Small Ayder appeared huge after the isolation of the teeny-tiny hilltop Yayla hamlets seen for seven straight days. There was even an Ayder Tourist Pub Steak House! Jack and Cemil pondered the possibilities of camping in a sea of mud while I stood there offering up fervent prayers to the heavens that they’d come up with another solution. Thank you trekking gods…a hotel??? if that’s what you want to call it. Hostel is a better description, run by a local family that had small but immaculate bedrooms on the second level and after tents, this looked like a five-star hotel to us.

The entire family slept…View image… and ate on the main level and “grandfather” was extremely busy cooking dinner. Chopping garlic, onions, frying up a meat concoction that smelled beyond wonderful and I’m sure was much better then what we ate for dinner.

the Ayder Tourist Pub Steak House in Turkey 

the little Ayder, Turkey family in their guesthouse 

bedroom in Ayder guesthouse, Turkey
It was time to say goodbye to the wonderful crew and do you remember how I related in the beginning of this series that Deborah brought completely new and the best of everything hiking gear for this, her novice trek? She packed everything up (with the exception of her boots) and gave it all to the crew, vowing she would never trek again!

About two years later, Deborah telephoned and wanted to know what we thought of trekking in Nepal. That’s right. She trekked in Nepal…never…say NEVER…

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