september 24, 2011
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Today after a similar breakfast we set out on a hiking adventure. We hiked back out to where we started our hike to Göreme open air museum and found the trailhead for rose and red valley. We hiked around this area all day up and down on various paths. The scenery was incredible. It was an exhausting hike (and we got lost several times) but totally worth it. We got to the next village around three or four in the afternoon (bypassing the offer of a donkey wagon taxi) and after wandering a bit to find a good place to eat we settled in at the panorama restaurant for some delicious sac tava. While there we found out the next bus wasn’t for another hour. Thankfully a villager told us Turkish people were very friendly and it was easy to hitch a ride. So, we decided to go for it (sorry mom). We ended up getting a ride with Yemeni the shoemaker, which was awesome. He dropped us off outside his shop in Göreme. After that, a mini-siesta and then dinner at another kebap joint whose name we didn’t take note of. I tried ayran, a traditional drink made with yogurt with salt and water I think. I love yogurt but the salt made it taste not so good. Won’t be getting that again. The kebaps were good though. Then soon it was bedtime again.