We didn't expect much from Bodrum so decided to book a shore excursion the night before, a 4 hour trip around the peninsula departing at 8:15am. This took in many of the best views of the city and surrounding waters, taking in an ancient theatre right by the roadside and still in use today for high-priced concerts each year, a lookout with some more old windmills like we had seen in Greece only not so well kept, and then being taken to a small village for an hour to walk around.
Bodrum is an interesting city, a summer destination for the wealthy especially celebrities, its population is 80,000 during winter and expands to 1,000,000 during summer! There are plenty of expensive homes and yachts here, and it is much more westernised. For the first time in Turkey we've seen good roads and "real" shops (car dealerships, TV stores, etc). Interestingly though even many buildings like homes or shops have piles of rubble or construction material outside or next to them, and there are many building sites that look unfinished and abandoned. For the most part though, there is definitely money in this down and buildings look well kept.
The village we stopped at for lunch is right beside the water and contains many restaurants. We are beside the Mediterranean here and the food is much like Greece; lots of fish, olive oils, etc. We don't indulge much apart from a drink and a snack so we can rest in the shade and admire the view. And no we didn't take the seats in the water! The gentle sea breeze was refreshing and we we didn't arrive back to the bus feeling hot and bothered, but rather relaxed and refreshed.
We were back on board the ship by 12:30pm and spent the afternoon reading up about todays and tomorrows destination, watching a skillful fruit carving display, and Helen went for a spa. Life is tough!
We didn't bother walking into town having seen enough from the bus. Overall though, an interesting day and Bodrum was an unexpected surprise.
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