Paddling the Turquoise Coast

Sea Kayaking in

Article by Sonja Ezergallis, images by Roger Chandler and Sonja Ezergallis

When the weather in the UK is turning chilly a spot of sea kayaking winter sun canbe just the ticket. Sonja Ezergalis and Roger Chandler head to turkey to explore thesea kayaking potential of its stunning Turquoise Coast.

Arriving late and in the darkness of another country whoselanguage, people and environment you know little about(apart from what you've gleaned on the plane from yourguide and phrase books) can be an interesting experience!Arrivals halls can be busy and bustling with cabbies, andthose that are alleged cabbies, all talking rapidly to get yourcustom and whisk you off into the dark night! Arriving intothe airport in Turkey was none of the above... fortunately!Once through passport control and having paid for our visawe were met by our are-arranged escort who transportedus to Kas, the starting point for our sea kayaking expeditionto explore the Turquoise Coast on the South Coast ofTurkey.

Arriving in Kas, which was still in darkness, added to theatmosphere as we tried to distinguish the coastline and gainan impression of what it looked like. Our accommodationawaited and following short hellos in a mix of

pigeon Turkish and English we lugged our luggage up threeflights of stairs and crashed in our room to get a few hourssleep before sunrise.

Our sleep was signi  cantly cut short because as soon as dawnbroke the   rst prayers of the day were being conveyed from aloudspeaker emanating from the mosque, which was a fewdoors up from our room.

The call to prayer many times a day became part of the fabricof our experience, it was atmospheric and notable however faraway from civilisation it seemed that we were! Regular prayersprovide a daily routine and structure to life in Kas (approx 98%of the population of Turkey is of Muslim faith). A villagebreakfast of boiled egg, sliced tomatoes, olives, greenpeppers, bread, feta cheese honey and tea followed andfuelled us up for ourdayaheati.

Cats&Dogs.

Our plans were to set out that afternoon but forecastssuggested higher winds prevailing in the afternoon, typical ofMediterranean paddling. Boats packed and calm seas saw uspaddle out of the harbour in the early evening to our   rst night'scamp, but not before we had an opportunity to wander therambling cobbled streets in Kas and soak up its atmosphaeand a few culinary delights.

Kas is a very relaxed town out of season and has a lovelyatmosphere. Restaurateurs have time to go the extra mile andwe savoured additional house specialities free of charge withmeals, perhaps unlikely to be experienced in high season. Ofparticular amusement in Kas is the unique community of dogsand cats that coexist side-by-Side bathing in the sun in Kas’smain square and looked after by all who are

Taking a break at a secluded beach

Clear turquoise waters

Camping at Ugagiz

A local her seller

Packing the sea kayaks in Kas

Arriving at Aperlai our second camp

The blue cave

A lunch stop amongst the rock

local. We asked about the arrangement and were told that thecats and dogs have been in Kas for as long as Kas has beenthere and they have no other option other than to get along! Afurry lesson to us all in tolerance and cooperation!

Picture Perfect

The Turquoise Coast stretches from Mamaris to Antalya andas its name suggests conjures up images of white sands andaquamarine seas.‘These are not an illusion or tourist boardmarketing, the reality when you climb into your sea kayak inthe morning is the crystal clear water of the Mediterraneanlapping against sparkling soft white sand, and it's a lot warmerthan the UK should you decide to savour its watery delights!

As we paddled this coast we were aware of the Lycian Way, along distance trail, which runs parallel to much of theTurquoise Coast and distinguishable by its colour runningthrough the mountain landscapes and back down to sea level.The route that we were paddling encompasses an area rich inLycian history and the Kekova region is a stretch of rockycoastline scattered with ruins, prominent tombs andabandoned villages. it was all quite remarkable.

From Aperlae we crossed the isthmus of the Sicak Peninsulaon foot, avoiding a cow that had been struck by lightening (sothe locals told us). Visiting one of two restaurants at the jettyRamazan, one of the last local camel drivers, who owns one ofthem graciously provided us with beer and his wife proffered abig plastic bag of free black olives for us to embellish ourdinner supplies with. Perfect!

The Sunken City

Being in sea kayaks gave us the advantage of being able topaddle around Kekova island, known as the ‘Sunken Cityi Aswe looked down below our kayaks the remains of stairs,pavements and the walls of houses could be seen. The islandalso has a small beach. The area is closely monitored andswimming and snorkelling around the ‘Sunken City’ isprohibited to prevent the removal of antiquities from the area.Glass bottom boats cruise close to the shore, but the best wayto see what's below the water is de  nitely by sea kayak. Thevisibility is amazing and once out of the no snorkelling zoneimmersing yourself in the water rewards you with sightings ofpipefish, sea

The Turquoise Coast stretches fromMamaris to Antalya and as its namesuggests conjures up images ofwhite sands and aquamarineseas.‘These are not an illusion ortourist board marketing, the realitywhen you climb into your sea kayakin the morning is the crystal clearwater of the Mediterraneanlapping against sparkling soft whitesand

Visitors

Sonja enjoying the delights of Turkish Sea Paddling

Sonja and Pebblesthe dog and thefinal night’scampsite

urchins, stafish and a short reprieve from themidday warmth of the sun.

As we paddled into our last camp of the trip fourdays later we were aware of a   shing boat onthe edge of the bay watching our moves. As thesun began to drop the boat moved closer intothe bay, anchoring up, its inhabitants walkingslowly up thepebbly beach towards us. Minutes later wewere sharing halva and explaining in signlanguage how the sea kayaks worked to ourinquisitive visitors, before they left us, to headoff once again to   sh into the night. Not in theleast sleepy and wanting to remain under thenight sky for a little longer i lit a fire and as itstarted to crackle and get going we had anothervisitor to camp. She was a bit moth eaten butnevertheless in good form ‘Pebbles; as wecalled her, a black and white collie cross,insisted on remaining with us for the night,tucking into dry cereal and water with relish.

The last day of our paddle started clear, sunnyand calm and the beach was too easy to lie onand snooze. We both wondered what theweather would be like on our return to the UK!Eventually with our boats packed we left ourfour-pawed companion on the beach,wondering who she would   nd next to 'guard’aswe ambled across the sea towards Andriake fora cool beer and the end of our joumey, sad forour Turkish adventure to be ending but relishingour forthcoming start to the coming season!

The last day of our paddle started clear,sunny and calm and the beach was too easyto lie on and snooze. We both wonderedwhat the weather would be like on ourreturn to the UK!

Sonja Ezergailis

Sonja Ezergailis runs Coastal Spirit with herpartner Roger, who is a level 5 Coach - Sea.They provide specialist sea kayaking, trainingand coaching courses for individuals, groups,clubs and families as well as journeys andexpeditions, REC First Aid courses and teamdevelopment.

Coastal Spirit are running a sea kayakingjourney along the Turquoise Coast in March2011 check our their website for details.

www.coastalspirit.com

Simena and impressive looking fort

Sun going down on our first night’s camp