June 9-11: around Akyaka
Again, we struggled to find the right place to settle, with a few beaches not being our thing, mostly due to parking restrictions or paid parking only.
We finally got to just outside Akyaka and found an area where a lot of people were stopped on a verge on the side u der some trees, so we found a place and stopped. It was nice and cool with a breeze and plenty of shade so we decided to stay there- and there was a small rocky cove you could scramble down to and swim (very wavy though). We only intended to stay one night but actually ended up staying two nights (again, met several other longer-term campers who arrived before us and were still there when we left). Again, we did lots of walking and a bit of swimming (it was a 7km round trip walking to the nearest shop!). On the way to the shop, there was a reminder sign for me that “Alcohol is the root of all evil”… which I briefly considered before buying wine at the shop and carrying on. 🍷 On the way back we found 2 land turtles which made me happy to see 🐢
Both nights we were there the Jandarma (police) turned up but neither night did they speak to us. Selo has a theory based on something someone said to him at a previous site that they will mostly ignore us if they can when they see the UK number plate because they don’t want to have to deal with us in English… and that certainly proved to be the case here!
The third day we moved the motorhome into Akyaka and parked at the local football pitch (gravel, as grass wouldn’t be practical here in the heat!) to go down to the local public beach. Selo had found a river cruise (there was a river emptying into the sea at Akyaka), which was amazing as the water was so clear and there were really nice views of what the boat captain liked to call an “aquarium” where there was clear water and an 8+ metre depth and we could see really big fish!🐟
After the river cruise we went to the beach, which was a lovely sandy one and quite warm as well. Akyaka is a very pretty town with matching old-style (traditional) houses. There were a lot of places to eat and drink (not our thing) and craft stalls, so great for tourists and we would consider coming back here to stay if we had people who wanted to visit 😁
Overall, the heat has been really getting to me as or is 30-40C in the day and there’s no air conditioning in the motorhome. I found out that my blood pressure meds mean that it hampers my ability to self-cool by not allowing as much blood near my skin, which keeps heat in my core. Apparently also the antihistamine I take every night to be able to sleep given the big bite itching also doesn’t help as it reduces my ability to sweat (sweating being a cooling mechanism). We found a USB fan that has helped since our USB sockets work off the leisure battery, but our plug sockets don’t work when we are not plugged into mains power, which we never are (same with the fridge and freezer). We have been getting a bag of ice for the last few days to keep things a bit cool in the freezer compartment given the heat (a bag lasts us with cool storage for a day).
So Selo changed the plan and from tomorrow (Friday) we are going inland, where it is cooler (and also a bit rainy), where we’ll visit his friend and his niece, and the friend is lending us his second house to stay at for a week or so. I am looking forward to being cooler, sleeping better, and being able to cook (gas bottle not replaced so we are working of a portable camping stove so options are limited). Next stop: Burdur.
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