Today was a slower day, finally. I slept in until the sound of balloons overhead got us up around 7. There were much fewer today, perhaps because it was fairly cold, at 32deg when we got up. It was probably a bit colder when the balloons took off around 6:15.
Caught a few pictures and climbed on the adjacent roof to look for more. Maybe tomorrow we’ll see more. Hope so. It will be our last day here. Even though I’m going to miss the sight of so many when I wake up, when we get to the west coast maybe we’ll be able to sleep in some!!! Some vacation, running ragged at both end of the day….
We organized a bit, typed up a bit, as Day 7 was a long write up, and headed out for some hiking in the Rose Valley. There are three major valleys in the vicinity and the one that offered 2-5 hour loops seemed better than ones that were longer.
On the way out of town we passed the weekly market and stopped in to see the wares. What a beautiful spread!!! Even though everything looks so brown here, there’s gorgeous produce growing somewhere in the region!!!
Then on to the nearby town of Cavusin, a few kilometers away to look for the entrance to the Red/Rose Valley. We wandered up to the heights above the town and we were clearly looking into the valley. It wasn’t clear where the trails were but we headed in regardless. Turns out we were in the correct valley but not on the “easy” trails. We were pretty high up and the trail wasn’t mush more than a treaded down path about 18” wide. At some points it was very steep up and similarly steep down. However for the first 45 minutes or so we seemed to continue to climb. This was a bit disconcerting as our host at the hotel advised where to park, enter the valley, and advised us not to do any climbing. We sort of missed on all counts.
The valley is known for its rose colored formations. The overall landscape is so not normal looking!! The photos may give some idea!!!
At one point it became somewhat clear that there was a path in the downward direction and leading sort of in the direction back to the town. We weren’t lost but we weren’t sure where we were and we didn’t see any other people at any time. Fortunately the path continued in the right direction and eventually we ended up on a very wide path with tracks from horses, 4wheelers, and mountain bikes. And then not long after that there was a hand painted sign that said Red Valley End. We may not have started in the right spot for the trails at least we were in the right spot at the end. However we than had to get back to where the car was parked. Turned out to be only about 15 minutes down the dirt road. It ended well!
Had a lovely dinner at Orient with spectacular rack of lamb. Only wished I had ordered it too! http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g297983-d1099956-Reviews-Orient_Restaurant-Goreme_Cappadocia.html