Sailing on the Turquoise Riviera

I finally made it back to the village after my long and satisfying vacation. I have been trying to write a few blog posts about it, but my thoughts are kind of scattered and there is just SO much to say. This was by far the best vacation ever. Or rather, I think I will be hard pressed to find a better one in my lifetime, which is pretty neat to say as a 24 year old. Firstly, it was needed. The vacation was set up through my Peace Corps friend, Josh. He had been planning it for a little over two years (before he even left for Azerbaijan) and invited me and another friend of ours to join in on the experience. So almost every day for five months we sent each other text messages and emails about the excruciating wait. It was a really good event to look forward to, and frankly, I was losing my temper almost once a day with Azerbaijani culture and needed to get out. Secondly, the trip ended up being a perfect balance. We hit up Istanbul for four days without rest. We were still on the two hour behind time change, so the Peace Corps volunteers kept waking up everyone at the hostel by six-thirty. We drank so much Starbucks, walked everywhere and anywhere, hit the major tourist sites, ate pounds and pounds of food and Turkish ice cream, and then went out dancing at night (it was surprising I could even move). After that we did the yacht. It’s going to be hard to describe it all, but suffice it to say, after Istanbul, the only marker for time for eight days was when the cook told us to come eat meals. For eight days I swam, ate, tanned, read my book, swam again, ate again, tanned again, read my book again, and repeated this process at night. The only interruptions were stopping at a beach town for a few hours, participating in yacht fashion shows, learning how to jackknife cannonball off the side of the boat to see who could spray the farthest, and using 15 other people to help finish crosswords. The boat dropped us off in a town called Marmis, but took us back up to Bodrum where we spent one night in a “private villa” (thank you AirBed&Breakfast), and then we slowly started breaking up the mass 16 person group. Four of us went to a town called Selchuk, right outside of Ephesus. Ephesus is considered to have the best preserved Roman ruins in the Mediterranean. While we tried to get moving, nothing really starts in sleepy Selchuk until about 8:30 in the morning. Then we hitched a free ride with the hostel owner’s sister up to the top gate of Ephesus, and by 9:30, the sun was HOT. The ruins were really interesting to see, but we powered through them in about an hour and half when most people take three. It was worth it, though, and I’m not just talking about seeing the culture sites. A two Turkish lira bus ride north of the ruins takes you to a little place called Aqua Fantasy. That is, Europe’s Biggest Water Park. Yes. Nothing can beat the yacht portion of this trip, but boy oh boy, this is a close second. We rode every ride, rocked in the wave pool, floated down the lazy river, picked out our wedgies down free fall slides, and people watched our hearts out. Originally, we took a bus from Istanbul to Bodrum before we boarded the yacht. For the PCV’s, the 12 hour bus ride did not seem too intimidating. We should have known it was not just going to be twelve hours, though. It was two hours of a bus ride, one hour waiting for a ferry, one hour loading and being on the ferry (at this point without air conditioning because the bus was not moving), and then about ten more after that with a few gas station breaks in between. It was not exactly fun. Although, I think for Josh’s friends that came from America, it was almost scarring. Needless to say, for twenty more American dollars, on our return trip home we found a plane that would take us from Izmir to Istanbul the same day as our flight back to Baku, and we wisely chose that route. Finally, the vacation was phenomenal because I did not feel it went too fast or that I did not have enough time. I was hesitant to go back to Azerbaijan, but I was ready. I needed to start running again, going to sleep at a decent hour, eating an appropriate amount of food, stop spending money, do laundry, and sleep in my own bed. I cannot think of a single regret I have about this trip. We were almost late for our plane back to Baku because we stopped for one last Starbucks and Burger King. No regrets. (Judge not. In America, I would have never gone to BK. After two years I cannot stop thinking about milkshakes and greasy fries.) Highlights of Istanbul: *The Hagia Sophia – arguably one of the most beautiful and culturally rich architectural and religious sites in the world. It was gorgeous. Absolutely worth the 25 Turkish Lira and my number one recommendation for anyone visiting Istanbul *Turkish baths – My friend Mercedes and I opted for the half hour oil massage along with the regular soap scrub down at the baths. Worth it. We sat on hot stone slabs in the middle of a sauna type room and worked up a sweat. Later, a woman lathered us up and scrubbed off so much skin. We sat in the Jacuzzi for a while, and then proceeded on to a beautiful massage. *The Spice Bazar – In Turkish, it is called the Egyptian bazar. It has so many different spices, teas, and soaps. The spices are dried, full leaf, pre-packaged, or brought in under your nose while you are there. It is a beautiful bazar, and much less overwhelming than the Grand Bazar. *The Blue Mosque – This beautiful mosque was the first mosque I have ever been in (sets quite the standard). It does not take much time, and the only ‘admission fee’ is if you care to donate a few TLira after you leave. The inside is gorgeous, however, and a good respite from the sun. *The Funicular – Who does not love one of these? Highlights of the Yacht and sailing in the Turquoise Riviera *The food (and the good looking cook that came along with it) – There was honey every morning at breakfast. Honey! The meals consisted of so many vegetables, fruits, olives, mushrooms, and fresh grilled fish (head, eyes, tails, and all) *Swimming in the Sea – I was nervous before about not being a strong swimmer. Who cares in the sea? You virtually float as long as you move around every 35 seconds or so. *Seeing Dolphins – The very last day of our swimming, we spotted dolphins within swimming distance of our yacht. Need I say more? *The pictures – The view was amazing and virtually impossible to get a bad picture. One of Josh’s friends also happens to take brilliant photos which will be available for me to post in the next week. *Sleeping on the deck at night – It did not take long to figure out that the cabins were too hot, and the breeze at night on the deck was beautiful (although the sun in the morning was strong). *Being with Americans again – I was nervous I would have nothing to talk about except Azerbaijan. That might have proved to be a little true, but I had normal conversation, made new friends, and played so many card games. I cannot thank Josh enough for this trip. He planned EVERYTHING. I did nothing to help prepare except Paypal him money. He booked the yacht, the bus, the plane tickets, the hostels, and the hotels (There is more to this list, I’m sure). He also executed a perfect trip for 15 other people. Some of the booking could only be done through Turkish as not everywhere has English speakers. And, all of this was being done from Azerbaijan. Also, a big thanks to my parents who helped me financially with this trip. I had saved up some Azerbaijani manat from Peace Corps and had a little bit back home anticipating the trip, but with their help I was able to opt for the massage, or get Starbucks again, or not take a 15 hour bus ride twice. Thank you so much for that. (Pictures to come!!!)