After a full night’s rest and a traditional Turkish breakfast, complete with boiled egg, cheeses, flavored creams, vegetables, baguette and of course really bad tea, I was ready to attack the day. On the map, there should be a hill about 3 km away with windmills for grinding flour. Dad’s pictures from his early 1970’s visit were an inspiration for seeing the working windmills in person.
Bodrum is a beautiful seaport town that has successfully made the transition from logistics center to major tourist destination. Multiple clear harbors, temperate climate, broad beaches and rich history make for a perfect European vacation hotspot.
The uphill walk exposed more than surprisingly deteriorated windmills.
It revealed a Crusades era fort guarding the harbor entrance.
An ancient theatre seating over 15,000 people.
And, the start of an Agean Regatta.
I had high expectations for heading into town, but realized that my wallet was locked in the hostel. Heading back to literally collect my cash, I passed by an open-air restaurant, where the maitre de had previously greeted me on passing to the windmills. So now he was going to get a second “crack” at me, but I had the perfect defense, “Sorry, my wallet is in my hostel.” Actually, it was lunchtime and I was hungry and if my wallet was where it should be this would be a perfect option. His response was, “No problem, pay me later.”
I decided to get out of the sun and have a local beer. An English couple was sitting at the next table and we struck up a conversation with the full inclusion of our extroverted host. He was a genuinely interested character and we all laughed away a pint. The couple insisted on paying for the round and the three of us ventured out into town.
On the walk to the hostel the random "nature moment" of the day practically flew into my face. There were these great duotone flowers along the side of the road that were attracting the largest bees. These creatures were very fuzzy and probably three or four times the size of their North American honey bee cousin, but really appeared to be a larger version of a true bumble bee. (Obviously not the entomologist, does anyone have any ideas here?)
After retrieving my wallet, I headed to the cinema for my first film in almost seven months. The only available choice was Spiderman. The film was marginal but what was very entertaining was listening to the timing of the children’s laughter. In one scene Toby McGuire, who plays Spiderman, is frustrated when the doorknob falls off his apartment’s front door. He is perturbed when the knob falls on the floor and the children thought this was “slap-stick” and roared. They were viewing the subtitled film more visually than completely.
After a nap, I returned to the scene of the mid-day rest stop for dinner. The restaurant was filled with a very friendly group of characters. We laughed and joked our way through an enjoyable dinner. Then I was ready for an early bedtime.
No comments:
Post a Comment