Housesitting in Turkey, Life of adventure, Walking with animals

Neighbourhood Walks – Iztuzu Beach & more

Suzanne

In Dalyan.

Spring, not Summer.

Warmish, not HOT.

More locals are out walking than tourists.

One more cat, albeit only a temporary visitor, had been added to the gang.

Of course, you would remember the gang from our last visit here in the Summer of 2017.

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This visit could not be more opposite in weather conditions.  Not a cloud blighted the sky when we were here last.  With spring season being spring, it has brought more unsettled weather, as in clouds with occasional rain.  Not that has deterred us from heading over the hill to take Tequila for a run along the beach, or was she taking us for a walk?

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Iztuzu Beach

So where is Iztuzu Beach from Dalyan?

Approximately 12 km, give or take a few steps; walking along it requires walking 4.5 km.  It is no ordinary beach as part of the year; it is one of the Mediterranean nesting sites for the loggerhead turtle.

If you don’t have a dog to walk, you may like to enjoy a slightly more extended journey through the hinterland of fertile, scenic waterways that are well worth the time.  Which is on the public boat that leaves from the riverside in Dalyan.  It chugs past the rock tombs and the ancient site of Caunos through the reed beds of the river delta.

A princely sum of around 13 TL equates to approximately 2.70 euros.  Options for a coffee and a bite to eat can be enjoyed at the cafe with a return to Daylan on the bus.

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Of course, we had Tequila to walk.

There are fewer options at this time of the year unless we have access to a boat, which we didn’t.  We were limited to using our rental car.  It was indeed no hardship as the views along the way were easy on the eye.

The car parked; it was time for a jolly old romp around the beach; Tequila, not us, placed our feet on the sandy beach more dignifiedly.  We are older, and it does require a slow start with a faster tempo as we warm up, unlike Ms Tequila, who, of course, is younger and more supple, who leapt out of the car with a slightly crazy happier than, the happy dog looked when we acknowledged that she could indeed head on to the sandy beach.

Any passerby could quickly pick the dog besotted most with the beach life.

It is a happy scene watching her bounce and run around like a possessed dog on speed.  Then comes the ultimate pleasure, wrapped up in one ball with spares just in case.  This has Tequila running full force and eating small amounts of sand while nose-diving to get the latest ball thrown for her benefit.

It has to be seen to be believed!

When walking on sand gets tiresome, there is always a walk over the hill to follow the coast along a wee bit more.  It was quite a surprise to walk amongst a generous amount of daisies and bulbs which had apparently done their mission in life, and only their leaves remained.  So it was a combination of scattered olive and other trees on the edge of a beautiful sea view with daisies along the path and the hillside.  I am sure the goats appreciated the jolly burst of spring flowers as much as myself for differing reasons.

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It was a pleasant walk for one of the gang; the Squire and Tequila stayed on the beach playing ball games.

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Sarigerme Beach

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Our second beach included a bit of a trek to find it.  Not the sort of “put your boots on” kind of trek.  It required us to use the car’s GPS to see the road to the beach.  The GPS was not pulling it’s weight that day.  It was even threatened to be thrown out the window if it did not navigate us to where we wanted to go instead of taking us down dead-end roads with elaborate Hotel complexes.

As with most gadgets, this one didn’t work any more efficiently with ththreatsas I kept telling the driver, who susuggestetakingke overdriving.  At that point, my best move was to stay quiet.  Going here was not an issue with me; Ifort wasn’t in the mood to deal with a frustrating GPS.  So, I left the Squire and the annoying gadget to work it out between them.  They did much to relieve Tequila and me.

We girls were ready for a walk.

Let the games begin!

We needed to go over a bridge and part of the rocky hill between both beaches to access a more pristine.  The differences between them were very noticeable.

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Firstly, one was stony and sadly looked like a dumping ground for plastic scattered all over it.  The second was smoothed over by a grader, not a grain of sand out of place, just like a typical tourist would expect it to be.  Close your eyes from the airport to the beach resort, and you can believe you are in paradise.  Reminded me of the many beach resorts scattered around countries that could be classed as third-world countries!

Reality is so much different for many of the locals!

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How many of these big hotel complexes were in this coastal area astounded us.  At a wild guess, I would say millions of dollars have been poured into these beach resort hotels.  They all seemed to be closed up and, by comments from the locals, are only used for a few months a year.

It would seem nobody likes to go to the beach in winter over here, apart from a few people like us, who love the beach and not so much the beach resorts.

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The day was warming up.

Slightly warmer for a “normal” Spring day.

Published by Suzanne

Travel and Life Musings from New Zealand and Beyond. . . . . . .

73 thoughts on “Neighbourhood Walks – Iztuzu Beach & more”

    1. Rosie, for us it’s always good to be by the seaside, more so when it’s reasonably flat to have a long walk.

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    1. April, great that you were wearing sunglasses and we much prefer beaches without a hotel in sight. Prefer remote beaches as they tend to be more rustic. Plus walking along gives us a sense of freedom.

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    1. Thanks, Gemma 🙂 Funnily enough, as I sit out here on the verandah, the wind has got up and the sun has disappeared! We love spending time with Tequila she is indeed a tonic!!

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    1. Thanks Deb, to be honest no beaches can beat the ones in Australia and New Zealand, though there are squite a few that aren’t spoiled 🙂 Enjoy your wonderful Autumn weather, a perfect time to be at the beach!

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    1. Ritu, it is a wonderful view walking along this beach. The turtle photo is not mine, the first post it was on I wrote where I got it from, I should’ve done that on this one!!!

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  11. Lovely places to be walking and with temperatures here flipping between almost spring and back to seriously cold it’s nice to see blue skies. Even if they are on your blog! Looks quite peaceful there too at the moment.

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    1. Gary, it is a lovely peaceful place and we are enjoying being reasonably near a beautiful coastal area. It will soon be summer! We will soon be enjoying Southern parts of the UK which we are looking forward to. Best of both worlds 🙂

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      1. I’d settle for a week of consistent weather right now…anywhere! And no wind too, that’s the worst thing here right now. Full easterly. Still, spring is on the way so hopefully soon greenery will begin to appear.

        It does look rather pleasant there though!

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      1. Funny the difference a couple of weeks make. It’s a Spring day here in the north east today but we’re warned to expect a chilly Easter. 🙂 Spring is easily the best time for walking around Dalyan. I can remember steamy heat and I think it was only May/June. Thanks for sharing!

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        1. Jo, we were here housesitting for the same people for three months last summer. Yes, it was certainly steamy. We were lucky to have the opportunity of doing a long roadtrip to see more of Turkey. Easy to plan in summer as everyday is sunny 🙂 Though way to hot for us!! Remind me of that as we have 5 months in the UK coming up soon 🙂

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    1. Thanks Carol, she absolutely loves the water, not so much the waves 🙂 The way she dives for the ball it is hilarious.

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  14. You get to visit some epic places Suzanne. Love the doggy pics too. Reminds me of a golden retriever I had once. Those beaches are deserted! I would have thought even in winter there would have been a good tourist trade. But apparently not.

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    1. Thanks Denzil. One day there were a few more people mostly expats than locals. Very unusual to see such a large amount of hotels locked up and many shop owners shut down too. Hopefully it will be a more productive season for the locals as they rely on the summer trade to survive for the rest of the year.

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        1. Many reasons and a post waiting to be written. I think for many it’s still popular for a holiday. Many resorts along the coast. Unfortunately everyone gets on the bandwagon so to speak and floods the market with not enough demand.

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    1. She’s a lovely dog and makes going to the beach more fun ☺ I forget how bad the planet is getting with plastic being dumped everywhere! One day someone will find a solution or produce a biodegradable substitute for plastic containers especially water for places where the tap water is not drinkable!

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  16. What a lovely place to walk!

    My favourite part of this post are the doggy photos, there is just sooo much joy captured in those photos. Doggy in the air, catching the ball or running in the waves! I am so glad Tequila took you for a walk, and that you shared the happiness in those piccies!

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  17. Wow, looks gorgeous and loads of beautiful walks to go on with or without a dog. Tequila certainly is enjoying the water and looks like a happy Retriever(?), but then again, they’re all beautiful.

    The bend in those trees are fierce, strong winds there then?

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    1. HIya Nilla, yes I would imagine the beach would have strong winds, though not when we were there, thank goodness. We have cared for a few Golden Retrievers and they all were lovely natured, very lovable dogs! Turkey’s coastline is sublime!

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        1. Hahaha, okay Nilla, just go for it. Turkey is such a diverse country with so many anomalies, you just have to visit it to believe it. Might have to come over to Italy so don’t go wandering just yet 🙂

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    1. Hi Bridget, Tequila is a very lucky dog as her human parents adore on her. We love walking along beaches when there are hardly anyone else around.

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  22. Now that is one happy dog, Suz! I love that smiley face and those flapping ears. Nice to have the beaches to yourselves, but sad about the hotels. I remember even back when I was in college, Turkey was a cheap “last-minute” destination for a week-long beach vacation. I took advantage of those deals once in a while. A week all-inclusive (plane also included) for about $300. Once at the hotel, it would be mostly empty and the food selection was nothing to write home about. Maybe the most recent political and social problems have nothing to do with the quiet hotels and it is always a bit abandoned this time of the year? Give Tequila a big hug from me!

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    1. Liesbet, she is a very happy dog 😃 People over here just don’t go to the beach during the cooler months. The tourism trade has been effected by the political and social problems. Hopefully it improves for the locals. Tequila high pawed you 🐶 😃

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  23. What a super lucky happy dog Suzanne – lovely pictures. It broke my heart seeing all the stray/tied up unloved dogs in Greece who deserve so much more:( It’s one of the things I find difficult about travelling. It’s cheered me up seeing Tequila enjoying herself:)

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  26. Thanks for taking us along on these walks, accompanied by Tequila (I love that name!), to these beautiful beaches. It’s too bad some of those hotels are used only a couple of months out of each year. I’m sure you have loved your stays in Turkey! It is one of my favorite countries.

    I’ll link this post to my photography invitation of May 3! Thanks for the link, Suzanne.

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        1. We have stayed in a few hotels that were really good. Especially along the coast. One in particular in Kas.

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