Finally getting off the yacht, we all cram into a mini-bus and make our way to Olympos. But first, we make a stop in a small town near Demre so people can get some cash. Olympos is classified as an archeological site, so little can be built there (e.g. no banks, police, pharmacies), including asphalt roads. At first, it looks like any old dusty town, but I spot some canvas tents behind some buildings and discover a crowded local market in a lemon grove. Vendors display their cheap wares, while farmers sell their fresh produce and spices. It's a bit overwhelming, and I feel like I'm caught in a tidal wave of people moments after I wander into the market. Leaving the small town and driving for a while, we make a stop where our group branches in our travels. Some of us decide to get on a mini-bus and head straight to Cappadocia while others continue to Olympos. Feeling very weary of the Mediterranean, I make the possibly regrettable decision of skipping Olympos and making my way to Cappadocia. So, I won't be writing about my experience of living in a rustic treehouse on a beach and hiking to see the Chimaera flames on Mount Olympos at night. Instead, you'll be hearing of cave living and wild hikes. The stop to change buses turns out to be a bit of a scam. It's a ridiculous $6 charge to get to Antalya on the chartered mini-bus, when we probably should have taken the bus to Olympos and catch a passing bus for $2, probably taking about the same time too. The ride is longer than I thought, but we eventually make it to Antalya, a large seaside town populated with tourists and fancy hotels. The bus station also has a high level of security, probably because the PKK (Kurdish separatist terrorists) have targeted this city in the past (as recently as this summer, from what I remember). For the overnight bus to Goreme, Cappadocia is surprisingly comfortable. We're served lokma (sweet dough balls), a number of beverages, and given refreshing towelettes and perfume. I somehow sleep through most of the 12 hour drive, which is unlike me, especially on a bus. The bus ride would actually have been shorter, but the driver made unbearably long pit stops, probably totalling 2 hours. On the final leg, I'm a bit groggy but become wide awake as the stunning Cappadocian terrain comes into view. I was feeling a bit ill over skipping Olympos, but it all becomes forgotten as I see the incredible landscape. Thousands upon thousands of rock cones, the result of erosion, spike out of the valleys and are backdropped by deep-coloured sediment layers on the surrounding canyon walls. I immediately wake up my mates so they can see the immense Uchisar castle, an enormous, rough castle carved out of an huge rock formation. I'm pumped and I quickly scarmble off the bus and seek my pension. I wander through the winding streets of Goreme, passing a huge cone with a Roman tomb (complete with columns) carved in it. In fact, hundreds of cones are scattered all over town, with houses built around or IN them. The town of Goreme itself is embedded in a national park. Even with all the visitors, most people still lead traditional farming lives, and horse-drawn carts are parked in the cobblestone streets. My pension actually turns out to be a hotel. Not wanting to cheap out on the Cappadocian experience, I decide to splurge a little on the luxury of a cave (oxymoron!). The place is beautiful, with stairs everywhere, two outdoor terraces with kilim (carpet, cushions) seating looking over the town of Goreme, and a really comfortable lounge complete with fire. The owner shows me some rooms - I have a choice between a cave and a fairy chimney with a view. I pick the fairy chimney - a huge cone formation. Since it's low season, I get the room for $28 a night, complete with the best breakfast I've seen so far in Turkey. However, other pensions around town rent out really good caves for a low as $10 with breakfast, which on hindsight, I might have taken, since I'm not going to be around to enjoy the fantastic views. I don't spend too long to enjoy the view. I drop off my pack and head over to the Goreme open-air museum - basically a set of large cave churches with well-preserved frescoes. Funny enough, I don't make it there as I'm distracted by the scenery on the way over. There are cones everywhere, and I start walking the side trails, and before I know it, I'm on my hands and feet climbing the cones. I see ancient cave dwellings and windows carved into the cones and cliffs everywhere. I try climbing into some of the higher windows, thinking I'm pretty good at rock climbing. Wrong. The cones are formed as a result of erosion, and I'm having difficulty even ascending steep grades as the rock keeps breaking up. I have to very careful. Somehow, I convince myself do some climbing - see some of the higher caves, and after about an hour of trying many paths, I reach the top of a cliff, though it would be impossible to go back down (rock climbing 101: down climbing is much more difficult). There are some worn remnants of carved-in ladders and stairs, but wooden ladders were probably used more back in the BC days. The Goreme open-air museum is now across a deep valley from me, and I have no choice but to start wandering along the rim of the valley. Turns out it's Sword Valley, and I have it all to myself. It's a really fun hike, going through the hundreds of caves, and I have TONS of hiking energy stored up in me. I just don't have enough water. Fortunately, civilization is not too far away so I don't worry too much about it. After an hour of hiking in the valley and being mesmerized by the scenery, I make it out and find myself in Ortosihar, where I restock my food and water at a gas station. I wait a bit for a dolmus to another town (Urgup), then decide to wander instead. I take another valley back, and stumble upon a rock church, where a curator awaits me with a flashlight. He hands me the flashlight and warns me to be careful of a deep pit. I eagerly enter to marvel at the arched interior, and make my way to the second floor via a completely dark and steep stairwell, with a very low ceiling. I actually ascend slowly on my hands and knees and the water bottle on my backpack rubs the ceiling at times. From the second floor I spot a cave tunnel, and I crouch through a long, dark tunnel to arrive into a large room. It's really dark, my flashlight is pretty weak, so I get a little dizzy from vertigo. Fortunately, I do spot the pit - it's pretty deep, and a tunnel continues from the bottom of it, but there's no way I can make it to the bottom without the risk of breaking my leg and becoming trapped. Exiting the church, I eventually make my way to the rim of the valley again, and hike it for a while before trying to find a way back to the bottom trail. But it's impossible as the valley pretty much becomes a canyon at this point and I'm forced to trek the rim, though I'm thrown off several times to some dead ends by some worn down prehistoric stairs and paths to lookout points. A warning: Hiking in Cappadocia can be pretty dangerous. There are no safety barriers of course, and the erosion can cause some undesirable slipping and sliding. I like climbing and all, but I had to give up many trails because they simply became too difficult. Maybe they weren't even trails. It's hard to tell when the ground is barren and there aren't any footprints. Eventually, I end up at the Goreme open-air museum again. Well, not really in it, but on top of it, still not knowing how to get down, and the tourists 40 meters down below wondering how I got up. Instead, I end up wandering into yet another valley, where I discover a tunnel. It's so narrow that I have to remove my backpack and traverse sideways through some parts, as well as use my flashlight in the pitch black parts. After about 15 minutes, I'm out and make my way to the rim of yet another valley of cones, caves, big rock castles, and high windows. This time, the rock is reddish, and I eventually determine that I'm at the Rose Valley. I can't find the entry points into the valley, so I hike along farm fields - lots of fertile volcanic soil here before making it to Sunset Point to watch the sun descend over Cappadocia and some massive cones (30 meters high). The day has been a nice bit of solitude after the past few crazy days. I know I've been continuously rambling on about the incredible scenery, and it really is hard to put into words, but I'll definitely have pictures to prove. Foodwise, for dinner I tried guvac (casserole/stew) - can't rave about it considering it was microwaved. I did follow it up with an excellent $1 freshly made and baked Turkish pizza at another humble establishment, after being invited by the owner. Usually I don't except invitations as I'm tired of being touted in Turkey, but the owner of the pizza place seemed genuinely nice. It's been a long day. Looking at my watch, I've hiked for 8 hours straight. I light the candles in my fairy chimney cave room, and I'm out before the wax even starts to melt.