Quick Side Quest

On a whim and the advice of friends, I decided to fill some time with a quick jaunt to a nearby town called Avanos.

I'm so glad I did!

This place is beautiful, modern, alive in the present and surely a much better example of real Turkey than is the hyper-touristy town of Göreme.

I enjoyed strolling through a supermarket, soaking my toes in the river (that has a beautiful promenade along each bank), catching a sunset view, and seeing people dressed up for Friday Night.

All in all, a wonderful way to spend a couple of hours. I wish I felt confident in my belly's ability to eat a good meal. It looks like the food here is tasty and the menu prices are much more reasonable than in Göreme.

Update!

I'm on the wrong bus!
This is not great news, but not a disaster. I think I know where we are going and am confident I can grab a taxi from there to where I need to be. This'll teach me to pay closer attention while awaiting public transit... in my defense, I didnask the guy waiting next to me if this is the way to Göreme and he said yes. Then when the bus arrives the driver barely atopped and started driving while I was boarding, so I didn't have lot of time to ask questions!

Update 2!

I disembarked the wrong bus in a place that looked busy. Ended up charring with Cesar, from Paris about life and travel and plans and disillusion... He is facing some tough decisions and I did my best to lead him towards ways to find the answers instead of telling what I think he should do. Nice guy.

I also chatted with a local who confirmed that we had the correct stop. Phew!

A bit later, another local told me that while we had the right stop, we had missed the last bus. Not great.

But! Ills (spelling?) then told me he needed to go to Göreme as well. We split a cab (crazy diver!) and got back to town without further issues. Phew!

Cesar caught his bus too.Read more