Our minibus from Antalya to the backpacker mecca of Olympus was shared with two Kiwi girls - Vanessa and Trish - from Whakatane, one a lawyer and the other a set designer/builder for the film industry. These girls were a welcome dose of chilled out Kiwi-style conversation and travel company, staying in the tree hut next to us and keeping us constantly entertained with much missed Kiwi humour.
After being on the road for so long, the relaxed atmosphere (so much so that it was literally horizontal most of the day) was just what the doctor ordered. Moving slowly between our beds in the tree huts, the day beds in the communal area, and the beach just down the road kept us occupied for a good 3 ½ days (no matter what people say, travel isn’t all hard work). Luckily the friendly Aussies working at our hostel had become experts at mixing a good Sangria, and even gave us tips on how to walk to the only local attraction besides the beach and the hilltop ruins - Chimaera, where natural gas leaks out of the hillside and has kept flames burning through the rocks for thousands of years.
An important discovery in Olympus was Raki - a Turkish spirit that is clear, tastes exactly like black jellybeans, and is about 45% alcohol. Luckily the way to drink it is to mix it 50/50 with water, which makes the whole glass go cloudy - this novelty in itself was enough incentive for the four of us to share a bottle on our second night in the tree huts (the Aussies were busy losing the football to Germany).
Photos: Emma in our treehut, and harnessing the power of natural gas to prepare a BBQ banana from my pack
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