Kaş is a lovely seaside town in the province of Antalya at the southwestern part of the Anatolian peninsula.  It is also the closest town to the Greek Island of Meis (Also known as Kastellorizo or Megisti in Greek). While the number of ugly concrete buildings in the town center are definitely on the rise, it is still protected from the tourism vandalism which transformed many of the coastal towns in Turkey to ugly mini cities in the last two decades. It preserves the ambience which makes you feel that the time is moving slower there. It is a laid back, relaxed, relatively cheap and quiet destination not crowded by the party people who will migrate from one bar to another.

I had done my first scuba discovery dive in Kaş with Nautilus Diving Center in 2002. Nautilus was one of the first to run an around-the-year dive operation in Kaş back then. Owner Süleyman Biber and his team are exceptionally friendly people and they know the local waters very well. So, on our second day of arrival, we got on the diving boat and set sail.

Having logged more than 100 dives in 2005 and only 1 in 2006, I was feeling a little bit rusty but also very excited to be back under water again. Our first dive spot was called as Hörgüçlü, named after two pinnacles which resembles a camel’s back. Wow! Incredible visibility, little bit of a current and 30+ degrees celcius water temperature. This is the first time my dive computer logged something warmer than 30 degrees, ever. I had not experienced such water temperatures even in Philippines during the rainy season. It was such a nice comeback for me.

Our second dive was even better. We dove the Fener spot which means lighthouse. Biber asked me to lead one of the dive groups. His team was caught shorthanded due to high demand that day. Since I felt like the rust was off my skills, I proudly accepted the offer. Aside from the groupers and horse mackerels joining our dive group occasionally, we got to see an Ottoman ship wreck starting at 22 m depth. Large pieces of amphoras scattered around the wreck and the wreck’s still intact wooden skeleton were the highlights of the dive. I came out of the water with a big smile on my face. As my scuba instructor Daniel Burgaud once wisely said “People dive for fun and diving makes them happy. If you love teaching diving as a professional, that puts you in a beautiful environment having good time with clients who are with you simply to have fun. There are only only few professions which provides you that.”

 I couldn’t agree more. 

When the tour was over, we finally drove over to Brockville, 52 km’s norteast of Gananoque along the banks of the St. Lawrence River. It took us less than 5 minutes to locate the Dive Brockville Adventure Centre and couple of minutes later, we were discussing about the dives, equipment and rates with Helene, the very friendly lady who runs the shop. When we left the shop, I was convinced that this would be the place I would spend couple of weekends next summer. Brockville not only has a fantastic dive shop, it also has many places to eat. We were handed out a pamphlet, “Downtown Brockville Restaurant Guide” by the dive shop which listed many good eats within walking distance. Among the many local favorites circled by Helene, we opted for number 12, the Keystorm Pub. At the pub, the menu offered many choices, but we settled for a suggested hamburger which has proven to be the right choice.

On the way back to Toronto, we stopped by Kingston. Apparently, the city has a lot to offer for the history and nature lovers. We got our caffeine load in a local coffee shop on the main street and then off we go, back home to Toronto. Trip back took again around 3 hours with no difficulties. Certainly, it was a pleasant trip done most probably at the last warm weekend day of this year.

And finally about testing my new car, highway driving was a pleasure and occasionally speedy. Later on, I read in the newspaper that, during that weekend, Ontario Police ticketed 5500 drivers for speeding. Luckily, I was not one of them.

Keep discovering and drive safe…

I posted some photos from that weekend in My Photo Gallery. While I was uploading the photos, it suddenly appeared to me that all the participants of that trip are scattered around four continents now. Daniel is still in the Philippines, Cai Feng is back to China, Pascal is now in Paris, Bora is somewhere in African continent and I am in Toronto. Of course, we all keep in touch and make plans about diving somewhere sometime together but then again, we all know that it is quite unlikely that it will happen that soon and that easy.

It is amazing that how quickly life can change. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t mean it in a bad way. I did some great stuff with some great people last year and I am doing the same this year but within a different environment. It is completely a different experience and yes, it is fun as usual.

About diving, Canada so far has not been the best place, but there is some positive signs. I will go into details in my next post.

Until then, for the ones who are able, keep diving, and for the rest of the flock, keep dreaming.