♪ ♫ ♩ ♬ ♭♪.

The Island.

We kayaked to the island in the middle of the see, not rite in the middle of the sea as that would be an incredibly long way to kayak and rather tiresome on the arms but in the middle of the sea in relation to how far you can see out from standing on the shore. It took us roughly seventeen minuets to get there, there being the island. I like the effort it takes to kayak, if you put no effort in, you simply will not reach your destination. Once we arrived we pulled in the kayak rite onto the sand so that it would not float away and leave us behind when the time came that we were ready to leave. The water is deep by the island and so we embraced the moment to swim with out ever touching the sandy bottom and whatever other creatures lay below. The water was calm so rarely did the waves crash in our faces forcing us to drink the salty seawater. The water would ripple past us going from cold to warm, cold to warm occasionally giving me shivers. After swimming we began to explore the island, it was quite the challenge since neither of us were warring shoes. I don’t like shoes very much. The island was mostly made up of dried mud, broken up rocks, dried seaweed, a few bushes and some ants, I’m sure there is more than meets the eye but at first glance this is all that I saw. In the sky there where seagulls having conversations with one another. After exploring we took to, in my opinion the nicest spot on the beach, the best quality sand with the clear blue water rite at our feet. We lay for hours occasionally taking to the sea to wash the sand from our bodies. We both held our breath and swam as far as we could underwater; it was quite a challenge with the waves pushing us both in the opposite direction. We gave each other full body massages, he then buried me in the sand as I lay on my front until all that was left was my head sticking out above the ground, it was all fairly romantic disregarding the fact that I have no feelings for him and I am positive I never will. I was simply up for an adventure, and an adventure it was indeed, for it is not every day you get to kayak to a remote island and just lay like a beach bum on the sand with clear blue deep water at your feet.

Castle of Petronium.

Ap·pro·pri·ate.

There is a time and a place for everything. 

Storm.

When I woke up this morning the prospect of it being a nice, beautiful sunny day looked really assuring. I brushed my teeth and did your usual morning routine business, I then got dressed in my appropriate beach ensemble and made my way to the beach, by this time is was about 11.45am. I went to say hey to the people I had met at the center next door, we chatted for a little while until the whether turned on us all. I would say it turned for the worse since that is what everybody clearly thought, but I did not think this, in fact I was rather excited to be caught in a storm.

There was major wind, it was so strong and forceful that leaves were flying not so elegantly through the sky. Everybody on the beach gathered to watch the beginnings of a storm that was to erupt in the sky right before our very eyes. The lightning came first, a long jagged line across the sky, then the loud roaring thunder and then little drops of rain that fell on our faces. The rain rapidly got heavier by the minute, people began to flee the beach until there was only a few of us left, the rain was still building up to its ultimate climax at this moment in time, I could feel it, I knew the sky had so much more to give. The few people that surrounded me ran for cover but I remained. I was completely in the mood to get absolutely soaking wet as the rain poured heavily, the thunder made its load roaring noises and the lightning consistently struck in the sky. And there it was the rain hit its maximum climax, its was raining so much heavier than before and I was soaking wet by this point but enjoying every second of the storm. I sat down at the sea entrance and watched the storm take place before my eyes, a dog came and sat with me, we were the only ones not under cover. The rain continued for a lengthy period of time, as did the wind and thunder and lightning. I felt as though I had most certainly embraced the moment, I then made my way back inside to get dry, as I stepped inside, I was there for about three m inutes or so until I realized how much I loved being outside in the storm and so back out I went.       

Pazar (The Market).

The other day I went to the market in Perez with Muharrem, his nickname is Boncisk and this is the name I know him as since that is how he introduced himself to me when we first met and shook hands. 

We drove to the market in Perez in his car, I could see that Boncisk’s car was very, very old, it had most certainly seen better days but I liked its vintage feel of low seats with a tattered interior, a hole where the radio once was with dead wires oozing out and a very worn out paint job on the outside. The drive to the market was not that quick but it was nice and scenic, mountains surrounded me as I gazed out into the Mediterranean Sea as Boncisk did his best to give me a guided tour. I enjoyed the ride, it was different.

We arrived at the market, there were lots of different stools with many Turkish people each selling a variety of different things, many stools selling the same types of things such as vegetables and fruits.

The purpose of me going to the market with Boncisk was so that I could get the type of things that I like to eat since I am fairly fussy compared to your average person. In my opinion I am not fussy, I simply like natural foods, not the processed garbage they sell on supermarket shelves and I would rather not eat than eat bad food, not to badmouth Turkish food, i am not saying it is bad but it just really is not for me and my body.

Anyway, we wondered around the market comparing the quality of vegetables, fruits and the prices on each stool before we made any purchases.  I wanted to get some nuts and dried fruit since I am not a fan of the traditional Turkish food, I find it very heavy, highly starch based and full, full, full of salt and so I wanted to stock up on my bird food so that I would not starve to death. 

There was a lady standing behind a counter where the nuts and dried fruit was, Boncisk kept picking up different types of nuts and fruits for me to try, he told me to take control and just try everything before I buy it, I liked how he did this. He kept saying “control, control’ he speaks extremely minimal English and so the same few words kept on being repeated, nevertheless his English is far better than my Turkish, I am making an effort to learn the language though. I tried a variety of things such as dried cranberries, all sorts of different coloured raisins, almonds, pine nuts and so on. I bought walnuts, almonds, dried apricot (there were two different types to choose from, one type was very orange and this is how I know them to be usually, the other apricot was very dark and so I went for that type as this one looked far more tasty and much more appealing), I also bought some raisins. Boncisk made a deal with the lady so I could buy the amount I wanted rather than the amount she was proposing i should buy which simply felt like way too much fruit and nuts. All in all I spend 10 Turkish learer, I was happy with this price.

After I was satisfied with what I had bought we wondered around the market a little more, going from stool to stool, pretty much trying everything in sight since Boncisk just kept handing me things to eat and since this was a place filled with all of my favourite types of food, I had no problem in eating all that I was handed. We ate string beans, carrots (I like to eat around the whole carrot until there is only the sweet centre left and then eat that by itself), Erik (a type of green, sour Turkish plum), apricots, apples (red and green), cherries, bananas, kiwi, peppers, tomatoes and melon. I was pretty much in my element since I don’t believe the foods at the market come more fresh and natural. Boncisk and I made many purchases and so we had many bags to carry included a whole crate of tomatoes. I am staying at a windsurfing centre in Turkey and there are many mouths to feed so this is why we bought so much and made sure to get the best prices and the best quality fruit and veg. I enjoyed my experience of being at the Turkish market, it was great being handed all those different types of foods and I got exactly what I went there for.  Here is to good food and clean insides. 

How to Make a Beautiful Life.

'Love yourself.

Make peace with who you are

And where you are

At this moment in time.

Listen to your heart.

If you can’t hear what it’s saying

In this noisy world,

Make time for yourself.

Enjoy your own company.

Let you mind wander among the stars.

Try.

Take chances.

Make mistakes.

Life can be messy

And confusing at times,

But it’s also full of surprises.

The next rock in your path

Might be a stepping stone.

Be happy.

When you don’t have what you want,

Want what you have.

Make do

That’s a well-kept secret of contentment.

There aren’t any shortcuts to tomorrow.

You have to make your own way.

To know where you are going

Is only part of it.

You need to know where you’ve been, too.

And if you ever get lost, don’t worry.

The people who love you will find you.

Count on it.

Life isn’t days and years.

It’s what you do with time

And with all the goodness and grace

That’s inside you.

Make a Beautiful life…

The kind of life you deserve.'

Brighton Walls.

Friday.

The 13th.

My Friend Falling...

My Friend In Pain.