The Vagabond Hiker

Hiking, trekking, and climbing the world

Walks amongst the ruins in Antalya, Turkey

For my first (and hopefully only!) foray into medical tourism, I decided at the last minute to travel from Britain to Antalya, Turkey for a dental treatment. As the entire treatment would require around one week, I had time for to enjoy some of the local parks and archeological ruins the city and province of Antalya offered. With three extra days added afterwards, I also ventured farther afield south along the Lycian coast to the village of Çıralı. (For those readers who are not geography majors, the crescent-shaped province of Antalya is located in southwestern Turkey along the Mediterranean Sea, centered on it’s eponymous capital city of 1.4 million people. Tourism is the dominant industry). The late April seasonal addition of a daily British Airways flight direct from London Gatwick to Antalya made this trip simpler and more cost effective.

Enjoy some of the archeology and landscapes I captured on my “off days.”

Hadrian’s Gate, Antalya, the entrance our small tour group took into the old town.
Shehzade Korkut Mosque, Antalya
View with flowers from Kecili Park, Antalya
Coastal view near my hotel, east of the old town in Antalya
Another coastal view near my hotel. These lovely flowers, sadly, are invasive lantanas.
Mehmet Manavoglu Park, about a 5 minute walk from my Antalya hotel.
Poolside view at the Hotel Akra Antalya. It is arguably the best resort hotel in Antalya and less than 10 minutes’ walk from the dentist.
Perge stadium. I joined a tour group to the ancient cities of Perge, Aspendos, and Side, an all-day trip with Solymos Travel that included a set lunch of some local fish.
Market stalls, Perge stadium
Colonnaded street in Perge. Fortunately, we had plenty of time to wander around after the “official” tour.
The Theatre of Aspendos, the best preserved of antiquity.
The Acropolis in Aspendos. I was the only one to walk up here from the Theatre, but again we had sufficient time to explore on our own.
Temple of Apollo detail, Side. Side is mostly a sea-side touristy (though in a nice way) town that appeals to a predominantly German clientele. The history was interesting, nonetheless.
Temple of Athena, Side
Side archeological complex aerial view, a photo I grabbed off the internet
Manavgat Waterfall, north of Side. Beautiful, but mostly an Instragram spot.

After four visits to the dentist, all was sorted and I got a private transfer down the coast about 70km to the chill beach town of Çıralı for three nights. Along the East Lycian Way, the Ancient City of Olympos (Olympus), Antalya, is just to the south.

Map of the East Lycian way and other park trails and sights. Çıralı and Olympos are circled in red on the left.
Olympos beach with Acropolis hill and castle. Venetians, Genoese, and Rhodians all built fortifications along this coast.
Olympos River estuary. Innumerable frogs were in full throat on the two mornings I visited.
A rather depleted Olympos river and bathhouse ruins, in the Ancient city of Olympos. Some nice photos and a short history of the city can be found on this site.
Ancient Olympos Necropolis church. The visitor center is on the far right.
Olympos ruins and poppies
A small portion of the Bishop’s Palace, Olympos
Detail of “building with mosaics”, Olympos. Remnants of the floor mosaics are now in a museum in Antalya.
Olympos oleander
Çıralı beach and town view from Olympos hillside
Olympos beach rock formations
An arch on the south side of Olympos. The area south of the river was much overgrown and the focus of my 2nd day’s walk.
Sarcophagus of Alkestis, South Olympos
West Theatre entrance from the inside, Olympos
Greek tortoise (Testudo graeca) with baby below Çıralı castle. The vulnerable Caretta caretta (loggerhead sea turtle) also nests here from mid-May to the autumn.
Çıralı mosque. I spent a long morning on a circular hike around the village and into the surrounding hills. Tourism has displaced some of the traditional agriculture, though much still remains.
Canada Bungalow porch view, Çıralı. It was a fine choice for my short stay, though a bit out of town. My recommendation is the Azur Hotel, though there are numerous accommodation options amongst the pines and orchards.
A friendly neighbor, Canada Bungalows

Tomorrow I begin my travels to Cusco, Peru for a 9 day trek to the Incan ruins of Choquequirao and Machu Picchu. This is the trek that was cancelled last year and I was fortunate that KE Adventures decided to run it this year with only 3 clients. Stay tuned for more archeology and hikes next month!

The Vagabond Hiker

PS The dental treatment I had in Antalya went wonderfully and the cost savings more than paid for the short vacation to Turkey.

The Southwest Coast Path: Sandbanks to Lulworth Cove

The most recent section of the Southwest Coast Path (SWCP) I had completed, in September 2023, encompassed the western half of Dorset, from Lyme Regis to Lulworth Cove. At the time the Lulworth Ranges were closed, so my trekking ended there. Last month I returned, joining a friend from California, to complete the eastern Dorset section of the route in four days, traditionally the end of this 1014 km* long distance path. A couple of train changes got me in less than 5 hours from Hastings to Poole, where the afternoon before I met Allison, who had just arrived from California.

* – alert readers may have noted that in the last post I used strictly metric distances. I will continue to employ the system that 90% of the world uses for good reason. One kilometer is roughly 0.62 mile and one meter about 3.3 feet.

In point of fact, the SWCP actually begins/ends at Shell Bay, at the terminus of a short ferry from Sandbanks in Poole. We were doing this section “in reverse” of the usual direction.

Allison on the Sandbanks ferry, all of a five minute trip.

Day 1: Shell Bay to Swanage

13 km, 220 m elevation gain

With Allison at the start/end of the SWCP
Shell Bay, a sandy slog to start!
Old Harry Rocks. Can you spot the natural window?
Tiny Persian Speedwell (Veronica persica)
View towards Swanage, where our first night’s accommodation lay.
Wall Bellflower in Swanage
Purbeck House Hotel balcony view, Swanage

Day 2: Swanage to Kingston

20 km, 760 m elevation gain

Roman columns at the Swanage amphitheater, an outdoor music and theater venue
Durlston Castle, Durlston Country Park. A lovely section of wooded paths began near this interesting Victorian-era building.
Allison and Anvil Point Lighthouse
Chalk Milk-wort
An Early Spider Orchid. We might have missed these little fellas if some avid botanizers had not pointed them out to us.
A field of rape (rapeseed oil is called canola oil in the Americas).
The Vagabond Hiker
Coastal vista, emphasizing some steep climbs
Admiring the view. . . and resting my knees!
Hill Bottom Plantation. We turned inland at Chapman’s Pool towards our accommodation in Kingston.

Day 3: Kingston circular via SWCP and Hardy Way

18 km, 600 m elevation gain

Limited lodging gave us an opportunity to stay two nights in Kingston and also do some inland walking.

Twins. It was lambing season and most of the Ewes seemed to have two lambs.
Chapman’s Pool, where we had left off the SWCP the day prior
Houns-Tout Cliff view. I have to love some of the place names!
Clavell Tower, a 19th century folly
Kimmeridge Bay, seen from the Hardy Way. The next morning we (read: Allison) arranged a taxi down to where we left the SWCP.
View from Swyre Head. Perhaps this flat block was used as a triangulation point. Any other ideas?

Day 4: Kimmeridge Bay to Lulworth Cove

13 km, 635 m elevation gain

Broad Bench, Lulworth Ranges. We would be walking most of the day through the ranges, run by the MoD and closed much of the time. They were open for more than two weeks at Easter, however.
Wild cabbage and Tyneham Cap
Worbarrow Tout & Gad Cliff (background). Despite all the clouds, the rain for the most part left us alone.
Allison climbing up Rings Hill
View towards Bindon Hill. We would remain in the Lulworth Ranges until Lulworth Cove.
View looking back along the coast, with Bindon Hill the obvious high point. We did three steep climbs this day, which proved the hardest for me despite the shorter distance. Allison’s in the middle ground near some signage.
Mupe Bay with its eponymous cliffs looming in the near ground
Looking back at Mupe Bay Beach Cliffs with some prolific gorse
Lulworth Cove pano. It was still a walk around to the cove village and then inland for 2 km to our West Lulworth hotel. I just got tired of taking photos!

The weather was great and the days’ walks were amazing. Hiking with a friend who has a similar pace and who I had not seen in more than a year was a huge bonus. Just to be clear, while I walked for 4 days and then returned to Hastings, for Allison this was the beginning of a 66 day trek to complete the entirety of the Southwest Coast Path in one go. I, in contrast, will soon be on the 8th year of what be will be at least a 10 year plan, beginning in Westward Ho! Devon in late May 2018. Stay tuned for my future (shortish) endeavors to complete this project.

I am currently in Hastings, supposedly training for a two-week trek in Peru later this month. I have some walks from a last minute surprise trip to share with you before that expedition. Until then,

Get your daily dose of nature wherever you may be!

The Vagabond Hiker

Malta redux

Seven years ago (though it doesn’t seem nearly so long) I published three blogs on hiking the country of Malta. The first, on the Island of Malta, was necessarily short as I stayed only one week and spent much of the time investigating the numerous architectural ruins (not surprising as I was traveling with my brother, Mark, and his wife, both architects!) Returning to Malta for 21/2 weeks last month gave me an opportunity for a deeper dive into some of the trails in the more rural, northern end of the island.

After a wet winter, this past March Malta was far greener than I recalled, boasting many more wildflowers, photos of which were noticeably absent from my 2018 post. Let’s start with a geography refresher. . .

A map of the country of Malta, situated about 80 km south of Sicily, reproduced from my 2018 blog post

The trailhead for most of the hikes was the door of my apartment in Mellieħa, a ridge-top town in northern Malta. All except one hike were variations on a theme. . . the theme being the Mellieħa peninsula. The final hike out my door was a loop to the south, out to Il-Majjistral Park on the west coast. (Foolishly, I failed to extend the hike to include Xemxija’s Old Roman Road Heritage Trail).

Balcony view east from my top floor Mellieħa apartment.
A farmer with Il-Palazz in the background.
Tree mallow (Malva arborea), many of which were a meter or more tall
The ruins of Ras il-Griebeg, along the northern coast of the Mellieħa peninsula
Field gladiolus (Gladiolus italicus)
The coast near Imġiebaħ Beach
The town of Mellieħa. My apartment is denoted by the arrow on the left.
Il-Palazz, sadly closed for renovation
A morning view east, on the descent to a coastal loop walk.
Statue of St Paul, to the east of the peninsula.
A rural road on the peninsula. These roads weren’t so bad to walk as the traffic was somewhere between light and non-existent.
A field and coast view along a path north of my apartment
Imġiebaħ valley
Azure stonecrop (Sedum caeruleum), native to Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, Sardinia, Corsica, and Sicily, according to Wiki; and apparently Malta.
Giant Fennel (Ferula communis). Though not one of my faves, I had to be impressed with these burly guys
A gorgeous flower of the caper bush (Capparis spinosa)
A rural road/path to my south, heading towards Il-Majjistral Nature & History Park
Italian Bugloss (Anchusa azurea). The hike to Il-Majjistral was fantastic for botanizing
Branched Asphodel (Asphodelus ramosus)
Vista north from Il-Majjistral. The cliffs south of Dwejra Bay on Gozo are in the distance.
Scarlet pimpernel (Lysimachia arvensis), blue form. A gorgeous macro of a scarlet pimpernel, taken by Clifford, was the only wildflower in my three blogs from 2018.
Rock Cut Observation Post, Il-Majjistral
View from the Rock Cut Observation Post. The white blobs are small islets far below
A Brown garden snail. They commonly emerge during wet weather in winter on Malta. Indeed, there were several days of some rain showers while I was there.
Castor oil plant (Ricinus communis), which is extremely allergenic. Castor beans contain ricin and are highly toxic.

A half-hour bus journey south from my apartment brought me to the town of Mġarr, which was the starting point for a loop hike to Fomm ir-Riħ on the west coast.

Castello Zamittello, immediately to the west of Mġarr
The Windrose Giant Cat Weathervane, Fomm ir-Riħ
Fomm ir-Riħ bay and headland

Another hike requiring a short bus journey was to the L-Aħrax peninsula, at the northern end of Malta Island. It is located to the east of the Red Fort and Ras il-Qammieħ, where I hiked with Mark in 2018. Despite some paved roads as well as a couple of new resorts under construction (yuck!), there were still a few nice rural and coastal spots on this hike.

Coast view towards Gozo
It-Torri l-Abjad. The path near here disappeared into sharp talus for several hundred meters before resuming.
A rural road/path on the southern portion of the L-Aħrax Peninsula. Some prickly pear cacti were almost as large as the shrubby trees.
A field of crown daisies and poppies.

Altogether I identified about 22 wildflowers blooming in March. I thought that was a reasonably good tally, until I discovered the Malta Wild Plants website, a 20-year effort by Stephen Mifsud. It will be a great resource if I ever return, or if any of you, my dear readers, visit Malta.

Currently, I am in England enjoying a warm and generally sunny April in Hastings, East Sussex. My next blog post will be of the South West Coast Path. Last week I completed the last few days of the Dorset section with a friend from California.

Stay tuned and enjoy the spring weather and wildflowers,

The Vagabond Hiker

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