Gökçeören to Phellos via Hacioglan: page 1

We picked up an important tip on this walk. Come prepared for the fading of the light. It's no good railing against it - bring anti-mosquito cream, a torch, and ordinary glasses if you wear them (only boxers, models, and premiership footballers wear sunglasses in the evening).

We ended up in the dark because of three simple mistakes: 1) we believed from the Lycian Way Guide (1st ed., 2000) that it was 15 Km from Gökçeören to Phellos; 2) we accepted hospitality in the hills when we should have been walking; and 3) we did not read Section 13 of the LWG, because we were only doing Section 12, obviously.

Suleyman drove us to Gökçeören and deposited us at a LW signpost in the village. We had been here in 2003, at the conclusion of our walk from Saribelen (Section 11).

We set off down the dusty road at 9.50.

right 10.11: looking back towards Gökçeören.

We were keeping good time here: passing what we think was the last house in 30 minutes against a generous Guide allowance of 40 minutes.

left 10.37: as the road deteriorates in enters a pine forest, pleasantly cool and aromatic with resin.

The way crosses and recrosses the stream. There are signs that it is used by vehicles, and we think it has been bulldozed since the writing of the first edition of the Guide.

above right 11.33: Still in the shade of pines and with a rocky bluff above us, we had rounded a corner in the road when we saw this tap. There was a house in the trees up the track behind it. This is probably the Guide's 'spring and house before last crossing'.

It was here that Simon decided, for better comfort, to change his shorts discretely behind a tree. As he was in the middle of this delicate manoeuvre we called out 'Merhaba, merhaba' (there was no-one in sight) which caused him to get his knickers in a twist, literally.

above right 11.33: the rocky bluff above the tap.

above left 11.49: the LW signpost we came upon soon after. Note that we had travelled 8 Km and had 14 Km to go - not bad on a supposedly 15 Km walk.

Where the way swung down past this sign to the valley we found that the third crossing of the stream, this time on stepping-stones, had disappeared, as had the stream, undeer an improved track. This brought us out of the pine forest and into open meadow-land. We took a long time finding the continuation of the path, and had to cast about in different directions. The Guide suggests 2 hrs 20 minutes from the start to the stepping-stones; we were probably slightly ahead of this schedule.

Having found the thin path climbing gradually among trees, we proceeded to carry on along the most obvious way, and then realise, as you do, that it was a long time since we had see a red flash. There followed the inevitable retracing of steps, and the discovery, in a little clearing, that the way turned right and further uphill here.

above left 13.09: our path pushing its way past olive trees, with the conical hill on the left.

above right 13.08: the view of the mountains to the north.