Day 7. Halfway.
I woke up at 4am, with terrible cramps in one leg (which even as I write this, two days later is still sore) that I can't seem to shake. I lay there til 7 trying to ease it, then I decide the only way to get rid is to walk it off. So at 8am, I leave the apartments and head off for a stroll. I bumped into our friend Dave, who's at Club Sun Village, and we decide a quick coffee is on the cards. So, after half an hour in Dave's company, where he tells me stories of his belly dancing antics at the previous nightsTurkish night, I head off to...well...that's the thing....I don't know where I'm heading off to...I just know that wherever it is, that's where Im heading. The leg starts to feel slightly more like it actually belongs to me, and slightly less like its made of steel, so I convince myself the walk is doing me good. I wind my way through the streets and down towards the beach.
Icmeler is waking up, the shops are still closed, but the bars and cafes are just yawning and sretching into the sunlight. There's a few people hosing things down. In Icmeler, no matter what time of day, there's ALWAYS someone hosing something down!!! God help em, if they ever introduced a hosepipe ban!!
I stop by the
ICR office to speak to
JT on Skype. He tells me that my penance for not doing my blog on a daily basis, is to drink a whole pint of his home brew ginger beer! Well, I'm quite fond of my liver, AND the lining of my stomach, so I decline his suggestion in typical Scouse manner! (Im sure you can imagine it, so I won't type it here!!). I ask him who's co-ordinating the bus pick up for the boat trip on Sunday, and his answer? "You are!!" Oh...erm...ok, well that wasn't quite the answer I was expecting!! And here's me thinking I'm on holiday!! So, Michelle gives me the details of who to pick up, and where from, and I head off, liver intact. Ish.
It's lovely and cool, tho I'm told there's a scorcher of a day ahead. I pop into a supermarket down near the beach to pick up some breakfast-a bottle of water and a banana, and decide on a destination. Marmaris. On foot.
I've never walked the path to Marmaris. In fact, I've never even been to Marmaris. To be honest, I don't know why, but I've never even thought of going to Marmaris. But me and Metal Mickeys leg have made up our minds. And
Marmaris it is. So I walk down to the beach, which is quiet and empty, except for a few of our Eastern European budgie smuggling comrades. I have visions of these 30 stone men saying to their wives, as they put their Speedos on " Do I look ok in these, love?" And their wives saying, "Dar Dimitiri, you look Fantastiski!!" (As you can guess, I dont speak Russian) Take it from me, Dimitri, don't listen to your wife, she's either lying, or she's been at the Smirnoff again. You look ridiculous. The sight of these gentlemen, oiling themselves up for the day is not a pretty one either. It's putting me off my banana!!
I head off on the coastal path. It's lovely. There's some sections which are shaded with trees, and there's some more open sections, which are perfect for a quick dip, or to get some good pictures. I reckon a Segway would be perfect way of doing the journey too. The path is spotless, cos each
hotel and bar along the way has someone cleaning their section. I pass some lovely looking hotels along there. Lovely looking, but I could never stay there. They just seem a little disconnected. They're neither icmeler nor marmaris, and without a long walk, there's nowhere to go, other than the sea. I bump into a man selling grapes he's probably robbed from someone's garden. Doesn't speak much English, but he's determined to get some of my money. And I mean determined. Without further ado, he loads a bag full of grapes and flashes me ten fingers. "No money" I reply. So he starts frisking me!!! Checking my pockets! He pats my pockets and says "money" , "no, cigarettes" I reply. So, anyway I give him a fag, and then demand fruit from him! Tables turned. Seems fair to me. I get what by his reckoning is 7lr worth of grapes and cherries. He gets one ciggie. You can buy a pack for 6.50lr, so I reckon I won. To be honest, I'd have gone easier on him if he wasn't wearing a Man Utd shirt. On I walk, chomping on my fruit, I pass the Dolphin Park, which juts out into the sea just outside Marmaris, I pass some lovely looking beach areas, some lizards, including one that's dangling from a cat's mouth! Finally I reach the end of the bay at Marmaris. WARNING: Segway riders! This is as far as you can go, from here on in, there's no wheeled vehicles allowed on the path. By now, the heat is stifling, so I stroll on in search of the boat taxi home. I pass some nice looking hotels where the signs and menus are all in various Scandinavian lingo. One of the seemingly thousands of security men on the beach (why so many?), shows me to the taxi, and I clamber aboard with a Swedish couple and their baby daughter, who's called, of all things, Charleen!!! They must watch reruns of Neighbours in Sweden or something. They've probably got a dog back home called Bouncer! It's a lovely 25 min tootle with a refreshing breeze back to Icmeler. 10 lira. Bargain. I use the last of my phones battery taking some beautiful pics, clamber off in Icmeler, and first head to 'you know where' for a coffee, arriving back at Rhodes just 4hrs after I left. I'm exhausted by this point, so spend the rest of the day by the pool, and in the 'bar area' recovering!! It was a lovely walk, though.
Tandoori Sizzler. We've never been, and I've heard so much about it, so decide to try it. We arrive. The place is heaving, but I'm confused. It seems that everyone is waiting for their food. Some of them not so patiently. There's a slightly chaotic feel to the place. The waiters, dressed in a wide variety of shirts advertising various different restaurants, scurry and hurry about like they'd get sacked if they stand still. Considering there doesn't seem to be much coming out of the kitchen, it's strange, to say the least. Our order is taken, from a menu that contains NO PRICES, (that always gets me suspicious) drinks arrive, and before you can say "where's my starter", the starters arrive. From here everything speeds up. No sooner are we done with the starters, the mains arrive! I order the crispy chicken with pancakes and plum sauce, which arrives as some not very crispy chicken in the sauce. I ask for the pancakes, and I'm told they're chopped up in the sauce with the chicken!! Eh? Why? They bring me some extra pancakes. It was a very average meal, but filled me up, so I dont complain. MrsSF orders the Chicken Biryani, which to be fair, was one of the nicest we've ever tasted. Lovely. There's none of the table side banter you get in most other places. It seems like the customer's role in the deal, is to arrive, order, eat, pay, and leave. From arriving to leaving takes just 54 minutes!! (4 people, 2 courses, and 2 drinks) It takes longer to eat a McDonalds! Not a great experience, just about ok. Sorry Tandoori Sizzler. 5/10. Disappointing, but it got worse when I use the Gents. Sorry, but it's a pretty grim state of affairs, it looked for all the world like I'd walked into a flea circus, I got bored counting the flies when I got to 26!!! In my book, that many flies just means that someone's not cleaning in there. Not good. Not good at all.
Had a quick wander round the bars, watching the same waiters doing the same dances, in the same elaborate array of wacky hairstyles, to the same songs (or should that read song-Country Roads), and head back to the sanctity and sanity of the old village for a nightcap, a game of pool with the youngun, and a sleep.
My leg still hurts.
by Sami » 30 Jul 2013 13:23 
Say hi to Josh for me in there! LOL 
. Which watering hole is it you run in good old scouse land? my bro in law and his wife live in widness and often get the bus into town for the evening. they might know you. i can tell them about you if you're one of the one's they visit. enjoy the rest of your stay and don't give up the blogging - it keeps us from going insane!!!!! cheers xx 
