Easter Sunday - Lycian Trail Adventure

Easter Sunday 2024 - a day to remember! Noah woke up to an Easter Hunt before we headed out to walk a tiny distance of the Lycian Trail from Kabak to Paradise Beach. The Lycian Way is a hiking route following the traces of the ancient trade route of the Lycians along the Turkish Mediterranean coast.
The 509-kilometer long trail was created by a British woman Kate Clow in the 1990s, taking hikers from Fethiye to Antalya, and connecting 18 ancient cities. Noah and I headed down the steep mountain from our accommodation and along Kabak Beach, before starting our climb east towards Paradise Beach. Somewhere in all my research, it was suggested that we don't take the first marked trail, but rather the second. Unbeknown to me at the time, this was the start of the most dangerous trail I have ever hiked! The path, which I now realise was in actual fact a goat path, wound around the mountain, hugging the coastline. The terrain was hectic with narrow paths made up of loose rock/shale and pine needles, above treacherous, high cliffs. Having chosen my day takkies over my trail shoes when packing for our trip, I now regretted my decision, as I had absolutely no grip and ended up on all fours, or with Noah double gripping my arm. One wrong step or loose rock would result in us falling down the cliff side. We were now seriously lost, and with no GPS/data either (another stupid mistake, thinking it wasn't necessary). I was sweating and shaking, with my mouth which had become foul, soon becoming silent in concentration. We really did find ourselves in a very dangerous predicament. The upside is that we discovered seldom reached coves; got to marvel at huge boulders from landslides; and stumbled upon what we now know was a Blue Cave, in which we swam (spotted a Lion Fish and huge jelly afterwards). We also were privileged to swim with a turtle (2 metres from us), and who waved his flippers before swimming away. We also watched approx. 12 Blue Spotted Rays hovering near the rocks - apparently a rare sighting! What a treat being so immersed in nature, but sjoe! I don't think we will be that silly again and veer from a path without adequate equipment. Blessed we made it back with only a few scratches and bruises. 🙏🏻Read more