Sunday--January 30-Kos, Greece

Sunday--January 30--KOS, Greece

I didn’t sleep so well.  I was cold even with the two blankets on the bed.

I went downstairs for breakfast and found Johanne.  She told me she hadn’t come downstairs last night because she was able to get internet in her room.  O.k. so she paid less, got a room with a view and had internet access in her room.  Really.

Johanne and her motorcycle 

After breakfast, we decided we needed to get our luggage together before we went out for the day because they would only give us a room until 2:00 p.m. and we had high hopes that we would be out longer.  

After depositing our luggage in the storage room we walked to the castle. When we arrived at the castle the young man at the ticket office told us our visit was free today.

“All Sundays are free until March”  he told us.

When entering the harbour of Kos town the imposing medieval Castle of Neratzia (the Castle of the Knights of St. John) is bound to draw your attention. This castle is connected to the mainland by a bridge that crosses the Palm Tree Avenue, the same one that connects the Castle to the Platanos, the large plane tree under which Hippocrates, the Father of Medicine, used to teach.

Johanne asked for a pamphlet hoping for more information on what we were looking at.  He gave us a one page paper and said he didn’t really know much because he was new on the job.  He did tell us that there was a museum with many of the ruins that had been dug up, but it had been locked since the war.  

We walked around and found a tunnel.  

At the bottom of the stairs we found a huge pool of water.  Johanne had a flashlight and all we could see was more water.  There wasn’t any access.  

I’m sure all this water was from the storm the other day.

view from castle across the harbor is my hotel

Actually, Adam at the hotel told me his house was flooded from the storm and that the island had much damage all over.  He said there had been hail stones and the windshield of his car had a crack from them.  I could hardly believe this given we were at sea level.

After our visit to the castle, which offered incredible views of the sea and the town (location, location, location), we walked back to the taxi stand which was just beside our hotel.

I already discovered that Johanne was better at negotiating so I told her to ask the driver how much it would be to take us to Asklepion, this is the Hippocrates hospital.  Then we told him we wanted to go to Zia as well. Zia is a little town on top of the hill that was suppose to have incredible views of the island.

The taxi driver said it would cost 50 euro for him to take us to Asklepion, wait for us, then take us to Zia, wait while we had lunch and then bring us back to town.  What choice did we have?

The drive to Asklepion was about 15 minutes from town.  As we walked into the site we could see more damage from the storm.  

Hail

Leaves were everywhere and the path was covered with greenery from the trees, mud and hail stones.  I could hardly believe it.  We were at sea level and the temperature was in the 50’s but these hail stones were incredibly huge.  I think the reason the hail stones were still here was because the foliage was on top of them creating insulation.  I don’t know.  I’ve never seen anything like it and neither had the locals.

hail stone

Everywhere we walked you could see hail stones beneath the greenery and mud.

Anyway, this site at Asklepion was much bigger than I’d anticipated.

Situated 4 km west of Kos, Asklepeio is the most significant archaeological site on the island. The excavations here began in 1902, by Iakovos Zaraftis from Kos and Hertsok from Germany. Asklepeio was built in a green area full of cypress trees. During the ancient years, it served as a sanatorium and it was dedicated to Aesculapius, son of Apollo, protector of health and medicine. Many significant people taught and worked here, one of them being the father of Medicine, Hippokrates. Due to the steep ground, Asklepeio consist of four connecting levels, called "andira". The first is characterized by ruins of Roman constructions of the 1st century AD. The second, where the medical school is said to have been housed, is known for its arches and statues. The spas were here and they were watered from the spring of King Halkon and the spring of Vournika on Mount Dikeo. The third level is where the Temple of Aesculapius of Kiparissios Apollo (4th century BC) used to be. Excavations in the surrounding area brought to light an invaluable treasury for visitor's offerings, a semi-circular platform and a small Roman temple dedicated to Neron. The fourth level was constructed in the 2nd century BC and included a large temple of Doric style along with the chambers of the patients. 

We decided this was a good location for a hospital.  What a great place to be, up on a hill to recover from any illness.  Having the opportunity to breathe in the fresh air and take in the view.

Asklepion

The blues of the sea and the sky are so incredible.  I hardly alter my photos because the natural light is just that, natural.

View from top of Asklepion

We stayed here for nearly an hour and then had the driver take us to Zia.  The road to Zia was very narrow, steep and windy.  Not only was the town up on the hill but we saw more storm destruction along the road and it was probably 10 -15 degrees colder when we got to the town.  

The driver told us to go to the church, obviously the only sight up here.  

When we climbed up to the church, Johanne discovered that a funeral was going on and probably not a good idea for us to enter.  Interesting looking hearse. 

The views from up here were awesome.  I’m sure in the summer it’s a great place to visit. 

view from Zia

I don’t think I’ve ever been in a “tourist” location where everything was closed.  But then again I’ve never traveled in the winter to summer locations.

We found a nice restaurant and had a good lunch before going back down the hill to Kos town.

Johanne was very inspiring and way braver than I am.  She is physically smaller than I am, but has the might of David.  My friends think I am brave for traveling alone.  My traveling alone pales in comparison to her.

Johanne is 45 and just retired from the Canadian military.  She is on this journey to make the transition from her work to a new part of her life.  She is married to a man, also in the Canadian Army who is currently part of NATO in Afghanistan, and has a 20 year old daughter who lives in Montreal.  Her job with the military was in the “media” department.   I asked her if she had been to Afghanistan and she said yes.  She told me about her time in Afghanistan when she lead journalists through Kabul and that she had to wear protective gear and travel in a vehicle that was like a hummer to get around.   

Probably driving a motorcycle through Europe and Turkey is a walk in the park compared to being in Afghanistan.  

We talked about what it was like to not only travel alone but also as a woman.  First, we decided that there are times it gets lonely and if we were to do it again we would do it with another person.  Easier for her to say as she has a husband.  Second, that as a woman we have to be more careful about where we go (choosing where to travel). We did agree though that we hadn’t encountered any trouble but both of us were very careful.   Maintaining contact with people was important but I might note here that she did not have a phone, only a computer.  We agreed that it was nice to meet each other and too bad we didn’t have more time together.

After our little tour around KOS, I had about an hour before I had to go to the harbor and Johanne had many more hours before her 8:00 ferry.  Adam, from the hotel, told me I needed to be at the harbor by 3:30.  He said the boat comes in and doesn’t wait very long and it’s important to be there.

I walked from the hotel to the harbor.  Pulling my suitcase with the electronics bag on top and wearing the backpack, I walked the 15 minutes to the harbor (it felt more like an hour).

I went to the same terminal I’d entered the day before thinking this was the place.  There were many people including what looked to be a soccer team.  I realized I needed to buy a ticket for the ferry so I asked the man at the snack bar if this was the place for Rhodos and he told me I needed to go outside and around the corner.  Good think I asked.  Nothing is as it seems, I guess.

I found the ticket counter for the Rhodos catamaran and paid 30 Euros for the ride.  It was 3:30 and the boat was suppose to come at 4:15.  The weather was o.k., a bit windy with lots of clouds causing the sun to come and go.  I didn’t want to go inside for fear I’d miss the boat.  At first it was o.k. to stand outside but then the wind picked up and it felt like an eternity before the boat came.  There also weren’t so many people outside so I wanted to be sure this was the right place to be.

When the boat was within sight all the “smart” people came out.  Oh well, I was glad to get on the boat.  

There were airplane like seats inside the boat that were very comfortable.  The boat was fairly empty so I could sit anywhere and have lots of room.  I sat and read "South of Broad" on my kindle.

I knew it would be dark when I arrived in Rhodes so I asked Adam had said the Hotel Agla offers a shuttle bus from the harbor.  I asked him to call the hotel to see if they were running that today.  When he called they told him they didn’t have their regular shuttle because it was Sunday.  Adam thought this was rubbish.  (Adam is a product of an English mom and Greek dad I asked how they met and he said, the typical, she came on holiday met his dad and never went home.  Adam says there are many mixed marriages because of this scenario).  Anyway, Adam assured me there would be a taxi at the harbor to take me to the hotel.

The catamaran ride was very smooth.  I only wished it had been light so I could see the islands.  I knew the journey was to be about 2 hours.  After a little over an hour the boat slowed down and pulled into a harbor.  I’m a bit confused and ask the woman behind me if this is Rhodos.  No she says.

Lots of people get on the boat.  It turns out this island is Symi.  It was another hour before we reached Rhodos.

It was nearly 7 p.m. and pitch black outside when we arrived at the Rhodos harbor.  The castle is lit up but otherwise I can't see a thing.  I don’t like arriving in a town I know nothing about at night but I didn’t have a choice.

Adam was correct.  I easily found a taxi that took me on a 5  minute ride to the Agla Hotel.

I was met by Marie, a native of Scotland--another holiday marriage.  However, Marie had come to Rhodes on holiday and met her husband.  They are now divorced but have 2 sons.

She was very welcoming and I was pleasantly surprised at how nice the room was.  They even had terry cloth bathrobes on the bed.  Not bad for 50 Euros a night.  However, they don’t have free wireless internet either in the room or in the lobby.  I was told it would cost 2.5 euro for 2 hours or 5 euros for a day pass.  O.K.  

I was hungry and asked Marie if there was a restaurant close by.  She said I could go across the street, down the stairs turn right and there is a restaurant Meses that for sure would be open.

Yes, it was open.  They had a nice menu and I wanted to order the swordfish.  Sorry, we don’t have that tonight.  So the only fish they had was shrimp.  I ordered an eggplant salad as a starter and an order of shrimp.  The eggplant salad was yummy and they gave me grilled toast with it. The plate of shrimp had 6 grilled shrimp, head and all.  They were a bit over cooked but with a little added olive oil good.  I finished my meal and the man brought me a dessert.  I have no idea what it was but it was fabulous.  That seems to be a tradition here to give a dessert after the meal and they don’t charge for it.  

Back to the hotel.  I paid for 2 hours of the internet and it was so slow it was an exercise in frustration.  I couldn’t upload any photos or get gmail to work very well.  I did the best I could and called it a night.

Saturday--January 29--Bodrum to Kos, Greece

Saturday--January 29--Bodrum to Kos, Greece

When I wake up I look out the window and see it’s stopped raining.  Wow, that was an amazing storm.  I think there was thunder and lightening for at least 5 hours.

I feel much better.  I’m on a ferry boat to KOS, Greece, on the water moving westward.

Turkish tea cup

Tea & cigarettes that’s what I’ll remember about Turkey.  Mostly, the people are kind and helpful. Not always having a hand out to be paid for service.  What a nice change.  Going to KOS don’t know what to expect but only staying one night.

I’m sorry the weather was so bad in Bodrum it looks like a lovely spot.  

Bodrum from the ferry

I saw many fancy cars--mercedes, bmw’s.  The man from Istankoy told me many rich people live in Bodrum.  People with 5 - 10 million he said.  I’m not sure if he meant Turkish Lira or US Dollars, but either way it’s enough.

The breakfast this morning was the best so far.  Although I had the same bread and cheese I’ve had for the past 10 days while in Turkey.  Although I also had a few tomatoes and cucumbers.  Surprisingly I’m not sick of either yet.

I was anxious to get to the harbor.  At 8:30 I asked for a taxi but they said they could take me for 10 TL.  Fine.

I got to the “cruise” harbor and checked to be sure there was a ferry going to KOS.  Yes, I found the right place and the company that had the boat.  The man behind the desk said he tried to call me to pick me up but my cell phone wasn’t working.  Who knows what phone number he had for me.  Oh well I changed hotels anyway.

I talk to the woman, Seda who is in the office and ask her about the different choices of Greek islands to go to at this time of year. She says Rhodes is the only place in winter to stay or the mainland.  

The ferry ride from Bodrum to KOS was only an hour’s journey.  On the boat with me were one very nicely dressed couple (certainly one of the “rich” of Bodrum), 2 Greek men coming to KOS to open an internet cafe, one young girl (maybe 20), one woman Seda the owner of the boat company and some other workers.  The two men from Greece live on the mainland of Greece but said it was easier to drive to Bodrum instead of taking a ferry to KOS.  All in all they were only saving 2-3 hours and had lots of hassle with taking computers and a car on the ferry and across the border.

Leaving Bodrum, that's the Castle

I sat by myself on the boat reading my kindle.  The boat ride was fairly smooth given how bad the weather had been the night before.

Leaving Bodrum

When I arrived in KOS, I needed to go through customs.  It’s kind of a hokie customs place, and we needed to wait until someone got there.  However, the customs agent asked me all kinds of questions to the point where I think he’s going to ask me to open my suitcase.  Really.  I might have expected this at an airport or some size but here.  

The young girl who spoke excellent English told me she lived on KOS and directed me to the hotel.  She gave me her phone number in case I needed help while I was on the island.  Funny, she didn’t give me good direction and I went two blocks too far.  Fortunately it’s a small island and I was not far off.  Everyone speaks English here.

When I arrived, the lobby looked very nice, clean, relatively modern.  A far cry from the first hotel in Bodrum.  O.k. Ayca this one isn’t too bad.  The man at the desk said the room wasn’t ready so I should go to the bar.  

That’s where I met Johanne from Canada.  I had seen her at the dock going through customs holding a big motorcycle helmet and wearing a jacket with a BMW patch and a keychain with a Canadian flag.

Johanne

We started talking and I discovered that she was traveling alone and on her motorcycle.  We talked about our experiences in Turkey and she had a completely different opinion of the Turkish people.  She didn’t find them friendly or helpful.  However, she had been in some smaller areas that I had been.

She said she needed to go to the ferry office to check on her passage to Pireus and I wanted to check the ferry time to Rhodes.  I had paid for the ferry (remember at 6:00 a.m.) and was hoping there was another one later in the day.  Well I knew I was making a mistake by paying Ayca for the ferry ticket from KOS to Rhodes but sometimes you have to cut your loses and deal with it later.  Some mistakes are bigger than others.  In the scheme of things 45 euros was not going to change my life.

Johanne and I decided to go to the ferry office together.  First, they told us our rooms were ready so we took our bags to our perspective rooms.  When I got to the room it was on the side of the building not facing the harbor.  I could see there were other rooms facing the harbor because their doors were open and I knew this was low season.  I walked down to the reception to ask to change rooms but was told there were no more available in the front.

Later I found out from Johanne that she paid less money than I did and got a better room.  She told me she always negotiates and always requests a room away from the elevator.  Where was my room here, next to the elevator.  Oh well only one night.

KOS is a very small island but has a castle.  The hotel is in a great location right on the harbor.  Mostly what there is here are lots of travel offices.  Ferry travel is quite essential in the Greek Islands.

First, we went to the Blue Star ferry office.  Johanna had to use them because she needs a place for her motocycle too.  She was trying to get to Pireus, the port for Athens becuase she is riding to the other side of Greece and then to Venice.

When Johanne had completed her ticket, I aked if there was a 2nd ferry tomorrow besides the 6 a.m.  The answer, I was not surprised, was NO.

We walked next door to Seda's company and they confirmed there would be a 4:20 catamaran to Rhodes tomorrow for 30 euro.

Not only was I not going to get up at 4:30 a.m. but if I had I wouldn’t have been able to see anything on KOS.  It is very unlikely that I would ever come back here so I chose to stay.

It was around 3:00 p.m. and I was fairly hungry.  I asked Johanna if she wanted to get something to eat.  She agreed.

Seda had suggested a restaurant called “Caravelle” but when we walked where she said it was suppose to be, it wasn’t open.  Because of the off season, not alot is open.  We finally found an open restaurant.  We’d walked back to the main street after not finding Caravelle and a man told us it was closed.  We asked him to recommend something that was opened.  He directed us back where we were and told us for sure this other restaurant was open.  

inside the restaurant great old jukebox

We walked back over the the street and yes indeed did find an open restaurant.  We discovered we hadn’t gone far enough the first time.  It had looked so deserted the first time that when we walked over here we were surprised something was open.

What a great find.

the owner, or the man who was running the place had a real sense of humor.

We asked if they had a menu and he said he was the menu.  We asked if they had fish and he said no we only have (and named 4 kinds of inedible meats).  He said there was calamari and ocotpus.  I wasn’t interested in having that and asked if there was just fish.  He said I needed to go with him to choose the fish I wanted.  I went to the kitchen with him and he showed me a container of fish.  There was snapper and something else that looked like Sea Bass.  I asked which was the best and he said the Sea Bass looking one.  He threw it on the scale and it was about 300 grams.

1st he brought us toast and olive tapenade--yummy.

then we asked for Greek salad.  Also delicious.

Then Johanne's plate of mixed fish came--Wow--it had 5 different kinds of fish and she nearly ate it all.  My fish came with the head and all.  I asked if he could take the head and debone the fish.  He came back with the same head and bones but he had opened it up.  

It really is  such a pleasant surprise to meet another woman traveler.  She is a real inspiration to me.  Not only that she has been riding a motorcycle across Europe, and Turkey but she had planned to go to Syria, Jordan and Egypt.  Due to the bad weather on the roads she would need to take to get to Syria she had to rearrange her journey, let alone the trouble in Egypt.  That’s why we met.

The town square

After our meal we decided to explore the town.  It was Saturday early evening and you could have shot a cannon through the town.  

entrance to the castle

We barely saw another person and most everything was closed.  We were able to see everything without any people in the way.  Ha ha.  The castle was closed but I saw that the hours said it would be open Sunday. 

someones grave

We talked about coming back in the morning and also going to see the main tourist attraction of Kos, is Asklepion the first hospital used by Hippocrates.  There really isn’t much else to do on Kos in the winter. 

We walked through some ruins and tried to find the Archeological museum but that was closed too.

The sunset over the water was magnificent and we walked back to the hotel.  

I said I was going to get my computer and bring it downstairs because the only wireless access was in the lobby.  I came downstairs and had trouble connecting to the internet but Adam helped me and finally I was able to use it.  This is the first time I’ve had trouble with the internet.  I’m not sure if it’s my computer and/or Greece.  

I worked for a while and then was tired so went upstairs to my room, tomorrow is another day.

Friday--January 28--Kusadasi to Bodrum

Friday--January 28--Kusadai to Bodrum

Wow what a day.  Again, I had to put my faith in human kind.  I don’t know why I was relying upon this travel agent but at this point I had paid her 300 Euro and was a bit nervous about it.

When I gave her the money it was for the bus ride from Kusadasi to Bodrum, one night in Bodrum, the ferry ticket to Kos, one night in Kos, the ferry ticket to Rhodes and 3 nights in Rhodes.  Why did I do this?  Most importantly because I found I could not accomplish most of this by myself.  It has been very difficult to figure out the bus schedule in Turkey.  There is no website and when I go to anything on the web what I get is summer information.  Getting winter Ferry information is also difficult.  I was able to find something from Marmaris but Marmaris is very far from Kusadasi.  Anyway, I decided to use her and I was a bit nervous.  

At 9:45 a.m. I called Ayca to see where the driver was.  I also asked her what time the bus is leaving.  She left those details out.  She said the bus was leaving at 11:00.

I was picked up by the same driver who picked me up yesterday.  I thought he was taking me to the bus station here in Kusadasi.  When we passed the bus station I asked where we were going.  He told me we were going to Soke, a town about 15-20 minutes down the road.  Oh another thing Ayca forgot to tell me.  I’m not sure if she does this on purpose, doesn’t really understand me or wants me to understand.  But something is up with her.

He takes me to Soke, buy this time it’s raining.  He tells me to wait in the car and goes to buy my ticket.  He says he will wait until the bus arrives.  I have found the Turks to be very caring people.  I don’t know if it is because I have paid the agency that he waits or not but I get the feeling that he would wait with me either way.

me on the bus

The bus ride to Bodrum was very comfortable.  It was a luxury liner with TV’s and headsets at each seat.  I’m sitting next to a woman wearing a head scarf and she is watching some show or movie, I don’t know, and is laughing her head off. 

TV in front of my seat

After about an hour the bus stops and the driver says something in Turkish.  I can tell this isn’t Bodrum.  I get off the bus to use the toilet and point to my watch asking how much time.  He says 5 minutes.  

Back on the bus the ride was only another 45 minutes or so, much shorter than I was told.

I’m finally listening to myself.  When I arrive in Bodrum it was raining and I found a taxi to take me to the hotel.  My inner voice was telling me that this wasn’t going to be very good and sure enough, the taxi driver didn’t know where the hotel was.  He had to look at the map I gave him and finally found it.  It’s pouring down rain and I’ve got to lug my stuff up three flights of stairs.  If that wasn’t bad enough I get inside this very depressing dark old place.  They take me to a room that is horrible.  The best part is when I ask for heat (air conditioning) I’m told that is 4 TL extra.  O.k. this is bad.  I cannot stay here.

The rain has slowed a bit and I ask them to get me a taxi so I can go to the Castle.  I know the castle is at the harbor and think I can check on the ferry while I’m there.  

When I get to the Castle the sky has opened up and there is so much rain it is amazing.  I’m thinking this is an inside museum but I am wrong.  Some of it is inside but most of it is outside. I start to walk around but the rain is coming through my jacket and my pants are wet up to my knees.  

drying my pants on the heater in my hotel room

This just isn’t going to work.  I find the cafe and sit and have a tea hoping the rain will subside soon.  About a half hour later it did seem to slow down so I venture out to find the ferry office.  The one I find is closed.

I walk around trying to find the “other” museum, which I’m thinking is inside.   I’m looking to do anything to get out of this rain. No one really knows what I’m talking about when I ask about a museum.  I don’t know what the word in Turkish is for museum.  For such a “tourist” town I’m surprised.  

I walked around the harbor and find a tourist office where they hardly speak English but someone calls the ferry office and tells me it is open.  I walk back over to where I was and ask someone where the office is.  I didn’t walk far enough and finally find it.  There are several people in this office and many of them speak English. I explain that I am trying to find out if there is a ferry going to Kos tomorrow.  Then I see a paper on a woman’s desk that has my name on it.  So they ask me to pay for the ferry that, yes, is going tomorrow.  

There is much confusion because I say that I already paid the travel agent.  This woman calls Ayca to discuss the matter then hands me the phone.  Ayca asks what I’m doing in this office and I explain that I wanted to confirm where the ferry was going from.  She says this isn’t the company I am traveling with.  I tell her the hotel is terrible and can she changed it but she says she can’t do anything in Bodrum.  

The man in this ferry office explains to me that their boat company only goes to Kos on Monday, Wednesday, and Fridays and the travel agency sent the paper work trying to get me a ticket but they weren’t going on Saturday.  Because of the bad weather they cancelled their boat for today and rescheduled for tomorrow.  Also there are two ports in Bodrum, the one where I am, which I think they call the marina (there are fabulous yachts here) and then the “cruise” harbor which is where the ferry I’ve paid for is leaving from.  He also tells me that my hotel is closer to where I need to leave from. 

I thank them profusely and ask if they can call a taxi for me so I can go back to the hotel.

The taxi ride back to my hotel cost twice what it did to get here.  The driver said there was much traffic due to the rain. I don’t really care I’m actually a little relieved to be inside somewhere and I don’t have anything to do anyway.

I asked the taxi driver where the “cruise” harbor was.  He tried to explain and I decide to walk over there to find the “other” ferry company.  It’s stopped pummeling rain so I risk it.  I also see a few other hotels and decide to check them out.  The first one I go in and ask if I can see a room, it isn’t so good so I continue to another one.  I find the Hotel Istankoy.

The people at this Hotel Istankoy are so much friendlier and nicer.  I ask the boy I see if he speaks English and he says no, but the woman behind the counter (Arzu) does but she is on the phone.  I wait and ask if there is a room and how much it is for one person one night.  She says 50TL and I ask if I can see a room.  This boy walks me over to a room and it is so much better.  I can breathe in it.  I don’t care that I already paid for the Eden Hotel, I’ve decided  to stay here.  When we get back to the office the boy points to another man and says he speaks English.  

I explain to this man that my suitcase is at the Hotel Eden and I am not happy over there and want to spend the night here.  

“No problem”,  he says, “I can take you over there to get your things.  Do you want to go now?” he asks me.

He goes to get his truck and takes me over to the Hotel Eden.  There are now 6 men in the lobby.  I collect my faxes (I don’t know if I mentioned that I left Kusadasi without any ferry vouchers.  Ayca said she would fax them to me when she got the confirmation.  When I had left the hotel earlier she still hadn’t faxed them.) and Fathie explains to these men that I am not happy and moving hotels.  I don’t think they are pleased, but too bad.

We drive back over to Hotel Istankoy, which is only a few blocks away from  Hotel Eden. 

my safe haven from the storm

I have a window I can look out at the storm and feel much better.  

what I see outside my window

On my walk earlier I found a bakery and bought a bureka with spinach and cheese so I ate that.  I was sorry I hadn’t bought the good looking cookies though because this turns out to be my dinner as well because I don’t want to go out in the rain to get anything to eat.  I won’t fade away.

I end up having a citrus drink that is in the mini bar with one of my airplane vodkas some walnuts and chocolate.  Not bad for camping.  Oh I’m in a hotel.

I spend some time writing and listening to an incredible storm outside.  Having the internet is a savior.  But with the storm the electricity flashes many times and the internet comes and goes.  I am fine and feel secure.

Listening to my instincts has paid off.  I have checked out the other hotels Ayca has booked me and according to Trip Advisor seem to be o.k.  I hope so because I paid much more money than here in Bodrum.

Hoping for the best and going to sleep.

Tomorrow is another day but this one turned out o.k.