“Kayla,
the Beach Girl, Tree Dweller”
Kalbak Beach
by Kayla
Summers
Picture
yourself on a boat on a river, with tangerine horses
and marmalade sky…Uhh, sorry, wrong trip! Okay,
picture yourself on a guru orange air mattress, ever
so gently floating atop a crystal clear turquoise ocean
as gently as one would on a city lake.
Gazing
down from my raft, I could see all the way to
the bottom. I saw schools of fish moving in the
rhythm of the sea, and an occasional sea turtle
gliding slowly on its sojourn to the beach.
After
I got tired of trying to count the toes on the flippers
of the aforementioned order of Testudines, I began
turning over on the raft. Turning was not as easy as
you might guess; however here is the trick: while you
are prone upon the air mattress, let your legs drop
down on either side of the mattress, then gently raise
your torso up. This ploy promptly causes the mattress
to fold in half. The figure at this point is highly
reminiscent of those huge inflatable dinosaurs into
which small children are wedged. Next, firmly holding
onto the end that will be the head, ease yourself down,
applying gentle, firm pressure around your hips, returning
one leg to the end that will be the foot. At this point,
you are home free. I’ve tried many variations
on this theme. Truthfully, it is called “playing”.
Falling
into this warm elixir of life was almost as fun as
a successful turn. While lazing supine, I followed
the neo-glacial wonders of the Taurean mountain range,
which to this humble observer look
remarkably like Yosemite. Above the mountains was a
gorgeous blue sky scattered with those puffed, Cumuli
clouds moved about by gentle breezes, transforming
my imagery. I heard the tinkling of the bells on the
goats that graze precariously on the precipices. I
listened to the sounds of the sea, lapping over pebbles
of the shore and these were the only sounds I heard.
The
large beach was fairly deserted. The maximum number
of people I saw was twenty and that was a group of
some "new age" people who were there only
for an hour. They were playing volleyball with a net
set up well away from the turtle nests. From the beach
itself, was a path leading to the tree house communities.
To my knowledge, there were approximately three tree-house
communities in the valley, which for geo-political
reasons, were camouflaged.
They
consisted of a main house where you can eat surprisingly
great food, similar to California cuisine, only
bigger portions. The food is generally included
in the price of a "tree-house".
The
tree houses are loosely scattered around the main house.
Serviceable footpaths connect them together and these
paths are often lined with flowers of the season, such
as: wild sage, oregano, or
a well-tended vegetable garden. The tree houses themselves
were enclosed platforms with futons on which to sleep,
where I drifted off to sleep with a view of the ocean
during a full moon, and I listened to the water rolling
over the rocks.
Bathrooms
and toilets were well maintained, and were located
just far away enough for privacy but not so far that
one needed to worry about access to them. The differences
of the camps are the facades. Kalbak Camp has a better
facade with matching tree house enclosures. There,
meals are presented in a buffet style with many choices
and it is closest to the beach. Turan's Camp has rustic
charm. They served there a bulgur wheat dish that is
out of this world, and Turan, himself, occasionally
acts as guide, hiking up to the waterfall or the Lycian
Trail. (Turkey's first long-distance foot-path from
Fetiye to Antalya.)
My
sole purpose of this trip was to "veg out" and
get a tan. However I am a devotee of multi-tasking,
and I brought along “The Economist”firmly
tucked into my issue of 'W'. So, while sipping the
frozen water and munching on organic grapes (courtesy
of Turan’s Camp), I entered into that stage
of relaxation that only a beach can provide.
Where is this oasis? It is forty-five minutes from Oludeniz.
My friend and I had arrived late in the evening, so we had to take a taxi up
a winding, dirt, service road, and hike a half-mile down. Although there was
nearly a full moon, I wouldn’t recommend doing this! The other options
are these:
1. Take a tour boat from Oludeniz, to the Kalbak beach. From there, walk about
half a block to the campsites.
2. Arrive in the daytime, at Oludeniz, take one of the minibuses, (07:00/12:30/18:00)
which will drop you off above the campsite, where you can arrange for a mule
to pack down your luggage. (This is a fantastic deal.)
I
offer you these disclaimers: it is remote, I did
not see a television, nor hear a radio, although
they probably have one stashed somewhere…The
hiking here was fantastic and challenging within
fifteen minutes from your tree house. All of this
is in a fairly pristine environment; the entire area
is protected from mass development, …for now.
My
friend spent her winter here. Although she said it
was pretty quiet, she swam everyday. The water was
warm, and the weather was also warm when it was not
actively raining. I know I’ll be returning there
for my Amazon woman training. What a jewel it is!
Kalbak Camp
Turan’s Camp |