On reaching Turgetreis

Hi all,

Just an update on what we have been doing and where we have been. 

27th June we stayed in the bay behind theByzantine fort in Marti Marina and just relaxed. We met a lovely Australian couple and had drinks with them on their boat in the evening. 

28th we up anchored and we headed to a bay called Ciftlik Limani. A pretty little bay.

29th we left and headed for Knidos. We backed into the wharf there and were nice and safe for the night. There was not a lot of anchorage without weed so it was better to tie up. There were a lot of ruins here dating back to 4BC A very interesting place.

30th June we left Knidos to go to Kos but the sea was really rough and we were motoring to charge the batteries. We were hoping to find a nice safe calm anchorage but it wasn't to be,. So we decided to go back to Bodrum in Turkey,. It was a good wind so we sailed back with the Genoa up. It was a good sail. So quiet and peaceful. We found what we thought was good anchorage in Gumbet on the southern side of the harbour but unfortunately we dragged twice so we up anchored and headed for the northern side of the bay where we found fantastic anchorage in sand. The only problem was we were in the water sports area so we had speed boats doing parasailing rides, biscuit rides plus other water sports. We were also across from the Hotels and night clubs. So you could say we were in the thick of it. It was an interesting place to be and we both enjoyed it. Rather noisy at night but ear plugs did the trick sort of. We spent the whole day on the boat to make sure the anchor was well buried and we would be safe. Tony dived on the anchor and it was well dug in.

1st July As expected there was plenty of music to put us to sleep the night before hahaha! !! But we were determined to see and do things so today we decided to spend the day in Bodrum town and have a look around. It is a very busy place and well worth visiting. We found a good fruit market on the way back to the bus depot. It was a good day for checking things out. 

2nd July today we rowed into shore and once again left the dinghy with the water sports guys. From there we got the Dolmus (local bus) back into town walked down to the docks, got our tickets for the ferry to Kos. 

It was a pretty straight forward process in Bodrum with passport and customs  but when we got to Kos  (Greece) what an absolute circus. Two boats arrived at the same time for processing and it must have taken us 1.5hours to get through.  Once outside with map in hand we proceeded to try to tick off as many historical sites that we could. We saw the Plane Tree where Hippocrates taught medicine under this tree.  It is placed in the middle of a square.  We saw ancient sites of the harbour and market place, Altar of Dionysis, the Roman Agora and a old Roman theatre. Plus others. The history is mind blowing.  Very pleasant lunch in the town square - very reminiscent of Italy. Tony had his first Pita Gyros since a Greek day in Milford NZ.

3rd July an early start at 6.30am. We motored up to Yalikavak and staying in D Marin which is Turguteris. Very nice marina with everything you could want. Very nicely appointed in all bathrooms, yacht club, pool area and own shopping center. It is quite expensive but we'll worth it. 

We intend to leave tomorrow and head north making our way to Ephesus. 

So that's it to-date. Keep well and happy. 

Lots of love 

Raewyn and Tony Xxxx 

After one night in Turgetreis we left the marina and headed for Yalikavac. A pleasant bay and anchorage although there were a few superyachts and large motor launches in the bays. One in  particular provided some amusement as he anchored, then dragged, anchored then dragged, then set out two anchors. The owner and entourage were ashore at a restaurant for the performance. The motor launch left in the evening only to return the next day to repeat the show. There was no need to be so close to us as the vessel was well equipped with a fast and large tender.

We moved after two nights via Altinkum to Cukurcuk. Altinkum was a very crowded beach with lots of hotels, beach loungers, umbrellas, the works. We anchored at 10am. At 11am all the tripper boats left mostly one after the other in quick succession, speakers blaring and full of day trippers. What fun we had watching the untanglement of anchors from the quay. 14 boats, anchors crossed, divers down, all trying to leave. One large ferry came dangerously close and we were sure it was going to hit the anchor chain and drag us into his side. So after watching the show we left before the mass return in the evening. We headed for Cukurcuk. What a windswept godforsaken place with the wind howling over a low landscape. Fortunately we were well anchored in shallow water.

Oh – by the way. We moved from Bodrum to Cukurcuk during the lead up to the finish of Ramadan. – 4 July. After the Imaam had called the faithful to prayer at sunset on his loudspeakers atop the mosque minaret, large guns were fired in the hills. Very reassuring for us with no understanding of Moslem holy day celebrations. Just large guns being fired in the hills.

We set off for Samos at 6.30am. Straight in to a headwind and 1.5metre swell. By 12.30 we were anchored in a lovely bay east of the marina, harbour and main town. The next day we anchored in Pythagoria harbour. Kodak moments everywhere. A classical lovely fishing village and a pleasure to be ashore again. Think we had not left the boat for a week other than to swim. Took a bus to Vathi town (actually called Samos -we told the bus driver we wanted to go to Vathi when he told us the bus stopped in Samos) – same place. Not much happening in Samos but we managed to spend 3 hours doing nothing and missed the last bus back. Taxi to the rescue.

Samos had a large scrub fire. Moondance was covered in ash and two helicopters with the assistance of four aircraft scooped up buckets and plane loads of seawater to dump on the fire. Quite a performance and we had ringside seats. In the evening of 9 July we moved To Posidion near the NW side of Samos. A lovely anchorage with a few tavernas ashore.   

One of our longest days – motoring in to an insignificant wind for 7 hours saw us in Sigacik – Turkey again. I wintered over here in 2004/5. The marina was much improved and with it the prices. 53 Euro per night. Sigacik also had many more houses and restaurants near the marina. We walked in the evening through the old walled town where a produce market was in full swing. It was wonderful to experience the ancient walled town where people still lived. The atmosphere was vibrant.

The next day we caught a Dolmus from Sigacik to Seferisar (about 5k ) then another Dolmus to Selcuk (about 70k) then another Dolmus to Ephesus. It was hot and sticky. Every day since Istanbul has been blue skies and windy.

Ephesus was a major reason for travelling so far north and did not disappoint. We wandered among the ancient ruins starting with the Church of Mary complete with large “bath” that was possibly used by Cleopatra and maybe as a font after the introduction of Christianity by St Paul who came to Ephesus for three years converted people and founded a church. Disliked by the silversmiths whose business was selling silver statues of Artemis St Paul was taken from Ephesus to Rome where he was beheaded outside the city walls.

 St john and the Virgin Mary also lived in Ephesus so this all added to the interest of the historical site. Of course the library of Celsus façade still standing provided the greatest visual impact of what had once been a large and prosperous city. The grand theatre was also impressive, but in reality the whole place was interesting and conjured visions of civilisation that existed long ago.

We hired a taxi for 50Euros and 40lire to take us to the seven sleepers (look it up if you are interested) Merymana – the house of virgin Mary where she lived and died. It is certainly worth the visit. Next stop was the Basilica of St John which contains his tomb and a very large baptistry where it appears baptism by full immersion would have taken place. All in all a very biblical experience in a Moslem country. The taxi driver dropped us off in Kusadasi for the Dolmus ride home. Of course it would have been easier to just go from Pythagoria to Kusadasi marina but the experience is not about being easy. It is about adventure and experience. We are getting plenty of that with just the language differences.

An update 26 June to 13 July

While in Sigacick we also walked in the evening around Teos. The remains of another ancient city largely untouched – just spread among the fields and olive groves.

We then checked out of Turkey and had a wonderful day sailing back to Pythagoria where we checked in to Greece.