May 19:  Antalya to Çayağzı/Mediterranean Sea


Up 9:30am.  Left the hotel just after 10:30am.  Bonus points to Ibo for having us leave late every day.

At 12pm we stopped at a waterfall restaurant that Michelle was familiar with.

This photo doesn't do it justice.  Also, the water coming out of unnatural pipes and hoses didn't do it justice.

See, there's water coming out of a hose on the right.  Unnatural.

Had lunch in Demre.  Lamb shish & beer.  I got mine late so no time to go to St. Nicholas tomb & church.  I discovered mosquito bites on my knees.  They itch, but they're always a sign I've been somewhere awesome.  Like somewhere outside of LA where there's water and plant life and interesting people.

Stopped to see the rock tombs at Myra.

Saw them before in Egypt.

There was an entry fee but Ibo said we could avoid it by taking photos here.

Arrived at our boat at 3:35pm.  Met our captain Ahmet.  The boat has a full bar...nice.  Left dock 3:45pm.

On the boat.

On the boat.

We stopped twice to swim, but I didn't want to jump into the sea.  I hate swimming in general (I really really really don't like sucking cold water into my lungs) and I also had a lingering cough from my post-WrestleMania 29 flu, so pardon me.

Most of the group swimming.

Around 6:30pm we floated by the sunken city at Kekova, from the 2nd century AD..

Sunken city, sunk in an earthquake.

Goat!

Sunken city.

Church arch.

Sunken city.

Roman baths.

Sunken city.

We stopped at an island to see Simena.

Simena fortress.

Our boat.

Turtle.  Or tortoise?  There was some dispute about terminology.

View from Simena fortress.

Necropolis.

View from Simena fortress.

Necropolis.

Necropolis.

On the way down from Simena fortress.  Most precious.

Cat family at play!

Ducks!

We docked and Ibo fed watermelon to goats.  Dinner on the boat was fresh veggies and fish.

Kent played music.  Mostly '70s and '80s.  A newer song popped up and someone said "this is rather modern".  That would be a very polite compliment at Wiffleball.

Just relaxed the rest of the night.  Played Uno and Balut.  At 12:45am I pulled the contact lenses out of my eyes and threw them into the Mediterranean!

Katie and I were the last two up.  We played Trivial Pursuit, which she won, because it was the UK version.  In total on the boat I had 6 beers (the equivalent of 9 US beers).  Went to bed around 1:15-1:30am.  We were all supposed to sleep outdoors on the roof, but the only two mattresses remaining were next to Andy, and he was already sawing logs, so I slept at the front of the boat, a half-level down and somewhat out of earshot.  I donned earplugs and a facemask, but over the course of the night I felt other presences around me, as people moved to the front to avoid the snoring.  Days later I heard that Adrian was awake on the roof, frustrated at the snoring, instructing "somebody kick him!"  Best kicking instruction since Freddie Blassie.


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