The magical rocks of Köprülü Kanyon Milli Parkı and wonderful people (January 2023)

After encountering the fire cats, I traveled to Antalya where I was able to provide Rosiante with some much-needed maintenance. She received fresh oil for her engine, a new oil filter, lubrication for her prop shaft, and a new air filter. These improvements greatly benefited Rosiante, but it was swapping the air conditioning filter that had the most noticeable effect for me. Previously, I had been perplexed as to why I couldn’t get the driver’s cabin to smell fresh. However, after replacing the air conditioning filter, the improvement was remarkable – the cabin now smells like a dream.

I discovered a magnificent beach east of Antalya, where I stayed for a few days. During my stay, I had the pleasure of meeting a very friendly shepherd and his flock of sheep. After that beach, I continued my journey by heading north towards the Köprülü Kanyon Milli Parkı, a truly magical place. It instantly reminded me of the magical mountains of Bulgaria. I embarked on a fantastic hike with a little bit of climbing, and was completely captivated by the unique rock formations. They looked as though they belonged to a different planet, a magical realm inhabited by fairy-like creatures who exist in another dimension, invisible to human eyes…

After completing my 25 km hike/ trail run, I found myself feeling both tired and hungry. I began searching for a suitable place to rest for the night, relax. I drove around, stopped at three different places, and while they were pleasant, they just didn’t feel quite right. So, I decided to keep searching. I examined the satellite images on Google Maps and stumbled upon a spot that looked absolutely incredible. In fact, I was so impressed by it that I thought to myself, “If I had to choose a place to build a house in this area, I would choose there.”

After crossing a small river and navigating through some muddy, tight, and rocky paths, I finally arrived at the spot I had discovered on Google Maps. It was even more stunning in person, but to my disappointment, it turned out to be a dead end, with a fenced private property blocking my way. Just as I was about to turn around, I heard a man calling out to me. We met and talked, and I felt an immediate connection with him.

He had been on Rainbow gatherings and since I learned about these gatherings I was feeling that these gatherings could be something special, something that deeply resonates with me. Although I didn’t make it to the big gathering in Turkey in October, I’m still looking forward to be part of one.

The nice guy in the magical stone land had already started building a special place on his property, with plans to create a camping site next to the gorgeous river, some small natural huts, and establish the surrounding woods as a food forest. He had plenty more ideas and I couldn’t help but feel excited about the idea of participating in something like this myself someday. If you want to learn more or contact him directly, be sure to visit his website. And there is a drone video on Youtube were you can get an impression of that beautiful spot.

He then introduced me to his friend, Seher, who was absolutely lovely and stunning. After my tiring hike, I was quite famished, and they graciously invited me to dinner. Their warmth and kindness revitalized me, and we spent a delightful evening together. If I hadn’t needed to leave Turkey, I would have happily stayed longer. However, the next day I needed to make my way to the port to catch the ferry to Cyprus. Seher wanted to visit her family, so she accompanied me and Rosinante until we reached the bus station in the nearest large city.

Hiking myself free

It’s mid of April 2022 and I’ve reached the eastern nipple of the Peleponnese. Most people call them fingers or feet, but I’m preferring nipples. There had been a time, some years ago when I called most things nipple. Maybe it’s a residue of this nipple quirk left in my head…

The last few days, it has been very stormy and today it’s even crazier. I spent the night behind a beach, in a place protected by a big rock formation. In the morning, I took the drive to the Geopark of Agios Nikolaos, and here the wind is even stronger.

This wind is not the only stormy thing I’m dealing with: my mind is very stormy as well. I’ve been not very motivated for the last few days and I’m feeling kind of down for no special reason I know. I’ve been meditating and practicing the acceptance of my state of mind, but in the morning I got an alarming message from Germany about the health situation of one of my close family members. This message added some whirl to the wind in my head and heart. It leaves me like a sailor in the dense fog of life. Standing in the crow’s nest. Thinking and evaluating if my future me might cope with the challenges to come instead of sailing in this particular moment with what is happening now. I’m asking myself questions like “should I go back to Germany?”, “what will happen next?”, “what if…?”, …

In times like these, it’s the best for me to go outside and do something interesting, but not too challenging. In the best case, it’s something beautiful. Something that keeps me going without much potential to be negatively exciting.

The hike from the Geopark to Ekklisia Agios Georgios is exactly that. It’s super beautiful and the narrow path is interesting but easy to do. I’m hiking between the sea and the mountain. The mountain is protecting me from the wind and the whirlwind inside of my head loses his negative and destructive power. The sun of spring is getting me really warm and after an hour, I’m enjoying all this. I’m welcoming and congratulating a big part of me for making it back from the future into the present. It feels very relieving. I’m still not very positive or happy, but that’s fine. I escaped the black hole, that had me in its gravity field.

I think there is a big power in walking. Maybe it’s because that’s what nature made us: awesome walking machines. Especially walking through nature has so much calm, satisfaction and a kind of wisdom in it.