Day 5 – Wednesday 13 May

Oh the luxury of not having to set the alarm early. Like we actually went to bed normal time and got up when we felt like it. This was still early as a few messages had come in on the phone stirring me in the early morning light. Vern suggested I look outside to see if I could see any balloons and as I parted the curtains to our garden terrace they were in full show in the hazy morning light.

They truely are delightful and make me laugh when I see the small baskets full of people floating buy, sometimes appearing as though the are just hanging there, or like a 3D wallpaper feature wall. At other times they appear and then disappear just as quickly behind things, it is deceptive how fast they can move. They also remind me of those hanging little glass fish you can get to give an appearance of real fish in a tank.  I love the sound of the pilot letting the hot air up and then there is effortless silence as they glide until the next injection of hot air.

We headed up to the roof top terrace on the invitation of the night shift manager who was outside for a smoke. Up there were a couple of kiwi girls we met briefly yesterday morning. So we enjoyed the views and conversation until breakfast time.  The breakfast here is plentiful but not spectacular or particularly high quality. It is not bad, but just not fab either.  We are both enjoying the Turkish chai (tea) and I enjoy lots of salad for breakfast.

We discussed our plans for the day and decided to head out quickly after breakfast before it got too hot and do the small walk-trail through Love valley,  known for its phallic rock formations.  Um not too much to say here further on that aspect, however it was a very worthwhile walk and stunning 360 views. 

There are spring flowers in the low areas, a barely running stream bed, and several bird and butterfly species. We took our shoes off and enjoyed the cool soft stream bed for as much of the walk as possible. I packed my Norwegian walking sticks and they have proved most helpful for my arthritic knee when we are out and walking in the non urban areas.  I am managing, albeit slowly on the steep areas or steps.

We finished our hike around lunch time and headed to Avenos for lunch and potentially rug shopping.  It is also known for its ceramics and lovely river – the largest in Türkiye.  It was a lovely little town with a totally different vibe to Göreme. The river is green-blue and wide with lots of geese of all things.  The town has a lovely promenade and an easy feeling – a lot less of a tourist trap than its neighbour 10 minutes drive down the road.

I had googled places to eat and we headed to a well rated one called Kapadokya Lezzet Sofrasi.  The meal was great, albeit the slow cooked meat was a bit stringy for my liking, but I am not fond of pulled meats or ones that have no moisture left in them.  Anyway we got a complimentary massive mezzo plate selection with fresh flat bread, including a nice sized salad. We ordered local fresh buttermilk drink which came out frothy in the lovely copper mugs.  Vern enquired about the ‘turnip juice’ and was cautioned it was ‘rich’ and not to European palates by the lovely waiter.  Vern was keen to explore so we ordered one and both loved it.  It has radish, turnip, purple carrot, sour dough, pounded wheat and salt.  It was kind of sweet and yet savoury, slight ferment fizz, a sourness like kombucha or kefir drink. We would highly recommend driving the short distance to Avenos and avoiding the Goreme eateries.  By the time we had devoured every crumb, our belly’s were bursting but very satisfied.

We took a stroll over the suspension bridge and back down the riverside to the car where we saw something both funny and disturbing – a woman trying to do a 3 point turn but smacking into a car anyway. OMG it was quite scary actually as she was the dumbest driver we have ever seen.  Made us nervous in a rental seeing some of the drivers….

Dinner was at another tourist Goreme hotel, and a lot later than usual as we were quite satiated from lunch. I tried the manta – tiny meat ravioli in tomato with a bit of yoghurt sauce, and they were rather tasty. Vern had lamb shish. Bouncy and dry…. Bed early as possible and packed for early start tomorrow driving back to Kayseri airport and heading to Antalya via Istanbul Turkish airways.