Today was supposed to be 30 Kms, with the first 10 on a path between the highway and the beach – as the book put it ‘pretty forgettable’.

Mine host suggested he could drop us off where that part finished and he got no resistance from either of us.

So it was the usual breakfast and a fast and furious run to the drop off point.

The entire route for the day was on varying types of road and our finishing point was the last place on the road, other than the lighthouse 5 kilometres further onward.. 

We were soon into hothouse territory and houses, in most cases , were attached to them. The standard of living could only be described as extremely basic and many had piles of rubbish out the front. One owner was burning a pile and within minutes of smoke rising a pair of gendarmes arrived and supervised him dousing it. 

On the beach side of the road 100 metres away there were much more lavish apartment styled buildings- what a paradox.

Despite the apparent poor living conditions we passed a brand new Mercedes parked beside one hothouse and in the next few minutes two more drove by – must be money in vegetables.

Usual fill of sad dogs and it seems the ones tethered and looking scrawny are the most savage- the others either lay idly or walk over for a pat.

The local Mayor had his face plastered all over the place. Two large new schools, a forest come nature reserve that must have covered 100 acres, plus the only grassed football field we have seen in all our travels. It was in the middle of nowhere and was home of the roosters – literally speaking – as a bunch were pecking there way across the field.

In the farming stakes a whole lot of farmers had gaggles of geese to complement the usual chickens, goats and sheep. Still no live cows visible and of course absolutely no pigs.

Came across another standalone derelict farmhouse occupied by gypsies. Three little rag tag kids came running over to say hello. You heart felt for them living in such squalor.

Whilst building is on the surge  we passed three interesting construction sites. One was a three storey unit complex where they only fully fitted out those occupied- the remainder were at lockup stage and sprinkled around the building.

Closer to the end of the day a three storey unfinished building looked as though it had been abandoned long ago.

The coup de grace was in the finishing town which is probably the equivalent of a lot of South Coast beach towns with lots of holiday homes and units, with a small local community and lots of tourists in holiday times. 

The first floor balcony on the huge two storey duplex had completely collapsed pulling away the sides of house and part of roof. It’s definitely a knockdown and rebuild, probably with a different builder. That said our B and B host told us at dinner it was an legal build and the builders have not been seen since.

Just before a beach stop

we passed a ramshackle old house whose prized front veranda possession was a popcorn machine. Perhaps he was a Turkish Daryl Kerrigan and could not let a bargain slip by.

 We stopped above a small rocky outcrop on the beach, which from reading the sign was spawning grounds for the sea turtles. It probably explained the 15 or so camper vans parked on the beach – perhaps hoping for a sighting.

The coastal road twisted and turned beneath gnarly cliffs , with many loose rocks by the roadside- we had a watchful ear and eye out for any falling ones. The beachside had huge rocks along the shoreline perhaps a sign of previous slips. 

About 5 Kim’s from home got honked and it was our baggage carrier, checking progress and giving some assurance liggage would arrive safely.

In the seaside distance we could see the peninsula we would travel along tomorrow on an 8-9 hour trip with 1000 metres of ascents and descents – just hoping the forecast of 2.2 inches of rain does not eventuate.

The closer we got to Karaoz the more beautiful the beaches got, with the rocky ones with sparkling water beckoning us for a swim.

A little boat harbour and public beach appeared about 4 Kim’s from town. It had the best public facilities and even a mini mosque.

At the 2 km marker old mate the luggage carrier stopped to say a final goodbye on his way back. Ironically,  about 15 minutes later  a car pulled over and it appeared he was touting for business. It was not the case it was our next host seeing if we wanted a ride – we declined and enjoyed the last bit of the walk in on a zig zagging route.

Arrived at the beachside cafe for lunch, called OzLycian. How could two Aussies doing the Lycian Way not respond to that omen.

Restaurant was mainly full of Russians. Jane voted her fish as ‘best on your’ and my chicken was pretty good. It was as a battle with crooks and cats to sit around our feet and scrounge.

Wandered up through town  and at every cafe there were groups of up to 30 guys having a Saturday  afternoon game, the equivalent of gin rummy, but with tiles. They called it OKEY.

Found our B and B with a sea view and a great sized room. The young man who greeted us gave us a wonderful rundown on tomorrow’s walk and even suggested a 5 km short cut opportunity with a ride to lighthouse – we were all ears.

Bathroom continued the weird arrangement of recent times where the shower and toilet are in the same cubicle. Add the bum washing toilet tap and it sure does make ablutions an interesting ecercise.

Went for a swim in the afternoon and beach was a mix of sand and pebbles. Water not quite crystal clear but refreshing.

A bit of shopping for tomorrow and it was home to get cleaned up for another terrace dinner.

If you ever saw the Fawlty Towers episode with the rat our dinner time was equally hilarious. After serving us host was running laps of the terrace with a fly swatter shooing away cats, even managed to give us a few flicks on the way through. With about 5 different cats it was cats a clear winners over the exhausted owner.

More chatting with him and tomorrow’s walk is dependent ion weather as there are many steep ups and downs which are slippery and dangerous. Rather than 30 km, less shortcut, walk it might be a 11 km walk on the road.

We will know at 700am after a weather review in the morning.