Besides a chat to our floating neighbours, neither of us did much else and, by lunchtime, Elaine was in desperate need of a nap, one that lasted three hours unbeknownst to her. It was well after 1700 when Roy woke her with a nice cup of tea and baklava, declaring that we were also going out to dinner with Kay and Lane off Mai Tai; they were taking us to a restaurant they had frequented a few weeks ago with other cruising friends and what an unusual and festive place it was. It included a fresh fish section, a bakery section, where they baked the bread, pizza bases and desserts they served, as well as an outdoor seating area and three levels of indoor seating, all beautifully decorated to add to the festivities.
Being the end of Ramadan, we’d completed our meal, thankfully, before the crowds arrived for their celebrations of “Hari Raya Aidilfitri”, but it was a fun night in the company of friends and somewhere we’ll definitely return to.
Afterwards we took a stroll into town, enjoyed a coffee and baklava at Klass Pastanesi before completing some shopping, specifically to purchase some cheap dock shoes for both of us and “dock” mats to help keep Paw Paw’s decks clean. We now feel like royalty walking down the “red carpet” , since all we could find was bright red in colour; we have status at last!
We also enjoyed a nice long chat to Keenan who was on his way to work; a two hour drive from where he stays in Michigan with friends, Courtney and Garrett, to the Detroit airport, something he prefers over a “crash pad” and we fully understand his choice having heard past accounts of his “crash pads”.
Elaine also busied herself with a few cleaning efforts she missed the previous day, specifically the helmstation, continued with her packing efforts and enjoyed a chat to her folks and her niece in Ireland, the latter to get a personal perspective on the Irish medical system, while Roy busied himself washing all our throw rugs as well as “installing” our “dock” mats; one on each side of the “passerelle”.
This morning we were up early to meet Kay and Lane, off Mai Tai, on the dock for our walk to the Finike bus terminal; we were heading to Kas, pronounced “Kash”, a seaside town in southwestern Turkey and what a great outing it was. We had, however, picked one of the busiest travel day for this particular adventure, given that it was a Friday and the last weekend before “Hari Raya Aidilfitri”, the day that marks the end of Ramadan, when everyone was returning to their home towns to spend the celebration with family. As a result there was only standing room on the bus and not a mask in sight. Thankfully a very nice young man, after hearing Elaine would have difficulty standing for the two hour journey, said something in Turkish and at least ten people stood up to offer her their seat and one at an open window, for which she was extremely grateful. Fortunately at the first stop in Demre, the bus emptied out leaving plenty of seats for everyone.
Not only were the scenery and views along the coastal road spectacular, as the bus negotiated all the switchbacks, but a fabulous treat awaited us in Kas; it was the most stunning, quaint and historic little town, built on the slopes of the towering mountains that stood as a backdrop to the little town, overlooking spectacular seascapes. The Historic Old Town had the most beautiful buildings, garnished in flowers of various colours. Lunch was enjoyed on the terrace of a little restaurant overlooking the harbour, but not before we’d stopped for a morning coffee, then strolled around the little town. A visit to the Turqueria Art Gallery and Museum, the “Kral Mezarı” (the King’s Tomb) and the Lion Tomb were fascinating, but the highlight was the Hellenistic theatre of the ancient city of Antiphollus. We trust the photographs give you a sense of what we enjoyed.
By 1530, we were back on the bus for our return trip to Finike, but not before we enjoyed an ice-cream under warm, sunny skies. Seeing the beautiful seascapes all over again was an additional treat, not to mention the miles of hot houses, and arriving back at the marina just in time to enjoy the cruiser’s Happy Hour was a lovely ending to a fabulous day!
By then Elaine had completed her tasks for the morning, which included getting registered at a medical centre and completing her initial investigations into the Irish medical system, one that is proving to be very convoluted and expensive. The good news is that we now have a better idea of what we’ll be dealing with if we choose to settle in the Republic versus Northern Ireland, where we’d have access to the NHS.
After giving Paw Paw’s exterior another thorough cleaning and given the lovely warm weather, lunch and dinner was enjoyed in the cockpit; something we haven’t done since leaving Thailand.
A late afternoon walk to collect our laundry wrapped up a busy day.
Our excitement for the day, though, was the arrival of a traditional Turkish “gulet”, the most common design being a two-masted sailing vessel, although some are three-masted, built in the coastal towns of Bodrum and Marmaris. They vary in size from 14 to 35 metres and are popular around the southwestern coast of Turkey where they are chartered to visiting tourists. However, in the interest of keeping crew to a minimum, they are almost all diesel powered now and no longer rigged for sailing. Beautiful yachts nonetheless!
We also started the preparations for our up coming visits to see loved ones, including ordering the various yacht parts and spares we need and that we’ll bring back with us, arranging SIM cards for the various countries we’ll be visiting and finalising our new yacht insurance.
With the beautiful warm, sunny day, we rewarded our efforts with a nice walk and an ice-cream. Fortunately the nights are also warmer now, so we’re out of our jumpers and socks and shoes and back into our sandals and t-shirts. However, it’s not quite time for shorts and swimsuits, as we’re still having to briefly put the heating on in the morning to alleviate the chill in the air.
Today was windier than yesterday and slightly cooler, but before we enjoyed our afternoon walk and a quick visit on Mai Tai (Kay and Lane), Elaine completed the upload of our latest video, sorted out the problem on our website with some erroneous log numbers that were a day out, printed all our yacht insurance documentation, investigated the EU (European Union) VAT (Value Added Tax) implications on Paw Paw and the Schengen restrictions on our itinerary for next year, as well as started the process of getting everything together to be packed; travel papers, medical records, medications, deciding on what clothes to take, etc. In between all of this we backed up our laptops and Roy finished ordering all our parts and spares and secured what he could from the chandleries here.
To take a break from the mayhem, Elaine enjoyed a nice long chat to her folks, although she is also nursing another UTI, caused by an experiment that went wrong; taking the Niacin, an organic compound and a form of vitamin B₃, which was provided to us in Thailand. Roy first tried this when we were in the middle of our Indian Ocean crossing and had a negative reaction, so we decided to postpone Elaine’s consumption until yesterday. Unfortunately her reaction was severe enough to cause a problem. Well, we won’t be trying that again and, needless to say, that rather expensive supplement went straight into the bin. Of course, coming from Thailand, we’re not altogether sure if it was indeed Niacin; it could be anything because neither of us have ever had a reaction to a Vit-B supplement before! Fortunately we had all the medications needed onboard and Elaine is making a speedy recovery! Live and learn!
After a breakfast of freshly baked crumpets and the rest of the strawberries we’d bought at the market yesterday, we enjoyed a lazy Sunday morning. In making the batter for the crumpets, though, it was the first time in years that we had eggs so fresh that the yoke coloured the batter yellow, not to mention that they had a really strong shell; certainly brought back memories of our own chickens laying eggs in Randjiesfontein, South Africa and, in particular, the hen that laid a single egg for Keenan every morning without fail. It was still warm when his nanny, Dorcus, cooked it for him; you don’t get fresher than that!
We had planned on washing Paw Paw’s exterior again, but decided against it and, instead, Roy continued his efforts on the hot water tank, while Elaine completed the draft of our first video on Turkey.
After lunch, we both needed a nap, but, for some weird and wondrous reason, we felt worse for wear when we woke up. It was, however, time for the Sunday barbecue, something we’re starting to enjoy more and more as we interact with different cruisers each week. Today, however, we also had Kay, off Mai Tai, stop by briefly, then Fabienne and Dominique, off Sea You, who had arrived in Finike, stopped by to catch up too after completing their Red Sea passage and spending a week in Cyprus. It was interesting to hear of their experience in Ismailia, where efforts were underway to shake things up in Egypt in attempts to create a more cruiser-friendly environment; unfortunately too little, too late for us!
We also discovered what event had taken place at the school yesterday; it was National Sovereignty and Children’s Day, celebrated every year since 23rd April 1927, to celebrate the establishment of parliament, bestowed by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the leader of the Turkish War of Independence and the founder of modern Turkey and to recognise that children are the future of the nation, thus becoming the first country in the world to celebrate an official Children's Day.
To mark the occasion, schools participate in week-long ceremonies, including performances on sports fields, which is what we saw yesterday. Classrooms are also decorated with flags, balloons and handmade ornaments. Additionally, Anıtkabir, the mausoleum of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, is visited by children and politicians and includes the ceremonial activity of children sending their representatives to replace state officials and high ranking civil servants in their offices.
Having eaten far too much at the barbecue, a nice cup of tea, followed by a movie, sealed our day.
Well, we’ve been in Turkey for nearly 4 weeks and we’re starting to feel like we’re assimilating into our new home. In fact, we’re getting into a little bit of a routine; primarily around morning exercises, afternoon walks, our favourite places to enjoy a morning coffee and a baked delight or to have dinner. Additionally, we know where or how to obtain all the usual services a cruiser needs; provisions, laundry, propane, diesel, chandleries, car hire, public transportation, etc.
These activities have been interspersed with some of the activities arranged by the cruising community here, including Happy Hour on a Friday, although we haven’t attended many of these, and the Sunday afternoon barbecue. Of course, the Saturday Market is definitely a weekly highlight too.
Treats have included Turkish Delight, baklava, roasted nuts and dried fruit and, while dinner has been a Turkish feast whenever we’ve gone out for a meal, lunches are usually a simple affair on onboard of freshly baked bread, accompanied by one of the high quality white cheeses and dates to complement the taste of the cheese, followed by fruit, which today was a banana and the sweetest, juiciest strawberries. Simple, healthy and absolutely delicious!
Being a Saturday, Elaine was also able to purchase a lovely black leather belt for the equivalent of $5USD, something that became a necessity to keep her trousers up; she hadn’t realised just how much wait she’d lost these past few years, since last wearing her warmer clothes. Roy has had the same issue, but he, at least, already had a belt.
On our walk back from the market, we stopped in at Klass Pastanesi for our weekly treat of coffee and baklava, but not before we encounter some sort of primary school sports day that was underway, where the school band was playing and numerous children were performing synchronised exercises, dressed in very colourful outfits or using very colourful theatrical hand properties. It was yet another wonderful and unexpected glimpse into local life in this agricultural community.
Elaine also managed to get the last of our videos of Thailand uploaded; Ao Phang Nga National Park and Railay Beach. It was a nice walk down memory lane. Enjoy!
After our outing yesterday, we had a quiet day today. Roy was up early to enjoy his exercise walk, while Elaine enjoyed a sleep-in. After breakfast, with excitement starting to mount, we planned our road trip around the northeastern counties of the Republic of Ireland and booked all our accommodation. We were somewhat surprised, however, to see how many establishments were fully booked, but we were delighted, nonetheless, with the options that were still open to us.
Then, while Elaine worked on our first video of Turkey, Roy continued his efforts on fixing the leak in the starboard hot water tank. It has never taken him this length of time to do any repairs on Paw Paw, but his heart just hasn’t been in it; he’s simply enjoyed being deck fluff while onboard since our arrival in Turkey; not surprising though; Elaine feels the same way!
This afternoon we enjoyed an ice-cream while walking through the rose gardens. Between the scent of the orange blossoms and now the roses, it was wonderful to be out in the Spring sunshine.
Our day ended with dinner onboard and a movie, although Elaine eventually remembered to start the upload of our last video on Thailand too, which is best done overnight when the marina’s wifi is more effective. Of course, with the noise, bedtime never happens before the last call to prayer, which usually occurs around sailor’s midnight, 2100. Perfect timing!
