Paradise found: Living the Dream in Sunny Antalya

I raise my hand sheltering my eyes from the radiant Turkish sun, squinting far into the never-ending blue horizon. Beneath me, gently swaying in the salty Mediterranean waves, my friends look up as I take one last breath. I feel a rushing silence envelop me in the eternity it takes for my feet to breach the turquoise blue waters. Nothing on my mind, so much in my heart. I bid my farewell to the most loving crew yet. I close my eyes knowing I surrounded myself with the best of friends.

Had we planned this trip for months, it still wouldn't have gone as smoothly as it turned out. I attribute that entirely to the simplicity and flexibility of my friends. After a long night ride in the bus we arrived in the Antalya Otogar (the central bus station) at around 8 am - exhausted, thrilled, clueless. All we knew was that we wanted to swim.

We rented a car and drove off into the mountain range. Antalya has a unique geography: high and long mountains looming over long stretches of beaches - to get to them you must first drive through said mountains. We chase the early morning fog away, arms stretching out the windows, slicing through the warm summer winds. Our plan was void, our goal was clear. Spend the next few days beach-hopping, completely leaving behind any trace of the outside world - and man, did we succeed. 

We spent most nights in the car, each night in a different parking lot. Comfort was not a factor - we would be too tired to complain - and we always could rely on our midday naps on the beach to energize us. Breakfast would be provided by the Migros supermarket, for lunch we had sloppily made sandwiches on the menu, and when dinner time came we would treat ourselves to a well-rated but not too expensive restaurant in whatever town was nearest. The next day we wake up early, head to straight to the next beach and repeat the same sequence of events. 

And yet despite the very simple and straightforward to-do list, we seemed to find find ourselves dealing with an odd side-quest every day. Once it was the midnight stress of needing to get our friend Hajjar to the Fethiye bus station before dawn as he needed return to Ankara for work. Then it was the accepted invitation to the hostel bar that where found ourselves the only customers and decided to spend the night in their parking lot. Another time was the volleyball match with complete strangers on an entirely empty beach where we kept on being distracted by the fiery orange sunset behind us. Not to forget speeding back through the mountains to deliver the cars before 11 am. But we embraced the tides and, both figuratively and literally, always went with the flow. 

As they argue and tease and debate each other, I lie back against a rock in silence on the Kaputaş Plaj beach, briefly closing my eyes listening to their voices being periodically swept away by the waves, and I think. When I first met these people I had still been 19, overcome with the joy of newly enrolling in university, starting a new life, oblivious of all that was to come. I open my eyes and bring this up to my friends and they laugh exclaiming pride in having played a huge role in my growth from a young naive kid to the person I am today. It's true now that I think about it, I changed so much through them. Looking back I smile knowing my younger version would be very proud of this change - very excited to get to where I am now. If we are the cumulation of the people we have met so far, then surely this friend group occupies a large space on the mosaic mural that depicts my self.

A farewell never tasted so bittersweet. Paradise must truly feel this eternal. I find myself dozing off on the warm golden sand of Patara Plaj, not knowing where we would be spending the night. We lay here far removed from reality as we know it, from those who know us and from the places that harbor us. Even today, sitting in the French Institute writing this surrounded by ecstatic friends telling me about their own trips, I close my eyes and am immediately transported back. I hear the crashing waves, I feel the burning sand, I smell the saltwater mixing with the sunscreen, I see the tingling sunlight through my eyelids, and I sense the company of those around me, all fast asleep, some even snoring; and it's these memories that I hold on to.