Turkey? Give two!
Wanderlust, or passion for travel - a familiar state of travel. A year without travel for tourists - torture is incredible. In the 20th I did not dare to move beyond my native shores. In the 21st "the patient broke in". I wanted to pass passport control, discover the joy of landing and the first breath of fresh air in another country. Yes, not yet Europe, Africa and other explorations of geography. Turkey has become commonplace. Such a strange dacha, where you do not need to work. But there are hospitable hosts, gentle sea and ripe watermelons in May.
At the junction of spring and summer 2021, we managed to go to Turkey twice. The first outing was in mid-May - in the midst of Turkish lockdown and a total ban on summer in the country of all inclusive residents of Russia. The second - in late June, with a micro-accident. I tell.
In May, the prices for the week asked, I bought a tour of Concord de lux for a third of the standard price to compare Lara with Side and Kemer. The travel agency was very surprised: she ordered pines and the sea, and chose a "fox", according to an experienced travel agent, Lara. But I am a tourist with experience. I look for hotels on satellite maps. And here on this map Concord sharply stands out against the background of lush greenery neighbors. The rest was quite suitable for my non-standard tourist 76+: the first line, no stairs and cascades, gentle sandy entrance to the sea. Reviews are excellent, fresh written exclusively by locals. Interesting? And that!
The reality slightly exceeded expectations: two huge pools, in which only my mother and I swam in the morning. The rest of the audience slipped closer to noon, the hotel was filled to 5-7 percent.
This is the personal villa "Baroness Rothschild": beautiful, quiet, respectable to the gnashing of teeth.
Signs about the slippery floor are stuck on the marble paths, the sunbeds are bored under the palm trees in perfect chess order, the depth in the relaxation pool is not visible due to the transparency of the water. My review of Concord here . You will fly from Antalya - look in the porthole on the port side. The white body in the shape of an airplane is clearly visible on the shore.
Handsome Concord
The whole area is a continuous botanical garden in the style of the "new wave" with signs: bamboo, araucaria, oleander, pine, pampas grass, roses and other beauties. The week flew by instantly.
Early in the morning I went out on the balcony and was scared: there was no peace. There was a thick white wall of fog.
Gradually at dawn the fog dissipated. Silhouettes of tall palm trees by the pool, the contours of hotels were revealed. The landscape was mystical, fantastic, unforgettable.
For future Concord guests. I strongly recommend three whirlpool pools under tangerine trees. They are so intricately hidden in the green that even from the bridge you do not immediately understand - how to get there. And the bar is just a few steps away, and the cheerful waiter offers champagne in the morning. Aristocrats, I hope (smiley).
With the sea was not so clear. Yes, on the banks of the Lara is dark big sand. But at the entrance to the sea, it turns into a cunning wet dune, which literally sucks swimsuits. Young and athletics easily overcame the insidious area on the run.
My mother did not succeed, after the first attempt the bathing area was replaced by a Jacuzzi. I chose a pier: fresh, good descent, you can choose between sunbeds and soft mattresses on the deck board.
Every day I watched the psychedelic light music of the nine floors of the Grand Park Lara Hotel from the balcony. From the side it looks like a residential complex, where for some reason every night a bright light show is arranged on the walls of the houses until midnight. How to fall asleep under this flicker is a mystery.
Lockdown turned out to be extremely interesting in Turkish. Tourists can do anything. Locals - just stay at home. Therefore, some locals became tourists for a while, on Ramadan, several large families came to the hotel at once - with grandmothers, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. They were treated to sweets, but celebrated in light mode - without fireworks and dancing.
The shops are closed, but if you really, really need coffee or a suitcase - they work (smile again).
Immediately after arrival, I planned a second outing "to the country. " At the end of June, exactly on our birthday late in the evening, we stopped at Sentido Trendy Verbena Beach in the proven Evrenseki, near Side.
The local beach is ideal for kids and seniors: the sand does not fall, the first ten meters are fine, the entrance to the sea is gentle, no algae, stones and hedgehogs.
The hotel is compact, most of the territory is occupied by swimming pools. Above the main restaurant is a fashionable roof, which is operated: a botanical garden, a cafe, a swing. The hotel was greeted with a greeting card in Ukrainian (surprisingly nice) and the urging of all employees without exception to go to a late dinner. Went. Well celebrated birthday and arrival.
Verben's Trend is fed according to the following schedule: 7.00 breakfast-brunch-snacks-gezlemi-lunch on the beach-lunch in a restaurant-ice cream-confectionery-dinner-late dinner-early breakfast from 24.00 to 7.00. Horror. Although at a temperature of 42+ we ate mostly watermelons.
According to our feelings, we did not leave Ukraine: everyone around spoke different dialects of the Ukrainian language - from Kherson to Lviv. The audience is respectful, calm. Only on the night of our victory over the Swedes, two-thirds of the hotel in their various dialects cried a little with joy (a few Germans at that moment were pouring grief with beer in the bar) - and again silence and grace.
On the third day of rest from sitting on the beach bored. And here we were approached by a boy from the "water entertainment".
Bribed a sea cruise on a speedboat to the port of Side, then to the sea along the shore with a swim and back to the beach of the hotel. I was calculating exactly how to get to the Side amphitheater in the heat, walk to the port and take a boat ride. And here everything is included, and without a trip on a dolmus.
I specifically asked if it would be dangerous for my mother. 76+, cane, legs are problematic.
Vyunak smiled dazzlingly, appreciated his mother, a cane, and swore that "Mom will be OK. " Ok so ok, at 17.00 we stood by the water and watched with interest the half-meter waves. Then our walk began. First we climbed into a rubber boat, from which we were landed on a speedboat at sea. On the waves. Mom. I thought I would turn gray completely.
Nothing like that. The team in the life jacket was handed over to the boat by the team from the boat as a valuable cargo.
There they placed in the shade and offered water. All the turns and vortices of the speedboat passed with a bang. We drove past hotels, stopped at the port of Side, admired the columns and newcomers a la ancient ruins. Back removed from the boat just as carefully, the guys specially arrived in a boat together to help get through without incident. Mom is happy, I'm still slightly shocked.
I have seen from my own experience that you can travel at almost any age. Expectant mothers, young families with crumbs, generations of gadgets, tired adults and energetic retirees had a rest in Trend. And everyone was fine.
The elderly have a particularly reverent attitude towards the elderly, which is both pleasant and unusual, unfortunately. At the Antalya airport, my mother was offered a ride somewhere. We refused, but used the elevator in the gate.
Both times she took an individual transfer to the hotel away from sin (last year's stories of victims of group transfers locked in hotels were a little alarming). Comfortable, fast. Although the official tourist buses are not worse, cleaned to shine, and we did not get to the airport much longer.
Returned. Passed passport control. And a new route is scrolling in my head. Wanderlust. A condition that is clear to all regulars of this site.
Travel! And again smalik - for all tourists.
