Alacati/windsurfers/Cesme swim

We woke to a bit of an overcast morning, had a great breakfast served by the couple of tomatoes, a couple kinds of cheese, cucumbers, toast and a menemen with socuk which we are both beginning to really like, very spicy and when its fried, it really brings out the flavor. After breakfast, we took a walk up to the top of the moutains filled with olive trees behind Sami’s house, and explored the property and took in the various vistas, in all directions, as we walked. The dogs accompanied us and it was really energizing to be up in the morning, walking in the moutains, enjoying the company of Sami. He said we were the only guests he has had that asked to walk in the mountains, in fact, the only ones other than he and his caretaker that have been up here. C learly, he enjoyed the fact that we wanted to do it and took great pleasure in our walk. We took all kinds of pictures but because it was a bit overcast, I am not sure they will be as good as we would like. We walked for about an hour, dressed, and headed off in the late morning. We first went to the famous Windsurfer Beach, renowned world wide for its great winds and the Worlds were held here this past summer. It was a windy gray day, but there were perhaps 40-50 windsurfers out in the bay, fighting the erratic winds. We sat in what looked liked the windsurfer sanctuary, where they kept all their boards and sails. There were lots of tents, campers, and a couple of cafes and restaurants right there on the beach, so we sat and had tea or ayran for about an hour, watching them surf. Like the US, windsurfres have become like a life for many of the young, they live here, surf every day, hang out with each other, go to the restaurants and clubs at night in Alacati. They seemed mostly northern European though Sami said there were a lot of Turks as well. We then went to lunch at Sami’s favorite family restaurant, had tarhana soup, some salad, an eggplant dish with cheese, and it was all delicious, just the kind of place we like, with the food all set out for you to see. All you do is tell the cooks what they want and they serve it up on a plate and a waiter brings it to your table. We then went for a ride, and Sami, because it was getting nice, took us along the best beach, which leads to the Sheridan Hotel. We decided to go for one last swim in the Aegean, parked the car, and basically had this mile long beach to our selves. Off in the distance, perahps a quarater mile away, were a few people walking, but other than that, it was ours. We changed in the lockers on the beach, picked out some chairs and went for a walk, followed by some of the local dogs, who loved having sticks thrown into the water. We walked past the Sheridan, as far as we could go, then back, to our chairs. We then swam for about 15 minutes; there was a neat sand bar, so you could walk out quite a ways and not be in water over your head, We came in and Sami had cotton towels for us, very light, but just right for drying off. Sami and I sat and talked, as Evie took a walk. We then changed, and walked back to the car, and continued our tour of the area. Sami took us to a few other coves where there were neat houses and hotels, and we eventually walked around both Alacati, which was mostly closed, so we headed to Cesme, more of a shopping area, where we were hit by a bit of rain, though it did not bother us much. We walked the streets, had some apple chai, went to a mavi jeans store, but were running out of energy so we headed back in late afternoon. We relaxed for a bit, took pictures, talked, then around 7:00 we had dinner, fixed by the caretakes, some specialities from Adana. It was not our favorite meal but nice, with rocket salad and something can Incli kofte, a speciality of Adana, where a ground lamb ball is covered with a wheat like bulgar, then fried, then put in a sauce. For dessert, we had bowls of pomegranite seeds, so large we could hardly finish. It was a great day, obviously, and we really enjoy Sami’s company and he seems to really enjoy ours. Neither of us seems to be in much of a hurry; we enjoy the same things, and enjoy being with each other. Sami usually rides his bike to the beaches or the restaurants, which must be a strange sight because he is probably the only one around who rides his bike. He seems to really enjoy the solitude of the farm, then the gregariousness and busyness of the the towns.