Day 4 of Turkey Vacation: Kekova Islands from Kaş on August 22nd, 2016
The most worry-free day since we arrived in Turkey, as everything would be arranged for us on the 8-hour boat trip to Kekova.
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Boat Trip to Kekova
So after breakfast we arrived at Kaş Harbor at around 0930, and our boat would leave at 10 o’clock.
I’m seriously wondering how fish could survive the propellers of modern boats in this harbor. At least I didn’t see people feeding them.
Well, usually the tour boats at these harbors would feature sun decks covered with beach towels for those that enjoyed getting tanned with advanced reservation. Definitely not us.
Last night when we were booking this trip, the crew of this ship boasted to us that their ship featured powerful twin engines, which meant less time on the move and more time swimming. Well, today at least we were constantly passing other boats.
The crew used this oven and roasted some chicken, the rest of our lunch was pre-made on land.
Yes, I was wearing Niagara Falls Sandals.
So 45 minutes later we were at the first swimming spot, where we enjoyed 40 minutes of swimming in Mediterranean Sea.
In short, I had great fun for 40 minutes, went back onboard, and found that I had accidentally cut my foot in those rocks. Although that injury was relatively minor, and I decided not to let it affect on the rest of my day.
This is why man has invented swimming shoes.
Wake of Our Ship in Mediterranean Sea
Turkish Coast Guard Speedboat
Rocks and Ruins along Mediterranean Turkey
The second swimming site was not far from the underwater ruins of Kekova, and we spent nearly an hour there. Lunch was also served during that hour, which featured roasted chicken from that bow oven (that’s the only good thing about lunch).
The BBQ tasted really good, the lettuce not bad, I’m not sure I was any comfortable with the rest of this very Turkish dish.
Then there's the Underwater City of Kekova.
Underwater City of Kekova
Underwater City of Kekova
Ship Touring Underwater City of Kekova
Underwater City of Kekova
Underwater City of Kekova
Simena Castle
Our ship would stop at the hillside Village of Kaleköy before heading back. We could spend that hour either sitting in one of their restaurants of cafes, or climbing up to the Simena Castle for a great view of the Mediterranean, or just swimming in the harbor. And we went for the castle as a cultural relic.
From the dock to the Simena Castle was a 60-meter climb in elevation through the stone streets of Kaleköy lined with local souvenir shops, it felt very countryside. And up in the top, we were surprised to find that Simena Castle accepted our museum passes.
Tombs Scattered outside Kaleköy
The wind was blowing very strong on top of the mountain at Simena Castle, so we didn’t spend a lot of time before heading downhill.
We came back to ship early enough that we figured there’s still time for us to go swimming near the docks.
Ruins in Mediterranean by Kaleköy
On our way back, we took a little detour near the town of Kaleüçağız, where the ship crew introduced us to the nearby ruins (tombs mainly) before heading back to Kaş.
Ruins near Kaleüçağız Mediterranean
Oil Spill?
Not long after that we were at the third swimming spot of the day, the only one with a name on the map, Akvaryum Bay, and we stayed here for 30 minutes.
This bay was the only swimming spot of the day that is not on the coastal line, instead, it was between two giant rocks in the Mediterranean Sea. So the ships were anchored, we were not. This was especially evident when we went bathing in the sea for five minutes, and found the ship long gone.
Ships in Akvaryum Bay
Mountains by Mediterranean Turkey
Here we were at the fourth and last swimming spot of the day, which was not very far from the first spot. The good thing about this spot in the afternoon was that, we were swimming in the shadow of the afternoon sun, and the water was refreshingly cool.
If you look carefully, you should be able to find tiny fish swimming around.
We stayed here for about 45 minutes before finally heading back to Kaş.
We got off the boat at around 1815, which concluded a wonderful eight hours of adventure. One thing not as exciting though, I lost (part of) the sandals that I brought along from Niagara Falls Cave of the Winds, so I could barely walk back to hotel.
All in all, this incredible boat trip to Kekova Islands was definitely worth us spending two nights in this tourist town of Kaş on the Mediterranean Sea, with the most expensive hotel room rates of our entire trip.
Of course, it could be made a lot better if I had prepared swimming shoes.
Oh, for reference, the ship we were on was called Grand Safari.
So after we disembarked from this wonderful journey, we had dinner in a plaza not far from the harbors.
Pizza as Dinner
At least Wikipedia calls this "Omelette".
After dinner, I went out again, in search of the other attractions of this little town. I saw on TripAdvisor that there’s a famous Lions Tomb in the city, but I wasn’t able to locate it (guess it had been moved somehow).
So I headed west to check out an amphitheater located just outside town. Of course it won’t be as magnificent as the other amphitheaters we saw along the way, but it was a nice place for the locals to hang out after dinner in the Mediterranean breeze.
Antiphellos Amphitheater
Kaş used to be called Antiphellos.
END