and it was no longer water proof since I had the battery changed and I hate taking it off for a shower and David Lloyd. I made sure that my new one was water resistant which it is to 50m. After my first dive yesterday it has all clouded up and we only went down 10m. So I suppose I am back to taking it off again, at least until we get home and I can take it back and change it for another waterproof one again. They don’t make things like they used to do; but then again, I haven’t seen many Roman watches around.