Our #TheLongestTrip has been going on for nine months since we left our native home in Ukraine... I thank everyone who reads about our adventures ☺️
If you have been following our journey from the very beginning, you may remember that the second country we arrived in after Hungary was Turkey. And I called the city of Kemer, in which we lived for three months in the spring of 2022, my second home... It was like a blooming fairy tale! Imagine our emotions: after a terrible upheaval in Ukraine: war has begun!!! - we crossed the border on foot at night, pushing through a crowd of frightened refugees, and a few weeks later we found ourselves in the peaceful spring of an exotic country... When my tourist visa for 90 days expired, I cried as I left... And of course we wanted to return to Kemer again. But the circumstances turned out to be such that we returned to another part of Turkey from the Greek side and lived for almost two months in the city of Cesme.
And a few weeks ago, our business brought us to Kemer again! We flew to Antalya by plane, got on a bus to Kemer... Memories, memories... I wonder what emotions I will feel again in Kemer, now in the autumn...
We arrived when it was already dark, settled in the hotel. In the morning she looked out the window. The pool was full. Some people were sunbathing on sunbeds. My youngest daughter Daryna ran to the pool. But I wanted to hurry to the sea. The weather was still warm during the day - 22 degrees, although it was already cold at night!
We walked along the familiar flat streets of Kemer, which still delighted us with beautiful flowers and strange exotic fruits! Unlike the city of Cesme, which is located in the rock, there is a lot of space here and there are no problems with parking. I remembered my first driving experience, which I started here in Kemer in March :)
Also, the climate in Kemer is mild. Gentle sun and no wind. A truly velvety season. We approached the embankment. On the left are the native mountains of Kemer, which create beautiful views over the sea. On the right are several ships, including the famous Medusa cruise ship, which actively took tourists on sea trips in the summer.
There were quite a lot of tourists on the beach, who were basking in the rays of the gentle November sun. You can hear the Russian language all around... The season continues, because Russians are fleeing Russia en masse, and Antalya is their favorite place... I try to abstract myself without thinking about the war...
After all, I understand that for Turks it does not matter where people came from, their business and life depends on the number of tourists.
But there is one strange thing that I can't understand in friendly Turkey that seems to condemn the terrorist country Russia... Why is the tax for Russian citizens to get a residence permit $30 and for Ukrainians $90 !!??
I will describe in a separate post the procedure for obtaining a residence permit, which we are going to go through in Turkey, so as not to be forced to leave this country again on December 14, due to the end of the 90-day period of stay here for tourists from Ukraine.
But today the topic of my post is a walk. So, let's enjoy swimming in the November Mediterranean Sea! Daryna and I are swimming and you can see how calm the sea is! In contrast to the Aegean Sea, Cesme, where crazy winds blow over the sea spaces every day. Wind strength is often close to 8 - 9 points. Then, when the wind in Kemer fluctuates every day at the level of 1-2 points. The water temperature in these two seas is also significantly different. If I can only swim for 5 minutes in the Aegean Sea, the water is invigorating :). Then I can still swim for a long time in the Kemer Mediterranean Sea in November!
After basking in the sun until 5 p.m., we went to the favorite cafe of all Turks on the embankment - "Deniz" cafe, which means "Sea" cafe :) The prices here are much cheaper than in other cafes, because this cafe is a municipal one. In May, we often sat here in the evenings, listening to the music of the familiar bard Onder!
Next, we will walk to the famous photo zone in the park on the embankment. Rainbow hearts that make the park festive and colorful. A strange metal horse stands next to it.
It's nice to be here again in the atmosphere of Turkish autumn and enjoy the music of street musicians!
This post is written about where I am now. But I'll be back to telling my travel story, sequentially describing all the places I changed in my #TheLongestTrip
I thank everyone for your support ❤️