I enjoy breakfast with my host family, take a few photos and head towards Antalya. Despite the head wind I arrive in town by lunch time.
My host for the night is Bryan, an American that lives with his Turkish partner. He lives in Caleçi, an old area of town full of narrow laneways, bars and fancy hotels. Whilst eating lunch he informs me that it is thanksgiving back in the states.
Within a few minutes I have convinced him that I will cook roast chicken and veges for dinner. His partner is a little confused about this, I am only the second warm showers guest she has hosted. In Turkey the guest is usually waited on and not expected to do anything, including help cook, clean up after dinner, make tea etc. Bryan and I let her know that sometimes this is how it works with warm showers. By the time dinner was served she seemed to be a little more relaxed about the situation.
The three of us enjoyed a lovely roast chicken with baked apples for desert. Not exactly classic thanksgiving but pretty good considering the plan wasn't conceived until late in the afternoon.
Bryan was busy for the weekend so after a lazy Turkish breakfast - honey, cheese, olives, fresh tomato and bread with a western twist - coffee and OJ, I packed my bike and headed to Hassan's house, a host I lined up through couchsurfing.
I spent the day lazing around at his apartment before cruising back into town to visit the bike shop. I have had a clicking sound coming from my bottom bracket for the last 1000km. Bryan reccomended a good bike mechanic and I figured it was about time I got my bike serviced. The first thing the bike mechanic said to me was 'you need to wash your bike'. Three hours later I had a new bottom bracket installed, gears tuned, brakes adjusted, wheels trued and drivetrain scrubbed clean. The bottom bracket was only $50 and labour $25. Pretty good value I think.
Hassan is a keen rock climber and on Saturday I was lucky enough to be able to join him and his friends climbing. I havn't climbed for about four or five years so I was interested to see how I went. I top roped a couple of climbs. My arms are very weak but I enjoyed myself. Hassan and his friends are very relaxed and seem to stick to the easier routes which suited me fine.
One of Hassan's friends invited me out to dinner with her friends for a 'girls night'. We enjoyed delicious Turkish mezze with a little too much Raki (kind of like ouzo - liquorice flavour). The restaurant was full of locals and had live traditional Turkish music. People were dancing inbetween the tables.
Later on we met up with a few other friends in Caleçi and went bar hopping until 3 am. Definatley not what I am used to!
Before I knew it Sunday afternoon had rolled around. Hassan and his friends went rockclimbing and were kind enough to drag me along. After another top rope I managed to lead a (very easy) climb which was more enjoyable than I expected.
I had intentions of leaving Antalya on Monday but with such a busy weekend I really needed a rest. A planned rock climbing trip on Tuesday didn't eventuate and all of a sudden it was wednesday.
Neil, a cyclist I met in Tajikistan and toured with in Iran sent me an email letting me know he was arriving on Thursdsay. All of a sudden I have been in Antalya for a week!
Whilst hanging around Hassan's house during the week I did manage to drink beer on the beach, cook dinner, enjoy lazy breakfasts and visit the local museum. The Antalya museum is full of a huge number of marble statues that were found locally.
Once Neil arrived we hatched a plan to leave Antalya on Friday and make our way down the coast at a relaxed pace. He only has a couple of weeks before he has to get to Istanbul to see his wife so we figure we will see how far he gets and then he can bus the rest of the way.
27/11 Serik - Antalya: rode 51km, ODO 4978km
Antalya cycling total: rode 27km, ODO 5004km
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