Sailing, Turkish style - Bozburun, Turkey
Bozburun, Turkey
Where I stayed
MS Nikola, Neyzen Travel
Tuesday, September 10, 2013
We said goodbye to this sleepy little village of Kirazli, where mornings are started with the sounds of roosters crowing, dogs barking, and there's the Call of the Muezzin five times a day. Men drive their wives to work in the fields on tractors, sitting beside them on the fender, and bring them home at the end of each day with their pickings towed in a trailer behind them. Kirazli Koy (meaning "Cherry Village") is a certified ecological village, apparently the first in Turkey – and we were lucky enough to stay here!
We were on the road by 9:10 a.m. and drove 3 hours to Bodrum. Along the way we saw a man standing in the middle of the road with a can of paint and a brush, painting lines down the middle of the road freehand. What a painstaking, labour intensive job! It was an agricultural landscape – olives, peaches, pomegranates, olives, potatoes, apples, and did I mention olives?
Bodrum was much bigger than we anticipated and we didn’t really know where we were supposed to go to drop off our rental car and meet the MS Nikola, our home for the next four days. We started by relying on the GPS to take us to the marina (seemed like a logical decision) but Jim “knew best” so we let him lead us astray. We ended up in a different marina and finally, after a long phone call to the travel agency and several from the rental car company wanting to know where their car was, we finally managed to get to the right place. A rep from Neyzen Travel actually met us at the restaurant where we had lunch and led us to the correct marina. The car rental company rep was royally ****** off that we returned the car late – he was waving his arms around and shouting at Jim and Ralph, but they couldn’t understand him (which was probably just as well). This was our first experience with an unfriendly Turk – c’est la vie!
Bodrum is a large coastal town full of whitewashed houses set against the hill, with a castle/fortress in the harbour and several marinas dotting the shore. We had the option of spending a couple of hours in Bodrum or setting out right away, and we chose the latter because Bodrum was teeming with tourists and souvenir shops, it was over 30 degrees out, and we paid big bucks for the boat!
So, now we’re on a 60’ (20 meter) yacht, the MS Nikola. It’s a typical Turkish “gulet” (sailboat) with beautifully varnished teak and mahogany throughout, four bedrooms (each with a private bathroom with marble countertops and a shower). The boat is decorated with yellow and white cushions and looks very fresh and lovely, and there’s a Canadian flag waving from the mast. Ramazan, our captain, poured champagne and welcomed us. There’s also Gultekin, the First Mate, and Yilmaz, the cook = 3 crew for the 4 of us! We sat around chatting for a bit, said goodbye to Berrin (the Neyzen Travel agent who came to our rescue), and motored out of the harbour for about half an hour, stopping to retrieve the inflatable mattress that blew away. “Tekin” took the zodiac and tied us up to a rock on an island for the evening. Ralph and Jim went snorkeling while Kelly and I enjoyed a drink and appies on the deck.
This is the life!
Yilmaz made us a dinner of roast chicken, rice, salad, eggplant in tomato sauce, beans, bread, and some type of pudding for dessert. We watched the sun set and the moon come out, and the lights of Kos, Greece were on one side of us with the lights of Bodrum, Turkey on the other. There were so many stars in the sky! It was an early bedtime tonight – all this fresh air makes for sleepy people!
Wednesday, September 11, 2013
We woke up at the crack of dawn (and many times in between) so went up on deck and watched the beautiful sun rise. At 7:00 a.m. the crew pulled up the anchor and we motored across the Gulf of Gokova to Knidos, where the Aegean Sea meets the Mediterranean. They took us to shore on the zodiac and we spent the next hour and a half touring the Knidos ruins. This site is still being excavated and is famous for being the original home of Aphrodite, Goddess of Love (it’s now in the British Museum), and Apollo. 70,000 people used to live here and now it’s deserted. Where did they all go?
There are two deep harbours on each side of the isthmus and the water is the colour of turquoise. Once we finished exploring the ruins, we went for a welcome swim – talk about refreshing! So there I was, floating on a pool noodle in the turquoise waters of the Mediterranean Sea, gazing at ruins from 360 B.C. Pinch me!
We spent the rest of the day going from bay to cove, along the uninhabited rocky coast, stopping a couple of times to swim or snorkel. In one cove we went swimming in a cave, ducking down in one spot where the wall of the cave was only 6” from meeting the ocean and emerging in another cave next to it. As we motored along, lounging on the comfy cushions and trying to stay out of the sun as much as possible, I suddenly saw a turtle pop up to the surface! It was about 2’ in diameter. There isn’t a lot of sea life in these waters – no barnacles, starfish, sea anemone or corral – just lots of rocks, a few sea cucumbers and lots of small fish. The water seems much saltier than the Pacific Ocean – I wonder if that’s why? Our cook, Yilmaz, went snorkeling and brought back a baby octopus to show us. Earlier he had mentioned that we were having octopus salad for dinner so we were worried it would be really FRESH octopus, so we were relieved when he put it back where he found it.
We docked in a protected bay for the evening and Ralph and I went kayaking along the coastline, but at one point it was so windy that we weren’t making any progress at all so we turned back.
Dinner was served Turkish style – each dish is brought out individually and a serving is carefully put upon your plate for you. Tonight’s courses were broccoli, octopus salad (I tried it, and I liked it!), roast potatoes, BBQ’d prawns, BBQ’d sea bass, and baklava for dessert. So yummy!
I’m glad 9/11 is almost over without a hitch – being so close to Syria, with the potential of US war ships being nearby, is a bit concerning….
So, today was all about relaxing, swimming, kayaking, napping and reading….ahhh, this is the life!
Thursday, September 12, 2013
We slept with the A/C on as it’s about a million degrees in the forward cabin, and as a result had a great sleep – so great that we missed the sun rise! We enjoyed another delicious breakfast on deck and then motored to Datca, a small port town, where we wandered around for an hour while Ramazan took our passports to the Government Office so we can go to Greece today. As we pulled into the harbour, Kelly took a photo of a coast guard vessel, which I guess isn’t allowed, as they blasted the horn and wagged their finger at her! Ramazan was directed to pull into a spot in the marina that seemed to be no bigger than my pinky finger, and the people on the sailboats on either side of us looked on anxiously as he expertly pulled in without so much as a bump. We wandered around the sleepy town and watched as shopkeepers opened their stores, watered plants, fed the stray cats and got ready for the day. Ramazan later told us that Datca is famous for their almonds and export them all over the world. We passed right by a shop specializing in all kinds of nuts – had we known, we would have purchased some.
Once our passports were cleared, we headed out to open water and spent the next two hours motoring to the Greek Island of Symi (spelled Simi by the Greeks). We pulled into the picturesque village of Panormitis where we visited the Holy Monastery of the Archangel Michael, which dates back to the 15th century. We toured the elaborate Church and then the two museums – an Ecclesiastical museum with rich collections of relics, including a library full of post-Byzantine manuscripts that Marisa Parker would have loved. There was also a Folklore Museum full of antiquities such as cooking pots, urns, irons, looms, utensils, lanterns and more.
We saw a large, dead eel – similar to a moray eel – floating in the harbour as we walked back to the MS Nikola. There were lots of small fishing boats with their colourful nets crumpled in heaps upon their decks or on the wharf, swarming with some kind of insect that’s even bigger than a hornet and looks very nasty, with a big stinger – we definitely wanted to stay away from those!
After a delicious lunch of spaghetti with marinara sauce, calamari, tuna salad, fresh bread and three kinds of different olives, we motored along the southeast coast up to Georgios Disalonas Bay for more swimming. The water in this area is a rich royal blue and, contrasted with the dry, rocky coastline, it’s stunning! In the distance we saw two war ships heading towards Syria – eek!
We spent ages in the water, turning into prunes, exploring the depths and seeing what we later learned were sea sponges. Ramazan and Yilmez borrowed Ralph’s underwater camera and did some free dives, coming up with an octopus which they put on their heads to look like Rastafarians. These guys are just kids at heart – very playful! Yilmaz brought the octopus over to the boat to show it to us and I asked if I could hold it – it was a slimy little thing! Just as I was asking if he would take it and put it back where he found it, Tekin walked up to me and squished the octopus’s head, poking out its’ eyes to instantly kill it. I was horrified! I’m sure I heard the poor thing scream. I handed it to him and he turned the head inside out and threw the contents into the sea. I’m not sure that I’ll ever be able to eat octopus again….but this is the life of a fisherman. They found a second octopus and did the same, explaining that they have to be at least the size of your palm – otherwise they’ll be put back. I think I’m traumatized for life.
This harbour is surrounded by massive cliff faces which we later learned are famous for rock climbing. There was a cross high up on one of the cliff faces which marked the spot where a climber fell to his death. We saw lots of goats scampering about on the cliffs – it’s amazing how they stick like Velcro to the walls and don’t fall off!
After an idyllic afternoon, we motored to Simi Harbour, just 15 minutes away. It’s a gorgeous village with white, blue or peach houses set into the cliffs – typically Greek. Steep staircases are between shops and houses to get to the upper reaches – I’m sure people here are very fit, with all that stair climbing! We pulled in next to a sailboat with some people from Philadelphia aboard, so chatted with them for awhile and then spent the next couple of hours meandering through the village. Sea sponges are a big business here and are sold in almost every store. They cost between 18-24 Euros each, depending on size, and supposedly last for 7-8 years. I would have loved to purchase one but I need to check and see if we’re allowed to bring them into Canada. The other big items are 'evil eyes’ to ward off evil spirits. I’ll definitely have to get some of those….
Ramazan (who I affectionately call Ramma-Damma-Ding-Dong behind his back) had made reservations for us at Manoz, a restaurant right in the harbour. All the seating in these restaurants juts out into the street, and all restaurants allow smoking which sucks. It really makes us appreciate the non-smoking rules back home. We enjoyed stuffed calamari, king prawns with tomatoes and cheese, Greek salad, and grilled sea bass. This was our most expensive meal yet, but was still just over $100 for the four of us. After dinner we strolled over to see the Greek Orthodox Church which, like the monastery we went to earlier, had a floor made of inlaid black and white stones set in various patterns. A labour of love, I’m sure!
There were lots of parties going on on various sailboats and yachts as we walked back to ours, but we were ‘done’ so headed to bed. There are some massive yachts and catamarans here – sea life is definitely a big deal!
Friday, September 13, 2013
We got up at 6:30 a.m. to watch the sun rise, but it was behind a hill so we didn’t see it until we pulled anchor and set out after 7:00. We cruised to an isolated island just off the north end of Simi called Nimos and tied up to an old jetty where the concrete was caving in. I will always remember this place because of the goats. There was one lonely house there, long since abandoned. We went ashore to explore it and although it must have been nice once upon a time, the goats have now taken over. There was goat poop inside and out, a goat head in the fireplace, two dead goats behind the house (which I fortunately didn’t see), and inside the house were two rotting mattresses on the floor with black mold crawling up the walls. We were joking about how the real estate sales ad for this property would read – “Prime piece of waterfront, a perfect starter home, just needs some TLC, comes with goats….”.
Speaking of which, the crew called the goats and three came running over (okay, tentatively) and we were able to hand feed them melon slices, cucumber, banana peels and tomatoes. Kelly took about 50 pictures of them! Ramazan and Yilmaz hiked to the top of the hill and took pictures while the rest of us swam and snorkeled for ages. We saw flying fish and a feeding frenzy of small fish when the crew threw bread in the water – it actually looked like the water was boiling. A lone fisherman came by and filled a milk crate with rocks before leaving. Yilmaz showed me a wild sage plant and picked lots of leaves for sage tea, explaining that it’s a great cure for sore throats.
After we had had our fill of this spot, we motored across the bay towards Bozburun, Turkey. We were shown the shipyard where Turkish gulets are built and Ramma-Damma-Ding-Dong told us that a 153’ yacht is being built for a rich Englishman there. We continued on to a shallow spot near some ruins – when Kelly asked what they were, Ramazan replied “They’re antique.” Really?! We saw a few people who were literally black and realized that they were covered in mud from head to toe. It seems there’s some type of mud pit that must have special properties – anti-wrinkle? anti-aging? – but we left before we had a chance to find out. An older man pulled up to our boat in a small skiff and sold us some Datca almonds and some pistachios from his farm, for 10 Lira (about $4.50 CAD). He had lots of other stuff that he tried to sell us too, but we said no thanks. As soon as he left, another guy pulled up in a rowboat laden with clothes, linens, necklaces, honey, nuts, etc. He spoke pretty good English so we had fun joking and bartering with him. Kelly bought a flowy black and white dress for 30 Lira, which was a great deal.
We had lunch there, and then headed into Bozburun Harbour where we were taken to shore in the zodiac for ‘face control’ at the Passport Office. All the guy did was match our faces to our passports and then, voila!, we were officially allowed back into Turkey. We had the chance to walk around and shop, but it was SO hot out that we were literally melting and all we wanted to do was go for another swim – so that’s what we did.
After lunch we went out to the open sea and set sail – yahoo! But, as luck would have it, as soon as all the sails were up the wind died down to 0 knots. Zero. Nada. Nothing. No wind. The flag hung there, limp. We basically stayed still for about 20 minutes before the crew gave up and pulled the sails down. We then motored to yet another little cove, where Ralph and I kayaked to a little beach with red sand to explore. There wasn’t much there other than a lot of garbage. We’ve actually seen clear tubs attached to poles in several places that are half-filled with the blue lids from water bottles, and learned that the government will provide a wheelchair for someone in need for every 10,000 caps that are collected. This beach could have provided enough for a wheel or the brakes!
On our way back to the kayak, Ralph was walking through the shallow water ahead of me when he suddenly let out a shriek and kicked water at me. Turns out that an octopus had wrapped itself around his leg! It fell off but went into protective mode, advancing towards us and then retreating again and again, and changing colour from being completely camouflaged to being blue when lunging at us, to green when retreating – even purple and yellow. It was fascinating to watch! Ralph took lots of pictures and at one point I poked one of its legs with a stick and it grabbed on so tight, it was like a tug-of-war getting it to let go. It was amazingly strong! It must have been 2-3’ across – about 2-3 times the size of the one that the crew caught. When we got back to the boat and showed the crew the photos, they seemed really disappointed that we didn’t bring it back to them for their freezer. I’m very happy that we let it be!
At 5:30 we motored to our final cove of the day and enjoyed our last dinner on the sailboat – leg of lamb, sea beans, cauliflower, sautéed veggies, fresh bread, the ever present olives, and some kind of chocolate/pistachio nougatine-type dessert.
Kelly and Ralph are great travel companions – we’re having a lot of fun with them. Ralph and Jim are like two peas in a pod! As we’re getting to know them better the jokes are becoming cruder and the laughs louder. We’re very comfortable with them and hope the feeling is mutual.
I’m going to sleep on the deck tonight, under the stars. It was another great day on the seas of Greece and Turkey (it’s hard to believe we’ve been in two countries today!), but tomorrow this part of our journey comes to an end and a new chapter will begin.