Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, And sorry I could not travel both And be one traveler, long I stood And looked down one as far as I could To where it bent in the undergrowth; Then took the other, as just as fair, And having perhaps the better claim, Because it was grassy and wanted wear; Though as for that the passing there Had worn them really about the same, And both that morning equally lay In leaves no step had trodden black. Oh, I kept the first for another day! Yet knowing how way leads on to way, I doubted if I should ever come back. I shall be telling this with a sigh Somewhere ages and ages hence: Two roads diverged in a wood, and I— I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference.
The road not taken - Robert Frost
The queen of haste, ever since yesterday, I’m utterly questioning my decision to remain in Datça or anywhere there is sun/heat. Summer finally picking up (as in yesterday) I left my current abode at 7:30 am to catch the earliest bus to town, 14 days with no gym are just too many. Although it was a mere 10 minutes’ walk I felt a furnace igniting inside, I was looking around checking if the sun has suddenly decided to march a few million years close to the Datça sky. So as not to sound like a crybaby, I had to go through a grueling workout – THAT I TOTALLY KILLED Y’ALL – in the heat. No ACs. That’s a code RED
Today is no better albeit a tiny bit windy which makes it bearable, well up until you have to walk to a dukkan because you need some urgent mosquito repellent because your body served as an all-you-could-eat buffet for a whole army of mosquitos all night. The walk back and fro the shop was murderous.
YET, I still enjoyed a 3-hour mountain hike this morning, sat by the pool (IN THE SHADE) and read a WHOLE book – even my nerdiness could not fathom this – and watered the vegetable garden over a few cuppas. I would also like to add that the moment the sun goes down it is pleasant, at night and around dawn it is FANTASTIC, deliciously chilly!
So every day at dawn I’m out, waiting for the sun, and every evening an hour before sunset, I’m on the hammock reading, waiting for her to retire.
Being in a quiet NORMAL comfortable house, I am finding myself reading a lot, maybe more than I have ever done, all sorts, today for example I read poetry, craving more and more solitude (you’d think I’m dead bored by now, but no) and doing all simple domestic stuff. A well-needed/ deserved downtime.
Being around a pooch and a few cats has also been a joy, I don’t ever remember a time when dogs and sometimes cats were not part of my everyday life, I miss that. I also miss Atesh so much I just wanna weep, I keep sending messages asking about her, and like a bereaved mom I pray for her every night, but to date, I cannot get myself to either look at her photos (I have documented her whole life in photos and videos) or talk about her. And I don’t think I am up to it still. See dogs, unlike humans, you can never get over them, Marylyn Monroe famously and rightly said “Dogs never bite me, just humans”, they do you no harm, they bring joy to your life, and they leave a hole that cannot be filled.
My next trip in 2 days (Bayram day ironically) is finally sorted, the bus ticket is booked (6 hours is no fun, but), and I’m thinking it may well be one the best things I’ve done so far, fingers crossed. Not gonna spill the beans though, Nazar … kidding of course.
On the food front, I have not had red meat in almost 2 months, other than occasional meatballs and eggplant, ya know the Turkish dish. An incident back in Istanbul threw me off the red meat wagon. A week or so before I arrived here, as was the custom, I bought a few kilos of various red meat cuts, and as always I paid a hefty price, back at my room I opened the bags and the most vile smell, the meat was rotten, not the first time, I have been duped more times than I could remember in that city, I ran to the bathroom and … will spare you the misery. Ever since then I cannot even come near the meat counter or enter a Kasap. When I first got here I was fine with some mince and Kuzu (lamb) but then I could not, and to this very moment, I avoid even looking at red meat at stores. I am doing chicken, not my cup of tea though; I am also eating lotsa eggs, which is fine as eggs here are of good quality. But my taste buds are going through a transformation too, I tried to force it a bit, ya know muscle building and all, but then I decided to let my body choose what it wants, and weirdly I am craving and eating A LOT of greens, especially native wild greens, veggies, fruit (not a surprise), cheese, nuts, and today I could not put a morsel of chicken inside my mouth, I made CHICKPEAS and LENTILS, I mean come on! But that’s that. The new life new me yada yada sorta adventure entails harmony, and I am up to my ears with harmony these days!
Up until a point of course, vegan/ vegetarian is no longer on my menu EVER!
Bagel reminds me of Max, not in looks or persona, for he is a total dodo. He is an old boy, has a limp (probably arthritic), makes those soft whining sounds old people make, sighs a lot in his sleep, lost a bit of his hearing …etc, yet just like Max – who was badest of badasses till he died- determined to live every day to the fullest, he won’t stop, and will not I am guessing till the end. People belittle animals, but personally, Max taught me so much about life and mindset, I don’t think I’ll ever see a creature hooman or else as determined, strong-headed, stubborn, and tough as he was. And he did not give an inkling how old he was, or that he had a limp at times, and would fall down …etc he would still get up, chase, and attack (once two big dogs). Ok, I don’t wanna make this post about dogs, but I’ve been missing them all lately.
So being Sunday today, aka no gym, and missing my mountain hikes (4 days to be exact) I decided to take a short hike … because y’all when in Datça mountains and trails are ALL there is if you are looking of course. A few minutes I look back and there was Bagel rushing towards me, with a smile, yep dogs do smile! It was kinda hot, he is slow and limping and the hike would be anywhere in the neighborhood of 3 -4 hours and in the mountains, so I feared for him. Yet I was delighted with his company, we kept walking until I saw he started to heat up a little, so I looked for a spot that require a climb, I knew he would not be able to follow suit. I climbed and kept walking not looking back, he started crying, and my heart was melting but I could not look back, I want him to give up and go back home, and sure enough, he knew better, and off he went.
Like a fish thrown back into the sea, I took the deepest of deep breaths and made my way to the only place I want to be.
To be continued ….