When hiking through all the rugged terrains with rocks and bushes, climbing onto the top of a mountain, seeing the boundless sea emerging straight before me, I suddenly came up with this idea that London is only a small place, but where we stand here, on the top of an unnamed hill, is the real heart of the world. Because the world is such a big place and London is so small, so crowded. Humans are not the spirit of nature. Nature itself is.
On the third afternoon of hiking, we carried liters of water walking on the edge of hillsides and cliffs. My water bag began to leak and I carelessly crashed with my head into a tree. Finally, we arrived at our camping spot by thousands of years old historical ruin. It was in an open pasture and was my favorite campsite. At the foot of the great rolling mountain, a strong wind blew and all the green grass bent low all at once. The spectacular view made us forget everything. Unfortunately, when I was trampling down the weeds, something stung me in the leg and it hurt terribly for quite a while. I was so frustrated at one moment but held the tears because I knew it was not a big problem.
There were so many lovely creatures we met on our path. Alongside the sound of waves, there were also pleasing tinkles of goat bells. Sometimes you could see their dung everywhere even on the bluff banks. It happened that the animals became our little companions, accompanying us in our travelling over the hills and valleys, all the way to the coast. It was a pretty beige female dog who followed us from her owner’s farmhouse to a beach about 7 km away, where we had lunch. Bogdan patted her head and said she must feel bored to stay at the farmhouse lonely all year round. Turtles were also frequent. Once we even saved two turtles who fell into an empty ancient bath and were not able to climb out.
As night fell Bogdan set up a campfire by an ancient wall. It was my first time to build a campfire and to light it. When the bright fire started burning everything became different. The vivid flames and sparks jumping in the darkness were so moving that it brought everyone to a state of meditation and bliss, there in the middle of nowhere, on a dark, cold and windy night.
I’m so curious about all the people we met who reside in the sparsely settled places. On Day 1 of hiking we met an old man who lives alone by the seaside. His job is to clean the beach from the waste brought by the sea and to watch over the leisure facilities there. During most time of the year, he inhabits kind of isolated silence, surrounded by the sound of the sea. He has one dog, two very fat cats, and a dozen of hens and roosters who crow at the dawn. A classic guitar stands on the bed. The shelf is filled with books. The old man lives his life just near my ideal. There still remain so many people living such a peaceful and beautiful life in the secret corners of this world.
It was time to say goodbye. I wish to leave more laughter rather than tears here, simply because I want the world to know how much I love it. The place where we put all our hearts and all our souls in for 5 days and nights, this trip felt as long as my whole life. Fullness, silence, peace. When I look back, the hiking days in Datca was like a shining pearl hidden in the shell, the memory of which will be treasured in my heart, and constantly giving me strength to carry on the daily life.
When hiking through all the rugged terrains with rocks and bushes, climbing onto the top of a mountain, seeing the boundless sea emerging straight before me, I suddenly came up with this idea that London is only a small place, but where we stand here, on the top of an unnamed hill, is the real heart of the world. Because the world is such a big place and London is so small, so crowded. Humans are not the spirit of nature. Nature itself is.
On the third afternoon of hiking, we carried liters of water walking on the edge of hillsides and cliffs. My water bag began to leak and I carelessly crashed with my head into a tree. Finally, we arrived at our camping spot by thousands of years old historical ruin. It was in an open pasture and was my favorite campsite. At the foot of the great rolling mountain, a strong wind blew and all the green grass bent low all at once. The spectacular view made us forget everything. Unfortunately, when I was trampling down the weeds, something stung me in the leg and it hurt terribly for quite a while. I was so frustrated at one moment but held the tears because I knew it was not a big problem.
There were so many lovely creatures we met on our path. Alongside the sound of waves, there were also pleasing tinkles of goat bells. Sometimes you could see their dung everywhere even on the bluff banks. It happened that the animals became our little companions, accompanying us in our travelling over the hills and valleys, all the way to the coast. It was a pretty beige female dog who followed us from her owner’s farmhouse to a beach about 7 km away, where we had lunch. Bogdan patted her head and said she must feel bored to stay at the farmhouse lonely all year round. Turtles were also frequent. Once we even saved two turtles who fell into an empty ancient bath and were not able to climb out.
As night fell Bogdan set up a campfire by an ancient wall. It was my first time to build a campfire and to light it. When the bright fire started burning everything became different. The vivid flames and sparks jumping in the darkness were so moving that it brought everyone to a state of meditation and bliss, there in the middle of nowhere, on a dark, cold and windy night.
I’m so curious about all the people we met who reside in the sparsely settled places. On Day 1 we met an old man who lives alone by the seaside. His job is to clean the beach from the waste brought by the sea and to watch over the leisure facilities there. During most time of the year, he inhabits kind of isolated silence, surrounded by the sound of the sea. He has one dog, two very fat cats, and a dozen of hens and roosters who crow at the dawn. A classic guitar stands on the bed. The shelf is filled with books. The old man lives his life just near my ideal. There still remain so many people living such a peaceful and beautiful life in the secret corners of this world.
It was time to say goodbye. I wish to leave more laughter rather than tears here, simply because I want the world to know how much I love it. The place where we put all our hearts and all our souls in for 5 days and nights, this trip felt as long as my whole life. Fullness, silence, peace. When I look back, the hiking days in Datca was like a shining pearl hidden in the shell, the memory of which will be treasured in my heart, and constantly giving me strength to carry on the daily life.
