The Greek Coconut Express

Have you ever had an experience with the Coconut Express?

Have you even heard of the Coconut Express?  

If not, I'll 'splain. The term comes from island communities, the tropical type, with a very active gossip chain. Tropical island/coconut trees + gossip = Coconut Express. Its' not just any gossip chain. It's THE COCONUT EXPRESS. I mean, the speed at which information travels on this train is amazing. Even before the days of texting and cell phones, information could make it's way around small, remote islands in a flash. 

The Coconut Express can work to your detriment, or, in my case, one day on the Greek isle of Kos, to your benefit:
 --
Sometimes the wishes of the travel gods are just not aligned with the wishes of us mere mortals. 

Sometimes you've just gotta go with it.

A two-mile walk from my hotel to the harbor (on the hottest, muggiest morning of the season) in Bodrum earlier that morning, followed by a ferry ride from Turkey to Greece and a second two-mile-long walk from the harbor to the bus depot (all while carrying too much luggage) had left me exhausted.

*I could* have opted for a cab to take me to my hotel from the port area, but when I asked the price my jaw dropped and stubborn economization set in. 37 Euro! 

So I walked to the bus depot. I'd arrived at the correct bus stop only to discover that buses to my destination on Kos only ran twice per day. The first bus had run two hours prior. The next wasn't scheduled for several more hours.

Hot, drippy, sweaty, thirsty exhaustion planted me firmly onto a bench outside of the depot in the shade. Impeding dehydration drove me to stand and walk 20 yards to a nearby refreshment vendor and purchase two bottles of water. After downing the first and half of the second in a few gulps, my stubborn streak had subsided and I was ready to find a taxi and pay the outrageous sum of 37 Euro to have a driver deliver me to my hotel's doorstep.

Five minutes passed. Then ten. And I was about to come to terms with the fact the I may need to shlup myself and my belongings back to the harbor and it's taxi stand.

And then a sleek, silver Mercedes approached with a yellow taxi sign atop it. It drove down the narrow, one-way street in my direction, but I could see that it was already carrying a passenger.

Knowing that Kos was an island, and knowing that nothing is better or more efficient on islands than the proverbial Coconut Express, (Greek Isles lacking coconuts, I wonder what the equivalent is in Greece?) I stood and waved at the driver, who looked at me and drove by, shaking his head and motioning to the passengers in the back. I nodded back to him and then sat down again on my bench in the shade.

I was certain I'd have a cab within five minutes. Coconut Express Style.

And I was not disappointed, as another silver Mercedes (All of the cabs in the Greek Isles are Mercedes) pulled up and stopped in front of me within minutes. The driver hopped out, opened my door and stowed my bags in the trunk as I crawled into the air conditioned, black leather lined oasis.

"You waved at another cab?" He asked, trying to figure out what must have been an unsual thing.

"Yes I did. Thank you for coming to pick me up."

"My friend, he called me to tell me to come here. He was already busy." His English was quite good, barely broken by his Greek accent.

"Yes." I smiled and nodded. "Can you take me to such and such hotel?

"Certainly."

It was a 30-minute ride across the island to my hotel, which I hadn't known when booking. (My choices while booking were limited by mileage award availability - yup, booked this stay with airline miles.)

But the conversation that ensued illustrated perfectly the difference in culture between the country I'd just left, and the place I was now. An hour ferry ride and a shift in basic attitude toward life, love, women and liberty.

Turkey to Greece. Ultra conservatism (but still VERY liberal in comparison to other Muslim countries I've visited) versus very Mediterranean attitude.

Looking back, I enjoyed both places. But I was much more comfortable in Greece. I am a Californian after all. Liberal coastal place/Mediterranean, they're somewhat similar in some respects.

"How did you like Turkey?" Asked my very curious, very helpful, quasi-flirty middle-aged Greek driver.

"I liked it very much. But I am happy to be in Greece and able to walk the streets without a headscarf."

"You will have no problems with that here. The Turks, they are too somber. We Greeks are passionate! You travel alone? You have no boyfriend? You will have a good time here."

I just had to laugh. Because while I was more comfortable with the Greek mentality, my own beliefs lean much more toward ultra conservatism.

I gave the driver his 37 Euro and a hefty tip for a great, informative, entertaining ride and lovely air conditioning.

Yes, I would have a good time on Kos.

Long live the Coconut Express!


--
Photos of my hotels in Bodrum, and in Kos. Yes, I know the hotels are two entirely different classes, but the stark difference between the two places rather perfectly describes in two photos the difference between Turkey and Greece (for me).

This is my hotel in Bodrum, Turkey. Very Spartan. And honestly I couldn't have been happier there. 

(Especially as I'd just come from here)

Great price. Clean. Great location. Two blocks from the beach. 

And this is my hotel in Kos, Greece. An entirely different league. Plush, comfortable, renewing with a balcony overlooking the ocean.

Turkey: Hits & Misses

Places visited while in Turkey in 7 days:
-Istanbul
-Izmir
-Kusadasi
-Ephesus
-Bodrum
(Click city names above for links to articles/reviews)

Places visited I'd return to:
-Istanbul
-Ephesus
-Bodrum


Places in Turkey I wish I'd had more time to visit:
-Cappadocia (Land of Cave hotels, amazing rock formations and hot air balloons)

(Photos from: http://travelandtourismtoday.blogspot.com/2010/09/cappadocia-in-nevsehir-turkey.html)

-Olympos (check out this GREAT article on BBC.com/Lonley Planet about little-known Olympos)
Stay in a treehouse on the coast!

 photo from: http://www.olymposturkmentreehouses.com/

-Kas, where you can sea-kayak over an ancient sunken city

-Pammukele - I daydream of relaxing in these amazing hot springs:

Other Tips for Turkey:
-Book your own flights and side-journeys. There are a ton of travel agencies and hotels that will offer to book you a trip to Cappadocia or the like. It's hit and miss. You may end up with a good tour. Or you may get ripped off. I'd say the odds of getting ripped off are about 80%. Yah. Check out TripAdvisor to find good hotels and book your own travel and accommodations so you can do what you want, the way you want.  If you just want to join a group, then by all means, book a packaged tour.

-Americans like to tie up odds and ends like bus tickets and ferry tickets in advance, via the internet. Booking travel in advance via the web simply isn't available for Turkey like it is in the states. Don't worry about it. In Turkey, it's normal to book onward tickets within two weeks, or even days of when you want to travel. My advice: Book your arrival travel into Istanbul, or wherever you'll begin and then arrange your bus/ferry tickets for your next destination when you get to Turkey. For best/cheapest results, go directly to a bus depot or Ferry terminal. Or book through someone you trust. (Exceptions: Flights and hotels. Arrange these in advance.)

-Bus travel: it's great in Turkey. Really. Cheap, comfortable and accessible. If you don't want to risk renting a car in Turkey, travel by bus.

-Realistically you should allow three+ weeks to comprehensively see Turkey. Seriously.

Bodrum: Myndus Gate

Not too far away from the Mausoleum in Bodrum (one of the seven ancient wonders of the world) is another historical site called the Myndus Gate. It was anciently one of two portals into the walled city of Halicarnassus. Halicarnassus was an important seaport in the days of ancient Greece Persia and Rome.

Nowadays, there isn't much left of the Myndus Gate, but it has been somewhat reconstructed and the site has been preserved. You can stand on what is left of the turrets and look out at the surrounding hills to the East, and the sea to the West. Imagine standing in place during the time of the Greeks and at the time of Alexander the Great...

Mydus/Myndos = Potato/Potahto ?

 View from the gate looking out of the city.

View from the gate looking down on the city/toward the sea. 

(Yes, that's a medieval castle/fortress in the foreground.)

True Story.

 Outside the city gate: An amphitheater.

All in all, a great step back into history and well worth the hot, sweaty walk.

NB: Bodrum might be somewhat breezy and temperate near the sea, but climb up it's amphitheater-like streets, into the hills, and the temperature rises exponentially! TAKE LOADS OF WATER, and slather on the sunscreen.



One gratuitous photo and story, just because:

I ran into these guys just before reaching the Mynus gate, they stopped their truck in an intersection (not busy) and asked the normal "Where are you from" that I'd grown accustomed to in the Middle Eastern Clime.

"California" replied I.

Instead of the expected "You are welcome" response, I heard this:

"I love you."

And got a goofy grin from the guys in the truck. Which I promptly took a photo of. Wouldn't you?

Bodrum: The Mausoleum

Having only one afternoon in a city can be a good thing or a bad one. 
Having only one afternoon in Bodrum was a bad thing for me.


Here's what trusty Wiki has to say about Bodrum:

The first recorded settlers in Bodrum region were the Carians and the harbor area was colonized by Dorian Greeks as of the 7th century BC. The city later fell under Persian rule. Under the Persians, it was the capital city of the satrapy of Caria, the region that had since long constituted its hinterland and of which it was the principal port. Its strategic location ensured that the city enjoyed considerable autonomy. Archaeological evidence from the period such as the recently discovered Salmakis (Kaplankalesi) Inscription, now in Bodrum Museum of Underwater Archaeology, attest to the particular pride^{[clarification needed]} its inhabitants had developed.^[4] A famous native was Herodotus, the Greek historian (484-420 BC).

 
Ancient Halicarnassus was also home to one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, The Mausoleum. The Mausoleum was built in ancient times as the tomb of King Mausolus. Though it no longer stands, the site is preserved and can be visited. All that remain now are heaps of rubble, a fun little cave and some broken columns. There is also a little museum that explains the site and how the ancient wonder used to look.

Altogether, definitely worth a look if you find yourself in Bodrum.

One Short Day in Bodrum...

Arriving in Bodrum from was immediately a relief after having spent far too long in the seedy, dry, dusty, altogether unimpressive city of Kusadasi. The temperature was warmer by at least ten degrees than Istanbul and the entire place had the feel of a lush vacation spot. The locals were charming and all smiles, and shockingly wanted to have their photo taken when they took notice of my DSLR! One mother at the beach even went so far as to point to her child and say "You take picture!"

Sadly, I only spent one night in a very, very basic hotel in Bodrum (hotel details below).
Oh lovely Bodrum! I wish I could have stayed a few more days.

Don't miss:
-The beach.
-Great shopping.
-Historical sites: The Mausoleum, the Castle and Myndos Gate.
-Take a stroll along the waterfront. It's gorgeous!

DO Miss:
-Eating the little, round donuts drenched in honey that are displayed here in glass cases. (#IncubusOfBacterialPlague)

If you're looking for a great, budget-friendly place to stay in Bodrum, check out:
Hotel Gulec, cost about $50US/night for a double room, single use.
Extremely spartan, but comfortable and run by generous, accommodating people.

Perks:
-Beautiful garden
-Close (2 blocks) to the beach and a gorgeous downtown shopping area.
-Walkable distance (with luggage) to the Ferry port and the local bus station.
-Great AC
-The owner arranged for a ferry ticket for me on arrival (I was traveling to Kos the next morning), which he did not upcharge at all. (When I reached the ferry port the next morning I was told numerous stories by other passengers at how much they were overcharged by local scalpers and hotel managers. Yikes!)
-The owner even prepared a to-go breakfast for me for the next morning as "breakfast is included in the price, but you will depart too early." (It was a tomato & cheese sandwich on a large bread roll)

Hotel Gulec room:

A Turkish Bus Ride

My friends, bus rides are the way to travel around Turkey, aside from airplanes. Bus rides. Who knew?

Bus Depots are alive and well in Turkey! They are what Greyhound was fifty years ago, a means to traverse large distances relatively inexpensively. But these days while Greyhound seems to be dwindling somewhat in the US, Bus travel in Turkey is thriving. That's because Turkey is vast. And it is not connected by a train system. Airplanes fly all over the country, sure, but a newbie to travel isn't going to want to mess with the rental car system/driving in Turkey. SO buses.

I traveled from Izmir to Bodrum by bus. It took around four hours in a comfortable, assigned-seating bus with in-seat entertainment systems. (Sure, it was all in Turkish, but it was still entertaining. Maybe more than normal.) I'm convinced that if I'd been in a car the trip would have only taken two hours. And if it'd been in the US, it probably would have been a 75 minute trip. Yah. But so it is.

We made one stop along the way, a literal five-minute pit stop (squatter bathrooms). Heaven help the person who misses a bus there! We were somewhere out in the middle of nowhere. In the mid-section of Turkey, somewhat inland away from the coast. Until the moment I stepped off of that bus I thought I'd experienced heat. I've traveled to Egypt and Jordan and the Caribbean, for pete's sake. Nothing had ever prepared me for the breath-robbing wall of heat that met me when I stepped out of the air-conditioned bus. Dry and hot, like standing over a roaring pit-fire, the temperature of this place could be seen in waves rising off of the ground. I got back on the bus and away we went.

An hour later, the bus turned slightly to the right and we made for the southern coast of Turkey. Gone was the oppressive heat, replaced with cool salty breeze mingled with a Mediterranean blue sea and bright pink bowers of bougainvillea.

A year or so ago, while I was visiting Karchner Caverns outside of Tucson, Arizona, I met a British couple traveling across the US. We began to chat about travel, as travelers do, and when I mentioned that I was planning to visit Turkey soon, they gave me heaps and loads of suggestions. Do, they said, travel by bus! It's cheap and easy and quite comfortable. See Bodrum and Pamukkele and Ephesus and Kas and dozens of other little places along the way. Well, I didn't make it inland to Cappadocia or far South to Kas (Was SORELY dissappointed to miss seeing the sunken city there), but I can definitely confirm that bus travel in Turkey is indeed the way to go! Alas, I'll be back again to see the rest.


Tips:
-Book ahead. At least three days to a week. You'll probably have trouble with same-day tickets. Especially in the tourist season.
-Book directly, in-person at the bus depot. It'll save you time and money and runaround. Turkey is full of "middlemen" who are quite happy to help you out, for a price.
-TIME. As in, you need it if you go to Turkey, time to see everything. You could make a good go at Turkey in two weeks by bus. Three would be best.

Izmir/Ancient Smyrna & Kadifekale

Most people bypass the city of Izmir when visiting Turkey.

Honestly, I would have bypassed Izmir except I needed to do some research there.

It's not a very tourist-friendly place. But it is an authentic Turkish city wherein the occasional tourist sticks out like a sore thumb. Blonde hair, light skin. Yah. That's me, trying to blend in, in TURKEY. Fail. Staring. Pointing. Yelling. Yah.

I made arrangements to visit Izmir & Ephesus through a local travel agency. The upside of doing this was the private car and driver. It was really a great way to get around, and my driver was fabulous. Very attentive, looked out for me and tried to answer all of my questions about very obscure things. The downside of booking this segment of my trip through a local agency was the AWFUL hotel they stuck me in and the pre-packaged group tour of Ephesus I was stuck on. Knowing what I do now, I would have booked everything but the driver separately.

Anyhoo.

Izmir. It's a very old city. It was once known as Smyrna.
It's roots date back to Alexander the Great.

Old Alex had a vision about a particular hillside, and about building a Castle/city on that hillside. The vision showed him that if he built the city on the top of the hill it would never be defeated. What came about was Kadifekale, the Velvet Castle. And Alex was right.


Kadifekale's remains still sit atop the ancient hill. It doesn't get many tourists and as such there is no entrance fee (the first no-entrance fee site I'd seen in Turkey). The site has been excavated and you can see the ruins of old cisterns, the castle walls and a chapel. Newer constructions and inclusions to the site include a children's playground (?) and the remains of an old restaurant (tables and chairs) nestled beside the tall walls of the fortress. It would have been a pretty cool place to eat dinner, actually.

At the bottom of the hill lie the remains of Smyrna's Agora, it's city market. The agora site is actually much more interesting than the castle, mostly because it's been excavated more and there's more to see. You can wander around under the old Agora floor and see ancient pipelines and waterways, fountains and collonades. It's not the best archaeological site I've been to, and I wouldn't necessarily say that it's worth everyone's time and effort to go out of the way to see, but I enjoyed it and did the research I needed.