“I must be a mermaid, Rango. I have no fear of depths and a great fear of shallow living.”
― Anais Nin
Five days in Mezgit so far, Monotonous but lovely. Every day, before sunrise, I head to the mountains … it’s addictive; the sleepy old village, the crisp, clean, and cool breeze … the soft, dewy mountain scape …. there’s just this feel/energy … something I cannot put into words, it floats all around … happiness beyond measure.
Day 5, I miss the sea. True, I marvel upon its beauty every day, but from afar/ elevation … when you are in love, you want nearness … you want to hear, caress, and smell … that’s how I felt this morning.
There is no way around it, to get from A-Z you need a car (or the bus, but timing). It’s an hour's walk, but that ain't the issue, it’s an hour’s walk ON A MOUNTAIN HIGHWAY; narrow, steep, with all the twists and turns and of course blind spots. No sidewalk or side anything, and do I have to mention anything about driving etiquette in Turkey?
So naturally, I decided to walk there. It’s too damn early, there will hardly be any cars. I will be there, have the beaches all for myself for a few hours, and head back even before your average turk hits the snooze button.
The walk was smooth (only a handful of cars), and scenic, at the end it’s a mountain road so you get all the perks. The weather was AWESOME, cool, and chill, everything smelt fantastic. The air here is literally infused with the scents of almond flowers, thyme, and a bunch of wild plants I know zilch about. In the beginning, it used to boggle me, I’d be sniffing like a poodle, trying to find the source of that mesmerizing smell, then I found out that the peninsula is actually world-renowned for its flora, and the majority of the 154 species of wild orchid in Türkiye are found here, and where the forests of Fethiye and other Lycian regions of Turkey are covered in pine trees, the Datça Peninsula is covered in olive and almond trees … let this sink in .... we are talking humungous mountains, covered with olive trees, personally, it swept me off my feet.
I reach Mesudiye, damn it’s gorgeous. I get it, it’s become vacation central, all pensions and bungalows but it’s lovely …. Not in a pristine, upscale way, but rustic (you can call it random too) and chic. Being a village, those rentals have big gardens, brimming with vegetation and … yep vegetables, fruit …etc, just like tiny farms …. No hotel style manicured hedges, it’s more bohemian and funky, although in a kitschy kinda way.
Cutting through Mesudiye I reach an intersection, it’s Hayıtbükü Koyu on the left and Ovabükü Plajı on the right, I go right.
Gosh …. When my eyes see those waters, this feeling … it never gets old …. silly, childish, and absolutely fantastic, I get those Goosebumps, I smile, I run for the shore
Blessed is your wind Datça,
The Datça Peninsula is world famous for its 3Bs, meaning: Bal, Badem, and Balık (Honey, Almonds, and fish) but to me – and to esp Jason – it’s the WIND!
Hitting from all sides, the peninsula is literally the meeting point of all the winds billowing from both the Mediterranean and the Aegean. It is wind central and that makes its weather utterly unique …. the cherry on top though is that it’s also VERY DRY … no sticky icky stuffy. So even in the midst of summer, if you are shaded, you are either okay or chilled. Many of the people I know here don’t even use aircon in summer, they have cultivated ways to make the best use of shade and wind in their homes (yep such people do exist) …. So when ya’ll folks are being deep-fried in Bodrum and Marmaris, we are here in Datca Chillin’.
Yet, and here is a big one, my love for the wind goes beyond the surface … waves, crashing waves, those seas are rarely calm, they are wild, raging,
A wanna-be hobo,
“To awaken quite alone in a strange town is one of the pleasantest sensations in the world”
As a kid, it always fascinated me – in the movies - those dudes who travel by foot, then barge into a bar or beach or what have you, take off their shoes, chill for an hour, then be on their way, not caring about anything or anyone, well I’ve been feeling like that lately, only I look more attractive.
Seriously now, I have this need to do exactly that. I keep playing with the idea. I know I have mentioned before that I am full of travel/ hiking/ climbing plans, but I realized that what I really want is something deeper, I wanna hike the Lycian way (or a similar trail), a month/ month and a half in the wilderness, and I wanna do it alone. I just feel it, deep deep inside my soul … hiking, climbing, and sleeping out there in the wild, stepping old routes and brushing shoulders with ancient ruins. I'm 100% certain it’s what I want, and when I want something … I am a bull who saw red.
Two hours pass … then it hit me, how am I gonna get outta here? Walking back the highway is a death wish, taking a taxi is a financial suicide, I cannot fly there, and the bus does not pass for 2 hours. I decide not to think too much and go check Hayıtbükü Koyu instead, it ain’t that far – on the map – besides it’s a chance to check that restaurant Jason told me about. I have this inkling that I wanna dress up (as in jeans and a t-shirt instead of the hobo attire I’m meandering/ sleeping/ going to the gym in) I wanna treat myself to a lovely candle-lit dinner there … I am sure there are candles, it’s Jason, it must be posh or at least quaint. And I am gonna enjoy every second of it!
The walk to Hayıtbükü is gorgeous, it’s a tiny port, buzzing with cafés and restaurants. But it’s still early, nothing has opened yet. I stroll taking it all in, and at the very end I find it, the restaurant. I order tea, sip slowly and enjoy the lovely view. I check the map for routes, there must be another way, it cannot be just the friggin highway. Well, there isn’t ... I’ll be very vigilant I say to myself.
Being slightly further, Hayıtbükü connects to the main highway via a narrow but seemingly safer road. I march …. Damn it’s hot … the sun, like it’s there to get you or fry your brains, 15 minutes down and according to the map 50 to go, I give up, time for some thumbs up … do they even hitchhike in Turkey? I’ll soon find out.
I hail a shabby truck, yelling “Mezgit”, the dude ignores me, 10 minutes pass, then a fancy schmancy car speeds towards me, this is MY CHANCE, I don’t hail, I wave with both arms, the car comes to a sudden halt. A man and woman open the window and look inquisitively at me.
Lana: Mezgit lütfen – I add a yoga salutation for effect
Dude in BMW: Buyrun
Lana (OMG the AC is on 1000000) çok teşekkür ederim
Man: (goes on in Turkish), I hear: Nerelisin
Lana: Ürdün
The biggest exclamation ensues, which I get every time anyone here asks the same question, they try to convey with tone and hand gestures how is it I am here! It is always friendly and good-intentioned. I search for Turkish words, anything to convey anything.
Lana: Datca Çok güzel … Burada Datca … iki ay. (many English words, hand gestures in between)
Man: what you work?
Lana: Yazar … marketing
Man: oh … impressed
I see the Cami
Lana: Burada lütfen … Milyon teşekkürlar
They laugh … I’m as happy as could be, the best ride EVER.
I enter the house and a plate of salatalık and semizotu are gracing my table, I devour them on the spot, I am famished. I hear the vacuum cleaner, the landlady is up, I approach her door and salute her (to knock is a visit, I just wanted to say hi and thank her for the cucumber and yesterday’s Mucver), I thank her profusely, and say how much good the patties were, she asks me where I’ve been, I answer (just imagine the conversation), we chat a bit, then she asks if I would like some Kabak, I give an enthusiastic answer, she brings me some picked fresh today, I try to offer help, I gesture I can do the vacuuming, she does not understand, I wish her a good day then enter my cave.
I cannot wait so I open some tuna and eat right from the cans (3 small ones) bodybuilding maniac style (my first taste of tuna in 5 years) I prepare myself a Kabak, Tulum cheese, semitozu, swiss chard 5 egg omelet, and follow up with purple sweet potato pudding and two big cups of coffee …
Now tell me life ain’t good after that!
To be continued ….