September 7, Last day in
Cappadocia
How strange it is to be sitting in
cave but using a computer and having wireless access to the
internet.....
Up at 4:00 am to prepare for the hot air
balloon ride. My first. The van was here to pick me up right on
time. We drove on paved roads, serpentine gravel roads and dirt
trails to what seemed like the middle of nowhere. Not a very
pleasant ride as the van was full of Spaniards with raspy voices
which they used continuously and loudly often speaking over each
other. When we arrived it was in a flat area which was completely
devoid of other life. Soon after trucks began to arrive and
people began scurryibg around. It wasn't long until two balloons
were and laying on the ground. Then the roar of the generators as
they started filling the balloons with air. Within a few minutes
I was totally amazed at the size of the balloons. Having only
seen them from great distances before I had no idea they were so
huge. When it was time to clamber into the baskets everything
seemed rather disorganized but they eventually got it sorted out.
Quite a chore getting into the basket. You almost need to be
double jointed. The basket was quite crowded and I barely had
room for my feet. Moving was out of the question. I was standing
right next to the pilot so had the roar of the flame in my ears
every time he turned it on. The most amazing part of the entire
trip was the number of balloons in the sky. They popped out of
the ground like crocuses in the spring. Everywhere you looked
there were balloons rising and floating. There were at least
fifty in the immediate vicinity. I was surprised at how
much control the pilot had. It had always been my impression that
the balloon was totally at the mercy of the wind but the pilot
seemed to be in perfect control all of the time. There were times
I thought we were going to hit trees or rock formations but he
made it over them every time. Two balloons even flew side by side
touching each other. The view was great of course and we could
see for miles and miles across the landscape. Pretty it is not.
Very rugged, brown and dry but the rock formations are intriguing
as are the hundreds of cave houses. Many of the houses were
occupied until 1953 when the government decided they were unsafe
and made people move out into constructed houses. I didn't keep
track of the time but think we were up for an hour or more. As we
came in for the landing it appeared that were going to land in a
vineyard but the pilot managed to raise us a few feet and we
glided to a very soft landing in another flat area. We had been
told to hang on tightly for the landing but it was unnecessary.
Back to the hotel for breakfast.
My kind of breakfast. There was cereal of course (yuck) but also
olives, cucumber, beans, yoghurt (Greek style firm) the best I
have ever tasted, four different cheeses and fresh bread. Yum. I
ate too much in part because I hadn't eaten the night before.
Omer and Mehmet (sp?) were here on
the dot at 9:30 as arranged and we took off for the day. FIrst on
the list was a bank so I could change some money to Turkish Lire,
then a grocery store for cigarettes and finally a camera store to
purchase a card reader. Just like home, all of that took perhaps
fifteen minutes. Strangely I don't have much recollection of most
of the places we visited. Nothing was outstanding. We went into
an "underground city" where people fled to avoid
enemies back in 2000 BC. And we think we get cabin fever! I would
go completely bonkers having to live in those caves and tunnels
for any period of time. Lunch was in a 250 (not 500 as my
itinerary indicated) year old Greek house that has now been
converted to a hotel. The meal began with a cucumber/tomato salad
(olive oil and lemon juice dressing) and what I called mini
finger size dolmas (can't remember the Turkish name) followed by
beans in a sauce of some sort, a cheese dish that was sort of
like quiche and then mini meatballs and potatoes. Everything was
good but the dolmas and meatballs were excellent. Unfortunately I
was still full from breakfast so couldn't eat as much as I would
have liked. All of these dishes are local and eaten regularly I
am told.
We stopped for tea/coffee (Omer
and Mehmet) and water or Raki or nothing for me at several cafes
in various small towns and also at an old cave church and
monestary. Very relaxing and pleasant. At one touristy place
where there is an excellent panoramic view I tried carrot juice
for the first time. Can't say that I was overly impressed. By
3:30 I was hot and tired enough that I was quite happy to end the
day's tour and return to the hotel for a nap and some reading and
computer time. Mornings are great temperature wise but I find the
afternoons far too hot for my liking or functionning.
As I sat outside working on the
computer the owner came over and asked if I wanted him to drive
me downtown for dinner or if he could order something for me. I
assured him that I was fine and not at all hungry. A little later
he brought over a plate of cheese and melon saying that is what
they like to eat as they sip on Raki. I thought that was very
thoughtful of him.
Tomorrow is primarily a driving
day as we leave Cappadocia and head further east.