Cappadocia III

Kama wasn't up for joining this round of sunrise as well after skipping yesterday's hike which was a shame but I wanted to experience more of Cappadocia's magic. I found another place to try nearer to Goreme with a lot less people too. Just a dozen or so of us seeing the balloons once again take to the sky. It was cold but again so worth it to see them from another angle, this time with the huge plateau as the backdrop. They still came over to our side and I was able to snap a lot of close ups too. On the way back to my hostel, I saw the balloons flying over the city towards Uchisar.

I had brunch with Kama at Sedef again and once again she opted out of the day's activities and decided to just stay in the hostel again. I went ahead and rented some bikes though I wish I had rented e-bikes instead because the journey was tough as hell. It was a long bike route going to several valley scattered around Goreme.

My first stop was the furthest one, Devrent Valley or Imaginary Valley. Getting there was so difficult due to the slopes and my tired legs from several days of hiking. I was huffing and puffing all the way and pushing myself hard but eventually I did reach this fabled place. Was it worth it? Maybe. It wasn't as big as the other valleys but it was still unique because it had really strange looking rock formations that resembled various things from a camel to a dancer, up to one's imagination, I guess!

I went to Zvelve Valley next, it was quite similar to Goreme Open Air Museum in that it too, functioned as one. This place had far less people than Goreme though and it was a much more intimate experience to explore these caves, an almost alien and ancient civilization in its shape and form.

All throughout the day, the rain comes and goes but the journey to Pasabag Valley was getting quite wet already. Also known as Monks Valley, it was another unique natural wonder, my guess is that the monks used to live inside the fairy chimneys around here as well. A bit phallic shaped just like Love Valley but not as quite, it was a small place and I was done in half an hour yet I had to stay longer just to let the torrential downpour pass before putting on a brave face and riding back to Goreme.

The journey was brutal as all the downhills coming here had now become an uphill, it was gruesome and I was glad to have arrived back at the city to give back the bike. I really wish I had gotten an e-bike instead. I went back to the hostel to take a shower and rest up. We ate Kama's fish with some bread for dinner and then went to catch our bus going to Pamukkale. Supposedly.

Drifting in and out of sleep with the numerous stops and noisy riders, we got woken up just a few hours pass midnight to find we were in Denizli. Of course we were, no way the bus heads to Pamukkale, looks like we were sold duds. A man came to pick us up and bring us over to his office to start hustling and selling us some packages for Pamukkale. To be fair, he was quite helpful and we managed to get things settled with him including a ride to and from our hotels, Pamukkale, a restaurant, and the airport the next day for a fair price. I paid him a hundred dollars expecting to get some change which he said he would but he ended up running away the next day and I lost some money but ah who cares.

He made some calls and we were able to stay at another hotel since ours was closed, just to sleep for a few hours and freshen up before being taken to Pamukkale after sunrise.Read more