Cheesy in Cappadocia

Seven years ago Hilary and I went on our first date.  She was a freshman.  I was a sophomore.  We were in the pits of finals week and our grades suffered accordingly.  I had a mullet and an insanely tasteful wardrobe and Hilary was the portrait of youthful exuberance and loveliness.  High School Musical had recently disgraced the earth, Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin and Saddam Hussein were still alive, Orhan Pamuk was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature, and Pluto was still recognized as a planet.  The Twins were relevant and hopeful - and playing in the Dome.

Last week we celebrated the ride with yet another journey of our own.  She retains her aura, mixing in increased maturity with her rare beauty and life-giving approach to the world.  And I...sigh...the hair, the charisma, gone.  I simply am.  BUT- She graciously keeps me around, letting me soak in her presence and enjoy the enriched life of a man with an amazing woman by his side.  Don't ask me why.  As my old friends used to say, I'm outkicking my coverage.

So we set off for Cappadocia to celebrate.

First time behind the wheel in Turkey - scary.

First stop: The underground city in Derinkuyu.  I had to shut off my imagination to enjoy the winding, shrinking, crowded depths.  Very cool, though. 

                       

                                                  
                       
                         

Then we headed back above ground for some fresh air.  

Church or mosque? 

We left Derinkuyu and headed to Uçhisar to its castle in the clouds.

        

From Uçhisar we continued on to Göreme - the heart of Cappadocia from what I could tell.  We trekked through the Göreme Open Air Museum, but couldn't take pictures (to preserve the frescos in the old churches).

For dinner, Hilary tried a local specialty - stew cooked in a sealed clay pot.  The waiter chops the pot open at the table.  We were treated to a nice little serenade as we enjoyed our delicious meal.

 

After dinner we went to a rooftop cafe to watch the sun setting behind the mountains.  We took in the cool night air and the phenomenal view and felt super duper lucky to be here and now and to be with eachother for such a long time.  We couldn't have imagined a better way to celebrate.  But then...

...this happened.

                                                       

The consummate cheapskate, I, thought it would be cool to camp in Cappadocia instead of experiencing one of its renowned cave hotels.  Being the inexplicably awesome wife that she is, Hilary agreed.  We were woken at 5:30 by the sounds of blowtorches outside our tent.  Unzipping the tent unveiled a sky full of hot air balloons.  They were so close to us we could hear the people talking in them.  What an exhilerating wakeup call.

We packed up camp, ate breakfast, and headed to the region's famed valleys bright and early. 

Can you see me?

Cappadocia was one of the places we were frequently told we needed to see while we were in Turkey.  We were not let down.  The incredible landscapes and unique experiences will stay impressed in our memories for a long, long time.  It felt like a fitting culmination to our year.  One day we might wake up from this dream, but until then we are soaking it all up.  We are so grateful for this time we've had.  And even more grateful for the life we've been given to live side by side.

We love and miss you all,
Mike and Hilary

Visa-vis with International Hoop-Jumping

Behold...

The highlight of our lone trip to Ankara

Tuesday, May 7, 2013 - - Roughly 8 am

At this point in our trip we were on our way to the radiation clinic, walking through this park, trying to catch some sunlight for warmth - Ankara was about 20 degrees Fahrenheit cooler than Adana.  With just enough warmth, food and sense of direction, and not quite enough sleep, we felt mostly positive about our day's mission: getting chest x-rays to verify we do not have tuberculosis.   

Our day started the night before around 10:15.  We walked from our place to the bus office to shuttle to the Otogar for the 11:30 bus to Ankara.  The 7-hour bus ride stopped halfway to disrupt anyone who was lucky enough to fall asleep.  The second half of the journey went a little quicker as Hilary and I both finally got a few hours of sleep.

After waiting at the bus station in Ankara for the metro to open for the day (it was only 6:30 am) we entered the city center.  We were travelling with Can and some of his family, so he showed us a nice little place for some breakfast.  We were all pretty tired, sore from the bus seats, and anxious about the business we each had to attend to afterward.  

Slightly revived from breakfast pastries and coffee, our two parties went our separate ways.  We set off toward the north end of the city where the clinic was located, passing the site of the above photograph.  We walked up and down the streets surrounding---

I've tried to finish this stupid post too many times.  I'm bored.  It's boring.  It's a boring story.  It was a long, annoying day full of travel (14 hours) and waiting at the doctor's office (2 hours) and then waiting for the results (another 2 hours) to prove we don't have TB in order to get our visas for NZ.  Normally we wouldn't need to do this and the visas would be free and easy, but because we've been living in a country that is not on the list of countries that are a low risk for tuberculosis, we had to spend the time, money, and stress on a situation that is still in limbo (we are still waiting for the x-rays to arrive in New Zealand and I'm mildly worried because I've passed my deadline for the whole process).  And I feel guilty about being so bent out of shape by such a small problem in such a fortunate life filled with undeserved blessings.  There.

Getting Excited

Bitten by the Adventure Bug

We had no school this Wednesday (Turkey's Labor Day) so we decided to make the most of it.  We booked a cheap hotel in Narlıkuyu - a tiny, picturesque village that surrounds a little bay on the Mediterranean.  We hadn't even heard of the place before Monday, but it sounded cool, so we sprung at the chance.

We took the shuttle straight from school to Mersin and caught the next bus out of town.  The ride was beautiful, winding through the relatively fertile coastal hills.  We arrived, checked in, and were seated at a seaside fish restaurant (which Narlıkuyu is famous for) just before sunset.

 The View from our Hotel Balcony

At the Restaurant

Fully relaxed, content, and satiated we excitedly planned to head to the hotel's private beach and then to "Heaven" and "Hell" - the nearby caves - the next morning.   After some coffee and çay we decided to go for a leisurely walk in the surrounding foothills of the Taurus Mountains.  In short: a delightful midweek taste of paradise in Southern Turkey.  We felt so grateful for such an amazing opportunity, one we'll certainly never forget.

What made our evening particularly memorable, however, had not yet occurred.  Although we stuck to paved, mostly lit roads, exploring a new area before seeing it in the daylight was a little nerve-wracking.  Still, we were flying pretty high, talking about how enjoyable living with a sense of adventure has been over the past few years together.  Accordingly, Hilary gasped and started exclaiming,  "Ouch" with increasing volume and intensity.

We didn't see anything in the moment, but Hilary was either bit or stung on the toe by some critter we'd disturbed on the road.  Shortly the pain started working up her leg.  I carried her the rest of the way back to the hotel which felt a lot further than the half-mile it probably was. 

Back at the hotel, soaked in sweat (me) and writhing in pain (her), we eventually decided to take the hotelier's offer to drive us to the nearest hospital.  In the mean time, Hilary's mouth and hands started feeling numb. 

Fortunately we had finally gotten around to getting health insurance two weeks prior.  The hotel owner's English was good enough to get Hilary the care she needed.  Two IVs and a blood test later, we found out that the bite or sting was not poisonous.  Just an allergic reaction.  The likely suspect was a scorpion, but we're not positive.

We left the hospital with a prescription for some cream and pills.  All told, the hospital visit plus the medicine from the Eczane - or pharmacy - set us back a whopping 2 TL and 45 kr - that's about $1.50 USD.  American Healthcare, we do not miss you.   

A rare moment when Hilary's face 

wasn't torqued in a heart-breaking grimace

Safe and sound at the hotel again, we tried to salvage what sleep we could.  I had more success than Hil, who couldn't find relief from the pain and swelling.  I did wake up far too early, though, and went off in search of Advil.  I was already hungry, but the hotel's breakfast bar didn't open for another two hours.

So I hitchhiked to Kizkalesi, a neighboring beach town known for a castle on an island.  I found the Eczane, but it was closed.  The people I asked didn't know when it opened or where another one was.  After waiting around for awhile I finally talked to someone who said it opened at 8:30 - still an hour and a half away.

After waiting for a bus back to Narlıkuyu for a while I decided to simply wait it out in town.  I started exploring the town and ended up on the beach for most of the hour.  I had almost the whole thing to myself, as the intelligent beings were still sleeping or eating breakfast.  Shortly, I triumphantly returned to the hotel, Advil in hand, a short time later and we trudged downstairs for some free breakfast.  

Tough as nails and determined not to let a little scorpion ruin her relaxing vacation, Hilary was still set on going to the beach.  

The rest of the trip progressed without incident.  I burnt all the living skin off my shoulders and back like the blithering idiot I'm prone to be and we hobbled home to Adana in time for supper.  Given another chance, we would love to go again.

Safe and sound,

Mike and Hilary