“Sorry Ms Clowsie”

“I am for real”

Sorry that occasional hostile tonalities crept into our blog’s reporting dialogue. All and any ill hued thoughts were directed by our occasional tired desperate confusion.

Confusion of course is often a primary driver of discovery and adventure while desperation can lend its own adrenal magnificence to the occasion at hand.

‘Magnificent’ is how we retrospectively view our Lycian Adventure, perhaps it is the Jewel in the Crown of our year. We have done and seen so much it seems a shame to create any illusionary hierarchy.

Magnificent also accurately describes Kate Clow’s achievement and presumed energy expenditure in chaining together such an extraordinary walking journey. The beaurocracy she must have resisted in creation makes me shudder.

Walking alone, peaceful under sky blending blue into ocean horizons, climbing mountains and cliff faces could offer only ascending rewards by comparison.

Rewarded frequently by periods of confusion whilst trying to match glorious geospatial location to vague descriptions in the Guide, it would have been dishonest of us not to have reported heated feelings of the moment for then there would have been far fewer great reasons for our laughter at each days end.

Retrospective wisdom has let me see clearly that confusion is very often a precursor to humour.

I will strive to look for the humour in the confusion of the moment whilst it is happening from now on.

Looking back it is clear that we could have made things easier for ourselves by using GPS, online routes, etc however maybe on balance we wouldn’t have had so much fun.

We have survived, luckily intact and have continued since to thrive. ‘Onwards, ever upwards’.

So ‘we’re sorry Ms Clowsie’, sorry for maligning your Lycian guide. We realise there was enormous distance to cram within but a few pages (you had to think of the weight factor) and that there had been considerable time pass since the creation of our edition however we would recommend readers ignore any preamble passages in any description of the Likya Yolu that might lead to any warm inner feelings with a general description of ‘that doesn’t sound so hard’.

Use walking poles (see ‘In Praise of Pacerpoles), prepare your fitness levels, be well equipped and lightweight as possible, be prepared for hard work and dangerous routes, take a GPS device just in case, carry plenty of water and water treatment options, carry Compeeds for blisters, take a tent, be prepared to bleed a little, be aware that the Lycian may well break or end you.

Be prepared to ‘take with a grain of salt’ measures of distance described by your guide’s hard toiling author for you will encounter far rougher up and down terrain and walk much further between paragraphs than you might otherwise have expected.

Be prepared for ‘Clow Specials’, pathways of spectacular roughness leading to pockets of solitary beauty.

Winding steep goat tracks and rocks rolling underfoot will reveal a more primal self than would ever have been encountered on smoother roads so wisely eschewed.

Spirit of sweaty moment after sweaty gasping rock and roll moment whilst bright eyes auto-pilot feet secure relentless will distil your evolved self, extract your best essence released swirling meditative, revelling above splendid horizons azure.

PLL

Pam and Mick