24 May 2015. <TR> Tavsanburnu Nature Park; Bodrum, & Milas, Muğla —
Almost like home — a large gum tree outside the front window!
Our quiet campsite was delightful. Today there was a bit more breeze, and the sea took on a slightly different character. The stray dogs here, like most strays in Turkey, are placid, friendly, and well cared-for. Is this part of Islam, or is it just the Turkish character to care for such animals? Once again, there were groups coming here to enjoy the day — one group had set up a big breakfast by the beach. Warren was coming back from the beach with his camera and was offered food from the table — as he was returning to the van for breakfast, he declined this kind invitation.
Today the plan was to drive down and check out Bodrum, the playground of the well-to-do in the Muğla region of southwest Turkey. We drove out, through Milas, and turned southwest to Bodrum — all the way was a most enjoyable drive.
We passed quite a few roadside stalls and restaurants, some of which had an interesting way of keeping cool on a hot day — they have an open water pipe or hose set up about ten feet above the road, and they simply let the water run. It works, but is rather profligate of water — it would never be allowed in Oz!
A huge hotel development near Bodrum
Not a bad spot for lunch!
The Aegean is crystal-clear
A huge hotel complex near Bodrum
We got to Bodrum. There are some spectacular hotels around here. The first thing you meet on the outskirts of the city is the inevitable mosque, and the houses here are mainly white, like those on the nearby Greek island of Kos. But we were most unimpressed by Bodrum — it's probably great for its inhabitants, but it has little to offer for the casual visitor. If we could have got nearer the harbour, things might have been different. We dropped into the local McDonald's for a little internet time, and were severely disappointed — no internet at all! So we turned around to go back to Milas, where we had noticed a rather inviting shopping centre, and then to continue on our way eastward.
Coming into Bodrum, with its white houses
The oleaners in the median strip are delightful
In the shopping centre, we found a very friendly cafe, with blazingly-fast internet, so we stayed there for a couple of hours, enjoying their coffee and catching up on net time. (The down side of this is that Suzie overdosed on caffeine, and had a rather restless night afterwards.)
We then continued on the highway, intending to go on to Marmeris on the south coast. Getting onto the highway in the first place was rather interesting — the Garmin did its usual trick of taking us on a linking road that all but petered out on the way — but we made our way through, passing sheep, goats, a man watering his cows in the gutter, children playing in the street. Not far down the highway, we noticed a large forest picnic spot on the right. We pulled in, and only had to wait for the numerous Sunday picnickers to make their way home to be left in our own private domain. The picnickers were mainly using portable barbecues, and the smoke was wafting through the pine forest. Don't think the authorities in Oz would have taken too kindly to this, especially on a hot day like today. But they don't seem to have the same fire danger here.
Distance driven — today, 118 miles ( 190 km ); to date, 20,755 miles ( 33,402 km )
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