Kalkan

30 March 2024

We said goodbye to the little sanctuary of Likya Camping in Alinca mountain village. Never had a shower and bed felt so good after that hazardous hike up the mountain side. 

We woke to the sound of bells as a herd of goats wandered past the property making the rock hopping look so easy. Clearly we needed four legs yesterday to be as agile across the rock faces. The goats were swiftly followed by cows, so rural and quiet.

We faced another 9k uphill track to the next village and there would be no water supplies or services so we decided to take the bus to the next big town and have a rest day. Easier said than done🙂. Alinca was very remote with no buses and a taxi would have to come from very far away. So we did a deal with the brother of the lady who was doing all the cooking. He would drive us to where the minibus/dolmus would pass by. Fantastic! This would cost 250TL or about NZ$14, bargain! Off we set in a clapped out old car, a Tofas - brand unique to Turkey. I think they used this car to take goats to market but we weren't fussed, just grateful and it was a real experience going down these windy mountain roads, no seatbelts😬. We got dropped off on the side of a highway, surrounded by farmland and one small petrol station. With sign language we figured we needed to wait on the side of the highway for the dolmus. We asked at the gas station just to be doubly sure and were told no dolmus!  Oh oh! Then, I kid you not,  an old farmer on a tractor with a big log on the back stopped us and after a bit of haggling (he started at a billion TL, maybe we misunderstood) we agreed a a price of 600TL for him to take us to Kalkan. It was that or sticking our thumbs out. Off we went down a dusty road to his farm house and he got his car out and we were off. He played enthusiastic Turkish crooner music very loud. I was sitting behind him and every time he spat out the window I leant away just in case the wind was blowing the wrong way. All was well until we hit a blockade on the motorway....it was election day and the cars had all come to a complete stop, drivers were out of their cars, horns were honking, political banners were flying....all this on the main highway and all macho looking blokes I might add. Oh dear. Our farmer turned the car around and we took the back roads to an alternate small town of Kinik.

We hit the same thing, cars, horns, traffic stopped. The farmer could see this being a long day and not worth his time so he cut his losses, dropped us at a dolmus stop and asked for 300TL and scarpered. Don't blame him really, it was chaotic.  

All's well that ends well, we waited about 30 mins, the crazy macho dudes hanging out their car windows honking their horns had moved on and we trundled down the back roads to Kalkan.

 

Quite different from our isolated mountain village. Kalkan feels like a Greek island village. It's as pretty  as a picture. It was settled 200 years ago by people of both Greek and Turkish origin  and was known as Kalamaki. It served as  a trading port and the old harbour still looks to   be busy-ish, albeit with tourist charters.

Following WW1 there was a population exchange and the Greeks left for Athens naming their new village there Kalamaki. As the roads  in Turkey improved,  the port traffic died and it wasn't until a wealthy English yachtie discovered Kalkan in the 1960's and  from then on  tourism has saved the day.

It's pre season here so many places are getting geared up for the tourist influx in May.  We stumbled upon Guy Pansiyon and decided it would do, simple, on the edge of the old town and reasonably quiet. Kalkan in general is  quiet and relaxed. The weather is really heating up here now. We had a swim and found a place for a nice lunch after our hard yakka the last few days. 

    

When the season is in full swing it must be all go here, there's some fancy - schmancy  places to hang out.

We had a bit of washing to do and had to hang it out over the side of our hotel, if you dropped it, it was gone-burger onto the terracotta roof below. Quite a day of a different  kind of adventure.