Extreme Travel Part IV: Pamukkale

Today we participated in a group tour of Pamukkale.  Katie was worried this morning that our day would be normal and that I would have nothing to blog about this evening but no such thing. 

enjoying breakfast at our hotel before the tour 

The bus picked us up at 8am sharp.  Apparently, we were the first ones the bus picked up so it preceded to spend the next hour picking up guests from other hotels before beginning the 3 hour journey to Pamukkale.  After about 2 hours, we stopped for bathrooms etc. Strangely, the bus was soaped and hosed up and down.  Then, about 20 minutes after re-boarding the bus, we stopped for lunch at an all-you-can-eat restaurant that was apparently included in our tour but they left off the "inclusion list."  

The restaurant had quite a few options but all the food was totally gross. I ordered Turkish coffee with lunch and one of the waiters offered to read my fortune but he was a poser and not nearly as legit as the driver from yesterday.  

At lunch came our second cue that something is strange about our tour.  2 of the other participants tried to ask us something... in Spanish.  They were on an English speaking tour and didn't speak English.  Apparently, neither did the Asian couple on the tour or the other Peruvians.  Out of 15 people on our tour, almost half didn't speak English, including the tour guide (kind of).  

Dr. Fish experience

We arrived in Pamukkale and were given 2 hours to enjoy.  We headed for the natural hot springs but took a detour and decided to first get Dr. Fish "pedicures."  It was the strangest feeling ever.  We stuck our feet in a pool of water with fish that ate at our feet, supposedly removing dead skin and leaving healing properties for the fresh skin to come in better.  It tickled and felt so creepy and weird!  

supply closet... shhh

Afterwards, we decided to hit the springs.  We needed to change into our swimwear (Katie upholds a strict "don't ask, don't tell" policy regarding what she wore) but the changing room lines were too long. We found an unattended supply close and snuck in there to maximize our time.  We swam in hot springs that contained remnants of ancient columns of Cleopatra.  Afterwards, we climbed on the limestone mineral deposits and through other hot springs overlooking a gorgeous mountainous view.  

standing on mineral deposits 

We were out of time and headed back to Kusadasi.  The tour guide said we would be stopping at a marble place, which we knew meant a tourist trap where they try to sell you things and the guide who brings you gets the commission.  We staged a revolt and I asked that we not go since it is likely that no one on our tour is interested.  We won.  The bus decided to make the same pit stop on the way back and again the bus was scrubbed down.  Perplexing... We had asked to be dropped off first since we were picked up first  and spent forever doing pickups and the tour guide agreed but somehow we ended up last and spent a over 10 hours on the bus and 2 hours in Pamukkale.  

Overall, we loved Pamukkale but were very dissatisfied with the tour company that basically provided a crappy shuttle service and no tour.  

Tomorrow we are flying to Athens so we decided to find a cheaper way of traveling to the airport than a taxi without shlepping all our overweight luggage on the public bus.  I found a shuttle service online and booked it.  Since it is a last minute reservation, I decided to call and confirm that they will be picking us up in the morning.  When I called, the man I spoke with asked if we took their tour today.  Apparently, it's the same disastrous company that took us to Pamukkale today! On the bright side, I was able to tear the tour apart to the guy on the phone, which saved me a nasty email.  Unfortunately for you, I don't have an entertaining email to share.  We are hoping for better luck with them tomorrow.