After leaving Datca we headed to Dalyan thermal springs and mud baths we were still travelling with The Harris’s. Entry is 20tl each but if you want to stay for the night then it’s 250tl including entry.
We arrived at about 5.30pm and decided that we would stay for the night.
We had a look around there were indoor and outdoor pools. One of the outdoor pools also had mud at the bottom and that was the one we went in first.
It was great fun in the mud baths. It’s certainly not every day that I get to poor boiling mud over Dee’s head! The other outdoor pool didn’t have any mud.
The indoor pools were separated into male and female. It was just the girls that went into the ‘ladies pool’ but then we all went into the ‘men’s pool’ as there was no one else around.
There was also showers to rinse off the mud.
In the morning I did yoga with The Harris’s right next to the showers. We did get a few strange looks from people that were covered in mud.
It was looking at all those people covered in mud and staring at us that we decided we needed to get back into the mud pools and then let the mud dry in the sun as that hadn’t been an option the night before. Here I am below covered in mud and drying in the sun with Dave and Steph Harris .
As you can see there is a lake behind us but there were also signs saying not to go in! We didn’t but some people were ignoring the signs and it seemed to be ok.
Here is a photo Dee took of the lake at sunset.
After moving washing away our mud it was time to move on. We were heading for the town of Dalyan which meant getting a ferry or driving all the way round the lake. The ferry was definitely the quickest route and didn’t cost very much.
Dalyan
The ferry was very small and we couldn’t fit both our van’s on together. So they went first. It was interesting to watch as the boat turns round and then all vehicles have to reverse off, then it was our turn. The ferry itself only took a few minutes.
We went and found our park up and then set off to meet our friends The Jones’s who were in Dalyan .
It was nice to see them again, we all went out for a few drinks together and it was a lovely afternoon.
Turtle Beach
The following day we hired a boat with The Harris’s to go to Turtle Beach. The real name for Turtle Beach is Iztuzu Beach. As the name suggests there are turtles there.
We did get quite a good deal on the boat for all of us, our friend Dave Harris negotiated to get a good deal. The boat stopped on the way to turtle Beach so that we could buy crab to eat ourselves and to feed the turtles.
The crab you buy is cut up in small pots, the one you see there did go back in the tank.
Below you can see the the ancient tombs in Dalyan. They are sculpted on the rock face and are known as The Lycian Rock Tombs Our captain went as close as he could so the we could see them and take photos . The tombs mostly date back to 4th century BC!
The ‘proper’ name for Turtle Beach is Iztuzu Beach. The beach is a 6km long . It’s a nesting area for loggerhead turtles, an endangered species. It is one of the last nesting areas for these turtles and is also a conservation area, closely monitored and protected by international conservation organisations and The Turkish government. Turtles lay their eggs between May and October and the beach remains closed between 20.00pm and 8am to facilitate this .
It was early May and we kind of assumed we would see turtles .
The beach itself was a big white sandy beach and was very touristy
I sat on the beach with The Harris’s. It was quite breezy which was nice and also meant the sea was quite wavy. I went in for a swim with Dave and his son Milo. I took some of the left over crab meat in my hand still convinced there would be turtles. Sadly we didn’t see any.
Dee went off for a walk looking for the turtle sanctuary that we had heard about . Apparently they take in injured turtles and nurse them back to health before releasing them back not the wild. Our friends had been there and see some of the turtles, they said it looked like a shed on the beach. Dee had been gone ages when we found out how far away it was! Right at the other end of the beach , so probably 6 km away! I called him and he came back . We went and had some lunch in the beach bar before returning the boat
As we approached the boat there was people gathering and feeding the turtles! Yes finally before getting on the boat back to Dalyan we did get to see turtles. It did absolutely make our day .
Once we were back from our trip to Turtle beach we all decided to move on to a place called Göcek which was about 40 minutes away Our next post will start there.
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Our Life on the Road 