Lycian Way: Part II

Kindra says: Lounging on a beach in Kas aptly named Big Pebble Beach, waiting for the sun to come out again so we can dry. This is our second day off since we started walking the Lycian Way 15 days ago, and we have finally found our rhythm.

When we started, we felt compelled to keep pace with the routes and times suggested in Kate Clow's guidebook-after all, if a 60 year old British woman can do it, should be a breeze for us, right? Normally yes; after a week or so of that, however, we learned a few key things: she was NOT cooking, and therefore finding, her own food, and was NOT finding a campsite, and therefore searching around villages, setting up a tent, making a fire and packing it all away again the next morning after making her own breakfast. Which also means she probably wasn't carrying a tent, cooking supplies, or more than food for lunch and snacks, so her pack was much lighter and she could go longer without feeling as much wear and tear. And it is likely that she didn't do it all day after day, but rather in sections. We started picking up on it when we realized that in a week of hiking and meeting dozens of mostly German hikers, we met not 1 other person doing the whole hike, and not 1 other person only camping. Because most people are doing this for vacation over 2 weeks for about 1/3 the total distance, and want to do the highlights. We have basically no time limitations and want to not just finish the whole thing-we want to enjoy it. We aren't doing what everyone else is doing, so we can't do the 10 miles a day everyone else is doing.

Once we realized that we weren't bound to the guidebook, and we had nobody to prove ourselves to, our pace came naturally-wake up about 8, leave camp around 10, stop for a 2 hour lunch and nap, and hike until just past the next village, coming in about 5. With our new discovery of cooking over a fire instead of our camp stove, it's been an incredibly free and life giving week. Our rhythm is basically awesome.

We have started connecting with God more since finding this new pace, and with each other. We were just asking God to bring people into our lives along the trail that we could have more than a 10 minute relationship with and could share our hearts with. Wouldn't you know it, the very next morning we met a family of 3 from Holland, hiked with them all day, stayed at our very first (and possibly last) pansion with, and spent yesterday afternoon with swimming! We even met up for cards, dessert and wine in the aqueduct just beneath our campsite. We have connected with them so well, and feel wonderfully blessed, rich and full with all that matters.

The calm ocean waters are getting warmer, and we are reveling in how much food is available in supermarkets!! Summer is almost here, and we are basking in it!

We will stay in the area probably another day or so before heading back into the wild mountains, too many rocks to be reasonable, spiky plants that seem specifically designed to hurt you, and mostly the same food from village to village For now, we are here, and we have enough.

Lycian Way: Week One

Austin here with an update from a sunny beach surrounded by the ancient Lycian ruins of Patara. Today is day eight, and we are lounging with a well WELL deserved rest day. The last three days have been ten mile plus days with late arrivals into our camping spots. We are feeling surprisingly strong, blisters and sun rashes (and a ankle issue for me) aside. The trail is breathtaking and varietous, with dramatic mountains, turquoise ocean waters, sleepy beaches, and scrub filled, history laden trails (with lots of rocks, Kindra's favorite!). For instance, for the last two days we have been hiking literally beside or on an ancient Roman aqueduct! The sun and quiet are our constant companions, except the quiet part is replaced by sometimes obnoxious Turkish men saying Hello Hello in the touristy towns. The tucked away villages are better, full of kind, sweet villagers ever ready to help us find my daily desire of a liter or two of raw cow's milk, or who are generously sharing their food and company with us. Turkish is an amazing advantage for us on the way, being without it would be a tremendous challenge.

My dad sent us a GpS, and that has also been a life saver. Many times trail markers disappear, and the rocky goat trails are a nuisance to navigate.

Our relationship is finding a new rhythm, one with early mornings to avoid the heat and long coversations about simple normally assumed staples like food, water and camp spots. A huge inspiration to us has been the TV miniseries Long Way Round, where Ewan Mcgregor an Charlie Boorman motorcycle journey the long way round the globe, and face constant challenges and excitements. Our journey is similar: we find unexpected terrain, amazing ruins, frustrating ascents, and much more. More than anything, we have discovered a new face of Turkey, one that challenges the beauty of places like Zion National Park and Croatia, and reveals the sacred, simple life of Turkish villages. I confidently say that we will be so much more culturally and experientally rich after this month on the Lycian Way.

Tomorrow we return to the trail, with a grueling nine plus hour day (hopefully not our norm!). Until a week or two, gorusuruz!

Signing Off From Izmir

Austin here; tonight is the last night that we will have in Izmir.  We packed our bags.  We cleaned our apartment. We repacked our bags because they were too heavy (mine was 45 pounds!!). We finished watching The Long Way Round, a TV miniseries all about two motorcyclists going from London to New York the long way around; through Asia, Europe and North America, which has inspired us immensely for the new adventure ahead: the Lycian Way, a 500 km track in southern Turkey

There are so many stories to share, so many amazing memories experienced, so many rock bottom lows, so many sky high highs; it's hard to imagine them, they simply all blur together. What we know is that God is faithful, and He has been a good gardener of the garden of our souls and for that we are grateful.  We look forward to new exciting adventures with each other, God, and people we haven't met yet, and of course with nature that is so unbelievable. We hope to keep you updated here and there as well, but mostly we just hope to unwind and detox from the city and find ourselves in the now and in this incredible, blossoming season.

All the best to you wherever you are in your journey; remember, your path may be going into a difficult valley, but perhaps it is just so that you can then come to a mountain peak in the distant fog that you can truly appreciate.

That's all; Austin signing off from Izmir :)