Morocco and Türkiye 2026

  Originally today we were putting our terry tourist hats on again and doing an organised tour.   Which on first look was promising, a bit more old stuff, a sunken city and perhaps a swim. On further inspection the hotel pick up wouldn’t be at ours, we had to catch a taksi a fair distance away. So that idea got canned. Instead we had a nice quiet breakfast in a courtyard. Nice coffee and my pain de chocolate was a croissant with Nutella inside, nothing wrong with that. We decided to head back down to the harbour and explore the multiple boat cruises on offer, so decision made we    set off on a 2 hour boat cruise, essentially head east to lower Dunden falls.  One of the few (31) water falls that drop into the sea. Quite spectacular, as we feel most water falls are.  Along the way fantastic views of the limestone cliffs and many, many swimming platforms on the rocks and the teeny private beaches. Then back to harbour, quick stop for a delicious burger on the...

  We wake in the old town or Kaleici of Antayla. The old town certainly feels like a sanctuary compared with what we drove through yesterday. Our Hotel appears to be a brand new version of old design.  It seems like all the buildings are either completely dilapidated or brand new or renovated. The places surrounding ours look fire    damaged so that maybe why ours looks so new, it’s a rebuild. A bit of slow day planned or not planned. Very close to us is Hadrians Gate ( yes the same Hadrian as the wall we walked in the UK) This gate was erected to celebrate Hadrians visit in 130AD, it was hidden behind walls until its discovery in 1817    and then subsequent restoration in the 1950’s.  Next step is a wander looking for a place for breaky.    A nice bowl of menemene, basically diced tomatoes, capsicum and scrambled eggs. A bit like shakshuka, but with scrambled eggs. Absolutely delicious with a load of bread and coffee. This place tho giving s...

  Final morning of having to wake at 5.30 to see the balloons pass by the window and final morning in Göreme. Awake with a little trepidation as today is a travel day and we have 8 hours from Göreme to Anatayla. Who in their right mind books that…. As we sit here writing, with retrospect it was a great day.  There is a lot to see from a bus window and i dont    just mean the magnificent scenery but also just watching the locals go about their business.  The routines they have at bus stations,l like the second hourly cigarette break or anytime really, including stopping for police checks is also a good time to light up. We start on the high plateau of Konya: interesting fact is its sinking. Then over some hills, through a really long tunnel and down to the peak hour traffic of Antalya. It took well over an hour to get the last 30km into the bus station. Jumped in a taksi and the driver, as always says “ where from”? As we say Australia, out comes the play list in...