Recently I went on a trip to the Doğa Karadeniz with my brother and husband. I will blog about the places separately from the experience…which was a doozy. While certain parts of the trip were very lovely, it was sort of a comedy of errors. We flew into Trabzon and from there made our way to Çamlıhemşin. Bülent booked a bungalow for us, Eko Danitap, it was supposed to be lovely and beautiful. The directions were wrong. We followed them to a T, and in following the signs we were led up a narrow, scary series of switchbacks, and at the top of the mountain…no Eko Danitap. Even asking for directions we were unable to find the hotel and when we called for directions, the land line had been disconnected and no one answered the cell number. Even knowing we were coming, as we made a reservation, we never got a response or a call back.
We had to find new accommodations. However, one of the the reason we had a reservation was because it was early in the tourist season and not all hotels were open. We decided to head up to Ayder Yaylası, we had heard it was incredibly beautiful. It was, but also cold. We managed to find an open hotel, and the rooms were very nice. The owner said it would take a little while for the water to get hot for the showers. We didn’t think much of it. Except the water never got hot, and the toilet in our room didn’t work. They couldn’t get it fixed. The toilet in my brother’s room worked though, thank goodness…Welcome to Turkey, thanks for flying thousands of miles for my birthday—the least we could offer would be indoor plumbing.
Despite the issues, we decided to stay the night, as it was getting late and we were far from anything. When we woke up there was still no hot water. We had breakfast and then decided to take a walk. Ayder was absolutely breathtaking.
We were near the Kaçkar Mountain Park, so we walked up that way. It really was gorgeous. Icy mountains, crystal clear brooks and pristine air.
After a brisk walk we all felt the need for a shower, and decided to leave Ayder Yaylası, for a place that was heavily recommended by a local we had met, Uzungöl. The wonders (or lack thereof) of “Long Lake” or Uzungöl deserve a post all of its own.
