Counting Down The Clock

Sadly we bid goodbye to our ship crew this morning, after a great four day cruise. We will miss the playful young Farouk, our serious Captain, the impish and lovable Emi, our chef and newest convert to Spite and Malice, the wiry and soulful Hassan.

It was a long drive to Ephesus, across high mountains, through a big agricultural plain (Meander River Valley) where honey and pomegranates and citrus and figs and olives are everywhere. We made a special lunch stop at Sirence, a tiny village high atop a winding mountain road. This is a Greek orthodox village, nestled deep in the heartland of Turkey. As with many of our stops, Erol had arranged ahead for a prix fixe meal, covered by the tour costs, and all we do is walk in, sit down and eat. No choice of menu, all a big surprise. Today we were surprised by an 11 course lunch of such extreme deliciousness we thought we would burst. I tried to photograph the entire thing, and I'll get something posted as soon as possible. OMG!!etc.......

Temp was in the 80's this afternoon, but we visited the Church of St. John Evangelist located at the very spot where the acropolis of Ephesus was once located. At its prime it was the largest church in Asia Minor. Supposedly John the Apostle is buried there, and it has a long history. We also went through the archaeological museum to prepare for tomorrow's visit to Ephesus. It was too hot and we were too stuffed to get much out of any of it, sadly although there were some amazing statues of Artemis. We watched some huge nesting storks, and tried to find shady spots or passing breezes. Yes, we are tired from all this fun.

In the late afternoon, we arrived at our final hotel, in Kusadasi right on the Aegean Sea, where we will spend our last two nights before flying home on Thursday. This is a five star hotel, quite new and luxurious. there is a lot of access to the sea right out front, plus an "infinity pool", a spa and sauna, gigantic restaurant buffet included (looked a lot better than it tasted), and internet access. yay!!! Tomorrow will be our last touring day. It will be hot again. We will love every minute of it and soak in how lucky we are to have had this phenomenal adventure.


-- Posted from my iPad

Location:Gazi Beğendi Sk,Kuşadası,Turkey