Crew: Mark & Karen Ezratty, Sadik & Frederique Gokturk
July 15. Gokturks arrive in Kas greeted by Mike, Sheila and Rich Wuerth.
July 16. We all rented a tour bus with Memet as our guide. We went to Xsantos, Letoon and the Saklikent Gorge. We stopped in Saklikent for lunch on traditional low docks set in the river. We felt like sultans on our big cushions. At least 10 degrees cooler than the land. The grilled trout was the standout.
We paid the obligatory visit to the rug factory. Tea and raki were served. Dinner at OBA Gardens Restaurant. Their goat is out of this world.
July 17. After shopping for supplies we sailed to Finike. We celebrated Rich's birthday on board. Sheila planted a candle in baklava for the celebration.
July 18. We took a bus to Myra where Bishop St Nicholas (Santa Claus) had presided. His cathedral was built by the Roman emperor Constantine Monomchos and the empress Zoe. We said good bye to Richie, who was obviously close to heartbroken upon his departure for home. We sailed to Cavus Bay. Phaselis-Hadrian's Gate-Ruins of a roman aqueduct.
July 19. We sailed to Kemer to tour the marina, town and dine. But first Sheila gave Mike a haircut. Tourists walking by found this curious. Karen gave Sheshe a hair cut too. We took a bus to Antalya. Mark was upset that the driver must have been greedy to stuff so many passengers on this minibus. We visited The Old City. Exhausted we crashed in a famous eating place next to Hadrian's Gate. We had fried mussels with raki. Then moved to another restaurant for a real meze and finally in the third place we had baklava. We again had trouble with the buses on the return trip. Mark was fuming...that night we lost the friendship of Mark and Karen!! Safely back to Kemer, under the stars we ate karpuzi (watermelon) and drank wine. Later we enjoyed a fireworks display with the grand finale, a big Red Heart.
July 20. It was so hot shortly after our departure from Kemer, we just stopped the boat in the middle of the sea for a refreshing dip. Then brunch prepared by Sheshe as we continued to the marina in Antalya. Karen & Mark had a reservation in a charming little hotel in the old city because they had a very early flight the next morning to Italy. A late evening fog descended between the mountains making the scenery look like the castle of Dracula. Very interesting.
July 21. Just the four of us now. Sheshe is cooking "Freedom pain perdu" for breakfast. We took a late bus to Antalya. Lovely lunch with a delicious Antalya salad of eggs, onions, white beans and tomatoes. Back to the boat for Sheila's Turlu dinner creation.
July 22. After Sheila's delicious bread pudding for breakfast we departed to a lovely almost private anchorage between a little uninhabited island and the mainland. A personal note: "The more we stay with the Grinnells the more we love them. They are quite an extraordinary couple, a wonderful contribution of intelligence, warmth simplicity, fun, etc,...etc..It will be hard when we have to leave them and the Migration." We had several beautiful swims. Sadik tried fishing and caught 3 small almost tropical fish with salami for bait. But he gave them back to the sea! The wind really picked up causing a dish to blow into the sea too. But Mike was able to dive and retrieve it. Frederique took a very nasty fall down the companionway. Mike heard a shriek, looked up and saw Frederique's legs straight up with the rest of her falling head first all the way down to floor below. Potentially dangerous fall. But she is strong. What a sport. She never complained, but graciously accepted generous amounts of Advil for the rest of the trip.
July 23. Back to the Marina and their restaurant, the Ship Inn, to celebrate Sakik'a birthday! We finished the evening drinking champagne on deck under the stars.
July 24. 830 we were off in our rented car. 1st stop in town to pick up Mike's cellphone that had taken a swim. Then to Perge, where the ruins are still standing irrespective of all the earthquakes. The heat was excruciating. Then to Aespendos where the huge Roman Theatre is still being used for operas and ballets. On August 13, Orff's Carmina Burana will be presented. After touring that extraordinary chef d'oeuvre of the Roman period, created by Zeno son of Theodosius, I stayed behind still suffering from my fall. A cute dog kept me company. Around 4 pm we had a nice lunch on the river Ottoman-style. The tradition is to build a very low to the water sprawling dock that takes advantage of the cool water running underneath and add low tables surrounded by ornate fluffy pillows for seating or lounging around. Kemal, our waiter, picked the live trout from the fish cage and grilled it for us. After this delightful fish, many mezes and ice cold beers we fought off the temptation to nap and headed back to the boat. We stopped at Migros on the way to pick up some essentials. Migros is a modern, air conditioned fully stocked supermarket with good prices. Sheila created a light salad before we went to bed.
July 25. A lay day.
July 26. We sailed to Side. The first thing you see when arriving in Side is the tall column standing high of Apollo's Temple. The harbor was full. Someone motioned for us to go over to the side of the harbor where there seemed to be few boats, only to find our keel hung up on a huge rock lurking in the murky water. That was it. Out we went to anchor outside of the harbor, where we felt safe. We observed the clear red star: Mars.
July 27. We took the dinghy to Side to tour this charming little town. We saw Apollo's Temple, ruins of the huge Basilica and the "old city ruins" and theatre. The museum had a garden full of statues where we could sit, look out to the sea and admire the Migration in all her splendor. We stopped for lunch where Sadik spoke to the waiter in Turkish. He recommended Beytin. Sadik wasn't familiar with it, but Mike & Sheila had had it before. It probably was Kurdish. Mike and Frederique returned to the boat for a nap. Late at night, under the stars, we had our dinner on board. Sheshe has the knack to cook the best things with nothing! She is such an adorable first mate!
July 28. Side was as far east as we were going this summer. It is morth of the eastern end of Cyprus. We headed west to anchor in Cavus Bay. Sheila created a delicious salad of oranges, chicken, and black berries.
July 29. Continued west.
July 29. Emotions ran high today as we headed for Kas. After touring/shopping all around town, we had a banquet at Bahce, Sheila's favorite meze place.
July 30. We took a local tour boat to the Greek island of Kastellorizo. It is tucked in the underbelly of Turkey, only 2 km from Kas, but 118 km to the next Greek island to the west. Mike needed to check out of Turkey and back in later in the day to renew his Visa. It was very convenient for the mate to handle it all for him. While having a local fish fiesta, we met an English couple, who returned to Kas with us to the Migration and drinks. Felicity and John went on their way back to Kalkan. Dinner was at the restaurant ILKAT.
July 31. We had drinks at the "Cistern," a 500BC underground cafe. Dinner at Bahce. Great food again.
August 1. We left Kas around noon after shopping at the local farmers' market. We intended to stop and snorkel at the underwater ancient town of Sicak (Aperlae), but the wind was too strong vs the seaweed bottom. We worried that the anchor wouldn't hold. So we continued on to the a miniature fjord called Karaloz (Port San Stefano) for a look-see. Then on to the beautiful bay: Gokkaya Liman. Breath taking and quiet. We swam with the swans.
August 2. Lay day, boat chores...At night, without ambient light, the sky lit up with billions of stars and the Milky Way.
August 3. After a swim and breakfast we headed to Phaselis to anchor, but not without a lunch stop and swim at Suluada, which is a small, barren bird nesting island.
August 4. We were planning to leisurely make our way back to the Antalya Marina that afternoon, but at 830a Mike received a call on his mobile phone that Art & CarolAnn Lemkau were at the Marina waiting for us. They had been traveling most of the night arriving at 600a and were anxious due to the fact they were a day early and didn't have Mike's phone number. Fortunately the marina did. We dropped everything and steamed to the marina arriving just after noon. We got them settled in and dinned at the marina's Captains Inn.
August 5. This is it! With a light hangover I cleaned the cabin and packed. After a breakfast of fruit the six of us said our goodbyes. Sheila walked us to the dolmus (minibus) which will take us away from the Migration. It was sad, but let's not forget that those three weeks were a beautiful summer present from Mike and Sheila to us to stay with them on the Migration. We will never forget them. They will be forever in our hearts and lives.
Tesekkur ederim! Allaha ismarladik!