Travel – Page 5 – Sailing Azure Seas

Dalyan Delta and Lycian Tombs

Ilyas Kaplan from Sanem Tourizm took us on our very own boat, from Ekcinik Koyu, to the Dalyan Delta. Ilyas dropped us off for a tractor ride up to Caunos, after our walk through the ruins, he collected us and we went on to the town of Dalyan for lunch and a visit to the market.

I am sure Dalyan is a lovely town nine months of the year but in the heat of August, we strolled rather languidly around the ‘market’, which was tourist trap central. We thought it better to spend our time eating mezes in a waterfront cafe. Actas. While watching all the river boats, we considered going to the thermal baths with the other thousands of tourists that were now pouring in from the Lake and even on tours by road or boat from Marmaris, Gocek and Fetiyhe, but the sheer numbers kept us in the restaurant with baklava.

Big Flag, Frosty, wouldn't you say? — Big Flag, Frosty, wouldn’t you say?

From Actas Restaurant, the Lycian Tombs were directly above us. The Lycian Tombs were tombs created high on the cliff with an edifice that looked like a temple, a house or a pigeon hole. Ilyas said the large temple tombs were known to be the tomb of a Prince but it seems all the Lycians were practitioners of ancestor worship. The tombs are amazing, such a romantic setting which set our imaginations racing.

We boarded the river boat once more and headed back down to the Turtle area, where we collected our freshly cooked crab for a return trip snack and then off to the sand bar for a swim.

Turtle feeding station in the morning, selling crab in the afternoon.

From the morning’s almost deserted journey, now there were hundreds of people at the sand bar beach.

Now this story has been in two parts, most people would have gone back to their boat and had a quiet little drink. We all know Blue though, we went to dinner and Blue asked how something was cooked and before you know, he is there offering advice to the chef. They just told him to cook it.

Dalyan Delta and the Mediterranean Loggerhead Turtles, Ancient Caunos

The four of us have been having fun but today took a different twist. We trod the educational path, not once but three times. We are in Ekincik which is a pick up point to go on a local boat for a trip to the Dalyan River. Our guide,Ilyas Kaplan, picks us up early and first takes us to a cave with stalactites.

The most interesting part of this is how far into the cave this little boat can go and I am reminded of the stout boats that Odysseus sailed about in. They sail right onto the beaches with no problem at all.

Our next stop is Iztuzu or Turtle Beach, one of the beaches these Mediterranean Loggerheads (Caretta Caretta) have been coming to for around 95,000 thousand years according to local lore. The turtles have breeding grounds here and also in Zakynthos and on beaches in Libya. The hatchlings have to dig out during the night and not surprisingly some turtles had hatched recently, with the August super moon.

The tourist industry to come to see the turtles and other sites in the Dalyan Delta are massive and growing both by ferry, ship and by road and small boats. Only small local boats are advised to sail through the delta, many of them are cooperatives and create work for local villagers. There are a cadre of boats that feed the turtles fresh crab, so Ilias took us up to his favourite spot and the turtles came in. We had seen smaller turtles on the way just swimming in the water.

We sailed through the labrynth of reed beds and sand bars up to the Ancient city of Caunos (Kaunos).

Like Epheseus, Canous had been a port town but the river silted up so it is now inland. Homer talked about Canous, the Carians and the Lycians; the Dalyan River is the meeting place of those three cultures. We saw temples, theaters and ruins in Caunos.

Canous might have eventually become a ghost town because of malaria.The theater is the most intact building on the site. Like the theater in Kos, it would have held 5,000 people.

Closer to the old harbour there is a temple and the Agora. The Acropolis is at the top of the hill above the theater.

There was more to the day, but it was time for lunch, so we promise more tomorrow.

Today, we want to say Happy Birthday Charlene Bradley. We know you are having a good time.

Selimye Koyu and Bozburun

Mercier is sailing in beautiful waters, crystal clear and warm, along the Bozburun Peninsula. On Tuesday, we sailed into the marina of Selimye, a striking little village full of boats and holiday makers.The weather is very hot and water is the key to being comfortable. Jumping into the bay to cool down or turning on the hose on the jetty, or water in the form of ice are saviors in this sort of weather.

We decided to explore the town and have lunch saving a salad dinner for on board Mercier later in the evening. It can be too hot to eat at night. The village is full of shops, green grocers, restaurants and pensione or as they are known in Turkey, pansiyon. After wandering around town, we stopped at a lovely cafe attached to a pansiyon. Nane Limon Pansiyon had a swimming platform and cafe in the midst of Hellenic ruins, with tables, couches, lounges and a hammock between the fig trees.

On Wednesday morning, we continued down the Bozburun peninsula, to the village of Bozburun. There is a small marina there but it looked a bit noisy and hot so we tried moving back out to the mouth of the harbour where there are several restaurants with boat moorings available, the breeze was fantastic and so was the view. The arrangement is that you stay on the mooring or stern to on the restaurant’s quay and have dinner. I am perplexed as to how they don’t have a minimum spend but they haven’t seemed to thought of it yet. Hotel Aphrodite was a very good mooring, much cooler than being in the main part of town and there are a couple of other nice restaurants nearby.

We are sailing over to the ancient town of Loryma, down the Carian Coast. Compared to sailing in Greece and Croatia, we see incredible numbers of beautiful boats here. In a few days we will meet Rene and Richard in Marmaris.

Knidos

Sailing past the headland of Cape Krio can be fraught with worry, especially in a big meltemi. We were up before dawn and sailed out of Kormen on a glassy sea and motored all the way to Knidos.

Knidos is a small bay and surrounding slopes literally covered in antiquities, but the interesting fact is that there are also antiquities in the bay itself. As you sail into the bay, you immediately spy a small amphitheatre in a spectacular ruin, which even in 300 bc, would have given views directly to the water.

The water in Knidos is incredibly clear, you can easily see the bottom. You look up on the hills and you see the foundations of sanctuaries to Apollo, Aphrodite, Dionysus and also the Nymphs.

We arrived so early that we were able to anchor in the bay until there was an opening on the pontoon, which offered electricity and water. As people left we tied up to the dock thinking what a lovely small serene bay. It didn’t last long,within the hour we were absolutely surrounded by gulets. Gulets are local Turkish boats that take day trippers out for a swim and to see the ruins or for a week’s holiday. Our quiet little sanctuary was completely over run with other tourists here for about two hours.

There are also some very elegant gulets, that people hire for a week or two with paid crew and skipper. We are often amazed at the dexterity they show in maneuvering these large ships into small bays and tight anchorages. They are without a doubt skilled sailors. The crew are also multi-talented. Here is a photo of a gulet being brought into very tight space, so they anchor and then take a line ashore. It’s something we do in Pittwater at Smith’s Creek or Penta Bay regularly.

Of course, in Smith’s Creek, we usually take the line ashore in a dingy.

Knidos Bay, from the top of the amphitheatre — Knidos Bay, from the top of the amphitheater

There are two mysteries concerning Knidos, why was the site abandoned here? One reason that there is so much in the way of antiquities left on the ground was because the site was simply abandoned, and no one seems to know why.

The other mystery is a beautiful nude Aphrodite was sculpted by Praxiteles and it is the first nude female statute, copies of it have been saved but not the statue itself. Sad not to see it but we have seen a copy of it at the Vatican museum. Maybe the statue will be found in the future, there is so much still undiscovered here in Knidos.

Cokertme, Okluk Koyu and Yedi Adalari

We left Bodrum after morning coffee on Monday, not sure if we would have access to electricity or internet, we planned on one last coffee. Off to the Gulf of Gokova Korfezi, an area resplendent with beautiful anchorages.

We did the gulet run and sailed up to Orak Adasi for lunch and surprising us after lunch here comes the Algida ice cream man. How did Algida/Streets know that these Magnum fans were in this little bay? Actually, I think they do a roaring trade with the gulet traffic and it’s very similar to cappuccinos at Yeoman’s Bay.

Algida Ice Cream men bring Magnums to the gulets and us.

On to Cokertme, please note I don’t have all the Turkish letters on my keyboard, so the actual spelling is very different. Here we went to the redoubtable Rose Mary’s, Rose Mary’s have showers, electricity and we ate on one of the piers under the sky for dinner. The scene sounds romantic but the pier jumped like a trout in August. Every time one of the young waiters ran to the next table with their food orders the whole pier lofted into the air and then thudded back into the water.

The next day, we journeyed on to Okluk Koyu. Here we passed the mermaid, who sits on a reef, saving many a hapless sailor from ruining their keel. Heikell says the sculpture was erected by Sadun Boro, the first Turk to circumnavigate the world in a yacht. The setting is verdant with a market garden and quite a bit of corn being farmed, perhaps for the cows’ dinner. You go in and select the dishes you want from the fridge cabinet in the store and then they cook your meal and bring it out.

Our sojourn on Wednesday morning was to Seven Islands or Yedi Adalari, a beautiful bay with the meltemi funneling through whipping white water up over and through the islands, islets and rocks. Once we battled through the bay to the East Creek, we were able to anchor and lower the swimming platform and spend the rest of the afternoon in the water.

Happy Birthday to Philippa Gray, hope you are spoiled.

Merhaba Turkey

Merhaba, now you know how to say hello in Turkish.

We have been made most welcome in Turkey in one of the finest marinas we have seen on our journey. It is tight quarters, so they assist you in and out, with men on the dock and nudges from the man in the rib (Zodiac). The showers would have Geoff and Deb purring, with big rain shower heads and beautiful fixtures but also with air conditioning. Hair dryers in air conditioned comfort. Being sent to the showers in Bodrum Marina, is more like a reward than reprimanded. It is heaven, mainly because it is so hot.

Turkey isn’t so different from Greece, until the evening call to prayers, which reminds you that you are indeed aren’t in a resort but in a different country with different norms. I have a few dresses and they will be getting more wear because I will need them to visit mosques and actually they are cooler.

Our first afternoon was busy with clearing customs, James went to the marinas’ Customs agent and they looked after everything, including delivering us to Customs hall across the bay via the same rib.

We also met the owners of a Sydney 48′ Oceanis called Gumnuts, Shiree and Martin hail from Leura and have the big sister to Mercier, it seemed twice as wide as ours. Nice to say hello and hear about their plans for travel in Turkey, discuss blue cards and transit logs.

The next morning we went across the bay to the castle and high on the ramparts you can see how beautiful Bodrum is with white houses reaching down the slopes of the hill and amphitheaters on the hillside.

Amphora taken from shopwrecks for oil. wine and other storage. — Amphora taken from shipwrecks for oil. wine and other storage.

The Castle of St John is another Crusader fortress and it is so interesting to see the dated heralds on the wall. There is a garden inside the wall and a chapel turned mosque that is now a museum. Another tower houses the Underwater Archaeological Museum which is fascinating.

Lamb is the national dish, so James is happy and we are looking forward to visiting fruit and vegetable markets.I confess that I was thrilled to see a Starbucks, mainly for the icy Frappuccinos, as I haven’t found gelato here yet. I spent a few years here in Izmir, Turkey as a kid and a bit of my Turkish came back , I could remember the numbers but didn’t recognise one name of the days. No one has snickered but I do wonder if I can trust my memory.

James and Gaila - Bodrum — James and Gaila – Bodrum

We are so excited to begin the Turkish adventure and also thinking about the friends that will be visiting soon. Rene and Richard your room is ready.

We now have an idea about anchoring for the next few days and not sure if we will have internet coverage or not. So we will say happy birthday to Ben Samara and Lorraine Samara, hope you have wonderful birthdays and are thoroughly spoiled. We were glad to hear that Geoff and Deb made it home safely. Hope to hear very soon that Clare is 100%

Asklepieion, Odeon and the Agora, Kos then Farewell to Greece

The range of antiquities in Kos Town and on Kos makes me want a virtual game, so I can just wander round and meet the players: Apollo, Asklepeion, Hippocrates, Hadrian, the Venetian Knights of the Crusades and Sulemain, the Magnificent. What a cast of characters, over centuries of occupation by gods and man, Kos casts a spell of inspiration.

In prime of place, is the Plane tree of Hippocrates, before the Asklepeion was built, Hippocrates taught his students “first do no harm” under the giant plane tree, near the waterfront.

Hippocrates' Plane Tree — Hippocrates’ Plane Tree

Hippocrates was a descendant of the god Asklepios, the god of healing. After Hippocrates death, the Asklepieion was built as a temple and hospital on a hill overlooking the sea and the coast of Turkey.

Perhaps there was a sanctuary to Apollo on the site but by the 4th Century BC, there was a temple built to honour Asklepieion. There patients would bath in springs, priests would listen to their dreams and feed them nutritious food in the middle of a pine grove with beautiful views.. Just the cleanliness and food may have solved many problems, but listening to dreams while taking in splendid views sounds like early psychotherapy.

Asklepieion - Corinthian Temple — Asklepieion – Corinthian Temple

This is all still here but the Asklepieion was ransacked by the Knights to build their fortress, so it will never be fully restored.

Antiquities abound in Kos, the Romans were here in 2nd and 3rd centuries BC. Greeka.com offers quite a good history, recalling the Casa Romana and the Odeon all within walking distance of the marina and Kos Town.

Apartment for sale, Views of Roman Agora

So finally, it is time to say farewell to Greece. We have to leave after such a short time due to the Schengen Agreement.

We are off to Turkey and Bodrum. I hear there is a temple to Apollo there too.

Happy Birthday to cousin Ed De Angelo, hope it was great.

Kos and the Castle of Neratzia

On Tuesday, we left Kalymnos and motored right over to Kos. You could see the island from our spot on the Town Quay and as soon as we sailed out of the harbour we saw several islands and Turkey. There is a small barren island just a stones’ throw from Turkey and both Greece and Turkey have their large flags facing each other.

We wandered the streets of Kos Town less than a kilometer from Kos Marina, which we think is one of the best marinas in Greece. Certainly it has the nicest showers, which is a very important criteria.

On Wednesday morning, Kate and Mike Rider, friends from Noosa, came into Kos on a cruise ship and visited us on Mercier. We were able to sit and chat, in a beautifully cool breeze and sip our coffees. Mike is always a useful font of Beneteau knowledge and we appreciate his advice.

Gaila and Kate at the Fortress of St John, Kos — Gaila and Kate at the Agora, Kos

We stopped for lunch at H20 on the way to visit Hippocrates’ Plane Tree, the Agora and the Castle of Neratzia, which is full of ruins from the Knights of St John, as well as Turks, on the foundations of an ancient city. The castle is mirrored on the Turkish Coast by the Halikarnassos Castle, so the Knights of St John could control the Straits between Greece and Turkey.

Mike and James exploring the exterior of the Keep. Looking at the Port of Mandraki

We scrambled over and through both keeps and into tunnels, looking at antiquities, Turkish writing carved into plinths and many heralds over the tops of arches and upper walls.

Kate and James watching Mike disappear into a tunnel

Neratzia is the Greek word for ‘Bitter Orange” according to one website but we only saw capers and pomegranates growing and of course the beautiful views.

Gentle Leros and in Kalymnos – the meltemi strikes again

We visited the very unusual island of Leros, which was a Mussolini experiment in Art Deco, though he never visited here. We had a wonderful dinner here rack of lamb for the boys and moussaka for Sue and I. The chef came out to see who ordered their lamb cutlets rare and then joined us after dinner. The hospitality in Greece is amazing and Chef Petrino’s moussaka with white aubergine was exquisite.

Discussing lamb with Chef at Petrino's on Leros. — Discussing lamb with Chef at Petrino’s on Leros.

When we were in Tinos, Rosemary and Stephen had to take a ferry to Syros to make their connections home. That was because we were surprised by a meltemi at 5 AM. Mercier had to wait it out for three and half days. Here in Kalymnos, we have had a similar scenario. First we weren’t able to get a berth a Kos marina, then our Finnish friends lay their anchor chain across ours and then the meltemi came in a big way. We are here for the duration. We decided on a tour of the island.

First Stop - Myrties. The taverna had hosted a wedding the night before and the decorations were still there. The beach was stunning. — First Stop – Myrties. The taverna had hosted a wedding the night before and the decorations were still there. The beach was stunning.

Sometimes, I think an island like Kalymnos decides that we have only seen its port, so it orders a meltemi so that we are forced to explore its beauty a bit more.

So on Sunday, we hired a car and off we went around the island. We found lovely villages by the sea at every stop and rich and fertile farmland in the center of the island.

We had a magnificent lunch with Eleni at Dreamcatcher, the food was amazing. It was all prepared by her family and the provenance was all explained. Great to have a swim, beautiful food and continue on our way.

Emporios Beach with a few moorings for yachts

We also visited the fjords of Vathi, which is a small but very dramatic anchorage and marina.

We ended the tour with a visit to a beautiful monastery of Nuns.

Convent — The beautiful Monastery of Agioi Pantos

The Swannos put a ferry plan in place for Monday morning. We decided to go with them have a last coffee and see them off to Kos. Luckily, they made the ferry because we were going early for a coffee but it was a running dash. Bon Voyage Swannos!

Dodecanese sunshine

The weather has been great, sunshine and a breeze during the day and cool sleeping weather at night. Yesterday, after walking from the Chora to town, we relaxed with a swim and later ate our dinner on the same beach.

We had excitement on the dock with a large private ship, with a staff ratio of 38 staff to 18 guests. It looked like Las Vegas at midnight when we were walking back from dinner. [Rene – there was a veritable light show on the water.]

At twilight a beautiful blue yacht sailed in and anchored in Skala harbour for awhile. We much preferred this beauty and we think it may be the Murdochs’ boat.

We were up early this morning to leave our wonderful Patmos and go and explore Leros.

James, Sue and Swanno and I had the spinnaker up quickly. She is a beautiful duck egg blue and it was a perfect day to try her out. Sadly, when Davo was with us the meltemi was a bit fierce going to Mykonos for the spinnaker but we will rectify it next year.

Squadron burgee and beautiful day for a spinnaker run

We stopped for a swim off the boat as we came into Lakki and the water was perfect. We are looking forward to enjoying all the treats Leros has to offer.

We would like to offer our thoughts and prayers to the family and friends of the people killed in Malaysian Airlines flight disaster.

Category: Travel