Happily, they come to Blackpool quite often, so I get to see them once a year, on average.
As they spend most of every summer sailing the Aegean & the Med, & a lot around the Turquoise Coast in the south west of Turkey, we'd been trying to organise a visit there for about 3 years. I nearly made it to Samos in 2012, but work got in the way :-/
Anyway, with a carry-on flight booked for around tea time on the 30th, I went into work that morning with a very small ruckie!
My boss couldn't believe I was going on holiday for a week with less than 7Kg of luggage ;-)
I set off from Blackpool North with a direct train to Manchester Airport, & wearing my only pair of trousers & my only hoodie. Everything else was mostly lightweights like shorts, bikinis, & silk tops.
Check-in was on time, but then there was an announcement that the flight was delayed. It turned out to be a 3hr delay, which meant I arrived in Dalaman at 0350 Turkey time on the 31st, instead of 2330 on the 30th.
Ray had booked me a taxi to get me from Dalaman to Orhaniye where Ostrea was anchored in the lagoon. As I didn't know they didn't let taxi drivers hover in the terminal building, I spent > 1/2hr figuring out where my taxi was. Ah well, I found it eventually, & it was Very plush with exceedingly comfy cream leather upholstery!
There was a change of driver at some point in the dark, & fresh bread was brought aboard? Eh?
It was a 2 hr drive, & on the last few miles down the coast road the sun was just rising.
The 2 pics were taken out of the taxi window, hence the blurring!
It was about 0630 when we got to the bus stop by the jetty at Orhaniye, & big bro, Ray, was waiting. He'd come over on the tender after I'd texted the boat.
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| Ray at the tender tiller & Orhaniye dawn |
It was peaceful - apart from the tender's outboard, & the lagoon was very still.
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| The 1st pic of the ketch Ostrea |
Carol had put the kettle on, & I was told the Rules of living aboard. These included leaving shoes by the aft ladder, & trying to go to the loo ashore if possible!
This was so the tanks didn't fill up too quickly requiring a clean out which was expensive.
Carol had been for a swim while she waited, & they tended to do this before breakfast everyday.
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| Breakfast aboard |
As it was a Saturday, the local market was on, so after washing-up we all got back in the tender and went ashore. The market was a little way down the road, & walking single file Carol pointed out that I still had a limp.
Poo.
Over the course of Day 1 we had lunch ashore, had a walk to get some meat for tea, & I discovered Ayran ~ Yum
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| Orhaniye's cliffs at sunset. I walked to the cave up there a week later. |
Ray & Carol called it "I've got a donkey you've got a monkey" ;-)))
I think it was at the bar by Kizkumu beach, & I tried to get the colours of the lights as they were quite pretty over the water.
The music was still playing when we went to bed, but it was quite nice music, & went well with the gentle movement of Ostrea.
Day 2 began with me climbing out of the fore-hatch (so I wouldn't wake R&C going through the cockpit which was over their bed).
I used the anchor line to quietly get myself into the very still water, & pushed off towards the spit which sticks out into the lagoon at the Kizkimu bar.
Here's what the web says:
The most interesting event that you will see in Orhaniye is that you will see people walking in the middle of the sea. It is a natural surprise for the visitors. The sandy underwater bottom divides the gulf into 2 parts and you are able to walk along the sea while the depth doesn't increase as you walk far away from the shore.
This 600 meters of coastline is called "Kizkumu" and has a legend. According to the legend, daughter of the Bybassos King, the beautiful princess, goes to the sea for an escape from the pirates. As she doesn't know how to swim, she fills her skirt with sands and tries to pass the cove. She loses her way when it get dark and as she ran out of sand, she drowns. This region "Kizkumu" named after her, meaning "maiden's sand".
I swam out to sit on the spit as the sun rose, &, back in the middle of the lagoon I saw Ray come on deck & go for his early morning dip. Carol wasn't long after.
With the water so still & clear I swam back to Ostrea to get my camera.
This is Ray.
Good job my screw-kicked breaststroke isn't apparent!
There was a big ship with a saltire flying moored at the top end of the lagoon near some rocks, so I swam out to them & sat in the sun while Ray & Carol finished their swims & got dressed.
Back aboard & the wet bikini drying on the shrouds, I saw these fish. Unfortunately, the blobs on the lens rather spoil the effect of the silver fish.
They're not really apparent when you look at the pics on the camera, & only show up when the pic is bigger, as now.
After breakfast Ray wanted to be off, & after a bit of discussion we headed SW out of the Gulf of Hisaronu towards Symi ~ which is in Greece, & then south around the headland.
When I googled the island in the lagoon it appears to be called Kale Adasi ~ more about it below.
However, I couldn't find a name for the headland.
We motored out of the gulf as there was virtually no wind, & what there was was in the wrong direction.
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| Carol on the helm in the Gulf of Hisaronu |
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| Me having a steer ;-) We were still in the Gulf |
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| Ray hauling on the sheet during a tack |
Once out of the Gulf Ray decided the wind would be OK for some sailing :-)
We had the Genny & the Mizzen up, & it was nicely rough :-)
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| Symi is in Greece, but were were in Turkish waters |
Leaving Symi behind us we entered a large bay & were headed for Sogut.
This should have 2 dots over the O & U, & a curve over the G, but I haven't a Turkish keyboard.
It's pronounced Soyutt
If you google Sogut it puts you in the middle of the land mass. Better to google Bozburun & look SE.
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| Greece to aft |
Here we have turned into the bay & were heading in a generally easterly direction towards Sogut.
Again, Gmaps doesn't name any bays, and Ray says he doesn't think it has a name.
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| Moored at Sogut & having a brew |
With Salih & co's help Ray put a lazy-line aft, & moored us to the jetty with a bow line. Salih is the owner of the little marina & the attached restaurant, & he & his sons/brothers/sons-in-law put an extra line aft.
This turned out to be a cunning plan, Baldrick!
There were some grumpy Germans moored next to us. They were there overnight & hardly said a word to us, but yelled at each other quite a bit!
We had lunch at the Captain's Table, Salih's cafe/restaurant at the marina - not the expensive marina, but the cheaper one on the northern end near the beach. As well as sorting out the boats on his jetty, Salih, also worked in the cafe.
Nice bloke.
We had salad & chips, & I made an enormous chip butty :-q
I also had my new favourite, Ayran.
Back aboard, I read some more & had yet another kip in the sun ~ Mmmm :-)
Well, I was on holiday!
Salih's wife/sister/daughter(?), Manka, came along the jetty & offered a free Chai at about 5. Quite nice, but I preferred Ayran!
We had a sort of stew for dinner, and ~ as is normal for further S than GB, the twilight didn't last for long before the stars came out.
By this time I had realised I had no charger for my camera battery, so I didn't waste it on trying to photograph the stars!
Next morning (Monday & Day 3), after a bacon & egg breakfast, Ray decided to wait & see what happened to the wind as we were on a bit of a lee shore.
While he waited, I went exploring.
I'd seen a schooner at the far end of the beach & went to have a look. It seemed to belong to the house right on the beach, but there was no-one about to ask. When I got home I googled her:
Tall Ship RHEA - Classic Sailing Yacht
Step aboard the beautiful classic tall ship RHEA and step back in time. Sailing yacht RHEA was built in Denmark in 1900, originally as a working ship transporting stone for sea defense, she did not receive her first auxiliary engine until 1922. Measuring 28m (91,8ft) RHEA is a marvel to experience. A complete refit took place in 2007 with attention to preserving the yachts fabulous historical features.
I'd seen a schooner at the far end of the beach & went to have a look. It seemed to belong to the house right on the beach, but there was no-one about to ask. When I got home I googled her:
Tall Ship RHEA - Classic Sailing Yacht
Step aboard the beautiful classic tall ship RHEA and step back in time. Sailing yacht RHEA was built in Denmark in 1900, originally as a working ship transporting stone for sea defense, she did not receive her first auxiliary engine until 1922. Measuring 28m (91,8ft) RHEA is a marvel to experience. A complete refit took place in 2007 with attention to preserving the yachts fabulous historical features.
Launched and registered at Nyborg, Denmark, on the 18th June, 1900, "Rhea" is a topsail schooner, built of oak on oak frames. She was originally named "Kjerstine", and was probably originally a fishing trawler. However she was soon transporting stone for sea defence works, and by 1903 had been sold to a company specializing in diving. By 1922 she had been renamed "Anne", and had her first engine fitted. For some reason, "Anne" appeared an unpopular name, as a year later, another name change saw her as "Martha", and by this time, she was ketch rigged (two masts, but no square sails). Over the next couple of decades as a working boat, she suffered the fate of many sailing ships, of losing most of her rigging, in favour of a more powerful engine. In the 1970s she changed hands and was bought from Denmark by a German, Kapitan Hans-Peter von Holdt of Hamburg. By now she only had one "quarter deck" mast. Under his ownership, another name change made her "Juliane von Holdt", named after Hans-Peter von Holdt's daughter, and she was registered in Kiel, jointly owned by von Holdt and one Bernhard Gumb. They set about refitting the ship for sailing, seeming to add a new foremast and jib boom. By now "Juliane von Holdt" was used as touristic attraction at Hornum on the island of Sylt in the North Sea. She ran short "duty free" trips and visits to the nearby seal reservations. By the late '80s, and finally with her current name of "Rhea", Bernhard Gumb was chartering her in Turkish waters. In 1989 "Rhea" was purchased and recommissioned by the current owners, English couple David Ross and Penny Lefeaux. She was returned to her original topsail schooner rig, and ever since has been chartering around Turkey and the Greek Islands.
Name changes for ships are, according to superstitious marine lore, supposed to bring bad luck. But "Rhea" seems a happy and successful exception to this!
Name changes for ships are, according to superstitious marine lore, supposed to bring bad luck. But "Rhea" seems a happy and successful exception to this!
The pic above is off the net, but my 1st was taken 1/2 way up the cliff north of the beach. The second was from at the top.
At the top of the cliff I found a large villa being built, & heading east along the terraces of olives & vines I found signs of donkeys - ie donkey poo!
It seemed quite fresh so I kept going in the hope of finding the owner(s) ;-)
It seemed quite fresh so I kept going in the hope of finding the owner(s) ;-)
Passing above a farm there came a tremendous Baaing, so I went down for a look & found a goat tethered under an olive. He tried to butt me as I went by! Cheeky sod %-\
A bit further down the valley I came across an old guy by a lot of beehives. He seemed surprised to see a blonde walking by, but said Hello. At least I think he said Hello? He could've been telling me off for trespassing? My notes mention a port-wine stain, so he must've been disfigured by one.
Just beyond his little hut I saw this donkey lying in the sun with no shade & no water in sight. I offered her some greenery, but she just muzzled it. Poor little thing :-(
I walked back down the paved road to the marina & found some fig trees by the side of the road. I put as many as I could in my bum bag ~ but only after eating quite a few, obviously!
Back at the boat it was time for lunch, & the wind had picked up.
I had another kip after lunch, but out of the sun. Afterwards I went over to the posh marina, got in the water on their little beach, & swam round their jetty back to Ostrea. It probably worked out at nearly a Km in the water. Quite far for me with my inefficient screw-kicked breaststroke!
My notes tell me that I played some sort of dominoes/tiles game (called Rummy Cup) during the afternoon with R&C, & that I won both games. I don't remember ~ it being 20 months ago, but that's what it says in my diary!?
We ate at Salih's ~ fish & chips, & when I went to pay he asked me if I worked out. When I explained the sporting history ~ incl the martial arts, he said he could see I was an athlete.
That was nice, wasn't it :-)
And it means all the exercise is paying off & holding age at bay (somewhat ;-p )
On Tuesday we were still on a lee shore, & as Ray didn't want to motor all the way out, we stayed in Sogut.
I spent the morning finishing off Book 1 (a historical detective story), & then got a Rankin off the shelf.
After lunch (chip butties again, which I was told off about due to being unladylike in public :-o ), I went back out towards Rhea, found a pomegranate tree with an edible pomegranate on it (which went in the bum bag), climbed the cliff, & took a left in front of the big villa.
I went right to the end of a really nice little goat track meandering along the hillside with the bay to the left.
It ended because of a big pile of rocks where the goats who'd made the track were taking the afternoon sun.
Back at the boat there was quite bit of activity with Salih & the other men putting extra lines out. They were expecting a blow overnight, & it turns out they were spot on!
I was woken about 2am to the sound of footsteps above me & the sound of a hoolie blowing.
Nearly everyone was awake, & Salih & co were putting extra lines fore & aft on everything on the jetty to stop boats being blown together. I think we had all our fenders out? The Germans had gone ~ they motored out during the day, but had been replaced by an English couple with a sloop.
After all that excitement I was wide awake, so I read Rankin for about an hour before dropping off (it was a Rebus story).
On Wednesday, despite the lack of sleep, I was awake by 6, read some more in the dawn light & finished the Rankin.
Not wanting to disturb R&C, I crept out of the fore-hatch & went for another walk back up the goat track. Even though I set off at 0720 the workmen were already at work in the villa. It was a lovely morning, & as it was so early I decided to risk a skinny dip & found a little bay with lovely clear water & not too many stones.
Not wanting to disturb R&C, I crept out of the fore-hatch & went for another walk back up the goat track. Even though I set off at 0720 the workmen were already at work in the villa. It was a lovely morning, & as it was so early I decided to risk a skinny dip & found a little bay with lovely clear water & not too many stones.
Leaving the clothes etc on a handy rock, I went for a swim.
Here's where it was :-)
I was nearly back at Ostrea before I found out I'd left my sunglasses on the rock.
Bugger :-/
As they were specs as well as sunglasses, I would have to get them back, so after breakfast I went back to get them, & then carried on up the valley on the road to Sogut village to post my postcards.
By this time the camera battery had finally died, so there're no more of my pics on this blog.
The road up was lined with alggarobas ~ carobs in English, & there were heaps (literally) of sacks filled with them at the top end of the village.
It was lovely walk, but I think I caused quite a bit of a stir walking through the village, but it wasn't the 1st time I'd been stared at by men hanging about at a bar!They obviously had nothing better to do ;-p
I couldn't find a postbox, so my postcards just had a walk in the bumbag. I walked right through the village, going up all the time. I kept walking up the hill until I could see the sea at the other side of the peninsula. Walking back through the village I got a Cornetto.
On the way back to the marina I took the scenic route up on the terraces to the south of the road, & when dropping back down again I found an Enormous black fig tree near the spring.
Stunt bum bag became a fig bag, & I managed to stuff a load in various other places as well ;-p.
Stunt bum bag became a fig bag, & I managed to stuff a load in various other places as well ;-p.
Back at Ostrea we had ham & tomato sarnies for lunch, & I went swimming in my socks & trainers to get rid of the Sogut dust.
In between all the above, having told Sali & his son-in-law about the martial arts the other evening, I was greeted with Bruce Lee noises whenever they saw me. %-)
Why do they do it ? ? ? ?
Why do they do it ? ? ? ?
I had a post lunch sunbathe, but unfortunately got sun cream on Ray's wooden deck. The sun had warmed it & made it really runny, so it dripped everywhere.
Bugger.
I tried to scrub it off without much luck. Still, with being oily, it would soak in eventually.
Bugger.
I tried to scrub it off without much luck. Still, with being oily, it would soak in eventually.
After sleeping & sudoku-ing, we had pork chops for dinner. I said something about wine & got another telling off, but I don't see that knowing a Chardonnay tastes different to a Sauvignon Blanc is cause for a bollocking. After all, a Cox's Orange Pippin is a long way taste-wise from a Granny Smith, so why should someone expect grapes to be different.
I started on Book 3 after dinner, & it seemed the wind was dropping.
At some point between then & morning, Ray got the munchies & ate quite a lot of the figs!
At some point between then & morning, Ray got the munchies & ate quite a lot of the figs!
On Thursday (Day 6) we left Sogut with the Genny & Mizzen moving us along. It was SW at first, then westerly towards Symi to clear the bay. Once out of the bay we bore to port & tacked towards Rhodes ~ keeping clear of the fairly frequent ferries to Symi etc.
As we rounded the headland with the old fort/castle up to the left, Carol saw a turtle, & there was a big seagull on a rock watching us sail into the bay
With no camera to provide illustrations, I've had to go on the net & try & find some pics.
This is one of the mooring & the restaurant where we had salad & chips. We were anchored about 1/2 way down the left edge of the pic.
Ray only ordered 2 portions as the portions were Large ;-q
We'd gone in by tender & were served by another friendly Turk ~ Mustafa, & a young lad who was a Jamie lookalike, but with dark hair.
Here is another Jamie lookalike:
I wanted to go up to the fort I'd seen when we sailed in, so headed out of the back of the restaurant & up the hillside.
On the way up I came across 2 donkey mares & their foals wandering about the hillside. Shame the camera had died :-/
I followed their tracks for a bit as they were going my way, & came upon what looked like a colony of chickens pecking around. Weird. Maybe they did belong to someone, but it would have been a bit of a trek to get the eggs!
Here's a bit of something off the net:
According to historians, the bay hosted navy of Athens in BC i1412. In BC 395, Bay was the rallying point for ships before the naval battle of Cnidus. Some maps called it Oplosike Buku a derived from the Greek word “Hoploteke” which means shipyard. Once the ships were being made and repaired. There are Serçe (Sparrow) and Korsan (Pirate) bays immediately next to, Bozukkale. Serce Bay looks like a deep canyon inserted into the land. It is famous for crystal blue sea and the shipwrecks of the Fatimid dynasty carrying glass to the famous the 11 century Byzantine workshops to be processed. Underwater excavations unearthed the historical value of them. Today they exhibited in the Bodrum Museum. Around 10 BC, Loryma was the center of Rhodes kingdom. There is no adequate information about the historic city. There are nine towers of the castle extending from the rectangular form of walls. The castle, tower and bastions are very well preserved and solid. The name Bozuk (which means disordered) might be given to this castle because one side is missing. The castle against the coast makes us think that it is the defense unit of Rhodes. Because Bozukkale Bay was called Oplosika Buku in some old British naval maps, it is understood that there was a shipyard in the past. Most of the yachts sailing on Aegean Sea use Bozukkale as a stop watching all the yachts in the Aegean. Athens used this harbor because of its geographical situation and shortness of Entrance to the port for Peloponnesian Wars. In 395 BC Athenian commander, Karori used this harbor for his ships before the Cnidus War. Inn 305 BC Antigonos's son Demetrios has chosen this harbor to gather and prepare his ships in this harbor also before attacking Rhodes.
And here's a report from a visiting sailor who blogged about it
As mentioned above, the bay is really important for sailors. And not only for today, Loryma Bay had an important role in the history. The Macadonian King Demetrius, who was one of the commanders of Alexander the Great, used Loryma Bay to make the preparations for his navy before surrounding Rhodos ISland. (Bozukkale is located at the closest point to the Rhods island on the Anatolia, from Bozukkale to Rhodos is around 16 miles.) The surrounding of Rhodos was unsuccessfull. But, after this surronding, the government of Rhodos notices that the "Loryma Bay" must be in control in future, not to have any more attacks to Rhodos. And after this, they built the castle on the east hill of the entreance of the Loryma Bay about 2.400 years ago., to take control of the Bay and not to have any more attacks in future. And it was built by the highest military and civilaziton technogies of its own age, such that, after 2.400 years, the castle is still the very well conserved, althouh it is on a very arctic landscape (many earthquakes took place on this geography during decades). Even castle of Loryma is nominated as the best conserved Hellenistic structure existing.
There are 3 small ports in front of 3 restaurtants in the bay. Small boats upto 60 feet can approach these ports. And for the bigger boats may stand on anchor in the middle of the bay. I prefer the first restaurant in the entrerance on the left (port side). It is the closest to the castle, the food (especially fish and local breakfast) is good and friendly and hospital atospher.
I think the blogger was not naturally English speaking, but he clearly enjoyed Mustafa's hospitality & food.
Up at the castle I walked all the way round the walls. Because of the drop to my right, it was slightly scary at times, but I'm pretty sure-footed, & didn't let the drop put me off jumping over the gaps from block to block.
Amazingly, the middle of the castle was almost perfect. The masonry looked only a few years old, never mind being there for more than 2 millennia. It really does look that good, & apart from the trees growing in there, it looks only recently deserted.
Amazingly, the middle of the castle was almost perfect. The masonry looked only a few years old, never mind being there for more than 2 millennia. It really does look that good, & apart from the trees growing in there, it looks only recently deserted.
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| The bit in the middle |
Wow :-0 !
It must be the dry weather.
Maybe? ? Here're some more pics of the castle off the net:
On the way back down the hill ~ following another donkey/goat track, I saw there was another small bay with a few sailing boats moored & anchored in it. I also saw some weird bulbs, partly out of the ground. I wondered what they were so picked one up.
Back at the restaurant I met Danielle ~ a Belgian lady, who told me it was an asphodel. When I googled asphodel bulbs I couldn't find anything similar, but I did find this which is vaguely familiar?
Basically, at this stage of the game & not being able to take a pic at the time, I have no bloody idea! :-/
Danielle also told me about the ruins (part of old Loryma) behind the restaurant , & said they included a temple to Apollo. Apparently, the pic of the gateway/doorway in the piece above is part of the temple of Artemis, but I hadn't known that when I went through it during my tour of the walls.
Danielle also said there was a necropolis a short distance away. I had a look at Apollo's place, but thought I'd better get back to the boat & didn't go wandering off into the sere hills looking for the dead!
Obviously R&C had gone back to Ostrea with the tender, & as I wasn't wearing or carrying anything which would be harmed by seawater, I dived in off the jetty & swam out to the boat.
Tea was nearly ready, so it was a case of read, eat, read, & bed by 10.
On Friday we left at 0745, motored round the castle headland, & put the Genny up for a bearing of 250 degrees. Tacking to 285 & making our way into the strait towards Symi, we played chicken with the Rhodes ferry again.
I added to the tan & read more of Book 3 during the sail back, &, as the wind wasn't favourable in the Gulf of Hisaronu, Ray put the motor on after about an hour of not getting very far, very fast.
We got there eventually, ate dinner aboard, & I read till late.
The Orhaniye Muezzin woke me at 0545!
Still, it gave me a chance for a peaceful swim in the still lagoon waters well before 0800. I went & sat on the spit with water up to my chin. Very chilling :-)
It was market day again & we went along quite early. I got some Turkish sweets to take back for the peeps at work, & some stuff to eat on the way home.
Ray organised my taxi for 2200, & we arranged to have lunch down the road - the same place as last week. While Carol continued her shopping, Ray took me in the tender to Kale Adasi & dropped me off on the beach on the west side.
Here's bit of spiel from the net:
In the middle of the cove there is an island and on top of the island there are the ruins of a castle. It is believed that the castle belonged to the ancient city of Baybassos. This indicates that the bay was protected in ancient times by this island fortress. You can get to the island by hiring a caique (small boat) and then walking to the ruins of the castle along the path. The view from here is brilliant and is worth the effort. The people of Bybassos brought water to the island from the waterfall in Turgut through aqueducts and a pipe laid under the water. From the walls on the island as well as a 5th century church found inside the Marti Marina, the walls of which are still intact, we understand that this bay carried some significance during the Byzantine Period. It is thought that the parishioners of the church were mariners. Up to now, it has been said that this bay was the site of the ancient city of Bybassos. However, that assumption has been proven to be erroneous as it was recently determined that Bybassos was situated in the Orhaniye (Kizkumu) whereas the ancient city of Hygassos was located near Orhaniye.
I climbed up to the walls & sat on the battlements & read a while in the sun ~ the bit near the olive growing on its own 2/3 of the way up on the right.
Following a track round the east side I nearly fell off the island into the water when stepping on to a slab of rock which teetered alarmingly before settling back.
Phew!
Heart rate went up a bit then, I can tell you :-O
Eventually I ended up on the north side & had a bit of a paddle over the rocks back round to the beach.
Peeps obviously came out here for BBQs etc., as there were remains of several fires
Ray put-putted in at about 1215 & took me across to the restaurant for lunch.
That afternoon R&C went back to Ostrea in the tender, & I walked back along the road with the idea of climbing up to the cave in the cliff. Look back up to "Orhaniye's Cliffs at Sunset" & you may just be able to make out the cave in the red cliff face.
It was another lovely walk, but though I have googled "Cave Orhaniye", no-one seems to have taken any pictures of it. However, some of the photos of the spit may have been taken by photographers up there, as the angle is about right?
Down from the cave I went left/east along the little road into the hills, curved to the right past various farms & the mosque, through a cute little pine wood, & realised why I'd been woken so early - they'd put loud speakers up on telegraph poles all over the place!
No wonder he was so loud at a quarter to six in the morning!
Coming out onto the main road I continued west (& via some blackberry bushes ;-q) for a few metres to a cafe on the lagoon where they had ice creams & lollies.
I was pretty dry after all that walking & climbing in the sun, & had 2 ~ both involving chocolate ;-)
I sat on their jetty & read for a while, &, once I'd finished Book 3, called Ray to tell him where I was so he could come & get me in the tender.
We went to eat at the restaurant by the jetty while we awaited the taxi, & I wore the frock for only the 2nd time that week! Happily it covered all the cuts & scratches I'd ended up with due to my sojourns into the Turkish bush wearing shorts! To be honest, my legs looked like I'd had an argument with barbed-wire & lost!
The taxi came, & goodbyes were said, & as the guy had to nip into Marmaris on the way to Dalaman, he said he'd take me to the Post Office so I could post the postcards I'd bought & written in Sogut!
I didn't like the look of Marmaris at all. Far too many people, too much traffic, & too commercialised. Looking at it through the taxi window was as close as I wanted to be.
Back at the airport, I changed out of the frock & sandals into my 'heavy clothes'. I was worried that with all the sweets I'd bought, I'd be over my carry on limit!
It was OK :-)
The flight was utterly uneventful, but it got in before the Manchester Airport cafes (including the one at the station) were open. I hung around until one did, got a coffee, did some sudoku to pass a couple of hours, & caught the 1st train up to Blackpool.
So endeth the Turkey trip, with many thanks to all the bloggers & photographers out there whose stuff I 'borrowed' to make this blog more interesting.
OAO
Phew!
Heart rate went up a bit then, I can tell you :-O
Eventually I ended up on the north side & had a bit of a paddle over the rocks back round to the beach.
Peeps obviously came out here for BBQs etc., as there were remains of several fires
Ray put-putted in at about 1215 & took me across to the restaurant for lunch.
That afternoon R&C went back to Ostrea in the tender, & I walked back along the road with the idea of climbing up to the cave in the cliff. Look back up to "Orhaniye's Cliffs at Sunset" & you may just be able to make out the cave in the red cliff face.
It was another lovely walk, but though I have googled "Cave Orhaniye", no-one seems to have taken any pictures of it. However, some of the photos of the spit may have been taken by photographers up there, as the angle is about right?
Down from the cave I went left/east along the little road into the hills, curved to the right past various farms & the mosque, through a cute little pine wood, & realised why I'd been woken so early - they'd put loud speakers up on telegraph poles all over the place!
No wonder he was so loud at a quarter to six in the morning!
Coming out onto the main road I continued west (& via some blackberry bushes ;-q) for a few metres to a cafe on the lagoon where they had ice creams & lollies.
I was pretty dry after all that walking & climbing in the sun, & had 2 ~ both involving chocolate ;-)
I sat on their jetty & read for a while, &, once I'd finished Book 3, called Ray to tell him where I was so he could come & get me in the tender.
We went to eat at the restaurant by the jetty while we awaited the taxi, & I wore the frock for only the 2nd time that week! Happily it covered all the cuts & scratches I'd ended up with due to my sojourns into the Turkish bush wearing shorts! To be honest, my legs looked like I'd had an argument with barbed-wire & lost!
The taxi came, & goodbyes were said, & as the guy had to nip into Marmaris on the way to Dalaman, he said he'd take me to the Post Office so I could post the postcards I'd bought & written in Sogut!
I didn't like the look of Marmaris at all. Far too many people, too much traffic, & too commercialised. Looking at it through the taxi window was as close as I wanted to be.
Back at the airport, I changed out of the frock & sandals into my 'heavy clothes'. I was worried that with all the sweets I'd bought, I'd be over my carry on limit!
It was OK :-)
The flight was utterly uneventful, but it got in before the Manchester Airport cafes (including the one at the station) were open. I hung around until one did, got a coffee, did some sudoku to pass a couple of hours, & caught the 1st train up to Blackpool.
So endeth the Turkey trip, with many thanks to all the bloggers & photographers out there whose stuff I 'borrowed' to make this blog more interesting.
OAO
