Right. Any more f*cking mosquitos want some?
I was up splatting them again at 6am. I had been bitten again in the night. I think Marcus killed another three. It was nothing compared to Thorsen and Fatima's room though. Thorsen killed over twenty and poor Fatima had been bitten on the eye - quite a common place apparently.
On a plus it was finally sunny. We checked out of our hotel and headed straight for the 
Travertines. In case you have been wondering, Pumakkule is famous for a particular reason, It has hot thermal springs all over the surrounding area. above the village are a series flows and steady stream of them, creating rich calcium deposits that form, over time, first stalagmites and stalactites, and then fluffly looking cotton candy blobs of calcium carbonate that look absolutely stunning. The Romans thought this place so important for healing purposes they built a gigantic city that they called Heriapolis above the cotton candy plateaus; known also as travertines. This city was famed for its healers, apocotharies, and vast amount of sick people. In the seventies, a number of money grabbing idiots built a load of hotels on the ruins of the city and thousands of tourists came to bathe in the travertines - and all but destroyed them. Recently the Turkish heritage peeps have tried to undo this damage. However the original travertines look a little bit worse for wear. I got this lowdown from the other part owner of the hotel last night. She said everything to the right of the path is now fake. If it is, it is done 
very well. It is quite a hike to the top of the travertines and pretty painful on the feet but it is well worth it. As you get to the top you are greeted with the amazing ruins of Hierapolis. They are extensive, and very beautiful. They include a circus, and amphitheatre, and an agora (a forum). We, however, had other plans. We headed straight for the Thermal baths. The baths are amazing. They are a naturally heated, outdoor, swimming pool set amid the broken pillars and ruins of the old roman baths. From the moment you get into the water you are immersed in CO2 bubbles escaping through the water, not too mention a plethora of other minerals. We decided to sod the ruins and spent two and a half hours lazing around and soaking up the natural goodness.
Travertines. In case you have been wondering, Pumakkule is famous for a particular reason, It has hot thermal springs all over the surrounding area. above the village are a series flows and steady stream of them, creating rich calcium deposits that form, over time, first stalagmites and stalactites, and then fluffly looking cotton candy blobs of calcium carbonate that look absolutely stunning. The Romans thought this place so important for healing purposes they built a gigantic city that they called Heriapolis above the cotton candy plateaus; known also as travertines. This city was famed for its healers, apocotharies, and vast amount of sick people. In the seventies, a number of money grabbing idiots built a load of hotels on the ruins of the city and thousands of tourists came to bathe in the travertines - and all but destroyed them. Recently the Turkish heritage peeps have tried to undo this damage. However the original travertines look a little bit worse for wear. I got this lowdown from the other part owner of the hotel last night. She said everything to the right of the path is now fake. If it is, it is done 
very well. It is quite a hike to the top of the travertines and pretty painful on the feet but it is well worth it. As you get to the top you are greeted with the amazing ruins of Hierapolis. They are extensive, and very beautiful. They include a circus, and amphitheatre, and an agora (a forum). We, however, had other plans. We headed straight for the Thermal baths. The baths are amazing. They are a naturally heated, outdoor, swimming pool set amid the broken pillars and ruins of the old roman baths. From the moment you get into the water you are immersed in CO2 bubbles escaping through the water, not too mention a plethora of other minerals. We decided to sod the ruins and spent two and a half hours lazing around and soaking up the natural goodness.We then hot-tailed it back down to Pumakkale as it was time to head to our next location - Fethiye, in the southern Aegean Sea. We are chasing the sun once again and also planning to take a four day cruise on a Guleg; a Turkish yacht. Remember Rom?
The bus ride was on the worst excuse for public transport I have encountered yet in Turkey. The driver insisted on keeping the air-con on about 45 C. He spent most of his time on a mobile phone whilst he drove. The reading light was set 4 inches behind me so all it did was shine on my neck. Just before Fethiye, fun boy central decided to take the bus for a carwash - with all the passengers on. That really was good fun.
We got to Fethiye late. Booked into a hostel, had some beers and went to bed.
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