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We thought we were going to join the boat at 3pm, but when we rang the organizer we were told to be ready at midday when we would be collected and delivered to the yacht. We were planning a bit of a walk in the early afternoon before joining, so we simply changed the order of things around. So we were sitting on the hotel's verandah watching the world go by (including the coming a going of yachts) when at about 11.50 our guide arrived. I hadn't seen a car pull up, so we were a little surprised. But then he took us over the road and the nearest yacht was ours. So we were onboard and in our cabin by midday.
The plan was to then take a walk up to the ancient amphitheatre and have a look at it before going to the old part town where there was some shopping to do. So off we went. We hadn't gone 100 metres before we came across all these brand name shops. So the visit to the amphitheatre took second place to exploring Marks and Spencer, Tommy Hilfiger, Nine West and the like - in Turkey! I was advised that my wardrobe needed updating and ended up with a new pair of shoes (that I did need), a sweater and a linen shirt. So off we went up the hill to the amphitheatre. Up and up these step narrow streets into the areas where no tourist has trodden before. Kathy had been keen to buy some more coffee and we had tried a couple of supermarkets (or what passes for them in this part of the world), but could find nothing to her exacting standards. Then at a crossroads we came across this very interesting store that sold, amongst other things, coffee beans in bulk, which they would grind. The man behind the counter couldn't speak a word of English and our Turkish is even worse, but Kathy managed to get the message across what she was after, and he mixed it up. We then asked the price and were told 250. We though he meant 250 Turkish Lira, which is something like $120, and were debating how to get out of the place when Kathy asked him to write the amount down. We thought he has written 25.00, so, while thinking it was still a bit expensive I presented him with a 20 lira and a 5 lira note. He immediately returned the 20 lira note and gave me another 2.50 liras as well. So we bought 250g of pretty good coffee for about $1.50! And finally we got to the amphitheatre.
It was being restored, so we couldn't walk around it, but it was quite impressive. But even more impressive was the view over Bodrum, and there are photos of both the amphitheatre and the view in the latest album.
We wandered back to the old town via the yacht where we deposited our goodies before going to the Old Town. It was much as you would imagine such a place to be, but with far too many junky souvenir shops. But Kathy did come across a piece of jewellery she so liked that she wore it out of the shop and back to the boat where we relaxed for an hour or so before dinner was served. We were expecting the other guests to have arrived, but we seemed to be the only ones around. So we asked the crew and they said no-one else was arriving before 10pm and that there would be 11 of us in total.
While waiting for dinner we started on what turned out to be a pretty good light dry white wine and watched the day turn to evening. After dinner we went for yet another wander and discovered the fresh fruit market and right next to it was the fish market. It is obviously the place for the locals to go and have a meal. It was buzzing - far more so than the tourist strips where we had spent a lot of the day.
We spent the night being woken as the other guests arrived. You can't take a step on this yacht when all is quiet without the whole boat hearing it. There are seven Brits and a couple of Swiss.
The first day of the cruise didn't start too well. There was no hot water and my companion wasn't at all impressed. But after that it was extremely relaxing. We left harbor once they cleared the anchor which was fouled by another. We then cruised along a pretty spectacular coastline. I wasn't expecting it to be so rugged. We stopped for lunch behind a headland and a few of us braved the water and went for a swim. It was a couple of degrees colder than perfection, but the clarity was unbelievable. The only other place I've seen the water so clear is in PNG. It was a bit of a surprise when a small boat arrived alongside selling ice cream - what's more it had the Streets logo on it. After about an hour's stop we continued on to a place called Seven Islands Bay. The passage across was fabulous. We just sat up the bows and watched the world go by. Seven Islands Bay is just gorgeous. Again we had a swim, a bottle of wine, dinner, played "chase the ace" with our fellow passengers, and so to bed!
Wednesday morning came with a pretty spectacular sunrise. We had the standard Turkish breakfast (bread, olives, tomatoes, cucumber, cheese, hard boiled egg) and then departed for Cleopatra's Island where legend has it Cleopatra visited and special sand was imported from Africa to place on the beach where she was to land. It's a pretty small island covered in ruins. The Greeks, Romans, and Byzantines had all been there. The amphitheatre was still in pretty good condition, and parts of the city wall were near "as new". After wandering the island for a while we went for a swim at Cleopatra's Beach. The water was crystal clear. You could see the fish come and nibble at your feet. Our timing was pretty good because just as we were getting out a huge boat load of Russian day tourist arrived and took the place over. We were pleased our swim didn't coincide with that.
It was then off to another beautiful spot where we did another Mediterranean moor and stayed for lunch. The skipper took the dinghy and disappeared for bout 4 hours. Lots of speculation about where he went and what he did. Meanwhile we swam, had lunch (and yes the ice cream man appeared again), swam and relaxed. Once the skipper returned we took off for English Harbour, so named because the Royal Navy used it during WWII. You can see why. It is beautifully protected from the weather and tucked away so that it would be almost impossible to find. We arrived there shortly before dusk and settled in for the evening.
I cannot get over how beautiful the coastline is. To the south the mountains rise straight out of the sea. The only place to beat it, which I have seen, is the Huon Peninsula in PNG. But the mountains are far more rugged around here, if not as high. To the east there seems to be row after row of mountain ranges, each one getting higher than the next. They were quite spectacular this morning, but it was near impossible to get a good photo of them because of the haze.
Equally as spectacular is the clarity of the sea. Again, the only place I have seen to compare is PNG. Here the water is a deep deep blue except where it gets very shallow. But when you jump in you can see horizontally for a surprisingly long way. Other swimmers are eerily clear.
The skipper also tells us we've lucked in with the weather. During the day all you need to wear is a pair of swimmers and perhaps a shirt. Our travelling companions certainly haven't heard about sun smart, and some are starting to look lime lobsters. In the evening, and early in the morning a light sweater or shawl is also needed.
Thursday was a real non day. We had an early swim followed by breakfast after which the boat crossed the bay and moored at a spot where it could refuel, replenish and rewater. They took about four hours. The skipper said we could go across and visit the town of Marmaris, but there didn't seem to be any easy way to organize the transport for the 25 road trip, so we just stayed around the area, went for a short walk and lazed around the boat. On completion of this, and after lunch we crossed the bay again to secure at another spot for the rest of the day. This was a lovely little inlet that really only had space for one vessel. So it was more swimming, reading, zizzing and scrabble. After dinner Kathy had organized a trivia game at which each couple asked 6 questions. Everyone seemed to really enjoy it. And that was the day.
Friday was much the same as Thursday without the refueling stop. In fact we're into a very predictable routine - breakfast, move to another mooring spot, lunch, move somewhere else, afternoon tea, perhaps another move, and then dinner. Kathy and I go for a swim at most of the mooring spots. Not many of the others are interested. The water is unbelievably clean wherever we go, but the same can't be said for the shorelines where there is some semblance of a beach (usually rock or pebble). They're invariably covered in rubbish, which is such a shame.
We have no idea if we're going to the places that were advertised as the ones we were to go to. But I don't think it really matters. Everywhere seems to be pretty much the same.
We weren't out of bed when we got underway on Saturday, so I missed my early morning swim. It was a lovely trip across the gulf, the highlight of which was seeing some dolphins come play in the bow's wash. I tried to get some photos, but was far too slow. We went to a small village which was obviously a yachties sanctuary - showers, laundries, restaurants aplenty. So after breakfast we went for a wander around the place and were a bit surprised to see beehives galore on the outskirts. They would have been at least a thousand. We saw a couple of men replacing some of the frames. You could hear the bees all along the road on which we were walking.
We then moved on to another cove for lunch and a swim before going to yet another spot for the evening. It was quite a broad pebble (rock) beach. Kathy and I swam ashore and went for a walk. It was fascinating. You couldn't go ten metres without coming across a ruin. There had obviously been quite a settlement some time in the past. I can only imagine their economy was based on olive trees. Nothing else could have grown in this land! Then on our last day we were able to visit the maritime museum in Bodrum where it said the early economies were based on figs and acorns.
The last day was a repetition of all the others except we ended up in Bodrum Harbour at about 3pm. That gave us the opportunity to wander round the old town before retiring on board for the last supper - chicken.
It has been a wonderful trip. After a couple of days I was a bit worried we were going to become bored to tears, but once you realized that there was nothing to do but laze in the sun, read a book, play Scrabble, go for a swim, drink wine, appreciate the food, and enjoy the scenery, it became extremely relaxing.
We were extremely fortunate in two things: the weather and our fellow passengers. Our skipper said the previous week had been so cold and windy they couldn't get to half the places they normally do. What's more it was so cold and windy the pssengers couldn't get on the upper deck for four days. He says rain is forecast for much of next week. This week has been perfect. Seven of our co passengers were from the north of England. They were about a decade younger than us, but most were nothing like as fit as we were and struggled to get up and down the ladders. All they were interested in was lying in the sun. How they sunbaked for as long as they did is just beyond me. They must have gone close to cooking themselves. The other passengers were a Swiss couple who were 15 years younger than us. They were a delightful pair, but kept fairly much to themselves. It must have been a little difficult for them. We got on very well with them all, and we all agreed that we were very lucky to be with the group we were. There was one particular gullet that was near us quite often. There was a Pakistani gentleman on board who totally dominated the conversation. At times we could hear every word he said. Listening to his "banter" I would have happily jumped off the boat and taken my luck getting back to Bodrum overland, and I'm sure Kathy would have come with me!
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