When the travel agent said, "Well, this resort includes a waterpark and has a paragliding landing zone on property. It also happens to be all-inclusive and sit next to one of the most beautiful coastal hiking paths in the world. Flight time? Only 2 1/2 hours from Kyiv," we didn't have to think long. The hardest part turned out to be convincing Darling Daughter and Funny Guy to part with their new best friends for nearly a week. Assuring them that Prince and Ash could survive without them and would still love them when we got back, we jetted toward the clear blue waters and beautiful mountains of Oludeniz, Turkey.
The five days ran away from each other as we swam, hiked, flew, relaxed, and ate. There were so many paragliders in the air it was hard to pick out My Man! Darling Daughter and Young Man decided to take the leap themselves and it was one of the highlights of the trip to have all three flying together for the first time ever.
Funny Guy pretty much lived in the water, moving from the water park to the heated infinity pool to the beach and back again.
We took a water taxi to a hidden beach called Butterfly Valley where Young Man and Funny Guy and I hiked up to a beautiful little waterfall. My Man timed it just right and managed to land on the tiny beach and join us for our boat ride home.
Another day we headed into town (Fethiye) to browse the stalls of colorful carpets and ceramics, Turkish delight, spices, and more. Fresh squeezed orange juice was less expensive (by more than half!) than a bottle of water. We hiked up to some old ruins on the mountain and the views from the top were well worth the climb!
Young Man and I tackled a 7 km section of the Lycian Way, soaking in sunshine and stunning views. The wildflowers were out in force and the day could not have been more beautiful.
When it was finally time to say goodbye, I was ready to negotiate an extension but everyone else agreed that five days was just enough time. Darling Daughter and Funny Guy were more than excited to get back to Prince and Ash (not to mention WiFi!), Young Man needed to get back in time to take the SAT, and My Man was looking forward to seeing his bees and chickens.
Although the weather had been cold and wet while we were gone, Kyiv welcomed us home with warm sunshine and an explosion of lilac and apple blossoms. Darling Daughter took a deep breath and sighed contentedly: It's good to be home.
A few more photos (from Young Man):
