When preparing our balloon ride post, this photo presented the common problem of one-of-these-things-is-not-like-the-other. As with our writing, we want the photos in our posts to flow well and relate to the themes we discuss. However unlike the rest of our photos from the balloon ride, which are bright and cheerful, featuring clusters of brightly hued balloons, this photo just didn’t fit. While the pictures we used represented our feelings during the 60 minutes we spent in the air – jubilation, joy, excitement, energy – this photo has an entirely different feel.

In addition to feeling the thrill of soaring over Cappadocia,  at times we also felt isolated, small, and insignificant. Although we didn’t talk much about this while raving about the balloon ride, this photograph encapsulates all of those feelings. Of the hundred or so photos I took while up in the air, only a handful have less than five balloons in them. This is the only one with a single balloon. It was so rare to see a balloon on its own, and then the sky opened up…

Not wanting to randomly throw this picture into a post where it didn’t fit (for no other reason than fondness) I’m sharing it today. I’d love to hear what you think!

The post Calli’s Photo Feature 16.12.2013 appeared first on Have Blog Will Travel.

Foreword: To all my parents at home (biological, step, in-law, grand, and honorary), I am completely, 100% OK and there is nothing to worry about. Also I’m sorry you are finding out about this incident here and not over the phone – I chickened out, my bad.

With our last day in Cappadocia, we decided to explore Love Valley, home to Cappadocia’s unique and world-famous phallic rock formations. I’ll let you put two and two together as to the origins of the name “Love Valley”. It was sunny, for the first time in our five days in the area, and I immediately regretted wearing three layers – a common occurrence that completely mystifies Travis.

Where we were headed (a loonng way down)

I will glaze over the details of how I ended up in this particular predicament, because that isn’t really the moral of the story here, and simply say that only an hour into our hike I ended up precariously clinging to the side of a steep rock-face, 30 some feet above the ground below, with Travis out of reach and unable to help*. It was friggen scary.

Oh what I would have given for some goat-like climbing abilities

On my back, feet and hand planted under me, I was unable to get any traction in the sandy dirt that thinly covered the slippery rock-face. Unable to move, yet also unstable in my current position, I realized I was in trouble. I could start sliding down the steep mountain side at any minute and really hurt myself. Panic ensued as my Dad’s words (from our numerous Skype calls) rang through my head.

Take care of each other and be safe.

With my emotions running high, I blurted out something about not wanting to die and moved towards hysterics. Luckily, I didn’t really have time for a full breakdown (that would come later) and instead made a decision to get the heck off the mountainside. If it sounds like an episode of Bear Grylls or a scene from a Bourne film I can guarantee that this has everything to do with my writing and not my actions on that rock-face. Nothing that happened up there was calm, collected, or coordinated. Using my hands to shuffle backwards a few inches at a time, and trying to maintain some traction with the soles of my running shoes, I slowly made my way up the slope in some sort of unorthodox crab crawl.

I want to stress that the danger was real, scary, and really scary

Moral number one of the story: always wear appropriate footwear. Had I thrown on ballet flats, TOMS, or cute boots instead of runners that morning, I might not be here to recount my tale today. Or would be too high from the painkillers to give an accurate account.

Moral number two of the story: go to the gym. If you hate tricep dips (who doesn’t?) next time you hit a wall at the gym try fearing for your life and I guarantee it’ll keep you going. As much as my arms screamed out in pain and wanted to give out, they didn’t and I eventually scooted my way up the hillside. However they were more than a little sore the next day.

Once safe and sound in a big hug from Travis, the waterworks started. It didn’t help that my body was flooded with adrenalin.

Finally, the main moral of the story. After so many days of constant travel, keeping on our toes to avoid the most common scams and dangers, it is still so easy to let your guard down for only a moment and get into real trouble. No one travels to have a bad experience, be scammed, or get hurt, but it still happens. I won’t ever know what might have happened had I slipped and fallen down that mountainside, and although I likely wouldn’t have died, I could have been seriously injured, scaring my friends and family back home and putting an end to our travels.

Reason #1 to stay safe = Adorable puppies

Luckily I am ok and was able to walk away with only a good scare. I’m really grateful nothing bad happened and am taking this opportunity to learn, reflect on how I ended up in this situation, and be a smarter traveler moving forward. I hope you will to.

In the end, Love Valley was quite the sight to see and you can bet that a visit to the silver store for a new ring (or two…) was in order as soon as we returned to town – you know, to celebrate life!

*Travis is worried that he comes off poorly in this post, and as a result may receive some flack from family back home. However I want to clarify that he was a nervous wreck through this whole episode, even trying to climb over to me before I yelled at him to smarten up. Also, it was my stupid idea to try to climb down where we did.

The post The time I nearly fell to my death in Cappadocia appeared first on Have Blog Will Travel.

Be still my beating heart! A little friend we met along the way.

We were extremely excited about getting out and doing some hiking, and although the weather didn’t always feel like cooperating (such are the perils of traveling in the off-season), we still managed to spend three of our five days trekking gracefully and not-so-gracefully through this unique terrain.

Goreme Open Air Museum

While not technically a hiking area, we would be remiss if we didn’t mention the Goreme Open Air Museum. At it’s core, the museum is simply a fenced off portion featuring the best preserved of the 11th to 13th century cave churches. Many of the churches still feature stunning frescoes and exquisitely preserved wall carvings inside.

One of the cave churches showing the carvings around the entrance

The colourful frescoes inside

We had heard a few negative reviews about the site – mainly having to do with the small area, lack of toilets, and the fairly steep entry fee (15 TL). As we were there on a weekday in the off-season, many of these were non-issues for us. There was one tour bus in the parking and probably only 50 people in the whole site.

Another one of the cave churches

Red and Rose Valley

Probably our favorite hiking trail winds its way through the appropriately named Red and Rose Valleys. Containing countless ancient cave homes for the intrepid adventurer to explore, and set in a valley with colours reminiscent of the US Southwest, this region is a hiker’s dream.

The amazing rock formations in the valley

Cave homes to explore

We spent almost an entire day exploring this area. There are some general paths marked by a combination of trail markers and spray paint, but our enjoyment came from the freedom to explore wherever looked interesting to us. Plus, we made a canine friend in Goreme that decided we were worthy companions and joined us for our entire trip!

The view towards Uchisar Castle from Red Valley

The Red and Rose Valley hike traditionally starts near the Open Air Museum and ends at the nearby city of Cavusin. However, on our particular afternoon, some of the most ominous rain clouds we’ve ever seen started to thunder their way down the valley towards us and we decided to stop about 1km short of Cavusin and follow the main highway back to Goreme, just barely avoiding the impending storm by a few minutes!

The origin of the names, Red and Rose Valley, comes from the amazing colour of the cliffs

Love Valley

Oh Love Valley, the place where inappropriate travel photos come to life. Best known for its, um, “phallic” shaped columns – this is one of the most unique places to hike in the world. That is, if you don’t almost kill yourselves trying to get there (more on that in a later post, but let’s just say you should stick to the roads and paths and not take a shortcut over the ridges).

Love Valley – you can probably guess where the name came from!

Located just a short walk from Goreme, Love Valley is just one in a series of wonderful hiking valleys. Other than the hot air balloon pictures, this valley is probably the most common sight in a Google image search for Cappadocia.

The phallic columns of Love Valley

We spent about half a day exploring Love Valley and the surrounding area – taking funny photos and giggling all the while. It is definitely a place that will bring out your inner child. The hiking in this series of valleys is straightforward and very easy going.

Love valley makes for an easy and interesting hike

Funny pictures are an inevitability!

Around Goreme

If you don’t fancy committing to a longer day, or you aren’t sure the weather is going to hold for long enough, there are some absolutely amazing hikes to do simply by walking to the edges of Goreme. Hiking in the hills, or in one of the nearby valleys (Pigeon, Zemi, etc), can provide you with memories you will never forget. Plus, you can just wander back to town for a tea or some gozleme (aka Turkish Pancakes) whenever you want!

A rainbow just outside Goreme

 No matter how long you are in the region, hiking is one of the things you should make time to do. The landscapes in Cappadocia are truly one-of-a-kind and the hiking is generally straightforward and not very strenuous. As with most hiking, we would not recommend going it alone (especially if you are a female), and always ask your hosts about the areas you are heading to before taking off – many have wonderful insights and are extremely helpful. We also recommend not straying too far from hiking trails and be aware of stray dogs (the vast majority are friendly, but you can never be too sure!). 

Logistics: Hiking is one of the best FREE things to do in Cappadocia. The only place with an entrance fee is the Goreme Open Air Museum (15TL per person). Sometimes the best way to get to a hiking region may be taking a dolmus (i.e. dolmus up and hike back). Just ask your hosts or at the bus station and someone will point you in the right direction!

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There are not enough hours in the day or adjectives in the English language to explain our first ride in a hot air balloon. It is by far one of my favorite travel moments.  Having hiked through Cappadocia’s famous valleys only the day before, up close to the mind bending rock formations and cave homes, the hot air balloon offered an extremely special and unique perspective of these same sights. Floating silently overhead – just a tiny speck in the air – the world unfolded before us and it was breathtaking.

5:30 AM – Normally a time only reserved for sleep talking and (accidental) blanket stealing, our day got off to an early start as we were picked up from our guesthouse just after 5:30am. With so much anticipation for this experience, we hadn’t actually slept much the night before.

5:56 AM – After making the rounds to pick up the other participants that would join our balloon tour, we arrived at the main office. With a quick swipe of our credit card, there was no turning back and we grabbed a cup of tea to warm up while we waited to depart.

6:01 AM – It is finally time to get the show on the road! We board our designated minibus and make the short journey through Goreme to a field just outside of town. We can see a dozen of partially inflated balloons!

6:10 AM – Watching the balloons inflate via huge intermittent bursts of flame is VERY cool.

6:13 AM – Our balloon pilot introduces himself as Mike and instructs us to climb into the basket. Divided into quarters, four people climb awkwardly into each section, making us a group of 16. Climbing into the basket wasn’t as difficult as I thought – getting out would later prove to be a different story.

6:15 AM – From our position inside the basket, we can see other balloons rising overhead and cannot wait to join them!

6:17 AM – Mike runs through the basic safety information, including how to brace for a hard landing. We both think of our parents, glad they are busily going about their lives halfway around the world, unaware of what we are currently doing. As it turns out, safety tip #1 is to stay in the basket, who’d of thought?

6:20 AM – Our balloon gently lifts off the ground, only a few inches at first but we are officially flying!

6:30 AM – We join the other balloons suspended over Goreme. Everywhere we look more and more balloons are taking off to join us. Mike explains that due to poor weather over the past two days, many balloon trips were delayed until today. As a result, peak-season numbers of balloons will be flying this morning!

6:35 AM – I have already taken what feels like a hundred pictures.

6:45 AM – We make our way over Cappadocia’s Open Air Museum and are treated to seeing this site, admission free, from the sky.

6:55 AM – Travis gently reminds me to put the camera down for a minute and enjoy the moment. The view all around us is breathtaking.

7:10 AM – Our balloon is lifting higher and higher into the air.

7:15 AM – Over two kilometers above the ground below, we can make out some the small towns in this region, including Goreme, Ortahisar, and Uchisar.

7:20 AM – Dropping in altitude, we make our way over the small town of Ortahisar. It’s impossible to miss the town’s  90m high rock fortress.

7:25 AM – While not the classic definition of beautiful, surrounded by small rock-cut homes, narrow streets, and dozens of hovering balloons, the fortress is completely mesmerizing.

7:30 AM – A game of tag has begun between our balloon, still floating through the sky, and the trucks below, trying to anticipate where we will land.

7:32 AM – The trucks crisscross dirt roads and farmland to get into position for our landing. Mike informs us that, as the winds have just picked up, we will need to get into position for a hard landing.

7:33 AM – We brace for landing as our balloon touches down in a field. Although a bit jerky, the basket doesn’t tip over and the landing is a success!

7:34 AM – A company truck and trailer pull alongside our balloon and we are directed to stay inside the basket. With a burst of hot air, Mike gently lifts the balloon onto the trailer while employees of the balloon company guide it into position – much easier than manually lifting the basket onto the trailer!

7:35 AM – It’s time to “disembasket”; however, climbing out is much more awkward than climbing in.

7:36 AM – As graceless as we may have looked getting out of the basket, we didn’t fall and are counting that as a win.

7:38 AM – Cake is passed and champagne opened as we celebrate our successful flight! Mike hands out certificates of completion as the balloon is packed away.

7:47 AM – As the adrenalin pumping through our bodies slows, fatigue hits and we realize it isn’t even eight o’clock in the morning yet. We load into a minibus and head for our warm beds in Goreme.

7:59 AM – Being the first to be picked up in the morning finally pays off, and we are the first to be dropped back off!

8:00 AM – We crawl under the covers in our warm cave room – breakfast won’t be served for another 30 minutes!

Clearly each and every moment of our hot-air balloon adventure was wonderful, but we hope this provides a bit of insight into our adventure as it unfolded. While riding in a hot-air balloon anywhere would be amazing, Cappadocia’s surreal landscapes really added to our experience, making it all the more unique. Although this experience was expensive, especially for a couple of cheap budget-conscious travelers like ourselves, in the end it was more than worth it.

Logistics: Dozens of hot-air balloon operators are based in Cappadocia. Although your accommodation will likely recommend one or two operators that they work with, we suggest doing some research before signing up. In the end, we rode with Butterfly Balloons in part due to a recommendation from our hotel, as well as their glowing reviews online, good safety record, and small basket sizes (as they focus on individual bookings rather than large tour groups). Although a few dollars can be saved between operators, we wanted to ensure our trip would be memorable and were therefore willing to pay for a quality experience.    

A hot air balloon ride had been on our bucket list for a long time…is it on yours? Let us know in the comments!

The post The Ride of our Lives appeared first on Have Blog Will Travel.

After a week in bustling Istanbul, we made our way inland to Goreme, a small backpacker town in the heart of Cappadocia’s most recognizable sites. Famous for its traditional cave houses, Goreme is slowly adapting to its role as a tourist hotspot with the development of more luxury hotels and resorts. However at its core, the tiny town is still very much a traditional farming community, where tractors and tour buses share the streets and an array of animals – ducks, chickens, goats, dogs, and cats – wander freely.

Authentic to a fault, Goreme is also still extremely backpacker friendly and there are dozens of small family run guesthouses that offer visitors the chance to sleep in a traditional cave home without breaking the bank. For the budget conscious, there are also a number of affordable restaurants offering delicious home-cooked Turkish meals. One of our favorites was Turkish pizza, for a mere 6-10 TL each ($3-5 CAD).

However for us, what makes Goreme the perfect base to explore Cappadocia is its location. Central to the area’s best valleys and rock formations, Goreme is a short walk to the Open Air Musuem and numerous walking trails. No need to hop on a bus or sign up for expensive tours, instead we simply walked out the front door and into the incredibly beautiful – if not also a bit strange – landscapes of Cappadocia.

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