Cappadocia Day 5 - A Trek Through the Pink and Red Valleys

Today is our last full day in Cappadocia - time to do the Pink and Red Valley trekking trail.  The weather forecast  suggests the afternoon to be mostly rain-free.  So we head that 30 minutes north of Mustafapasa to try it out.

The sights are numerous from the beginning - look at the size of that giant "tooth"!

The skies are a bit grey, but the hiking is starting to warm us up.

We walk amongst the Fairy Chimneys...

...and see more carved out churches from 1800 years ago.

Okay, it's a shade of pink, got it.

Not sure what to make of this terrain - like a dinosaur could coming walking around the corner - maybe one of those chickensaurasas things.

A natural carved out spot...oh no it's a chickensaurase - whew it's just Tim catching up.

Trekking, and climbing?

Yeah, a bit of climb here with a handy rope - it's a little steep here, but it'd only be a butt slide at worst.

We're now getting to the upper reaches of the trail for the Pink Valley - there's a small "wild" vineyard down there.

The sky is starting to look a bit worked up now...

Our trail map on the phone app is showing a latrine here - hmmm, there it is down there.

And then there's another interesting old cave church, with a convenient tea/fruit juice stand adjacent to it.

And now the rain begins, the tea guy thinks it won't last, but Tim has his doubts.

Grumble, grumble...at least it's not rumble, rumble, rumble...only a steady strong drizzle .

We're still on the right trekking track, the Rose Valley is up ahead...

...but first, another even grander cave church is encountered.

There it is, the last half of our trek - the Red Valley - inviting despite the rain (and the thought that it was drier yesterday.

Gerri is enthusiastic, Tim not so much...

Gerri:  "Let's go, the fairys await us!"

It's a zigging, zagging trail descending to the floor - fortunately the switchback's slopes won't require a rope.

Gerri:  "Where dem fairys, all I'm getting is more wet!"

Maybe they're in here - yah, this metal ladder is too wet and slidy to attempt....

Them are some pretty good french fries, this bounty is providence to shake off the bad vibes of the conclusion of today.  It's crazy there is a Burger King out in the middle of these parts! Today we couldn't pass it up.

What happened?!...

After getting to the upper reaches of the floor of the Pink Valley, and getting past that ladder accessed church, the trail became one with a stream racing down the valley.  Rains from the last few days, combined with this afternoon's, had us hopping left and right across the stream trail to keep our shoes from getting swamped.

Eventually, the trail became really narrow and there was no more room for hopping...and then also we could see the trail stream dive into a tunnel - Nope, Nope, and Nope!  We had to back out and climb back up above it all.  Dang, now it's either backtrack all the way through the Pink Valley Trail to get back to the car, or road walk 4 1/2 miles.  Road walk it is, ugh.  Then after the first half mile a couple locals pull off, and offer us ride.  But, it lasted about 2 miles when we encountered a road washout on the route they wanted to take.  After backtracking a bit, they pulled off, and we got out to resume the walk.  A short distance later a tourist cab stopped, which then took us all the way back to our car, which then took us to Burger King - a better prospect than thinking about Arks.