One Night In Kabak - It's Not Enough

We are truly blessed to have the friends we have got. Last July, we wanted to take two of our friends who come to Fethiye every year somewhere different that they hadn't seen before. Kabak was the obvious choice and regular readers might remember we did a small series of posts, starting with a photo post about the road from Ölü Deniz to Kabak, followed by more photos - this time of the Olive Garden - followed by even more photos; these were images of the Turkish food feast we indulged in while we were there that day. All of us talked about how lovely it would be to stay overnight in one of the wooden bungalows.

Since that day, our friends were saying, "We're definitely going back there next year," and so, when they came to Turkey this July, off we all went. 

Our indulgent lunch at the Olive Garden

We call these people our second parents - well, because that's the sort of people they are - and while they're in Fethiye, they're always trying to pay for things for us. On this day, we were determined to pay for the meal and drinks, so, just before we left, Barry sneaked off and paid the bill. 

"Well, I've gazumped you," said our friend to Barry. "We've booked for you to stay the night next week for your birthday."

"Would you like a birthday cake next week?" asks the waiter.

"No, no, please, no cake," replies Barry. He hates birthday fuss.

Wow, what a birthday present - and even better because I get to benefit from it, too. Kind of a joint present! And so, on Barry's birthday, we get on the dolmuş and head on over to Kabak and back to the Olive Garden. We're shown to our bungalow.

Home for the night - one of the Olive Garden bungalows

Happy days! We're up a series of steps, right on the front row. The balcony is shaded by trees and there are vistas through to the sea and Kabak bay below. Inside the bungalow is a bed shrouded by a mosquito net and a fan sits above it on the ceiling. Suspect we might need that tonight. The en suite shower room is perfectly adequate - we feel like we're camping again (we used to do a lot of camping in years gone by) and it's a happy feeling.

View of the swimming pool from our balcony

We don't spend too long admiring our new home for the night because the pool is waiting. We drop the bags and head straight down there. Everything feels much more relaxed. The atmosphere is chilled enough when you go to Kabak for the day - but knowing you don't need to think about going home in the evening changes everything. The hot summer sound of cicadas, the crashing of waves below, the murmur of other people's voices. Everyone feels the need to speak quietly around here. It's that sort of place.

Evening light at Kabak

As the sun starts to set, the lighting over Kabak Bay takes on a soft glow and the board is displayed in the restaurant informing us of this evening's set meal. You know us by now. As we sit down to eat we take photos of all the food. We'll put those photos in another post because it's another Olive Garden feast we are dealing with just now...

We didn't know before we arrived but tonight is a full moon. We're sat enjoying a beer and the crickets have taken over from the cicadas. We can still hear the crashing waves below but our view is one of complete darkness...that is until a huge, white moon rises into view, over the mountain, creating reflections and silhouettes around the coastline. Happy birthday, Barry!

 A morning view of Kabak from our balcony

We go to bed with romantic ideas of waking up early to watch the sunrise over the bay...but the night is surprisingly cool. We sleep well and only wake up at 8:30 am. There goes that idea then. Still, the view from our balcony at 8:30 in the morning is agreeable enough, don't you think? Not bad to wake up to! We stroll down the steps to breakfast and breakfast is very agreeable, too. Again, that will be in the next post.

Breakfast is long and leisurely. We take our time and then wander over to the pool for a swim - and we wish we were here for a few more nights...