Marmaris January 2011

12 January

Weather: cloudy and rain today. 18C SW Wind Beaufort 5

We have had a very busy week getting ourselves re-acquainted with Marmaris and all the other liveaboards. I have been to 2 Yoga classes; Last Thursday and Monday. We are about 8-10 people; 2 men, the rest women. The instructor has gone on a vacation for 6 weeks so the participants have been using a cheat-sheet and taking turns leading the group. It works out very well and it's free for now:)

We went to the big Thursday market and got lots of fresh vegetables,fruit, yoghurt, cheese and olives. It's a wonderful market and the people are very friendly. Everything is pretty cheap at the markets. 1 kilo of oranges costs about 1/2 Euro. The oranges are delicious right now. For 3 Euro I bought 4 cucumbers, 2 zucchini, 3 aubergines, 3 lemons and a fistful of long beans. Then we found the meat market which was not such a success. I have a hard time seeing the whole animal lying heaped on tables and not being able to identify the meat cuts. It's all just a bunch of flesh lying about. So went back to my trusty grocery store which turns out, sells meat that is raised on its own farm just outside town. Apparently all the liveaboards buy meat from there. The store has a very difficult name to pronounce but has a big yellow and green sign out in front so we all call it "The Yellow and Green store". We have the same problem with street names, everyone pronounces the Turkish name differently so instead, the streets are called "Second Bridge Street", "Electric Street", and so on. Turks would be mortified if they heard us! But it makes giving directions easier to understand. The big Ataturk statue is our starting point when giving directions. Even the Turks use it as a reference point. He is always at the center of every village:)

Dan has a list of things that need to be taken care of on the boat; the fridge, the engine, a protective cover for Nelson, a wifi-booster, etc. The list is long. But each day he takes on something and goes around to the different workshops and stores. Yesterday he had a plastic cover sewn for Nelson. He started out with one design resembling a long narrow sack. This simple design took about 45 minutes to explain to the Sailmaker as he speaks no English and of course we speak no Turkish, but somehow, bit by bit, Dan got him to understand and he did exactly as we asked. But when Dan got it back to the boat, he felt it needed some adjusting, so went back and forth between the boat to measure and try on, then to the sailmaker to have him sew the adjustments. Finally after an entire day of going back and forth, it was finished and it fits very well. It cost 30 Euro to have done, including the plastic material. Today the Isotherm people are coming and tomorrow the Volvo Penta guy is coming. When I am not walking around town with Dan looking for workshops, I am on the boat cooking. I have been trying all different kinds of Mézes; aubergine, zucchini, spinach, and tomato. I haven't been able to find a good Turkish cookbook so have just copied things I've seen in restaurants and the done my own ad-libbing. It's been really fun and Dan has been a willing guinea pig. Because vegetables are so cheap, I've also been making alot of soups, so we often have Méze and soup for dinner.

On Sunday, we went running south of the marina and discovered a park by the sea where that the Marmarisians have family get-togethers on Sundays, often packing a picnic if the weather is nice. Three generations of a family can be sitting around a camp fire in the parks grilling meat and eating Méze, bread and cheeses. Sunday was a gorgeous day, warm and sunny and no wind, so the entire town of Marmaris was empty and the park was full of families spending the day together in the fresh air.

On Monday, Dan and I went looking for a video rental store. We were soon informed that there aren't any rental stores, but you can buy movies for just 1 Euro. Even movies that are still running at the cinemas. I don't want to speculate on how they can do this, just happy to be able to watch a movie now and again. So we bought 3 movies and went to the club house to watch the first one; Wall Street II. The club house here at Netsel is open to anyone who wants to use it and has a TV with satelite channels and DVD player. We got the key from the night watchman and went over after dinner. It took us a while to get all the remote controls figured out but with the help of about 4 night watchmen, we finally got it going:) Dan checked the satelite channels and found Eurosport, so he will be able to watch the World Championship in Nordic Skiing in February. He is very happy about that!

Yesterday was "Tea and Talk" at the pub. This occurs every month and is initiated by Netsel Marina Management for the live-aboards. They provide new information and answer any questions that we, the liveaboards have. The main topic of conversation this time was the "Blue Card" that the Turkish government has put into law in an effort to clean up the environment. In essence, it says that marine craft must have holdingtanks for black water (toilets) AND gray water (dishwater, shower water). Every boat is required to have a blue card that identifies the boat, the volume of the holding tanks and when they have been emptied. The law is intended to get to the commercial boats, ie, Cruise ships and gulet boats. But since the law states "all marine craft", there is no distinction between small sailboats and commercial boats. Therefore, we are all affected by the blue card law. In practicality, it is very difficult because while we all have holding tanks for black water, none of us have holding tanks for gray water. This means that we can't cook because we can't wash the dishes. Another issue of the blue card is the cost. The first time a holding tank is emptied, it costs 80 Euro. Subsequent emptyings cost 15 Euro. Most sailboats have very small holding tanks which would have to be emptied every other day or so.The cost would be crippling. On top of this, none of the marinas have the capability to handle the emptying of so many tanks. Netsel, for example, has only one machine to empty holding tanks. Each emptying takes about 30 minutes. Imagine what will happen come spring when the charter boats start operating. Just at Netsel over 300 boats come in to the harbor every Friday and have to be ready for the next charterers on Saturday, throughout the season. As soon as all of those boats show up for holding tank emptying it is going to be chaos around here and the whole system will collapse. Now for the most killing thing of the whole issue; none of the municipalities has a closed sewage system. Once the sewar has been filtered, it is dumped into the sea. So all these environmental actions serve no purpose whatsoever at this point in time. No other country includes gray water so most boaters are considering leaving Turkey and going to Greece, Italy or Spain. Other issues discussed were the Wifi system which is being replaced now because the one they have is not very effective, the pontoons are being replaced one by one so boats will be moved around the marina. Our pontoon has already been done so we will not have to move.

Today I went to my first "Stitch and Bitch" session with the lady boaters. One of the ladies, Pat, lives in an apartment here in Marmaris and she invites us all to come on Wednesday mornings for knitting and gabbing. Everyone else takes turns bringing cookies to go with the tea and coffee. Today we were 7 women. It was really fun. I bought yarn and knitting needles and Irena, a Russian boater, helped me to get started. It all came back very quickly and I was soon working on my own. But couldn't contribute much to the conversation because I was concentrating so hard on my knitting:)

At this moment, 16.00 on Wednesday, Dan is off bowling with the men boaters at the local bowling alley. I know, I'm surprised too, but hope he has a good time!

The weather, until today, has been really wonderful. Warm and sunny every day. But once the sun goes down it gets chilly. The nights get down to about 8-10C. Dan has mounted a small electric heater under the bottom step in the companionway that is set with a timer to go on for 15 minutes every hour from 17.00 to midnight and then starts up again at 08.00 in the morning so things are very cozy inside Roam.

That's it for this week. Have a great week!

17 January 2011

Weather: Sunny and clear, 20C

Apparently it rained with thunder and lightning in Marmaris yesterday, Sunday. But where we were up in Kusadasi it was dry with just high clouds. We have had a fabulous weekend, seen so much and experienced the ancient culture of Epheses, the sport of camel wrestling, the serenity of a 13th century mosque, the questionably divine taste of fruit wines made in the tiny mountain-top village of Ciringa and the

comfort of a 5-star hotel right on the seaside of Kusadasi. Read on and I will give you all the details.

We left Marmaris Marina at 07.30 on Saturday morning, traveling north and slightly west. The sun hadn't come up over the mountains yet, but it was at least light and promised a sunny clear day. We were 8 couples, all sailors, Swedes, Americans, Englishmen, Dutch, and Germans, on this trip plus the driver of the bus and a professional guide named Nevruz who spoke excellent English. Our journey took us over the

mountains that back Marmaris and into the Gökova valley, a very rich agricultural area which by now was awash in sunlight. Then up and over the next mountain which is over 800 meters in height. The view over Gökova was amazing. Our first stop of the day was a Breakfast and Comfort Stop at a freezing wayside service station at 09.30 where I had Turkish breakfast and Dan a warm and spicy Lentil Soup with herbs like mint and sage in it. (Turks have soup for breakfast). It was delicious. I will put the soup recipe up on our recipe page this week.

We then continued on to the ancient city of Epheses which had its hay-day in 100-200 AD and was 4th in size and importance after Rome, Athens and Antioch. At that time it was on the sea and a very busy trade port but is now 6 km inland. It had a population of 250,000 citizens, but once the sea receded leaving it high and dry, it lost it's importance and over the centuries people starting moving out, then there were

a series of earthquakes that were more or less the last nail in Ephesus's coffin. Of course, alot of the city is ruins and at least half of it hasn't yet been excavated, but it's an ongoing project by a joint venture between Turkey and Austria. The Ideon and Amphitheater were more or less intact and were both magnificent. The amphitheater held between 20 -25,000 people. The main streets of marble were also

intact and the stones had slits cut in them to act as an anti-skid surface in times of rain. For being so old and having suffered several earthquakes, it is amazing that so many temples and dwellings are still standing. The wealthy citizens of Epheses built their homes up a slope in the nice part of town overlooking the sea. These were called terrace houses. Almost like townhouses as they shared outer walls,

and each dwelling had a patio in the center of the apartment which was open to the sky so they got light and fresh air. A huge protective structure has been built to enclose the ruins of the terrace houses so that the archeologists can continue to excavate and rebuild them so we can see what they looked like in their proper state. But we could go through them walking on transparent plexiglass floors and staircases so we could see but not destroy with our tramping through. The rooms and walls that were partially intact showed and artistic talent that would be hard to find today; painted murals on the walls of flowers, birds and the muses, the mosaic floors; both geometrical designs that the Christians had done and beautiful mosaic tiles showing Neptune rising out the sea and lions about to spring. These houses were of course, for the wealthy citizens who had their own baths and toilets with running water from the aquaducts connecting the 3

rivers surrounding Ephesus with the village, which they could warm and send through clay pipes under the floors of the house as a sort of central heating. In fact, you can still see the terracotta water pipes that run throughout the city carrying water through and out the other end. One of the funniest things to see was the public toilets. The walls and ceiling are gone now, but the arch entering the public toilets is still there and along where the walls were, there's a marble bench that was built into the wall going all the way around, with 48 lovely round holes cut out. A ditch was dug underneath, starting just 4 feet or so deep at one end and then getting progressively deeper to a depth of about 12 feet, and is fed with water that is constantly running through flushing everything away underneath the city. Apparently it was the main place for gossiping while sitting there doing one's business. In the middle of the room there was a gurgling

pond with the purpose of covering any unpleaseant noise. As we walked through the city, we were all struck by the modernity of the place and the beauty of it. The agora (square) was all marble and had statues and fountains and trees with benches to sit on. One of the most magnificent buildings left to posterity is the Celsus library, built as a monument to Gaius Julius Celsus Polemaeanus who, by the way, is buried beneath the library. It has 2 sets of columns (upper and lower) with niches for statues denoting: knowledge, wisdom, intelligence and valor. The facade is still standing and very ornately carved in marble. This library held 12,000 scrolls which makes it the 3rd largest ancient library after Alexandria and Pergamum. Our last view as we left was the harbour street, which was also of marble, leading down to where the sea used to be before it receded. This street is very wide, lined by ionic columns and had street lights that were lit at night. We spent 3 hours walking around totally enthralled as our guide Nevrus explained how people lived, what they wore, where the shops were, etc. With a backdrop of azure blue sky and bright sun reflecting off the white marble, it was truly an amazing experience.

We all got back onto the bus and drove to Selcuk where we were taken to a museum that houses artifacts; glass flasks, jewelry, medical tools, and lots of statues taken from Ephesus. Dan and I took a quick walk through this as we were pretty saturated by then. We used our free time to walk around the village of Selcuk which was lovely and very lively on this day as it was market day and there was a huge open market in the town square. We had to run to get back to the bus and take off for our next visit which was to the temple of Artemis, which by the way, is one of the 7 ancient wonders of the world. It was a bit of a disappointment because after the wonder of Epheses, this temple had only one pillar left standing, the rest was in pieces strewn about the area. But behind it up the hill you could see Isa Bey mosque from the 13th century and behind that even further up the hill was St John's basilica so the whole site of all 3 religions was rather impressive. We were taken to the mosque to have a look inside and it was very beautiful but simple. The atmosphere was serene and quiet as no one was there. But inside, the floor was completely covered by oriental rugs of every size and color. By now, even Nevruz was exhausted, so we drove to our hotel in a coastal town called Kusadasi. It was a 5-star hotel and we all had rooms and balconies with a view

overlooking the sea. Dinner was in the hotel which was surprisingly busy for this time of year. But we had a nice Turkish Buffet dinner. My favorite is always the Méze table of small dishes. We sat there till very late talking about all that we had seen during the day.

Next morning, Dan and I put our swimsuits on and went down a stone path leading to a swimming place directly to the sea. It was a very calm morning with high clouds and the sea looked beautifully inviting. Only problem was that the water was at a very low level and about one meter below the last step down. So we had to crawl out on the rocks and lower ourselves down into the water. It was fine though and

the water was about 18-19C so very refreshing but not shockingly so:) We showed up to breakfast a bit late but were able to eat a nice breakfast of Turkish yoghurt and fruit. At 09.15 we all piled back into the bus and drove to Kusadasi to pick up some Starbucks coffee before we went inland for our next big event: camel-wrestling. These events are only held at this time of year because this is when the females go into heat. Camel bulls naturally compete with each other for the favors of the female camel.

The location of the camel-wrestling was about 30 minutes outside Kusadasi and in the hills. The ring for camel-wrestling was at the lowest point and then all the spectators sat on the slopes of the hills surrounding ring. When we got there it was just about to start and we had to weave our way around the ring and up the hill to a spot with a good view. The place was packed by mostly men, but a few

woman and families could be seen. There were musicians walking around beating on drums and blowing on some kind of wooden pipe instrument. Sometimes they would stand right by a table playing very loudly until the men at the table gave them money, then they would thank them and move on. Everyone was drinking Raki and barbecuing a major lunch. They had chicken, lamb, beef, tons of vegetables for salad and grilling, and dozens of loaves of bread. They brought tables, chairs, tableclothes, china plates, glasses,

silverware; everything you could possibly imagine. The smoke from the fires (some were proper barbecues, others were just little campfires on the ground) was incredible. Most of my pictures from the camel-wrestling are taken through a haze of barbecue smoke:)

They brought their own wood for burning too! In the midst of all this, the camels were being led to and from the ring for their matches. They were all males and dressed to kill with colorful saddles, bridles and blankets with the name of the stable, camel or the farm that owned them beautifully embroidered there

upon. On the crest of the highest slope, a banner with the picture of Ataturk was stretched across 2 big poles and waving in the breeze. In the ring, there were about 8 referees. Their job was to keep the camels from hurting each other. When they really get into it, the camels can resort to biting and kicking, which the referees stop. The first match was between 2 beautiful camels but only lasted about 30 seconds because as soon as the 1st one went to attack, the other one ran away and ran right out of the ring. Bet his owner was not very happy, but the crowd laughed and cheered. The next matches were better judging by the crowd. We never got to understand even the basic rules but the object was obviously for the camels to get the upper hand by locking his neck over the neck of the other camel and holding him there for several seconds or sometimes even toppling him. Some really got into it, others just sort of pushed the other around. It was by no means violent or cruel and the camels were treated very well out of the ring by their owners. Dan and I took a walk down to the holding pen to see the camels and were allowed to get close to pet them. They have the most beautiful eyes. One in our group bought a botte of Raki and shared it with the rest of us and we all bought camel scarves; orange and white square cotton cloths with a camel and the name of the venue embroidered on it. We are going to use ours as a tablecloth on Roam:) At 13.00 it was time to move along and get to the next item on our tour agenda which was the mountain village of Ciringa which specialises in sweet fruit wines. Sitting on the bus we became acutely aware that we all smelled like shish kebab. We went to a winery for tasting. We tasted pomegranate wine, raspberry wine, cherry wine, mulberry wine, apple wine and strawberry wine. I liked the Cherry wine the best so bought a bottle of that, much to Dan's disgust. "When will you ever drink that??" I'm sure I can find some occasion... The village of Ciringa is very sweet; built atop a peak, the streets are very uneven and narrow and there are shops all along

them. Their specialities are the fruit wines, olive oil and olive oil soaps. We all split up after the wine tasting and walked about the village until it was time for lunch. We ate at a little restuarant in the village and it felt good to sit down for a change. This was our last sightseeing point on our agenda. We got on the bus and started for Marmaris. As it got dark, it started raining but we barely noticed it as most of us snoozed during the 4 hour ride back. Here in Marmaris it had been raining cats and dogs so we felt very lucky that we had such good weather for this trip. It was wonderful to get a glimpse into the ancient world of Turkey as well as the today's Turkey. This part of Turkey, Anatolia, has so much history that stretches so far back in time, it is sometimes hard to grasp. But one thing is evident; the Turks are a very proud people and we are struck almost daily by how kind and generous they are. We look forward to our next foray into Turkish history:)

20 January 2011

Weather for the past week: Sunny every day except Sunday 16/1. Temperatures during the day have been 20-25C, at night 14-19C.

Very little wind, often no wind at all, usually from the north.

Apart from our weekend, we have had a very easy-going week. We have started more or less, a routine for the days. We start at 09.00 with the daily ".Net" which is a VHF radio report sent by members of the marina. They give the weather forecast, social events for the day, lost and found, new arrivals, calls for mechanical or technical assistance, and daily bilge which is anything for sale, giveaway, or trade.

On Mondays and Thursdays I have yoga class at 10.00 for an hour. On Tuesdays we have happy hour and dinner at our local restaurant, Pineapple. On Wednesdays at 10.00 I have "stitch and bitch" consisting of about 8 boat ladies at the apartment of a former boat-lady. We knit and chat for about 2 hours. Dan goes bowling in the afternoon. He's read up on the the rules now and the point system so I think he will be a contender for at least 3rd place next week if he can sneak a few practice rounds during the week:) On Thursday afternoons we go to the big open-air market and buy fruits vegetables, yoghurt, and spices. Friday-Sunday, we do our own thing; hiking in the mountains, puttering about the boat, cooking, and reading. On Sundays, the local restaurant makes roast beef and yorkshire pudding for lunch. We

haven't been yet as we are not used to eating alot of food during the day. But I'm told it's very good. We go running every other day. Often we run on the waterfront to a park that has exercise machines where we do sit-ups and push-ups and then run home. In the evening we sometimes go over to the yacht club to watch a movie on the DVD player or we read and putter on the boat. We brought an electric car heater with us which has been a blessing. It is on a timer and goes on and off in intervals set to our schedule of the day. Without it we would have been uncomfortably cold once the sun goes down.

On our dock we have 4 other liveaboard couples. One English couple, a Scot, and two Israeli/US. It's very nice to just walk over and have a short chat, ask for advice, or just say hello. Everyone has time here, as we are all basically in the same operating mode. Sometimes, someone will be sitting on the park bench on the pier just enjoying the sunshine. If we go by, we sit down and chat for a few minutes, then others might come by and stop and pretty soon we are about 5-6 people gathered just shooting the breeze. Lately, I have been running around to different boats getting help with my knitting. If I drop a stitch, I still haven't figured out how to fix it so have to get help right away so

that I can continue.

This week, on Monday after Yoga, a bunch of us went hiking up the mountain to a waterfall. It's a beautiful walk that Irina (from Russia, married to a Scot) and I went on last week and once everyone heard about it they all wanted to go. So we were 7 women and one man, Manfred, who is from Germany and married to Ginny an American. It takes about 40 minutes to walk there and 40 minutes back. We followed a very small stream around the base of the mountain and then had to cross it using stepping stones. Most everyone made it without getting wet feet. As we walked we listened to birds chirping and saw spring flowers coming out. The lavender is starting to come out and even the bougainvillea is starting to bloom again. Bay leaves are everywhere and free to pick. After crossing the creek we started climbing the last 400 meters to the waterfall. Everyone loved it. It's not very big but very beautiful and we all drank from it as it comes directly from mountain springs. Everyone was so excited about the hike that we decided to do another one next day. On Tuesday, we met at 11.00 by the marina gate with picnics in backpacks and started our trek up another mountain. Dan came along this time and made everyone pick up their tempo:) It took us an hour and half to get to the top. It's not hand over hand climbing, there's a dirt path that we follow and it inclines steeply in places but otherwise just upwards gently. When we got to the top we had lunch and enjoyed a magnificent view of Marmaris Bay and the outside sea. It was such a clear day we could see all the way to Rhodes.

Today was Market day. Dan and I walked with Irina and another woman, Sue, from England. It's about a 3-kilometer walk to the market. We arranged to meet at the south entrance after an hour for our walk back. Dan and I got all our stuff, this time I bought all different kinds of leafy salad bunches that I'm going to mix in a big salad. We also bought lots of nuts; walnuts, cashews, peanuts and raisins and sultanas. The way back to the boat took much longer than the way there as Irena had to stop at several stores for special items. She

knows the prices at every single store and shop in Marmaris. One place has super cheap paper products, another one is good for chicken, another for meat, etc. And of course, we had to make a stop at the fish market. Gentleman Dan ended up pulling Sue's trolley as it was so full she could hardly wield it. I will not expect to see him going to the maket anytime soon.

Tomorrow we are expecting rain in the afternoon and on Saturday it's supposed to rain and blow quite a bit, so will work on my knitting.

Dan is making a spice rack for my spices.

26 January 2011

Weather: Stormy, lots of thunder and lightning and heavy rain. Temperatures have been around 10-16C.

Friday's forecast says winds from SE at 32 Knots.

We've had several days of on and off rain and thunder and lightning which all started on Friday. Today,

Wednesday, it is sunny and warm again, and hopefully will last through tomorrow. Dan has been working on

my spice rack, but has run into trouble. He didn't have a big enough drill bit, so had to go around to all the

other liveaboards to find one that suits his purposes. But the one he finally got to borrow wouldn't go

through the mohogany wood on our boat, so we walked all over town looking for a hardware store that

carries a 15mm drill bit for wood. Yesterday, we were out in the rain doing other errands, when Dan saw

a hardware store we haven't been to, unfortunately, just this day he did not have the drill bit in his hand

to show them what he needed. He winged it and asked them for a 15 (onbesh)mm drill bit, which they very

happily had and we purchased for 12 TL (6€). But when we got home the drill bit didn't fit in Dan's drill

because the base was 15mm and the chuck can only hold 13mm. So back to scouring amongst the liveaboards

for a drill that can take a 15mm shaft. He had no luck there so now we have to take the drill bit to the

industry park where all the craftsmen are and have it turned to fit the drill. So I guess that is the next

step. Hopefully, my spice rack will be done by next week's log report:)

The thunder and lightning has been fantastic. It moves around the mountains that surround Marmaris,

making it all last a little longer, which I love. The rain when it comes is positively torrential, no half-measures

here. In fact, Dan and I went running yesterday and decided to go to the waterfall and see how much

stronger it has gotten since the raiins started, but there was a whole new river flowing down the mountain

which was running so fast and deep that it put the kaibosh on our route. It shortened our route by a km or

so, which turned out to be lucky for us as a downpour of rain with high winds and thunder/lightning hit just

minutes after we got back.

In between the rain showers, the sun comes out briefly and everyone comes out of the woodwork to enjoy

the sun and run errands. You can really tell that people are getting cabin fever now after 5 days of this

weather. At today's Stitch n Bitch, we were about 12 women instead of the usual 7 or 8. Any excuse to get

out and talk to people will do:) It was my turn to bring cookies or cake to the gathering so I baked oatmeal

cookies yesterday. This is the first time I have actually baked anything in our oven and it worked out well.

Not sure how much gas I used though...

Yesterday's Happy Hour was like a new years party. Everyone was so happy to meet other people that the

party lasted until way past dinner.

Through all the bad weather, Roam is very cozy; dry and warm. Our little heater works like a charm and keeps

the inside of the boat at a nice temperature. We have been reading books: I am reading Dan's book; The Big

Short, by Michael Lewis, about the fall of Wall Street. Dan is reading a book about Allied Prisoners of War

in Japan during WWII. We have watched movies almost every second night at Sailors' Point, which is our club

house. We've seen The Tourist, 300, Company Men, Salt, It's Complicated, and Casino Jack.

Dan has been practicing his bowling over at the bowling alley with another wannabe bowler, Peter, from

England. They played for a couple hours and then came back to Roam for tea. Today they are playing

with the Wednesday Group. Winners get announced on The Net tomorrow morning...

On the boat front, we have had a plexiglass hatch door made the companionway. It is 15 mm thick and

is meant to be used at sea to prevent water pouring into the boat in the event of big waves dropping

onto us. The plexiglass is clear so it also serves to let light into the boat and allow the one inside to see

the one outside in the cockpit.

That's it for this week. Have a great week!