Fall Break Part 2: Day at Sea and Kusadasi, Turkey

              Continuing on…between Croatia and Turkey, we had a day at sea.  So, there’s really not much to say about that day. I just laid by the pool, swam, took a cha-cha class, and later that night went to a “60’s dance party.” Typically not my thing, but whatever; no one knew me, I was one of the younger people there, and it was fun. Slightly awkward since members of the cruise staff were dressed up in "slutty" costumes, but fun. I’m pretty sure there’s a picture still floating around the ship of me and the “sexy construction worker” that worked at the shore excursions desk. 

60's party with Kira

This was also the first encounter we had of a woman who we enjoy calling “Texas” or “90-proof.”  Guys, I seriously wish I had a picture of this woman to show you. She was an elderly lady who acted like she was 18. The first night I saw her she was wearing a white, sort of see-through corset, and a black mini skirt covered in fringe. And this is was the style of outfits she wore every day.   She was constantly drunk and knew no limits…as in she was grinding and dancing with members of our group, the staff, and whoever else would dance with her. She was insane, always provided entertainment, and did not care about anyone else’s opinion of her.

                The next morning we arrived in Turkey. At first glance, Turkey looked beautiful, but turned out to be one of the sketchiest places I have ever been.  We had absolutely no plan for Turkey and this is somewhere we should have had one, or should’ve spent the money on a shore excursion.  We got off the ship and immediately started to get bombarded with people trying to sell us stuff and guys cat-calling us. We had no idea what we were going to do or how to get around, other than trying to find this hair salon that one of our girls wanted to go to.  Trying to find this salon though was an adventure in itself. We had no idea where we were going and ended up passing this cop that was just casually holding a machine gun. That was my final straw. I didn’t feel safe and all I wanted to do was go back to the ship since no one else wanted to go to the ancient ruins that were nearby.  We finally found this salon and from there decided to split up into twos. I was going to go back to the ship with Juny and Alicia and Kira were going to stay at the salon. 

                While walking back to the ship, we saw a street that looked a little more populated and touristy and decided to check it out. We had finally come across the safer, touristy markets in the city.  Yeah, guys still cat-called and people tried to sell us stuff but it’s not like we were the only people around on these streets.  Juny and I just ignored everyone until we ended up getting Turkish ice cream, which is also an experience in itself.  The people there make a whole show out of it, trying to get you to grab the cone and then taking it away and such. Do you know how at Dairy Queen they turn the blizzards upside down whenever they give it you? It’s like that but more intense. The younger guy working there was so sweet and ended up giving us these free little knitted mitten things because we were “beautiful American girls.” 

I loved how blue the water was, and you can see our ship in the background

Turkish coffee and the sea: the only two things I enjoyed there

                We spent a little bit of time walking around, went to this little island called “Pigeon Island,” which had more cats than birds, and stopped at a café to get the famous Turkish coffee and Turkish delights.  On our way back to the ship, an elderly man stopped us to give us these little pink, dolphin charm things that apparently symbolize long life. 

                We eventually got back to the ship and decided that we were going to go rock climbing since most of the ship was still out in Turkey.  So we went rock climbing, and no, I did not make it to the top. Between my fear of heights, lack of upper body strength, and never have gone rock climbing on a wall before, I didn’t make it to the top.  Also, while we were rock climbing, we heard this Muslim chant being sung around the city of Kusadasi via intercom or something. It was something that was completely different than any culture I ever experienced, so that was pretty cool.  The rest of our day mainly consisted of lying by the pool, eating dinner, and preparing for Greece the next day.

And this is me struggling to get up a rock wall

                Overall, Turkey is not someplace I would ever visit again. I am not a fan of the middle east culture in general, and I just felt really unsafe in Turkey, not to mention that ISIS has been invading the country…But for anyone who is planning on going to Turkey, my advice would be to stay in heavily touristy areas. I hate being a tourist, or obviously looking like one, but it’s really important in Turkey to stay in the tourist areas.  Also, if you are a female, do not, I repeat DO NOT, talk to, smile at, or even make eye contact with the men. If you do, they will continue to talk and follow you and will not give up, so just don’t do it.