we're off!

the beginning of THE road trip. my friend, Steffen, and i started off from Antalya after lunch, after recouping from a night of dancing and partying at the wrap-party for the film S has been working on the last 6 months. we had our luggage, S's rental car (which had indispensable items for the trip, such as a power drill--you never know when you need one--but we opted not to take the circular saw with us), and were ready to roll. we headed along the coast westward, toward our destination for the night, Olympos, where S was keen to show me some really cool tree houses. there were great views of the Mediterranean sea, and ruins that we climbed to explore. once we were out of city limits, S jumped out of the car and insisted it was high time for me to learn to drive a manual car...so i had a crash course and lived to tell the story.

after dinner we went to Chimaera in the dark to hike up Mt. Olympos to see the cluster of flames that blaze spontaneously from crevices on the rocky slopes. these natural occurring flames were thought by the ancient folks as ones from fire-breathing monsters. i was reminded of my hike to see the eruption of Etna in Sicily, and i insisted that we had no need for headlamps, that the moon would light our way (thanks, Ida, for that "lesson"). good thing S took the lamps anyway so we could get back down the mountain with ease. the flames were a strange sight indeed. they are constantly lit. S didn't need to bring any matches for his little smoke and we drank our warm beers to toast this surreal camp fire experience.

we overnighted at the Kadir's Treehouse, which seemed like it would be a very popular place in the summer time. we stayed in this bungalow where the door didn't close b/c there was no handle from the inside (S's luggage served as our lock for the night), and it took us 30 minutes to figure out the light situation. AND.....S discovered a not-so-alive cockroach under his pillow, which prompted me to jump and demand that he check my bed for any of its friends. i did not sleep well that night, partly due to my jet lag, but also, i suspect, due to images of cockroaches finding their way into my ear in search for a warm dark place...