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Zane
My friend Misty had told me about a place not far from Oludeniz called Butterfly Valley and highly recommended a pension called George House. I'm glad we took her advice. On arrival, the entire family, particularly Hassan, George's son, welcomed us openly. This little hostel at the top of this narrow valley gave me a tremendously warm feeling. This was a happy place.
After settling in we were eager to trek down to the beach. Hassan put together a little treat for lunch of organic home grown tomatoes with home baked bread which were delicious, then we began our climb down the mountain. We'd read in the Lonely Planet guide that people had died falling from down the cliff on this walk so we took it fairly easy. I only had my flat soled shoes so at times I was sliding more than walking but with the help of the ropes along the way I made it down safely. The walk took about 45 minutes but was worth all the effort. The only way to access the secluded beach is by boat or by taking the path from George House which seems to keep it safe from the huge numbers of tourists in Oludeniz. Looking around me from the beach I realised how unique and spectacular this place was. I'd reached paradise.
After spending a couple of hours enjoying the beach we walked toward to the apex of the valley to visit the waterfall and enjoyed the view, but as night fell it was time to head back up the mountain, which although took less time was a good work out. Our efforts were rewarded with an enormous home prepared feast of vegetarian dishes. Everyone staying at George House sits and eats together on the floor. Not the most comfortable experience for me as I'm not a "floor person" but the food, including home made yogurt and honey for dessert was delicious. Same deal for the traditional Turkish breakfast, as much as you can eat of these wonderfully home made foods, Turkish tea and coffee.
The next morning we had to say goodbye to Lauren who was heading back to London. We stayed another couple of nights and I'm sure if we had more time we could have easily stayed longer. Reading other entries in the guest book I realised that many people come back here year after year, which is no surprise. Even as we were leaving, members of the family were smiling and waving goodbye.
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