10 November ’04, Wednesday. Well I’ve got a little catch-up to do… We went into Fethiye and found a mechanic that would jump right on the van and fix our little water problem. As it turned out, it was a little hose that was leaking right at one of the joints. Once it was found, it was easily fixed. The rain has continued off and on since the first day we arrived. We are definitely into the thunder, lightning, and heavy rain for awhile. First thing in the morning we do get a break from it, and that normally will hold most of the early afternoon, so we are able to get in some swimming time. The surface water is a little cool, but the lower water temp is incredibly warm. The lagoon that we are camping beside is fairly shallow and when the sun does come out, it warms the sand to keep the water temperature really wonderful. Yesterday (Tuesday) Ralph and I were in the water and all of a sudden a large octopus came right up to us. It had to be at least 3 feet long or more and was absolutely beautiful. Then for some reason, it slowly made it’s way right for Ralph. It got to within 3 feet before it started to back off, and then with a quick spurt it shot right past me and out of site. It left us both wanting more. Ralph and I had gotten into the water to do some snorkeling, so you know now what we then started searching for. Well, we weren’t so lucky in finding him again, but we did have fun trying. Speaking of fun, Susan had never been snorkeling, so with about 10 minutes of encouragement and about the same in showing her a couple of things, she was all over the bay seeing the bottom and the fish as she had never seen them before. Speaking of things that we had never seen the likes of before, first thing this morning, we went into Fethiye to see some of the best examples of Lycian burial chambers in mountainsides anywhere. These are the Tomb of Amyntas, an Ionic temple façade carved in the sheer rock face in 350BC. It was a steep climb up to visit the tombs, but it was really worth it. Now back to last night… the fellow who owns this campground goes out fishing from early morning to sometimes late night. Well, he brought back 2 nice sized Barracuda, so we bought them for last nights dinner. This was the first time any of us had ever tasted Barracuda and we loved it. It really was excellent !!! This morning we had to say good-bye to our campground at Oludeniz ((meaning, “Dead Sea”) it’s not void of life like it’s biblical namesake, rather it is a sheltered lagoon hidden from the sea)), and some very good new friends. Ralph and Susan had to head off in their direction and we in ours…we will keep in touch and I’m sure we will see each other again. Tonight we are camped in the parking lot of another “Gas Station”, this one in Marmaris. We will be here just over night and then on to Bodrum in the morning. Tomorrow….on the road again