Day 141: Wednesday 6 August – Perfect Pitch in Kaş, by Ken

In spite of our late night last night Jane and I were up and about before 6:00. I found I couldn’t open my right eye, my lids were stuck together. I was quite surprised I hadn’t got conjunctivitis before then given the dust and dirt we had experienced in our travels. I managed to find the bottle of anti-biotic drops I had been prescribed the day we left the US, dosed both eyes and decided to wear my glasses rather than contact lenses.

Mabel At Oludeniz

We took a walk to the beach to take photographs, it did look strange and uninviting.

Sugar Club 'Beach', Oludeniz

Sugar Club Lagoon, Oludeniz

We were packing up Mabel before 7:00 and all ready to go at 8:00. I paid and got reception to open the sliding gate. Adam and Jamie were there to see us leave, we wished each other good trips and hoped to meet up at the Munich Beerfest. We stopped just outside to empty the toilet cassette at an unsatisfactory facility comprised only of a capped standpipe. There was no hose to allow me to give the cassette its usual rinse.

Jane did a great job in getting Mabel underway on the loose gravel slope out of the camping ground and on the long climb out of the town. We have found the combination of the powerful engine and a lot of weight on the back means it is relatively easy to spin the front wheels, a very light foot is required on the accelerator to avoid that.

It was a relatively easy and short drive (less than 120km) to Kaş that Jane did most of. Initially, we travelled inland climbing through hill country with lots of roadside stalls offering süt misir before descending to the coast passing lots of poly tunnels on the way. I drove the final leg which was slow going as the road wove its way hugging the coast with lots of small coves.

Sut Misir Roadside Stall

We Wondered How Anyone Can Cycle With The Temperatures In The High 30s

Poly Tunnels Everywhere

At Camping Kaş the manager suggested I should take a look at the only pitch he had available while Jane waited outside with Mabel. I wasn’t disappointed, it was on the edge of the site with just a low cliff between it and the sea a few metres below. We were close to the facilities as well as a water supply and a chemical toilet disposal point. One small downside was Smarty had to be parked on the road outside the camping ground, but we weren’t planning on using her much during our stay anyway.

I gave Jane the news, we unhitched Smarty and drove down the steep slope to our pitch. Within 30 minutes we had a delightful set up with Mabel’s awning facing the sea. That and trees either side of us meant we were hidden us from the rest of the camping ground, it felt as though we were the only people there. A perfect pitch.

View From Our Perfect Pitch, Camping Kas

Whenever we take Ziggy somewhere new and let her out of the car she has to explore her surroundings rushing here and there, sniffing the breeze with her tail wagging while she gets a feel for her surroundings. Jane is very similar in that regard, no sooner had we set up then she was off seeing what the camping ground had to offer. She returned pleased with her sniffing and her imaginary tail wagging vigorously. Close to us was the camping ground’s Gecko Café which looked good. Below that were terraces with loungers and umbrellas. While there was no beach, there were options of either diving in from a platform, or a more gradual descent into the water via a ladder. The facilities nearby were modern and clean.

Gecko Cafe

Terraces, Camping Kas

While Jane was gone I noticed water running from under the fridge and across the floor. It wasn’t coming from one of the bottles of water we had put in the fridge to cool. The waste outlet for the sink sits over the fridge so it seemed that could be the problem. I removed one of the fridge’s external vents but there was a shroud hiding the waste outlet. Back inside I looked at the waste outlet from the sink and found it was not attached to the waste pipe – the single securing screw had come loose. Fixing the problem was a challenge as the thread on the screw was too short to reach the waste pipe. An initial attempt to ‘hook’ the plastic flange on the waste and lift it via one of the holes in the waste outlet with a straightened safety pin until the screw made contact failed. However, a second attempt involving ‘spearing’ the flange by holding the pin under the outlet enabled the screw to make contact sufficiently for me to then remove the pin before finally tightening the screw. I gave the screws in the wastes to the shower and hand basin a tweak to make sure they were secure. The job only required a modest effort, but by the time I finished my T shirt was wringing wet. Kaş was not only very hot with the temperature in the high 30s, the humidity was also very high.

It was lunchtime and we needed to eat and also stock up on a few supplies. We drove Smarty into the nearby town of Kaş, found a park by the small harbour and set off to explore. There was no sign of a supermarket but we were spoilt for choice as to which of the many restaurants to eat at. We settled on Zeųtin Olive with tables outside in the shade on one side of a small square. While we were waiting for our meals to arrive we spotted a scooter ridden by a man with a large dog standing crosswise on the foot boards. It seemed perfectly at home. A teenager was skateboarding around the square proficiently. He was joined by an older man who announced it was his first time on a skateboard. After a few teething troubles he looked quite the part, but nowhere near as good as the teenager. A third, stocky, man arrived and took a turn. He was hopeless and fell off.

Kas Harbour

Kas Street

Our meals were excellent. Jane had stuffed calamari while I chose ‘fish pottery’, It turned out to be seafood cooked in a small sealed clay pot the waiter had to crack open before spooning out the contents. Both were served with salad, rice and fries which seem to be the standard accompaniments in Turkey.

Fish Pottery

After lunch we drove Smarty to the outskirts of the town thinking we would find a supermarket. We were out of luck but happened across a small Kipa in the town where we picked up supplies. At the checkout Jane spotted some Croc lookalikes on special and tried a bright red pair. While not the height of fashion – wearing them she would be better equipped than a camel for walking in the desert, they were just what she needed for wearing on beaches.

Jane's New Shoes

The remainder of the day was spent lazing under Mabel’s awning, reading. Jane went for a bob in the sea.

Passing Traffic

Jane Bobbing Offshore From Mabel

It was far too hot and humid to sleep in Mabel and we settled down for the night on our camp stretchers under her awning falling asleep to the sound of water lapping on the rocks below. Bliss.

Today's Trip (116km)