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Week
ending 3 July 04 (Bob)
Back Aboard Long Passages - Our charter
flight arrived punctually at 0400, a taxi driver waved a sign with our names,
and soon we were taking a snooze aboard Long Passages for the first time in
several months. We slept late into the day after only 2 hours of snoozing
on the plane.
Essential Repairs - Unfortunately we were
greeted by a dead water pump, and a dying refrigeration system so we we set
about to fix these and other items so we could resume cruising. One week
on, all are resolved except the refrigeration that will be visited by an expert
next Monday - we may still get out on Tuesday as planned, but it is looking
dicey.
 Fishy
Restaurants - We decided to introduce Bekah to a couple of the many
restaurants that specialize in fish from their own fish farms. At the one
shown we shared our table with friends from Pegasus on a table that floated on a
cool river - so cool in fact that the temperatures at the restaurant were a good
20�F cooler than on the street.
 Roman
Ruins - A short trip into the hills from Antalya brings one to Termessos,
a Roman city guarding a pass from the sea. It is one of the best-preserved
Roman cities in Turkey, and has fortifications, baths, administrative buildings,
and an amphitheater. We clambered all over the city, despite the 90�F heat
and while Bob and Bekah looked on, Judi gave a speech that sounded vaguely
familiar: "Romans and Countryman, lend me ..."
Week
ending 10 July 04 (Bob)
Back at anchor - It felt good to be back
at anchor for a change. Our first day was a short one, a 15-mile motor
trip to an anchorage near Kemer (36� 35.9'N 30� 34.6'E). It
was a pretty spot, but the pounding night-life ashore made it difficult to
sleep, so we decided to move on the next day. This time a little
motor-sailing thrown in to make the trip interesting. We dropped the hook
at Cavus Limani (36� 17.89'N 30� 33.2'E) a sheltered anchorage
with clean water for swimming. Temperatures all along have been
high, 90� to 100�F with little relief at night.
Visiting Finike - After 2 nights of
'roughing it', we pulled into Setur Finike Marina, a place we had visited
by road but not by sea. Although owned by the same company as Setur
Antalya, the differences were striking. Finike was:
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Cheaper
-
Cleaner
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Much better toilet and shower facilities
-
On-premise store was well-stocked and honest
-
On-premise chandlery was well-stocked
-
Water tasted better
-
People who had stayed there planned to stay
again,
and were happy with the marina.
-
Local stores carried current English and
German newspapers and magazines
All of this in a small rural town that with much
more difficult access to goods than Antalya. It is a shame the way the
Setur Antalya is being allowed to deteriorate.
Bekah's Intro - All of this was Bekah's
introduction to the nomadic lifestyle of her aunt and uncle. The first day
she was a little queasy and seasickness medicine took care of the next couple of
passages - now she seems to be fine. She has enjoyed the opportunity to
swim and snorkel in the Med with its warm, calm waters. Fish life is
pretty scarce and coral notably absent, but it has still been enjoyable.
She has pitched in with all of the ship's chores and acclimated herself very
well.
Week
ending 17 July 04 (Bob)
 Cruising the Turkish Coast - We have
continued westerly along the Turkish Mediterranean coast with the next big stop
at Kekova Roads. This is a barrier island protecting a complex of
anchorages frequented by long-distance cruisers and the locals gulets alike.
Our first two nights were at Gokkaya Limani (36� 12.68'N 29�
53.57'E)with the sounds of an on-shore disco to lull us to sleep. Then
on to the center of Kekova at Ucagiz Limani (36� 11.65'N 29�
50.79'E)with remnants of an old castle on the hill and Roman-era sarcophagi
lining the shore. Ashore in the small village restaurants vie for customers from
all the passing yachts. Mostly we motor in light headwinds, although the
breeze sometimes lets us motor-sail.
Never-ending Repair list - As always,
things break and this foray is no exception. After only a week of cruising
our list includes:
-
Bilge pump burned out - a Rule brand
naturally
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Watermaker - not producing water
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Outboard - failed on the way back from
dinner
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Instrument repeater - intermittent
-
Wind Instrument - direction indicator
wrong
-
Navigation Computer - the laptop at
the navigation station seems to have died
Sounds like the winter will not lack for projects
to keep us busy.
Week
ending 24 July 04 (Bob)
Arrival in Marmaris - Originally we had
planned to cruise on to Gocek with its many bays, but with the potential of
strong headwinds and lumpy seas, we decided to sprint for Marmaris for Bekah's
first overnight sail. The breeze was light, but the seas even 3 miles from the
coast were lumpy - rough even. We concluded that there must be a
west-setting current running counter to a westerly breeze, combined with capes
that stick into the current stream - yucky! We have settled into Marmaris
Yacht Marina (36� 49.69'N 28�
18.64'E) the new, budget marina in town. For short-term stays Netsel
quoted us �27/day and Yacht Marina
quoted �6/day, toilets were more
up-scale but all else was about the same, not a difficult decision.
 Kas -
One of the prettiest towns along the coast with picturesque harbor, a secluded
anchorage away from the loud discos, good restaurants with wonderful views, and
souvenir shops for any budget. We stayed for 2 days in the anchorage (36�
12.19'N 29�
37.94'E) and caught up with Paul and Cookie on Hanabella, last seen
in Thailand.
 Kalkan -
This is a small bay with a cute town and sheltered anchorage. We skipped
the town in favor of the anchorage (36� 15.63'N 29�
22.11'E) and its clear water. The water was clear - while snorkeling
we could see large schools of fish and the bottom 25' away. Judi and Bekah
decided the sailboat pace had been a little slow and took a few turns around the
anchorage riding rubber tubes behind a speed boat - the screams could be heard
all the way to the hammock on Long Passages! The day-trippers created an
interesting pattern in the anchorage: in the morning there were a couple of us
cruisers; by mid-afternoon there were 15 wooden Turkish gulets full of tourists
soaking up the sun, and by sundown they were all gone for the night. We
stayed 3 days waiting for settled weather to move on.
Week
ending 31 July 04 (Bob)
Ephesus - This is considered,
 by
Turkey anyway, as the best preserved city of the Roman period. In fact it
is beautiful with wide boulevards, an impressive library, and another 100 years
of excavation to determine what else is buried here. We arrived there on a
tour from Marmaris and spent 3 hot hours walking through the ruins in company
with bus-loads of tourists. The theater is comparable to the coliseum in Rome
and is in great shape. The library was used to store up to 12,000 papyrus
scrolls during the Roman period.
  Pamukkale
- Next stop on our 2-day tour was the famous hot-water mineral springs at
Pamukkale. The Romans had built the city of Hierapolis near these springs,
and they have been a tourist attraction ever since. Hot water loaded with
calcium bubbles out of the ground and pours over the hillside, creating pools
and structures that look like snow sculptures. We wandered where the
Romans did 2000 years ago and ended the visit with a dip in the 85�F water -
Bekah decided it tasted terrible. After an obligatory stop at a carpet
factory, the 2-day trip ended back in Marmaris in time for dinner.
Looking for a deal - Now that we are back
in Marmaris, we are plying the Internet trying to find a reasonable way to
island-hop through Greece on Bekah's way back to London. So far, all ideas
turn into thousands of dollars, so we may skip the islands and take a more
direct way back - stay tuned.
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