We sailed into Shipwreck Bay or Serce Limani on our way to Ciftlik Limani. Watching a gulet depart from the bay, it seemingly sailed out of rock. The harbour is tricky with shifting winds and gusts. In Bodrum, at the Castle of St Peter, there is an Underwater Archeological museum and Glass museum. It was in Serce Limani that the Byzantine Shipwreck was found full of exquisite glass. You see the glass under low light in the museum to protect its colours. The Byzantine ship foundered in the 11th Century. Rod Heikell reminds me that the excavation of the ship was carried out by Dr George Bass, they know the crew was Byzantine and not Islamic, because although the crew made it to shore, all food and effects were left on board and in the food their were pork bones and remnants.
Azure seas in Serce Limani
We had a pleasant motor to Ciftlik Limani and were waved into the dock of Azmak’s restaurant. It is always wonderful to have help on the dock, not to mention electricity. We swam and watched all the boats come in including gulets with music turned up so the whole bay can hear it.
Eating right on the beach at Azmak’s, with locals and tourists. Some of the freshest, tastiest sea bass, prepared so that it was tender and moist.
Azmak’s in Ciftlik Limani
The next morning we were on a longer stretch to get to Marmaris. We want to be in on Saturday as Rene and Richard arrive on Sunday morning.
Coming in to Netsel Marina and the Castle
Happy Birthday to Kim B and Sonya, hope you both get spoiled. Here is James, singing you Happy Birthday.
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.
Wednesday morning swimming hole
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.
Selimiye
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.
James at the Hotel AphroditeSelimiye
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.
Datca was full of surprises. It has a large base of gulets, who always entertain with their nerve, daring and skill in mooring. There were wonderful markets both for clothing, knock offs, famous Turkish towels, carpets and so much fresh food. Datca has some very interesting sculptures, it was interesting watching people get right up to the sculptures for a cuddle or a good look. There are many nice restaurants and cafes and a very handy small supermarket right across the street. There were so many nice shops and a garden with standard lantana, which might be exactly how lantana should be grown.
Datca Markets
We had the good fortune to meet Henk and Hanny from Sneek, who we moored next to on the town quay. As veterans of Turkish and Dodocanese sailing, they gave us some wonderful tips on anchorages, Turkish wines and shopping for Turkish Towels. (Rene, I am waiting for you to go shopping, wish you could bring Deb, Lou and Sue too).
Turkish Towels or Peshtemals, cloths and knock offs
What makes Turkey seem exotic is the call to prayers, you will be doing something and it will resound around town. It is a nice time to remember all those we love, those who are having a difficult time around the world and a time simply to take a breath.
Minaret, Datca
After a noisy night on the Town Quay, we decided to visit Marti Marina, which was highly recommended by a fellow cruiser in Knidos. We left Datca Harbour and put the jib up and sailed down the Datca Penisula, the Greek island of Symi on our starboard bow.
Marti Marina is divine, it is like Christmas! There are two swimming areas, the bar side pool with its own pavilion. a beach with lounges and umbrellas, a wonderful restaurant, a hamman, patisserie, supermarket, laundry and a fully air conditioned shower and toilet facility. Helen and Joe, this comes highly recommended. See for yourself.
James at poolside on Alice in Wonderland loungesPool under the pine treesCarian ruins at Marti Marina
We are hopeful about staying another night here. In fact, I could spend a week here but James says we have people to meet and places to go.
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.
Cape Krio
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.
Knidos – the ruins of the small theater, seats 5,000
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.
Stoas or Porticos
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.
Day Tripper Purgatory
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.
Swimming the line ashore
Of course, in Smith’s Creek, we usually take the line ashore in a dingy.
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.
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.
Rose Mary’s
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.
Mermaid saving sailors from a reef
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.
Seven Islands
Sunset at East Creek
Happy Birthday to Philippa Gray, hope you are spoiled.
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.
Boats anchored outside Bodrum Bay
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 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.
Bodrum Bay from the bastion.
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
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%
Sue and Swanno had given us information on driving around Kos and told us how to avoid the white roads (unpaved) on the map. They might not have gotten the same map. With any excuse for a run, Sue ran in front of their rental car to ensure the pot holes wouldn’t swallow it. Except for one unpaved road near Tigaki, we managed to stay on paved roads. Thanks Swannos.
We started by visiting Asklipieion, More on that tomorrow, it can’t all fit into one blog.
We went from Asklepion to Asfendiou, which are the five mountain village of Kos. Unlike other islands, Kos has clouds in July caught on the summit of Mt Diakios. There are forests of cypresses and the area is very lush.
We drove into Zia and we thought we were in Bali, streets full of stalls of ‘souvenirs’. We only got out of the car to take a photo of the summit overlooking the village. Tour buses of ferry passengers might be the big buyers but you can not see the village for the stalls.
Zia, Asfendiou, Kos
We drove by beautiful churches, many on the highest hills away from other homes. We drove through Pyli to Mastihari and went to the Kosta recommended TamTam for lunch. This coast Mamari and Tigaki have many resorts with kayaks, swimming, sailing and wind surfing all on offer. Kosta hired us the car and gave us a great map and circled all the highlights for us. TamTam was not too expensive, he told Jim. He never mentioned the fact that it was fantastic. You could easily spend the day here. A beach, beach showers, a restaurant and deck chairs for people who just want a drink or coffee between swims.
Beach at TamTam note the showers! perfect
Still we had more places to see, we drove to Antimachia and visited the windmills, kindly dressed with their sails. These windmills are on many of the islands, used for grinding grain and may be as old the 16 century. They would be able to supply the grains to passing ships. There is also a Venetian fortress nearby, so the windmills are probably a Venetian addition to Kos.
Windmill at Antimachia, Kos
Some of the nicest beaches on the islands are in the vicinity of Kefalos, including the little volcanic plug of Kastri Island. Paradise Beach, Camel Beach, are in Kamari Bay, you can go and swim but it is really suited to families as the beaches go out quite a way before they become even waist deep. Plenty of water sports here too.
KefalosSkinos Bay from a nearby hill, Kefalos
We finished off with a visit to the Venetian Fortress, the goats had beat us there. There were plenty of walls and many Heralds on view. There are no buildings within the fortress except for two chapels. The Venetians used the fortress as a prison and it was often under attack by pirates.
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.
a Greek island
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 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.
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.
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.
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.
Donald, Sue, James and Gaila -Arginonta
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.
Vathi
We ended the tour with a visit to a beautiful monastery of Nuns.
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!
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.
Yacht Envy (Vertigo – Rupert’s 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.
Sue and Swanno sailing to Leros
James keeping the spinnaker afloatSquadron 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.
