Another beautiful day in paradise—at least while we were on a hike and during our swim.

Today’s hike was quite a workout, but well worth it once again! This time, only four of us joined Nuri, while the remainder of our group stayed on board the boat and relaxed.

Following a steep climb up and over the mountain, we descended into a valley and explored the ruins of Lydia, a 4^th century BC city. Due to its remote location, we never saw any other tourists during our hike, and it was wonderful! (That would change at Ephesus!)

(For all photos, click on the image for a full screen view.)

We did, however, see some (surprising!) wildlife. There were bats:

And a few tortoises. Nuri, a softie, shared his bottle of water with one of them:

In the valley, we saw our first house, the home of a couple. They earned a living by farming as well as selling handmade walnut woodcraft to hikers passing by. Mutlu, invited us into his yard for hot tea and to see his handicrafts. The bonus was also getting to meet their two very sweet dogs! And I was pleased to purchase a small bowl Mutlu had made—a nice way to remember the trip.

I was ready for a refreshing swim following our return to the boat, and refreshing it was! Brrr!

The afternoon ride to our next destination along the Turquoise Coast was a wet one. A storm had blown in, the seas were rough, and the rain came down in sheets! Along with two others from our group, we rode out the storm in the plastic-enclosed dining area on deck, keeping our eyes on the horizon to help prevent seasickness.

Once the storm cleared and we arrived at a cove for the night, it was gorgeous! Thankfully, it was nice and calm, so we could enjoy our dinner on deck.

Coming up next: TURKIYE #14: A RIDE UP THE DALYAN RIVER TO KAUNOS