Kaputas took our breaths away as we looked over the cliff at the beautiful sparkling water. It is difficult to catch in a photo but the water starts out a bright, clear turquoise blue that darkens shade by shade as it heads out into the horizon. The sand is a golden colour, slightly pebbled with sparkling pieces scattered throughout. The beach is small, feeling almost secluded amongst vast cliffs as you look up but it is the most spectacular beach I have ever seen. This is another one of those moments when you have seen a photo (front cover of our Lonely Planet guide) and you realize the photo was not altered or photo shopped at all. Besides just the sheer beauty of it, the water was so fun to play in! The waves were not too powerful and the water was so deep so you could dive and jump in.
One thing I have learned is to never share a beach towel with a man, especially a man with clumsy sandy feet (I write this in particular because I threatened Josh that I would!). I figure though, if that is my worst complaint about my wonderful traveling companion, I really can't complain at all. A woman on the beach asked us how long we had been traveling for and after we replied "one month" (since technically we have been on the road since August 19th), she laughed and questioned, "and you are still talking to each other?" In fairness there are times that we pick at each other because traveling is occasionally stressful and tiring but we have each found our solution. If I am cranky and it is the morning, Josh knows to get me a black coffee pronto and if it's not the morning, to poke fun at me until I laugh and roll my eyes. If Josh is cranky, I know to get him food, fast. Very simple.
The most beautiful thing about traveling, even more so than seeing the amazing sites and attractions, is feeling like you can peak into another culture. Josh pointed out something to me on the bus yesterday and without being able to describe it in perfect words, it is a perfect example of Turkish culture. On the way back to Patara beach, the dolmus was full and Josh and I had to stand, hanging our heads low so they wouldn't hit the top. The bus stopped to allow a mother and her small child on the dolmus. We shuffled around and squished in and as the dolmus was leaving, the little girl was being jostled around quite badly. Without even a word, or so much as a thought, a Muslim woman scooped the girl up into her lap and cradled her against her body. The little girl looked back at the woman, not at all concerned that she was a stranger, and gave her the biggest smile while the woman kept stroking the hair off the girl's face. This just isn't something you would see in Canadian culture where there is so much paranoia about strangers and a possessiveness about children. When I saw that openness of spirit, I found it very touching and I fear sometimes that we have lost something very special in the pursuit to protect our children.
Today we had another excursion hiking up through Patara village and coming out into massive sand dunes! I had never seen sand dunes before and the site of them alone was spectacular! Rolling hills of sand, endlessly repeating, with the wind whipping sand around in all directions; it is easy to see why people could become quite disoriented in a desert. We had a blast romping through them, allowing the hot sand to grab at our ankles and pull us down. Josh attempted to slide down one with little success and quickly discovered that rolling down them was a better plan while I attempted slow motion walking! There is a feeling that you can practically swim in the sand dunes, and I can assure you that we are still finding sand in "special places" right now!
We enjoyed walking along the length of Patara beach although after all the sand dune fun, my calves were aching from the effort. Who needs a stair climber if you have a sand dune? We spent our afternoon with a cool German couple that we met the night before in our pension and we had a great time having lunch and hanging out on the beach. They recommended that we would be better suited for Cirali instead of Olympos because it is more low key, and that is where we are off to tomorrow! We knew we would have to leave Patara beach and Ayse's home made cooking eventually but that doesn't make it any easier!
I am so glad that Josh and I threw caution to the wind and decided to take this trip! It took a lot of foresight and planning and a little bit of risk regarding our jobs but I just know that traveling will inspire me, allow me to see the world in a different way, and enlighten me on what is really important in life. I like to think of myself of being self reflective and always trying to improve my nature but sometimes life can really get away from me and other things can consume too much time and energy. It is so easy to lose sight of the things that are important in life quickly and I think it is vital to take the time to remember. I am looking forward to being humbled and inspired by the people I interact with, the circumstances I see that I am powerless to help, and the experiences I have.
One personal goal I have during this trip is to improve my paradigm on life as my thoughts tend toward the negative too quickly rather than the positive. Sometimes I think working in a customer service type industry has jaded my perspective on people and I am hoping this trip can restore my faith in people again. Thus far we have met so many great people from the women who helped us after our iPods were stolen, to Monique who offered us a ride to Kusadasi, to the tour guide in the bus who gave us tips on St. John's tomb, to Ayse and Kazim who have made us feel perfectly at home at their pension and the list could go on and on! Meeting such wonderful people is inspirational in itself and I feel fortunate to meet each and every one of them.
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