Pam still has Kedi, her Bursa cat, whom we last saw in Baku. (Kedi is Turkish for cat.) Kedi is an Indoor Cat, because of where Pam and Joe had been living, and is thoroughly house-trained. We can hear him do his sand dance in the litter tray under the stairs twice a day. He's looking rather obese these days - undoubtedly overeating and underexercising - a warning to us all. If you look at him from any angle he appears to be have a body in the shape of a pyramid - a strange effect which makes him look almost like a cartoon cat. He looks happiest sitting in his cardboard box, which is gradually being shredded, bit by bit. Pam used to carry Kedi on internal flights but he's now over the weight for carry on luggage. We admire his thick black coat and the sheen of it when Pam gives him a brush. It'd make a great pair of slippers, I joke. Pam's thinking of a muff. Kedi remains unimpressed by such talk.
Outside is Pango, the Outdoors Cat. Pam has adopted one of the many village strays, (Turkey is awash with stray cats), and puts food out for Pango. He also has a black coat, with a couple of white tufts on his underside. When the weather gets really nasty or cold we let him in downstairs. He does cat things like sitting looking at the door that leads to the cat food. Or sleeping on the sofa. When he wants to go out he stands by one of the french windows. I usually oblige. I feel like his personal doorman. Meanwhile Gayle displays an affinity for cats that I never knew existed. Pango develops several new name variations, such as Mr. Pango, Pangs, and even Pangalicious. This latter term of endearment is pronounced when said cat lies on his back and offers his tummy for a rub. He also purrs loudly, like an idling Bentley. Its disturbing - I might be getting jealous of a cat.
The winter weather is considered some of the worst in recent memory. Everyone expects storms and rain showers to pass through. But they also expect sunny days in between. But the storms seem to be prolonged and the showers linger. The temperature drops with winds from the north, bringing us one frosty night and several cold ones. The most dramatic aspect of the storms, apart from the big winds and the high waves which we can see from the house, is the accompanying thunder and lightning. It seems it cannot rain without these additional effects. We are glad we are not cycling. Sometimes the power goes off, or the internet signal drops. When the weather clears the mountains in the distance have fresh snow.
When it's not raining we venture out for walks in the surrounding hills. Pam shows us a path up behind her house that leads to a yayla - a summer pasture - a wide clearing in the pine trees. From here lead several tracks and we explore several of them on different days. One leads back down through the forest and into groves of olives, still high above the village. Most of the trees are still being tended - people have pruned them after harvesting the fruit. There are dry stone walls amongst the trees, presumably demarcating land. Down below in the village you can't see that much of the hillside is olives as the pines outgrow them easily and hide them.
If the sun appears and it's not windy we head to the beach. On one side is the 'hotel' beach. In season you have to pay to use it, although if you arrive early enough you can avoid the fee. This beach is generally well looked after - driftwood is collected up and cleared away, there's a little shady park with a cafe and picnic tables. Pam remarks that there's too much stuff left at the beach over the winter - all the umbrella poles remain, along with unused metal frames and old stands abandoned at the back of the beach. It's hard for us to imagine what it's like here in high season when there might be hundreds of tourists staying at the clutch of beach-side hotels. At this time of year it's very quiet. A few locals come to walk and picnic. After a winter of rain the first sunny weekend produces a surge of people come to picnic. Gayle manages a swim on these warmer days.
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| Gayle with Pango |
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| beehives are found everywhere in the woods |
When it's not raining we venture out for walks in the surrounding hills. Pam shows us a path up behind her house that leads to a yayla - a summer pasture - a wide clearing in the pine trees. From here lead several tracks and we explore several of them on different days. One leads back down through the forest and into groves of olives, still high above the village. Most of the trees are still being tended - people have pruned them after harvesting the fruit. There are dry stone walls amongst the trees, presumably demarcating land. Down below in the village you can't see that much of the hillside is olives as the pines outgrow them easily and hide them.
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| on the Mo-Jo Trail leading to... |
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| this view west along the coast |
If the sun appears and it's not windy we head to the beach. On one side is the 'hotel' beach. In season you have to pay to use it, although if you arrive early enough you can avoid the fee. This beach is generally well looked after - driftwood is collected up and cleared away, there's a little shady park with a cafe and picnic tables. Pam remarks that there's too much stuff left at the beach over the winter - all the umbrella poles remain, along with unused metal frames and old stands abandoned at the back of the beach. It's hard for us to imagine what it's like here in high season when there might be hundreds of tourists staying at the clutch of beach-side hotels. At this time of year it's very quiet. A few locals come to walk and picnic. After a winter of rain the first sunny weekend produces a surge of people come to picnic. Gayle manages a swim on these warmer days.
