The Life of a Vagrant Pharmacist: Turkey Part 2

Josito Camp is located between the small towns of Çakirlar and Geyikbayiri, outside of Antalya. The staff is composed of some Turkish workers and a lot of foreign "volunteer" workers/climbers that work every other day in exchange for free food and accommodation while they are there. Not to oversimplify or stereotype the typical climber, but they tend to be the "work to live" type as opposed to those that "live to work". And yes, I would go ahead and say that I fit the work to live stereotype quite well 😉. With that said, there are always new faces coming through camp, and it is a splendid atmosphere to meet fellow, like-minded travelers and climbers who I presume I will see quite a few of again in the future...be it in their countries or mine.

Every Sunday near Çakirlar there is a market, comprised mostly of fresh fruit and vegetables although also including some random "knock-off" clothing and trinket booths as well. I was with two Germans and a Canadian and we walked the approximate four miles downhill to buy our groceries for the next week or two. I purchased lots of fruit and vegetables, rice, pasta, cheese, and eggs, probably leading to what would be some of the healthiest eating I've done in ages (but don't worry, I make up for it by the sheer quantities I always manage to consume). Now, don't freak out by what I'm about to say, but the norm to get to and from town and camp is to hitchhike. Don't worry though, we're typically always in groups of two and the small town folk around there are about as harmless as they come...and to be quite honest, it's usually other climbers from one of the camps that picks you up anyhow. That was the case this time as well. One climber who rented a car (a Swiss guy that I had a beer with the night before) had first picked up Leah from camp, then another older guy from camp, followed by me and the other girl who I was with. We all arrived back at camp safely.

That afternoon when talking with the other American at camp (Edward from Chattanooga), he asked if I wanted to go to another town about two hours away called Olympos for climbing. Olympos is a touristy beach town during the summer, known for its treehouse style accommodations. I am of course always up for an adventure, so I said "why not?!". The next morning, we packed our climbing gear and his highlining equipment (which I will explain later) and we hit the road. When we arrived, we found Kadir's Treehouses which cost us all of 20 Lira (about $11) and covered our dorm rooms, all you can eat breakfast, and dinner. We climbed the first day when we arrived and made our plan of attack for Edward's highline the next day. The best way I can explain highlining would be a higher version of slacklining which is when you walk across about an inch wide sling that is similar to walking a tightrope in the circus. I'm uncertain of the exact correlation or origin, but this is commonly a pass time for climbers in the evenings when they aren't climbing (it does help with some core stability as well as balance and in turn the stabilizing muscles in the ankles and legs). Being that I have no experience with slacklining, highlining was not on my agenda either but I was there for moral support, to help setup everything, and as the photographer for Edward. I'm not sure of the exact measurements, but I would guess his highline was about 40 meters long and approximately 35 meters over the ground. He used anchors from climbing routes between two walls to set it up with back up protection as well in the case of an anchor failing. To do this, it required me climbing one of the routes and hanging out at the top for a while to help with setup on my end. I rappelled down afterwards and hurried over to his end to help do final tightening of the line so that he could walk across it. Don't worry though, you use a ring around the line which is attached to another sling and your harness for safety, although it turned out he walked the entire thing both directions clean on his first try. This might not sound overly exciting, but I can only imagine the adrenalin he must have had, and when you see the pictures, you will understand what I mean. All in all, the entire process from setting it up to taking it down took about three or four hours after which we headed to another climbing sector to get in a couple routes before dark. The next morning we gorged our faces so as not to have to spend money on lunch, and headed out to climb. Around noon we heard our names being called from the road and none other than four of our other climbing friends from Josito, Jens, Christian, Christopher, and Roger, showed up which lead to Edward and me staying an additional two days and not returning to Josito until Friday.

On a more historical and touristic note, Olympos is home to an ancient village dating back to around 100AD. It's quite fascinating to imagine that these buildings still stand nearly 2000 years later, albeit somewhat in ruins. The pictures will show you to what extent below.

Upon arriving back in Josito, I more or less had torn up my fingertips from climbing for nine days in a row which would require a day or two off. I took a rest day Saturday and hiked to the ruins near Josito and on Sunday headed back into the market with a New Zealand guy I met named Tenzin who had just started to work at camp. We walked the downhill portion to town and hitchhiked back uphill, again being picked up by two climbers from Germany who were staying at Josito. I climbed minimally during the week with tape on my fingers so they could finish healing and in the meantime learned to slackline (don't worry, it's the low one that is only a couple of feet off of the ground). One of the girls at camp, Julia, bet me that I couldn't learn to do it in one day (it generally takes some time to get used to). Of course I am always up for a challenge! Unfortunately though as the day came to an end, it wasn't looking good for me. She obviously didn't think two days was sufficient either, so she extended the bet to day two. That was a mistake. I nailed it twice on my second day! Being that I am kind, Roger and I hitchhiked into town that day to buy beer (cheaper than at Josito) and I offered her one as a loss for day one and accepted one in return for my success on day two. Back to the hitchhike though, this was the one and only time on the trip that we were picked up by locals for the 7km ride to town. It was a quiet, painless trip to the store. At the store a taxi driver was translating prices for me from the clerk and asked if we were from Josito. I said yes and he offered us a free ride back. He was quite talkative and had just finished a shift at the airport and was headed back home up in the mountains. We stopped and picked up his uncle too along the way, and Roger and I learned about the driver's four kids, one doctor in Chicago, an engineer, and two teachers. He also pulled out pictures of his grandkids. And yes, this was all in about a ten minute drive. He was quite the proud father and grandfather and it was a fun little ride back up the hill.