Fram's Voyages

Turkey 2010

 

16 October 2010

N 36 51.052 E 28 16.815

Netsel Marina, Marmaris, Turkey.

Weather: mostly sunny, about 26C

 

We finally left Rhodes yesterday and headed for Turkey. Dan had all kinds of tricky plans to get our anchor untangled from the mass of chains and ropes on the bottom of Mandraki harbor, and consequently, our deck looked about as cluttered as the bottom of the harbor must be. In the end though, he decided to first try to take up the anchor as per usual and if that didn't work, we would employ the tricks. I took in the bowlines and then went back and took the tiller while Dan hauled up the anchor ever so gently. To our complete surprise it came up with not one single rope or chain on it and with no great effort whatsoever. We were RELIEVED! After watching all the other boats over the last few days struggling to get their anchors unstuck, we could hardly believe our luck.

 

We put up the genoa immediately and sailed out of the port. The wind was SW, about Beaufort 4 with accompanying swells. We were on a mostly northerly course of 10 degrees. The main went up about half an hour later once Dan had stowed away all the ropes and chains and bowlines. As we sailed, we started noticing bees flying around the boat. We've seen this before so no big deal, but this time one landed on my shoulder and when I brushed it away, it stung me big time leaving its stinger in my shoulder. It really hurt! Dan managed to pull the stinger out and put some vinegar on the sting and after about 30 minutes it was bearable. Can't think what they are doing out there on the high sea. In addition to droves of bees, we saw more and more sailboats, all seeming to be headed in the same direction. By the time we got to the point where we swing around into Marmaris Bay, there were about 15 boats behind us and another 15 ahead of us. It's Friday today and our guess is that these are all charter boats getting back for the changeover tomorrow. Just before entering Marmaris, we lowered the Greek courtesy flag and raised the Turkish flag we had bought in Rhodes. The smallest Turkish courtesy flag that you can buy is about twice as big as all the other courtesy flags we've flown. The Greeks say if you fly a smaller flag the Turkish police will come and visit you... Hmmm

We entered Netsel marina and were met by a man in a RIB boat who escorted us to our slip. This is a big marina with lots of boats, all sizes, ours being probably the smallest, but we were treated with the utmost respect:)

 

Leaving Greece and entering Turkey is like coming out of the woods and entering the land of Oz. The marina is pristine clean, no stray dogs to be seen and a sign near a little patch of grass designated for the feeding place for cats. They try to keep them contained in one spot so they don't roam all over the marina and it seems to work. The showers are huge with marble floors and walls, gorgeous dressing rooms and huge mirrors with electric plugs all over for blowdryers, etc. And everything is so clean and nice smelling. We went to the harbor master and were warmly welcomed by staff that speak fluent English. We were given instructions to visit several authorities in order to clear customs in Turkey. This is no easy process we are learning. First we had to go to the Chamber of Shipping (10 minute walk) to get a transit log which we must have while we are in Turkey to record all the places we stop in. The price for this was 87,80 Turkish Lira (about 40 €).Then we went to the Marmaris Harbour Office (another 10 minute walk) to have ourselves registered in the system. That took about half an hour and this harbor manager didn't speak English so he had to call in another guy who stood and translated every thing his boss said. They were very pleasant, but had alot of questions and needed to fill in alot of information. When the man took Dan's passport and started typing in all the info, he suddenly sat back and looked at Dan in wonder. The translator talked to the boss and then turned to Dan and said, "no worries, he just is amazed at your age in the passport; he thinks you look much younger". Once we finished with them, it was too late to do all the other authorities but they said it was fine to do it tomorrow.

We walked back to the boat and went by all the gullet boats looking for "My Lover", the boat we chartered with the Zingales a few years ago. It wasn't there but about 100 other gullet boats were and they are beautiful, all sizes, but each one fantastic. We reminisced for awhile how great that vacation was. Marmaris is a really lovely town, very clean, with a big bazaar and tons of restaurants and shops selling carpets. Dan and I are thinking of getting a small one to have in the salon during the winter to make the boat cozier. So when I was hailed by the owner of one of these shops, I happily stopped to say hello, but told him I didn't have time to come in right now. He gave me his card and invited me to come back another day for a cup of apple tea and perusal of carpets with a promise that I didn't have to buy anything. The Turkish shop keepers always invite you in for a cup of tea to chat before they start their sales pitch.

 

Back on Roam, we looked at each other and commented on how good it felt to be in Turkey at last. This is our turning around point and as far East as we will sail on this adventure. We both felt very proud that we have made it this far without any major mishap and right on schedule. We celebrated by going out to dinner at one of the water front restaurants. We picked one that looked popular and sat on a large terraace with high wooden roof and bordered with small palm trees and red habiscus bushes. It's called Pineapple. Dinner was fabulous and the service impeccable. We started with a Meze platter (hummus, tzatziki, a tomato relish, olives and cheese with fresh baked warm Turkish bread)and then I had seafood grill and Dan had mixed meat grill. For dessert we had a pumpkin concoction with lots of honey and nuts and served with ice cream. Interesting... We're thinking that this restuarant will be our regular place to eat out this winter:)

 

This morning we left the boat after breakfast and inbetween thunder squalls, on a  mission to obtain 4 stamps from the following: Health Department, Port Police, Customs Department and lastly the Harbour office. Once this is done all has to be handed in to the marina office to copy and keep on file.  The whole process went very quickly though we had to walk back and forth to the different departments. We didn't have to pay anymore fees or taxes, which surprised us as everyone says yachts have to pay them. But all the authorities were gruff, used very few words, and issued their stamps with precision and force. Once they were done, they handed us the papers and then went back to whatever they were doing. We always had to ask, "Are we finished here?" And they would just nod a dismissive Yes. So now we have a transit log with 4 stamps on it, several copies of our papers distributed at the various departments and are officially residents in Turkey. 

 

 

21 October 2010

N 36 24.642 E 28 02.723

Serce Bay, mainland Turkey

Weather: Rain in the morning, sunny with high wispy clouds in the afternoon, wind Beaufort 1, Temp 26C

 

Since I last wrote, we have spent one night back at Netsel Marina. It was raining when we got there and rained on and off for the rest of the day. But we had a bunch of things to do; namely, reserve 1st November for our winter stay there and pay 25% down payment, get provisions, look into a data card for our internet and replace the aluminium rod support for our bimini. We lost it back in Marseille when it fell into the water and disappeared.

 

We figured we'd have the whole thing done in about 2 hours. But we didn't calculate with the small detail that most Turks don't speak English. In fact, about the only ones that do are the ones that deal directly with tourists on a regular basis. And they have learned English, or German or even Swedish, believe it or not, from the tourists themselves. We were walking through the covered Bazaar when one shop owner asked us where we came from. We said Sweden and he immediately started speaking in Swedish to us. We were amazed and figured he must have lived in Sweden, but he hadn't. He said he learned Swedish from the Swedish tourists that come to Marmaris. Unfortunately, this is not true of people who work in regular shops. The data card proved to be quite a hassle. We went into the first Vodafone shop we saw, but they didn't have data cards(?), we had to go to another store to which they pointed the direction. We went there and Dan decided to take over because I speak too fast he says. So he walked in, stood in front of the counter, looked the shop girl right in the eye and said "PC". She looked at him and repeated "PC". "Yes". "Buy PC?" "No, I need to get onto to internet with a SIM card, I have a dongle". He had reached the limit of the girl's English reportoire with "PC". She looked at us in total confusion and pointed to another Vodafone shop up the street. When we got there Dan tried his opening of "PC" again and was met with a no coprendo look. So being the busybody I am, I jumped in and said "3G Data card, prepaid?" "Aaah, one moment" and he called somebody on the phone. After a few minutes, he rang off and told us we had to go to the previous shop. When we said we'd already been there and she couldn't help us, he sent us to another place. Mind you, the directions were very sketchy and there were countless vodafone shops so we could never be quite sure if the one we found was the one they meant. Anyway, after being passed around to about 5 different sh ops, we finally found one that had one employee that spoke English. In order to get just a SIM card for our internet, we have to bring in our USB stick that we bought in Greece, and our passports, and the stick and SIM have to be registered in Turkey. The registration process takes a week, then we can buy a SIM card and connect. We thanked her and told her we'd be back later to register. Meanwhile, we're thinking, easier with Wi-Fi? We moved on to the next item on our list; the aluminium rod support.

 

We tried the first boat upholsterer we came across and went in with the rod we have left and asked if they could make another one just like it. But they didn't make hard stuff, only fabric stuff. He suggested another shop a couple streets away, so we thanked him and went there. It was a sailmaker's shop. Dan showed him our rod and asked if he could make another one. He didn't speak English either, but understood. He said, no, he couldn't, but if we went to another place, they definately could. We asked him where it was but couldn't understand what he was saying. It was mostly in Turkish. He could see by our questioning faces (sort of like Vilda when we say something she doesn't understand; ears perk, head tilts to the side, eyes pleading for understanding). So he called upstairs to someone who turned out to be his teen-age son and spoke a whole spate of Turkish to him pointing to us and the aluminium rod. And then he turned to us and indicated that we should go with the son. Great. We thanked the man profusely and set off with the son who seemed to feel that this was completely odd, but his Dad gave him a cigarette for the road, so why not? By this time I was pretty tired of all this goose chasing so I left the 2 men to it and split off to a grocery store and agreed to meet back at the boat.

 

I got everything I needed, at least I hoped I did. Not knowing any Turkish, was not sure if the rice I bought was the right one, or the yoghurt or the butter. Turned out the butter I thought I had was margarine, but the cashier at least understood that much and could show me the real butter. As I walked back to the boat with my goods, I mused about how kind and helpful the Turks are. They are always prepared to go the extra mile to help you get what you want even if it means going to a competitor. Maybe the competitor is a brother, cousin, uncle? Never mind, the main thing is getting the job done and they definately help do that.

 

Back at the boat I unpacked everything and then started the computer to see if I could get on Wi-fi. The signal was too weak at the boat so would have to go to a café. Dan came back after about an hour and ½. It turns out he had been on quite an adventure. The kid had led Dan through the waterfront streets for about 10 minutes until they got to a busstop. The bus came and they got on and Dan paid for both of them and off they went. After about a 10 minute ride they got off at an industrial area crowded with workshops. Mostly for cars. The kid went into one of the mechanic shops and talked to a guy there asking if he could make an identical rod. He indicated that he could in size but not in color. After the obligatory haggling Dan and the shopkeeper agreed on a price and that it would be finished at 17.00 same day. The haggling part Dan found was difficult since they had no common language and he had no way of knowing the cost of the material in Turkey and the effort involved in making the part. He resolved not to squeeze the shopkeeper but to establish how much he was willing to pay to replace the missing rod now rather than later. After leaving a 50% down payment the kid took him back to town where Dan paid the sail maker the balance as he was going back to pick up the rod. At 17.00 Dan went back to the sailmaker's shop and picked up the new rod and gave the kid a pack of cigarettes for his trouble. The new rod isn't as pretty as the original, but it looks like it will do the job. It cost 35 Euro.

 

We got our last errand, booking the date for our winter stay with Netsel Marina, done and headed for the showers. It is such a pleasure to go to the showers. They are so clean and pleasant with their marble floors, dark wood jaluzzi doors and tropical plants coming through the open windows up in the ceiling. The shower booths are bigger than normal so there's plenty of space to put your clothes, and all your shower paraphenalia. I even blow-dried my hair for the first time since we left Falsterbo! Netsel Marina has a large live-aboard community. I met the woman who is in charge of all the activities and information for live-aboards. She is an American named Gwen. She offered to email me the information pack that she has put together and I am very much looking forward to seeing it. The first thing I intend to sign up for once we are esconced at Netsel Marina for the winter is Turkish lessons.

 

Since we didn't have internet, we had to go to a café to use Wi-Fi so went to a place called My Marina, English Pub. It's on the second floor over the Pineapple restaurant with a big balcony overlooking our dock. We went up and sat down right by the railing where we could see Roam, ordered 2 Rakis and a Meze platter and then went online and called the girls on Skype and checked our email. We reached all the girls except Stephanie who was working a flight to San Francisco. It's so nice to catch up with them and hear how things are at home.

 

Next day, we waited for the rain to stop which it did around noon, and then left for points north. We don't need to be back at the marina until sometime around the 1st of November so we decided to check out the bays and islands along the west coast of Turkey. This area is called the Carian coast.

 

 

22 October 2010

N 36 47.669 E 28 04.888

Kuyulu Bükü Cove, mainland Turkey

Weather: Sunny with high wispy clouds, wind 3 Beaufort from NW, 28C

 

Looks like the good weather is coming back again. We woke up to a beautiful morning with just a few clouds high overhead. There was no wind in the cove so went for a morning swim. The water is still about 23C. After breakfast, we raised the sails and released ourselves from our mooring bouy and sailed out of the cove and headed northwest. The wind was against us so had to tack for a while until we got up to Hisarönü Körfezi (Hisarönu Golf) where we could fall off and sail straight up the bay. There was a general exodus of sailboats all going in the opposite direction, making for Marmaris as today is the change-over day for the charters.

This part of Turkey is extremely mountainous with craggy, pointed peaks. But down towards the water, the beachfronts are lined by Pine trees. By about 14.00 all the clouds were gone and the temperature rose another few degrees. The wind disappeared as well. This is one of the things we find strange here in this part of the Med. The wind comes up very quickly and dies just as quickly. We can be sailing along doing 5-6 knots one minute and the next minute we're sitting dead in the water. We had to motor the last hour until we found a small cove with only 2 other boats. Dan dropped our anchor and we both went swimming. The water is about 7 -10 meters deep but clear as anything and very refreshing. The full moon came up around 19.30 and totally lit up the whole cove. 

 

23 October 2010

N 36 47.669 E 28 04.888

Kuyulu Bükü Cove, mainland Turkey

Weather: Sunny, no clouds! Wind Beaufort NW 5, 27C

 

We stayed in our cove today. We puttered about the boat, mostly Dan. I mostly read my book, a Swedish book called The Infiltrator. It's a true story about a man who worked undercover for the police in Stockholm to bring down drug dealers. Dan dove down to look at the zinc anode and see if he could detach the propellor and replace the anode, but the screws were too tight.

 

In the afternoon we blew up the dinghy and rowed ashore to go running. It was the usual steeply up for 3 km, turn around and steeply down for 3 km. It was really hot on land too, but there was a good breeze blowing. Dan usually runs ahead of me for a while and then doubles back, that way he gets a longer run in. At one point though, he suddenly stopped and looked across the road and then back at me, and then across the road again. I thought it must be a homeless dog. Dan started coming towards me, and then I saw a little donkey come running out from across the road! By now I had caught up and I went over to the donkey. Dan thought I was crazy, and that it might bite me, but anyone could see it was docile as can be. No halter, didn't look like anyone had brushed her or tended to her so it must be a wild donkey, or a runaway that got sick and tired of the work load and longed to be free. Cars were coming along pretty fast on this road, so we coaxed it off the road with us and it happily followed, nuzzling us and standing as close to us as it could. We (read Margaret) gave it a few pats and then said good-bye and continued running. After about half a minute I heard something behind me that wasn't a car, turning around I saw that the donkey was trotting right along on my heels. It preferred running on the road because the shoulder of the road was very stoney so we had to keep coaxing it and leading it off the road when the cars came. I was very worried that she would get hit. But cars slowed down and drove slowly by watching the donkey and probably wondering what the hell two obvious foreigners were doing with a wild donkey. We didn't know what to do to make her stop following us and didn't want her to follow us too far from whatever home it had. Eventually we ran to a field on the side of the road that had some grass and bushes and shade. It followed us and started eating the grass and that's when we made our getaway. We slowly walked around a corner where she couldn't see us and then took off running in a big circle back to the road. I looked behind me several times once we were back on the road again expecting to see her trotting along after me, but she didn't. We saw alot of horse-type droppings in the field so hope she has company soon.

 

Turks, being in general very kind and helpful and probably not used to seeing people running on the side of the road, had the interesting  effect of causing every car going our way honking the horn and slowing down in order to offer us a ride to wherever we seemed to be in a hurry to get to. Charming.

 

We went back to the boat, thoroughly exhausted, we haven't run for weeks, and went swimming. The water was divine! Barbecued steaks for dinner and made my turkish rice which is OK but more like risotto rice I think....

 

26 October 2010

N 36 43.466 E 28 05.331

Selimiye Köyü, Carian Coast, Turkey

Weather: Yesterday sunny and light winds, today cloudy rain and Beaufort 6 SE, 27C

 

We got here on Sunday afternoon after a relatively short sail from Kuyulu Bay via Marti Marina (grocery stop)on the other side of this big gulf called Hisarönü Körfezi, which means Gulf of Fortresses, referriing to the many ancient and medieval forts dotting the hilltops around the gulf. The gulf runs in a west-to-east direction and is bordered by high craggy mountains. Yesterday was a beautiful sunny warm day, very similar to a perfect Swedish summer day. We went swimming in the morning and then got in the dinghy and washed the sides of the boat which gets very dirty, especially down at the waterline. We swam again when we finished and cleaned ourselves up. The water is so clear here that Dan didn't need to the mask and snorkel to check the anchor, we could follow the chain and see the anchor from the bow of the boat. It was tucked very nicely down in the sand.

There are high cliffs all around us with the only opening to the east into the bigger bay and high cliffs on the other side of that too. There is an outcrop of stone on the south side of our little cove that is much higher than the pine trees. I have been looking at and determined to climb up there and see what there is to see, so after lunch we took the dinghy to shore and hiked through the the pine trees which went over to thorny bushes on little goat trails till we got to the outcrop which we climbed. We had to shoo away a couple of goats on our way up. It's amazing how nimble they are. Wish I could climb like them. Anyway, we got to the top and the effort and scratches on our legs from thorn bushes along the way, were worth it. The view was fantastic and the water in our cove is so clear and turquoise in color as it is rather shallow, about 2 meters where we are anchored and maybe 7 farther out towards the big bay, then once in that bay it drops to 50 meters and a dark blue color. 

 

We climbed down from our perch and hiked back through the bushes and rocks until we came to the beach and then took the road to see where it led. We walked past farms and cottages, goats, cats, one barking dog, and tons of hens wandering all over the place. Soon we came to some apartments for rent and a couple hotels. Wondered what kind of tourists come here as it seems very isolated. But we soon realised that we were just on the outskirts of a tourist village. The closer we got the more restaurants we saw. After about 2 km, we came to the village which was small but had grocery stores, butchers, and the normal tourist shops selling jewelry and clothes. We came down to the waterfront and saw that there were docks out in front of restaurants and then a town jetty for boats. It looked very nice and new. One of the restaurants had a Swedish boat tied up to its dock. We went down to say hello. But all our cheery "Hej!" got us was a gruff grunt from a very large elderly man sitting on the back in a deck chair looking out. Dan had decided to be social, but the man just didn't warm up. Dan kept asking questions, like where had they sailed from, were they wintering in Turkey, was this a nice harbor to stay in, etc. All we got for the effort were more grunts, except when we told them we were spending the winter in Marmaris. He grunted "Yacht Marin?" We said "No, Netsel", he grunted disapprovingly. We think Netsel is considered snobby to spend the winter in because it's more expensive than Yacht Marin. Anyway, we ran out of things to say to get him to chat with us, so wished him happy sailing and left, very relieved to get away. Dan said "Right, so now I've done my social bit and look where it got us!" I had to agree this time.

Dan had better luck with one of the restaurant owners, Osman, who has a whole string of gold-capped teeth. He spoke good English and was very friendly. He explained how the jetties are owned by restaurants and that he runs the town jetty as well as his own restaurant. The season is pretty much over he said, a couple more weeks and then they will shut down until mid-April. We asked about the fishermen we see in our cove every afternoon laying nets. But Osman said there isn't much fish left anymore because the big commercial fishing boats have huge nets and take all they can, leaving very little for the local fishermen. We bid Osman good-day and then walked back to the boat for tea. We both think it would be nice to go there tomorrow or the next day and stay for the night, eat out, get caught up on email and charge our batteries, but we don't want to be anywhere near those grumpy Swedes! 

 

27 October 2010

N 36 42.447 E 28 05.532

Restaurant Aurora, Selimiye Village

Weather: overcast, just rained, 24C, no wind

 

Dan lifted the anchor this morning in complete calm. The water was so clear at 5 meters that he could follow the chain and see exactly where the anchor was lying, so a piece of cake to get it up. We motored in to Selimiye Bay as far in as you can go and that is where the village is. There's a jetty for boats outside several of the restaurants here. We did our usual, and took the place that had most boats:) There's only room for about 6 boats here and we were the last one in. I immediately took off with my backpack and some money and went in search of a grocery store.  As I walked I saw people coming towards me with big bags filled with tomatoes, cucumbers and other vegetables and fruits. Hmmmm, thought I, where are they finding all this? I followed the trail and came out of the village onto a field where a bunch of white VW vans of vintage model, were parked in a circle and had put up tents inbetween. I had found the weekly market of Selimiye:) I bought everything I needed along with some things I didn't really need, like sesame seed covered peanuts (divine), walnuts and pistachios and a very interesting chili paste, which is the same consistency as tomato paste but made with semi-hot chilis instead. We have had something like it with our Meze platters and I've been tryiing to figure out what's in it, now I know. Almost as soon as I got back to the boat, it started raining. So after lunch, I took our computer in to the restaurant which has wifi and here I am, sitting in front of a fireplace with 2 black labrador dogs lying at my feet as I write.

 

28 October 2010

N 36 41.513 E 28 02.433

Bozborun (Yesilova), Carian Coast, Turkey

Weather: Rain in the morning, sun in the afternoon, Beaufort 6-7 NW (Meltemi) 24C

 

We had a cozy morning on Roam with the rain falling and some thunder and lightning. When it finally stopped we went up to Aurora for a cup of coffee and some wifi so we could check the weather. As soon as we walked in the waiter gave us a loaf of bread. Apparently, it's part of Aurora's daily service to the yachts . It's a big round almost flat loaf of bread, sort of like a giant English muffin, very porous and tastes great toasted.

 

Today's forecast is Beaufort 6-7 from NW. Tomorrow is going to be worse so we decided we'd move today. We are slowly making our way back to Marmaris now as everything is closing this weekend. The Turks say that this is the coldest rainiest October they can remember. Being used to Swedish weather, we think it's pretty good:) We still swim almost every day and I'm still wearing sun screen.

 

At noon we said our good-byes to Aurora's staff and thanked them for their hospitality. As we pulled away from the dock, the owner came out with a megafone and wished us good journey, merry christmas and happy new year. From inside Aurora, they rang a bell that could be heard all over the harbor. It is their standard send-off to all yachts who stay at their dock, and was one of the best send offs we've ever had, apart from Kimmie and Fredrik and Vilda standing out on the pier in Skanör waving us off back in May.

 

We raised our sails immediately as we had to sail first east and then north to get out of the Selimiye bay. A 50-foot English sailboat left minutes after us and followed behind us. When we rounded the first bend towards the north, we got hit by a katabatic wind that was so powerful it laid Roam right over on her starboard side, so far that water came rushing in to the cockpit. I lost concentration when I saw the water coming in (read, FREAKED OUT!!) and Dan had to grab the tiller and steer us into the wind until we righted ourselves. Whew! Close call! We had both sails close-hauled and headed as much into the wind as we could in order to make it out of the bay without having to tack. We managed it with a margin but the English sailboat behind us, though much bigger and better suited to close-haul sailing, couldn't make it; they had to tack twice to get out of the bay. We were rather chuffed, as Roam is anything but a good pointer.

 

Out in the Gulf, it was not so rough yet, but the wind was very strong. We could see 4 other sailboats all sailing the same direction as us, but a good deal farther ahead. We were all sailing west so had to tack our way out of the gulf and around the corner into the next gulf, Yesilova Körfezi, to the immediate south. Imagine our surprise when we noticed that we were catching up to the other boats. This got Dan's competitive side going, and suddenly we were sailing the America's Cup race. We eventually took in and passed all of them before we left the gulf. Dan was thrilled but once we settled down, we had to admit to ourselves that it wasn't so much Roam's ability and build as the other boats didn't know how to sail. None of them had their sails properly set and they were heavily reefed so they couldn't get speed nor point close enough to the wind to make good progress. But we didn't care, we felt pretty good:) And to Dan's credit, our sails were well set for the wind that we had without having to reef. Towards the mouth of the gulf we were exposed to open sea and then the swells got bigger and the wind increased to the point where it was really difficult to steer. We had to reduce sail area so opted to take in the Genoa and sailed on the main alone. When we got round the point and into the Gulf of Yesilova, we took down the main and rolled out the jib and sailed that way all the way in to Bozborun. All in all it took 5 hours to get here.

 

As we approached the marina, we noticed Turkish gulets everywhere, berthed and up on land. Looks like this must be the winter headquarters for gulet boats. Just outside the marina along the town quay, there were 40 gullets moored stern-to the land. Inside the marina there wasn't any space at all as every slip was occupied by a gulet boat. The private sailboats like us were anchored outside the marina. So that's where we went. Most of the other sailboats were anchored in about 15-meter depths; we went farther in till it was about 4 meters deep. The difference is they have hydraulic anchor winches and we have Dan. As we were just ready to let go the anchor, a gulet boat came gliding up behind us. We thought he wanted to go past and tie up to the wall towards shore so we moved to let him go by, but he just went slightly past us, dropped his anchor, turned off his motor and sat down for a cup of tea. Hmmm, we thought, what was that?? Since he took our spot, we had to tool around for another 20 minutes looking for a space with the right depth and with a radius that would keep us away from any rocks or fishing nets. Finally just as it got dark we were settled and could relax. It had been such a rough sail that neither of us had had a bite to eat all day and that realisation made us ravenously hungry. I made a Meze with the chili paste I bought at the market in Selimiye and fried some our Turkish bread in olive oil and garlic for an appetizer. I haven't reached the point of perfection with the chili spread, so it won't go into our recipe page yet. But as we were so hungry we wolfed it down, chased by a room-temperature shot of vodka (no ice).

 

While I was making dinner I noticed that things I had left safely in the sink while sailing, like the teapot, dish soap and 2 hard-boiled eggs, were missing. After some searching I finally found the teapot under the salon table, the dish soap under the navigation table and the hardboiled eggs in the starboard bunk behind the navigation table. I don't think any objects have ever flown so far before. The dish soap top somehow got flicked open and dispersed its contents all over the bunk under the navigation table.

 

After a dinner of risotto with roasted vegetables, we listened to Swedish news and went to bed. Too tired read I fell asleep while Dan listened to some new podcasts.

 

 

30 October 2010

N 38 34.06 E 28 00.765

Bozuk Bükü, Carian Coast, Turkey

Weather: Sunny and very clear, wind Beaufort 3-4 NW, 24C

 

Yesterday, 29th October was Republic Day in Turkey. Atatürk was the central figure for the celebrations in Bozborun. The square was decorated with Turkish flags and balloons and they had a backgammon championship going on as well as exhibitions by the school children in singing, playing instruments, and the Taekwondo club was there to show their stuff. It was a riot watching these little kids kicking away at each other, first according to the way they were taught but then heated emotions got into it and they started slugging grabbing and biting as well. The ref quickly got them separated, warned them to behave and then let them start again. In the evening the entire town gathered at the square and a projector was set up using the side of an apartment building for a screen. They showed a documentary about the life of Mustafah Kemal, Atatürk. Dan and I sat down and watched. Although we couldn't understand the narrative, Dan is currently reading a biography of Atatürk so was able to give me a running commentary on the events filmed. Looking around, we could see that hardly anyone was actually watching the film. Most people were chatting or eating. Teenagers were hovering in corners talking, flirting, and joking around, little kids were racing back and forth and parents were talking and occasionaly watching their children. But we guessed it's a long tradition - goverment policy - to show the film so there it was. It is truely amazing to see what 90 years of progress has done to Turkey. Afterwards, they dealt out awards for the backgammon championship and Taekwondo competition and then there were fireworks. All the poor dogs and cats who had been calmly sleeping on the floor of the restaurants or on the sidewalks, freaked out and went running at the first sound of a firecracker. Dan and I sat in Osman's Place enjoying a raki and Meze platter. We finally got the recipe for the red pepper salad from one of their Scottish employees so will try it as soon as...

 

As we were sitting there we heard another couple talking what sounded like Scandinavian, and after some straining, could hear that they were not only Swedish but came from our part of southern Sweden as well. Dan turned around and started talking to them and we ended up sitting together for a chat (Malmö). Turns out, he (never got their names) bought a mobile home in England last spring and decided to see the world with it. He has driven through Germany and the former Yugoslavia, through Albania and Bulgaria to Turkey. He has had great adventures driving on gravel roads through Albania where people drive wherever they want, left side, right side, off-road, or straight at oncoming traffic. He was more or less adopted by a Turkish village where he stayed for 2 weeks, being fed by the old women nearly every evening. It was amazing listening to his stories. He's doing it all on his own, his girlfriend is here for 2 weeks to visit, then he is taking off for Syria and maybe Iraq and Iran. It was also fun to meet someone closer to our age following a dream. Most of the people we meet in the Med are pretty old and just want a place where they can eat cheap and be warm. We wished him luck on the rest of his journey and went back to Roam. 

 

Today's sail was a relatively short one, 13 NM, in a southerly direction. We almost started the day with a major mishap. After Dan hauled up the anchor, I pulled out the genoa and we set off sailing out of the small cove that we shared with a German ketch and a Turkish Gullet Boat. Just as I sailed us past the German boat, I noticed something in the water ahead of us, about 40 meters away. It was a thick rope that one of the moored gullets had taken from his bow across the entire cove closing it off, without any bouys or markings to warn that it was there. I shouted to Dan and we quickly came about and steered towards the guilty gullet boat. The owner was just coming on board as we got over there and dropped the line so that we could cross. Don't know how people think sometimes.

 

We rolled out the sail again and had a really nice sail to Bozuk Bükü. For the first part of the journey we had to tack in order to get out of Yesilova Gulf, but once we came around the corner and headed south, we had the wind on our starboard beam. For the last bit, we took down the main and sailed on the genoa as wind was almost directly behind us. The day was so clear that we could see Rhodes to the south. There were a few other boats out; some gullets going to Bozborun for wintering, several sailboats and one big motor boat. The season is basically over now so it's much less crowded on the seas. One thing we find very strange around here is that sailboats very seldom sail. They go by motor even when they have a perfect wind to sail on. Yesterday, there were some swells that would make it positively uncomfortable to go by motor, slogging and rolling on the swells, but they motor anyway. We can't figure out if it's because they really wanted a motorcruiser, but they are too expensive to charter so they take the sailboat and treat it like a motorcruiser, or if they are in such a rush to get somewhere that they go for the motor instead of working the wind.

 

Bozuk Bükü is a beautiful bay completely protected on all sides by steep mountains except for the small opening in the south. You can't even see the opening until you get right up to it. The only landmark is a citadel ruins up on the cliffside. You follow that eastwards until you see the narrow entrance. Once in, the bay opens up and has the most beautiful blue water ever. There are shallows along the edges where the water is turquoise. We were waved in by a Turk at a jetty just under the citadel so went in there and tied up. Needless to say, the man waving us in also ran the restaurant adjacent to the dock. They never charge boats to stay at the jetty but they fully expect the occupants to come up for a drink and/or dinner.

 

Dan and I went for a hike up to the citadel to see what there was to see. It was tough going as there is no set trail there. Strange, as lots of people must go up there from the jetty. But there were only goat trails, and we found out a little later, donkey trails. As we were walking on the citadel walls, we saw a wild donkey grazing on the thorn bushes below us. The view from up there was breathtaking. We walked around the perimeter on top of the walls. There wasn't anything within the walls, just olive trees and some major rock formations. We also noticed that since the rain of the last few days, grass and flowers are popping up. One plant that we saw everywhere was something that looks like tulip leaves. There's no flower to be seen yet so can't make out what it is. There were also sweet little yellow flowers coming up out of the arid ground. Some of the olive trees had black olives that felt soft so figured they must be ripe. I picked one, brushed it off and tasted it. It was so bitter I had to spit it right out. How on earth did people ever figure out a way (or reason) to prepare these things to be edible and even tasty??

We were sweating after our climb down from the citadel so put on our bathingsuits and went for a swim from the jetty. It was really lovely.The water is colder now but very refreshing. In the evening we did what was expected of us and went to the restaurant for cocktails of Raki and Red pepper salad with bread. It was a bit cold for eating dinner up there so came back to the boat for a proper Swedish homecooked dinner of Pytt i Panna with fried eggs and pickled beets. We even had one shot each of Skåne schnapps to accompany it:)

 

31 October 2010

Bozuk Bükü, Carian Coast, Turkey

Weather: Sunny clear skies, 25C during the day, 14C at night. Wind: Beaufort 1-2 SW

Today was a gorgeous day, not a cloud in the sky and not too hot. 3 boats came in yesterday afternoon, 2 German boats with about 7-9 men onboard each and 1 Russian boat with about 6 men onboard. I felt seriously outnumbered. But they all left early this morning and we were on our own again at the dock.

 

After breakfast, Dan and I went on a hike to find the beach we had seen from on top of the citadel ruins yesterday. We estimated that it was about 1-2 km away. Our hike took us up and over steep rocky peaks and down into valleys where the ground was literally covered in fist-sized stones. Someone had tried to clear patches for cultivation I guess, as we could see pieces of stone walls and piles of stones. Looked rather like a hopeless job as there was no end to the amount of stones strewn everywhere. We saw mountain goats and wild donkeys, lots of them. We followed goat paths that took us up to the top of one peak and down the other side. Sometimes we had to rock-climb, looking for cracks for our hands and feet to gain purchase. Each time we got up to the top of a peak, we had the most stupendous view of the mountains, the sea and the outlaying islands with the sun shining on all of them. We finally reached the last peak and looked down to see our beach. Only thing was, there were 2 stone dwellings down there with some paddocks for animals. The dwellings were made by piling stones on top of one another to form a square with one door and one window. The roofs had a big hole that was blackened by smoke from the wood fire in the hut. It was very quiet down there and looked completely devoid of life, but of course, you never know. We didn't see or hear any animals anyway. We slowly made our way down, skirting the huts so that we wouldn't bother whoever lived there. I had the strangest feeling that the men from the movie "Deliverance" must have had.... Dan said "nonsense, keep moving" so I did. At one point we were right above one of the huts, the one closest to the water, and it did look empty, there was no sound, no smoke, no movement. We kept to the rocks that lined the cove where the beach was and found a secluded place where we could throw off our clothes and dive into the clear blue water. There were tons of sea urchins in and on the rocks just under water so we had to navigate around them in order to get back up on the rocks again, but it went fine, the water is so clear you can see everything clear as day. We drip-dried on the rocks while admiring the view and taking some pictures, then continued our hike back to the boat. We didn't want to go back the same way we came so continued up and over following goat paths, this time staying close to the sea. Interspersed amongst the rocks were stumpy olive trees and all kinds of low thorn bushes. Almost everything seems to have thorns on it and our legs can testify to that. We are covered in scratches and small cuts from walking through them. I found some wild Sage that I picked to use for dinner, other than that there wasn't anything I could recognise as useful. There were some bushes with red berries, but I never pick red berries unless I'm positive what they are. After the rain of the last 2 weeks small shoots were coming up with pretty little flowers on them. Some were pink, some were yellow and others looked very like the white anemones we see in Sweden every spring, but without the leaves. We came upon a bunch of donkeys that Dan is convinced are feral so we skirted them too. "Nonsense!" I said, "keep moving".

 

When we got back to the boat we stopped in the restaurant for a nice cold Efes beer that tasted soooo good:) Barbarossa, the owner, was amazed that we walked all the way to the beach and back. He said they do it and it's no big deal, but that we as tourists and foreigners did it..... crazy. Go figure.

 

While we were gone Barbarossa had been out fishing and caught two very nasty looking fish. They were about 30 cm long, fat, and had hideous buck teeth, almost like a rabbit's front teeth. He said that they are very dangerous and poisonous to eat. If a dog eats them, it would die within an hour. Their teeth are so strong that they can bite off a metal hook. His sisters were also out fishing in the afternoon and caught a bunch of sardine-like fish that they deep-fry here. He has a big family and we can't make out where they all live as there is only one small hut above the restaurant that doesn't look like it could possibly fit 8 people. Every once in a while half of them disappear in one of his boats so maybe they have a house farther into the bay. There is no road here, so food has to come by road to Serce Limani which is another cove about 2NM from here and then is transported by boat. Water is transported over the mountains from some pipeline about 5 km away. There is a big black hose going from the restaurant along the water and then up and over the hilltop to this pipeline. They have a generator for electricity and it seems that they use it mainly for TV. The family sits in the restaurant's bar and watches TV every chance they get. Yesterday they were watching a Cowboy/Indian movie, but they dub the voices so all we could hear was alot of shooting and Turkish voices. Barbarossa came over and looked at me very pointedly as he bemoaned the way the Apaches were treated by the American white people.

 

The rest of the afternoon was devoted to swimming, reading our books and watching sailboats come in, dock, eat, and leave again. We chatted with the ones that docked next to us, all Germans of course. Dan is trying to rig up a temporary solution to secure the zinc anode so that it won't move around and also so that the metals on the propellor shaft won't eat away at eachother. So he did alot of diving down under the boat while I swam around and did my underwater exercises.

 

For cocktails we went up to the restaurant and ordered Raki and beer. Barbarossa convinced me to try his BBQd marinated octopus. I was dreading it, can't stand those suction cups so told him, all right, but a very small portion... He brought a plate with 2 tentacles, not too big and I have to admit they were divine. Of course, I had to cut away the suction cups, but otherwise the meat was firm like lobster meat and the BBQ and marinade were amazing. I would never make it myself, but I was happy that I tried it. Even Dan, after much persuasion, tried a small bite and found the taste OK but insisted that food has to please the eyes as well.