Things we learned about Turkey today:

-everything in Turkey is handmade; jewelry, wood stuff, ice cream, hand painted tiles and ceramics, Aladdin hats, colored glass coated lanterns, etc. ...or so they claim.

Woke up to a beautiful day in the Mediterranean, the sun was shining and the morning doves were cooing outside our window. Another Turkish breakfast this morning, no wonder these guys are skinny…the tomatoes and cucumbers are getting old, where's the bacon? Off to Patara Beach today. We had an uneventful drive to Patara and found that the turn-off road to the beach is the best road we’ve driven on thus far…smooth pavement for once instead of all the rumbling and road noise of the typical Turkish road. It’s $4 TL per person to enter the park. This is another ancient beach town and there are well preserved ruins about 500 yards from the beach that you drive through on the way in. We stopped at the great amphitheater and snapped at ton of photos. 2 goats showed up while we were there and were very friendly, so we added them to our photo collection as well. They are building another amphitheater right next to the existing, but it’s not a reconstruction, it is a brand new stone structure but built in the same shape and form as the ancient one. I assume they are going to make it some sort of tourist fare like nightly performances or something. Unsure though of how that is going to work, Patara is a bit of a ways away from the main hotel areas.

We continued to the beach where we parked and lathered up with 50 SPF sun screen (the sun screen cost $30 TL, we got ripped off)…it's not hot here, only like 88, but the sun burns quick. The path to the beach is about a 100 yard wood planked path. The Carreta Carreta turtles nest here so they are very sensitive about where you walk and how you use the beach. We’re impressed by their conservation; however, they may be a little over board because you have to vacate the beach from 8pm to 8am. Other places we have been that have endangered turtles laying eggs allow you on the beach at night, they just have a turtle patrol to watch for turtles and make sure no one is stealing the eggs. Anyhow, the beach is beautiful. Black sand, very wide, nice sand dunes and mountain back drop, and its 7km long so there is plenty of beach to go around. Apparently it is rarely crowded. The parking lot was probably ¾ full during the time we were there and I had no trouble getting photos with huge areas of the beach with no one on it. 2 sun chairs and an umbrella are $10 TL total…I’m really liking this place, its way cheaper than the $18 lira for the same thing at Olu Deniz. There are saggy boobies here too though.

Heather and I do a pregnancy photo shoot in the sand and waves for the first hour we are there, then we post up at our lounge chairs and relax. The water is warmer here than at the pebble beaches, but it still takes some getting used to. We alternate playing in the waves and sand and laying on our lounge chair for the first half of the day, then we hit up the beach restaurant that is apparently known for its hamburgers. Not bad for Turkey, but certainly no Fuddruckers. After lunch I’m bored of lounging so I leave Heather to it and I take off snorkeling along the rocks…not much to see in the water here, it’s mostly just sand and a few small silver fish. After snorkeling I decide to explore the rock peninsula. There is a flag pole at the end of it that is deceptively far away. I make it out there after a considerable amount of rock hopping and thorny bush dodging for some great views of the entire beach. Wow, definitely worth the effort! (should have taken the big camera out here)

Back in town as the sun sets, we stroll down to the square and browse the shops. Kas is definitely an upscale area, everything is more expensive here. Heather and I see lots of stuff we like but nothing we can’t live without…this trip has been weird in that we haven’t acquired nearly as many ‘treasures’ as we typically do. Tripadvisor.com recommended Sultan Garden Restaurant, so we checked it out and decided to eat there. Good choice. Food is some of the best we’ve had and very reasonably priced even for the Kas Square. Complaints: cats in the restaurant…lots of them. Biting bugs in the air here…first time we’ve had an issue with pests on this trip.

A leisurely stroll back through the square, some ice cream from an interesting fellow in an Aladdin hat, and some enjoyment of the almost full moon as we walk back to our hotel. What a great day!