Sunday, July 13, 2014

Day 150

6/12/2014

My hosts fed me lots of olives, cheese, bread,and vegetables after I cooked my meal last night. So this morning I filled up one of my Nalgenes with the leftovers, whole grain bulgur, lentils, and tahini, and the other with my gogo juice.

I set out on glassy water.

I was in front of another hotel beach when the gust came head on. Only, unlike other gusts, this one didn't end. I found myself fighting into a force six headwind one inch at a time. I needed to get of the water.

I passed a harbor and turned into the protected waters. Three high seawalls guarded a beach-swimming area, a moored motor yacht, and a gullet. Behind the beach was a super luxury hotel (36.704399,30.574817). I don't know what its name was, but I wish I did. I climbed a ladder up onto the pier on the inside of the seawall, pulled my boat out, and changed into land clothing. The next step was to find the reception and get permission to leave my boat there overnight. On the way I stopped in a restroom and cleaned up.

When I came out a security guard stopped me.

"Room number?" he asked and presented a pen and paper to write it down.

"I'm on my way to the reception to work that out." I told him.

He didn't understand.

We both repeated our thoughts several times before he took out a phone and handed it to me.
The women on the other end, after talking to me and suggesting that I could get a room, then spoke to the guard. Presumably to ask him to show me the way to the reception. As it happened there was an open gate that led outside the hotel area next to us. The guard began telling me to go out the gate and around.

If I went out that gate I would never be allowed back in, and separated from my boat until I could outsmart the elite security force that still didn't know about my kayak.

With some persuasion, I took the guard to see my kayak. And with a greater effort managed to convince him I paddled from Spain. He was impressed, and asked me to wait there for his boss.
I waited. The wind roared outside, but in the artificial shelter everything was peaceful. The boss came and introduced himself as the security chef. He probably meant chief, but I'm in no forgiving mood.

I got into his go cart and we went to see my kayak.

He told me I had to leave.

"I want to see the reception and get permission to stay."

"You must go."

"I kayaked here from Spain. The sea is dangerous now. I won't go until I see the reception and talk to them."

"You're talking to me. I tell you what you need to know. You must go. I am the security chef. "
"Yes, you are the security chef. You don't understand what I'm telling you. I want to talk to the reception where they can give me permission to leave my boat here."

"The hotel is full."

"I don't want to stay here. I want to talk to the reception."

His chest was puffed up and he was moving into my personal space. He touched my chest the next time he told me I had to go.

In my calm-steel voice "Don't touch me."

He backed up a couple of steps.

I tried to get him to walk up to the top of the sea wall to see how wild the sea was, but he wouldn't.

After repeating most of the previous conversation several times, he made a phone call, coached a fellow from customer relations on what to tell me, and then handed me the phone.

"Hi," I said. "I just want to explain my situation. If, after hearing me, you still want me to leave then I'll go."

"Yes, I understand what you are saying, but we have no rooms in the hotel. You have to go. "

I might have yelled, "How can you understand what I'm saying if I haven't said it yet?!"

Twenty minutes later I was suiting up to launch. Paddling out of the harbor a lifeguard called to me that I wasn't allowed to kayak in the harbor. It was for “swimmers only."

Once his message was delivered he looked out over the crashing sea. Nervously he told me to be careful.

After a few hundred meters I found a water sports shack in front of a water park. I introduced myself and they warmly welcomed me to stay for the night.

A security guard came down from the water park. His uniform looked the same as the others. He offered to help me carry my boat, and walked us out a gate and shut me out, away from the hospitality of the kind water sports people.

"Secure area." He said to me.

I was on a small dirt road between the water park and a hotel. The road lead to yet another water sports shack at the end of a sea wall. I made friends and finally found kindness.

Please, if you have a flaming bag of poo, send it to the hotel at the above coordinates.

In the evening the water calmed down some and I cooled off with some rolls. At one point I saw a piece of garbage sinking near my boat in the murky water. Out of habit, I tried to grab it but it was too late. Meh, it was only a vague suspicion that made me reach for it, it's not like it was my chart or anything.*

*It was my chart.

Nautical miles paddled: 6
Current location: 36.704399,30.574817

4 comments:

  1. damn, rough day. Nili will reserve some poo for them.

    ReplyDelete
  2. two very important links for you. Your chance to send a clear message to the resort: http://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/aytrn-renaissance-antalya-beach-resort-and-spa/

    and:
    http://www.poopsenders.com/
    thank me later

    ReplyDelete
  3. That hotel is the one north of the enemy hotel. Not that I bare them any love either.

    ReplyDelete