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The Fez night bus of discomfort

“All aboard,” Scotty said, standing outside the Fez bus as a group of 16 of us loaded ourselves in. It was 8 p.m. and we were leaving Olympos, headed to Goreme in the Cappidocia region of Turkey. The ride was going to be a long one — 10 hours — and get us in toContinue reading “The Fez night bus of discomfort”

The return of the Hair Snob

I ran my fingers through my hair. It had grown a lot since I had it cut back in January. And it felt gross. Fried. “Arlene, this is disgusting,” I moaned, tugging at my sun-damaged locks. “I need to fix this or it will drive me nuts.” Fortunately, Arlene’s pre-travel life included being a stylist.Continue reading “The return of the Hair Snob”

Heat = Sea

Olympos was hot. Walking outside immediately caused sweat to pour from my body. Sitting in my room was an option, but only a kilometer or so away was the sea. And, that was a better option. Arlene and I strolled down the small road to the sea, dodging cars and trying to stay cool. OnContinue reading “Heat = Sea”

A BRIEF intermission: Month Six — Momma, I’m coming home

Today is Tuesday, Sept. 7. And, today begins the sixth month of my travels. I have an announcement to make: I am going home. On September 20. I had originally planned on extending my trip through early October and head back to Spain, however, plans have changed. The past month has been one of theContinue reading “A BRIEF intermission: Month Six — Momma, I’m coming home”

Summer camp for grownups

A few hours after my para-falling incident, the Fez Bus pulled into Kadir’s Tree Houses, the first “tree houses” to open in Olympos, Turkey. There had been a fire earlier in it’s history that devastated the site, but it had since been restored. And, subsequently during this time, other entrepreneurs followed the popular “tree house”Continue reading “Summer camp for grownups”

Para-falling

I never thought my Bucket List would be my Death Wish. But, early Saturday morning in Fethiye, I nearly died. I should have known better. I had been talking about paragliding in Turkey since I started my trip. It seemed safe — you just run off a cliff and then float over the bluegreen gorgeousContinue reading “Para-falling”

Seeing stars

SCOTTY. I had never been happier to see someone walk down the hill as I was to see Scotty. “Hey there,” he said. I didn’t even let him finish introductions before I grabbed him, pulling him into a hug and expressing just how glad I was he was there I quickly filled him in onContinue reading “Seeing stars”

A final note on Kusadasi

A few days after departing Kusadasi, I thought everything was behind me. It pretty much was … until I was reunited with Claire in Olympos. I was sitting at the treetop bar, enjoying my last evening in my adult summer camp surroundings when she sat next to me. “Claire! Hi!” I squealed as she tookContinue reading “A final note on Kusadasi”

The Story of Mustafa

The first night at the restaurant when I met Mustafa, I thought he was nice. Ignorant, but nice. He had joked with my group of friends, had given me a discount card, had been friendly and welcoming. The perfect example of the famed Turkish hospitality. I immediately liked him. Then, he told me the storyContinue reading “The Story of Mustafa”

Running Scared

After a couple of hours at the beach, I went back to the hotel to shower and do some writing. I tried to sneak back into the hotel, I didn’t want to see Murat’s beady little eyes glaring at me. Fortunately, he was sleeping on the couch, so I didn’t have to talk to him.Continue reading “Running Scared”