Buying a House in Turkey Part 2

Met a really helpful guy outside the airport. Farmer Mustafa explained all about buses, cabs and options to get to Bodrum. Each time we've arrived in Turkey, he's been outside with his cab price sheet - ready to drive tourists wherever they want to go.

[On our second trip - the Ginger Prince and I arrived separately - and there was a couple of hours to wait until my flight arrived. Ginger Prince got a lesson about how to prepare olives - from tree to jar. Turns out, Farmer Mustafa was a part time cab driver, part time farmer.... with a big olive grove. He tutored Red on the best way to Salt-cure an olive - in an old water bottle, salt and water. This needs to be done for at least a month - and products a salty and wrinkled olive. We have a baby olive tree in our Turkey garden - looking forward to trying out Mustafa's method!]

So back to our first arrival, we ended up choosing a shared bus, but because we wanted to go to central Bodrum, we ended up being moved, with another couple, to a shared cab. I think we went round the houses to get to Bodrum, but it was great to see some of the scenery - even though it was the early hours of the morning.

Of course we couldn't sleep when we got to Bodrum, so went for an early a.m. stroll to the harbour. Couldn't wait to sleep and then get back up again.

It was time to explore, and we had high expectations of our surroundings. We wandered around Bodrum - and it was everything we thought it would be, and then we wandered along the coast, until it got too hot, and we flagged down a Dolmus to Gumbet.

Ugg!

All things I profess to hate about holiday destinations have ended up in Gumbet. Dirty beach. Loud Music. Banana Boats. We were both so tired; lay on the beach for a while; ate so non-local food; both got headaches from the music (and extreme fatigue). Neither of us saying the obvious "what are we doing here?" I lay on the beach thinking about all of my plans for my future life in Turkey -- and I felt so deflated -- there was no way I was moving HERE!

We headed back to Bodrum and wandered along Bar Street for dinner. It was a little better than Gumbet -- but not a lot! We kept walking all the way to the other end of the street - towards the "biggest open air nightclub in the Med" -- and came across an upstairs restaurant, with a patio, local acoustic guitarist, and a waiter who couldn't speak English very well --- I felt much better.

Had our first taste of Mezze. I found home!