CATCHING UP, IV: OUT ON THE ROAD, AGAIN

[The four "Catching Up" posts were composed during our four days "at sea" -- and far away from any Internet connection.  They were added to the blog on Monday, May 19, 2014, after our arrival at our hotel in Kusadasi, near Ephesus.]

The "tour bug" hit us again today, after our day of rest.  Elvan arranged for a minibus to pick us up and drive the group to visit the Dalwan river and environs.  Once we arrived, we transferred to a river boat and cruised out to the Mediterranean to a protected turtle nesting site.  The egg laying season doesn't begin until early in June; however, we sighted a terrapin nonetheless -- and snacked on freshly caught blue crab, the turtles' favorite food.

A walking tour of Caunus, a nicely situated ancient port city (now kilometers from the coast), followed.  Although its location exposed the population to the scourge of malaria, the layout of the public building ruins still extant (a theater, agora, church and walled fort) made the picturesque setting quite enticing -- especially when we discovered the gift store carried a stock of Double Chocolate Magnum ice cream bars!

Back aboard ship by mid-afternoon, we ate our way through the remainder of the day: lunch at three, tea at four and dinner around eight.  Our cook comes from the area in southern Turkey especially known for its cuisine.  As a result, he really knows his way around his galley, so squeezing in three meals in such short order was hardly the ordeal it might have been, especially since it included "cheese cigars" (not the proper Turkish appellation) handmade by some of the female members of our group.

Several folks also made their inaugural swim off the boat, one way to burn off a few of those excess calories accumulated as of late!