My Mediterranean Day

So, yesterday, me, my roommate, one of our American friends who lives out east, and one of our Turkish friends went to the Mediterranean. That's right, just call us Club Med. I'm warning you before you read, that my life is not always like this...but since it's right there and we needed a way to beat the heat, we adventured to the beach yesterday. When I say adventured, i mean it in the literal context. Let me give you a brief account of our beach trip...Turkey style.
We left our house at 6:45 (that's a.m.) and caught the 7:30 train to Mersin. From Mersin, we walked to the bus station and then we caught a mini-bus to the beach. We were on the beach by about 10:15. Now, I am the first to tell you that it was worth it, but that is a long trip to go somewhere that is about an hour and a half away by car! Our Turkish friend told us that she doesn't usually go to the beach unless she can go by car. We told her we did not have the luxury of a car at our disposal this particular Saturday and she could rough it like the foreigners and take the bus! She had just as much fun as any of us and I think she'd take the bus again!


We saw all kinds of folks sunning in the sand. This lady actually did eventually take off her head cover and her outer garments, but not until she was ready to dive into the sand. Our friend told us that they believe that the sand is good for your health. I'm telling you, everybody was burying everybody in the sand! I was not buried, nor did I bury my friends, but we definitely did get in the water. Very salty, but pretty great to say that I've swam in the Mediterranean! I confided in my Turkish friend that I was very very afraid of sharks and she told me not to worry. There are no sharks, only 'sea monsters.' Thank you for that assurance of safety. So, beware of sea monsters...otherwise referred to as jelly fish in English! We had to very quickly work through that translation seeing as how at that point, I was already shoulder deep in the sea...
We refreshed ourselves with cold water when we got too hot, but don't worry, there was a man running around with a tray and hot tea and coffee if you'd prefer that to refresh you, which most of the Turks did!

We rented a paddle boat...(see our lovely chariot below) and cycled out to the castle in the sea. Isn't that just like something you'd read about in a fairy tale. "The young princess lived in a castle in the sea..." There is a tale about this one, if you're curious, you'll have to ask me about it at a later date.

So, we rode the dolphin paddle boat out to the island--which was a little workout...let me tell you--and then explored. On the way back we got a little side tracked and found ourselves trying to return our boat further down shore than we had rented it--only because our boat had been 'borrowed' at the castle, so we 'borrowed' someone else's. Once we had gotten to the shallow area and realized we had to go all the way down to the other end of the shore, we couldn't get the boat turned around! So we all four had to get out and push the paddle boat down the shore stopping at every rental station to ask if this particular dolphin belonged to them! It was hilarious and don't think for a minute that passersby on the shore missed out on the laughter. We were quite a spectacle, as we were also on our way home. I definitely got us lost inMersin wet pants, beach chair and bags in hand. We do try to blend generally, but it was a day for beach attire and beach gear...just didn't count on getting too far off course from the actual beach. Never fear, we asked for directions and found our way back to the train station. It was a really fun day getting to see our friend from the east and getting to have some laid back fun with our Turkish friend. But, being at the beach was such an awesome reminder to me as I looked out on something so big that my God created and was reminded that just as He pulls the tide in, He draws men to Himself. He does the work and we are merely clay pots, but Praise Him that we bear a treasure--His Son--and that He desires to draw us, make Himself known to us, and use us to share that hope with others.