There are many sobering statistics about the dire effects of climate change. I would like to contribute the fact that I sweated through my shirt at 8am, not even going uphill. It has been rather warmer than expected for springtime -- blazing sun, 85F by noon, and often we walk long into the afternoon. Contributing to our struggle is the inclusion, pretty much everywhere we sleep, of a wonderful Turkish breakfast. You don't just wake up and hit the trail when a beautiful array of tomato, cucumber, olives, cheeses, bread, butter, jam, honey, eggs, tea, and occasional guest stars such as homemade carob syrup or bee pollen or roasted chilis are set before you. And neither Pixleys nor Frenchmen are fast eaters.
If the trail isn't so rugged as to require undivided attention, le lesson français commence. I try to carry on conversation, whether about our surroundings, life experiences, specific points of grammar or theology -- all with the sophistication of a five-year-old who hasn't quite learned the past tense, frequently identifies "him" as "you," and misgenders your mom.
Lunch is a delight. (Except the one time we had to eat in the sun by the side of the highway.) The last week or so we've been following the coast. We find a place to jump in the water, then sit in the shade and picnic. It is magically cool; precious salts and minerals are replaced as we savor tinned sardines like cartoon alley cats; Jean-François utilizes his surgical precision with the knife to peel cucumbers and apples; and somehow the chocolate manages not to melt until out of the package.
A few days ago, we were isolated from any kind of market, and "had to" get lunch at a restaurant. Situated on a long outstretched arm of dock next to ancient Lycean stone tombs, we sheltered from a strong wind as the old cook lit some branches in the open fireplace and started to grill chicken.
Yesterday we kayaked around ruins of old villages that were submerged after an earthquake, like, a thousand years ago. But anyway, the lunch! Perfect fresh cucumber-tomato-pepper salad, delicious roast eggplant with garlicky tomato sauce, crispy fries, chicken kabob, fresh orange juice, again adjacent to tombs and the turquoise sea. There were even nice French honeymooners to talk with.
