Category: 2014

Is it a curse or a delight that you can still find places on the planet where there is no wi-fi? I guess it can be both. We found a lovely spot in Gokova Korfezi where there was no internet, but of course when you sail around the corner and you get it back you can “like” Ali’s restaurant on Facebook. It seems everyone is connected these days. I have to say, I rather did like the setting there with the day bed, although I didn’t get to try it out.

In another bay, no internet, but freshly baked bread delivered to your yacht. Gotta love that!

After leaving Gokova Gulf we spent a bit of time back in Hisaronu Gorfezi, a good place to go when the meltemi is having a bit of a roar. We decided to go for a couple of scuba dives, which was good, but it did makes us appreciate how lucky we are with the Great Barrier Reef right on our doorstep back home. Our two dive masters were great guys and loved hamming it up.

Around the Bodrum area is the home of the gulet builders. We have seen a number of them under full sail this year, very majestic but you can imagine they might be a bit of a handful in a breeze. We even saw the makings of a gulet in the pumpkin patch. They build them everywhere!

Some images from around Hisaronu Korfezi…..

we’ve been lucky not to have too many anchoring issues, but we did pick up a doosey in our final up-anchor, some sort of large, heavy “SLOW DOWN” buoy (sunken). Managed to extricate ourselves quite easily, which was a relief. There really is an awful lot of “stuff” down there.

We’ve been back at Didim for the last week packing up & winterising Loki. The marina facilities here are first class. The hard stand area is 70,000 sqm (that’s about 3 & 1/2 MCGs!). Apparently it will be full over winter, but in the meantime the marina decided to put on an end of summer concert, everyone invited. Cool! The facilities include a Yacht Club/Hotel complex, so it’s not a bad place to be doing the pack up. And I love the squadron of ducks that do a regular patrol of the marina. Obviously the water’s really clean.

It’s been a great trip, but we leave here tomorrow and are really looking forward to getting home and catching up on all the local goings on.
See you soon!
Kate

Merhaba!

Our last stop in Greece was the island of Chios, which is where we caught up with my sister Barbara and Cecily. The island is home to some lovely old medieval towns, so we hired a car for the day to drive around and take a closer look. First stop was Nea Moni, a famous 11th century Byzantine Monastery, housing some slightly gruesome relics, with the skulls of monks massacred during the Greek war of independence kept in the ossuary of the chapel.

Next stop was the carless, fortress town of Mesta, with its thick defensive walls and stone alleyways where locals sit and chat or clean their fish in the street and wearing black isn’t only a fashion statement. But the loveliest was Pyrgi where the houses are painted with fabulous grey and white geometric designs, made from a mixture of cement, volcanic sand and lime, and fresh cherry tomatoes are hung out to dry in front of every second place.

It was then time to say goodbye to Greece and head eight miles across the water back to Turkey, clearing in at Cesme. From here we headed south around the Turkish coast to Sigacik, then to Port St Paul which is now part of a national park (where St Paul purportedly once stopped to rest his oarsmen from the meltemi headwinds) then on to Didim. We all enjoyed the brilliant facilities of the three marinas we stopped at, all of which had pools! After visiting the Temple of Apollo it was lovely to kick back poolside and enjoy the marina yacht club facilities.

At Didim we farewelled Barb and Cecily and welcomed aboard Dean and (the lovely jubbly!) Sue. Didim is located on the north side of the Gulf of Gulluck, or ancient Gulf of Mandalya. Just north of here lies the remains of a number of ancient Ionian cities which date back to 1000 BC. These were all harbour cities before the Meander River silted up the ancient Gulf of Latmos. We hired a car to explore the land northwards and were delighted to find the informative museum at Miletus that provided a great overview of the ancient gulf area. The next surprise was that we had Miletus, once an important port city and home to some of the great thinkers and scientists of the day (Thales of Miletus calculated the clipse of the sun, to within one year, in 585BC) all to ourselves to clamber about the ruins unimpeded by busloads of tourists. From there we headed towards the mountains and the site of what was Priene, yet another sophisticated city, much like Ephesus. Being halfway up a mountain with a few shady trees to loiter under made Priene an enjoyable visit in the heat of the early afternoon. Fitzy and Sue tried out the front row VIP seats with their carved lions paws and we strolled around the ruined Temple of Athena.

Back on the water again it was time to explore the Gulf of Gulluck. We left behind the sprawling mass of holiday housing that is Didim/Altinkum and headed for the thickly forested pines of Paradise Bay, Kazikli Limani. A couple of bays around we anchored in Asin Limani, where the ruins of ancient Iassus (900 BC) overlook the village of Kurin. Next stop was Guvercinlik, a popular summer holiday place for locals, but much less developed than Altinkum. Cruising around the end of the Bodrum Peninsula we stopped at Yalikavak and Turgutries before spending our final night with Dean & Sue at anchor in Ada Bogazi, also known as “The Acquarium”, because of it’s clear water.

At Bodrum we had a crew changeover, farewelling Dean and Sue and welcoming my sister, Helen, aboard. Love the gatehouse at the entrance to the marina; they’ve cut the top off a small ship.

Bodrum Castle, built by the Knights of St John in the 15th century was well worth the visit, as was the excellent Underwater Archaeology Museum housed within it.

Time then to check out the Gulf of Gokova. Cokertme, English Harbour, Dergirmen Buku, Sehir Adalari (Snake & Castle Islands), and Yedi Adalari (Seven Islands) all rate a mention. I’d read about Cleopatra’s Beach at Sehir Adalari, so felt compelled to check it out. The story goes that Cleopatra wanted to create an idyllic little beach for her and Marc Antony to cavort upon, but the local sand wasn’t up to scratch. So she arranged for galleys full of sand shipped in from the Sahara. Apparently the fine-grained sand has been examined by a notable geologist and found to be not typical of the local area, but indeed from Africa! No longer is this a secluded place for a lovers tryst, instead it swarms with gulet-filled daytrippers. These days you can swim in the water, but the actual beach is roped off in order to protect the sand.

But it is still possible to get away from it all in the Gulf. At Kufre we found a remotely located restaurant in the wilderness (must be because no wi-fi).
“I’m sure there’s a restaurant around here somewhere!
Great food in the middle of nowhere. Just had to share the bay with a cow that was using our mooring lines a an obstacle course.
We then headed back to the western cove in Cokertme Bay for a farewell dinner and so Helen could get transport to the airport.

We are loving this area, particularly Dergirmen Buku and there are still a few more places to explore around the Gokova Gulf, so the weather will no doubt decide where we go next.

Hope you are surviving the Melbourne weather O.K. (or wherever you are). If nothing else the snow must be good. Stay warm! We’ll be home in about a month, so looking forward to catching up soon.
Cheers,
Kate

Greece has over 1400 islands and islets and many of these don’t have an airport so it’s no surprise that ferries are a popular mode of transport. It’s not uncommon to arrive at a small harbour, only to be followed in sometime later by a rather large ferry, deftly manoeuvring only a few metres away from where you’re moored. It’s a bit disconcerting the first time, but the ferry captains seem to know what they doing.

That’s Loki moored at the top left-hand end of the marina.

“Hey Donny, do you think there is any wind under that cloud?”

They do a good thunderstorm in this part of the world. One minute blue skies and sunshine, the next ominous black clouds followed by breeze (lots of it!) and torrential rain. Welcome to the northern Sporades. (Head north from Athens, up inside and around the top of Evia, Greece’s 2nd largest island). We’ve witnessed a couple of events, one where a yacht at anchor near us was lying on it’s side, gunwales in the water (the top side of the boat) and their dingy was doing sideways cartwheels at the end of it’s tether behind the boat – spinning so fast that it snapped off their wooden flagstaff, complete with flag. Happily they managed to retrieve both their anchors before they dragged on top of us.

The view of Skiathos harbour, looks better the day after a thunderstorm.

We had a fabulous catch-up with Billy, Dora & the girls, and Chris, Penny & Bridgette in Nea Marmara, on the Chalkidiki Peninsula, northern Greece mainland. I suspect we wouldn’t have made it so far north and seen so much of the Aegean if there hadn’t been a plan to meet up. We enjoyed relaxing days on the beach, were treated to Soula and Michael’s home cooking and had a lovely day cruise with Capitan Panagiotis, amongst other things. And what a gorgeous bunch of young women our friends have produced!

During the cruise Michael dived down and caught some “fooska” (please excuse the phonetic spelling), a lot like oysters but yellowish orange, served freshly shucked with lemon juice and olive oil. If a picture is worth a thousand words then Fitzy’s face tells the story.

From Nea Marmara we headed around to the other side of the Sinthonia Peninsula to Nisos Dhiaporos before making our way south to the Eastern Sporades. First stop was Limnos, stuck out in the middle of nowhere in the northern Aegean. According to Greek mythology, the women of the island refused to serve Aphrodite who in turn afflicted the women with appallingly bad breath, causing their husbands to ignore them. The infuriated women subsequently went on a killing spree murdering all the men folk. The tale continues that Jason and the Argonauts came across an island full of frustrated women in their travels and stopped off for a couple of years to help the girls out and repopulate the island. Decent chaps! (You can’t go past the Greeks for a good yarn).

We anchored stern-to the town quay at Myrina, Limnos, a lovely small town beneath the hilltop remains of a 13th century Genoese fortress, and hired a car to drive around the island. Limnos has got everything from sandy beaches to wetlands, salt lakes, massive sand dunes and a unique architecture combining Greek, Italianate and colonial influences. Moudros Bay was the base for the ill-fated Gallipoli naval offensive and home to Winston Churchill’s headquarters. The two small military cemeteries of Commonwealth soldiers are meticulously maintained to this day. Seeing the graves of so many young Kiwi and Aussie lads was a somewhat sobering experience. We also found one of the island’s smallest churches nestled under a craggy overhang up in the hills. Great views from the top.

Continuing south we headed for Lesvos, enjoying some spirited sailing along the way. This island is home to some eleven million olive trees and the grand old mansions of the olive barons from a bygone era line parts of the shoreline on the approach into Mytilini. The Refugee Museum which tells the story of the 1922-23 post-war population exchange between Greece and Turkey is worth a visit, as is the Olive Press Museum. Next stop was Oinoussa, a very small island that punches above it weight in maritime terms. This little island is the ancestral home of some of the richest shipping barons in Greece, who became hugely wealthy in the 19th & early 20th centuries. Apparently Greek ship owners control some 70 million tonnes of shipping, about the same as the rest of the EU combined. A local told us that their Naval Academy produces “Captains, only captains. No engineers or stewards, just captains”. The small maritime museum and the shipping families’ mausoleums attest to the islands heritage.

We are currently in Chios with the first of July’s visitors, my sister Barb & Cecily, arriving tomorrow. We are looking forward to once again catching up with family and friends from home.

I’ve changed the format a little for this post. Have interspersed some of the images within the copy. Let me know if you think it works better……….or if you are reading any of it??? No comments received after the last post. Yes, I know it’s cold in Melbourne, so hopefully you’re sitting in front of a fire with a glass of red in your hand. We saw some of the images after the recent storm. Looks like Melbourne winter has set in.

We are well. Hope all is good with you and yours too.

Yassas!

Kate

If you like looking at lots of piles of really, really old stones and rocks, then Turkey is the place for you.  Ephesus is intruiging because the ruins there aren’t adjacent a cafe/bus depot/municipal building, as with so many other historic sites in Europe situated cheek by jowl to currently inhabited buildings. You can clearly see the bones of the old city which gives you a good idea of the original layout. Some of the buildings, such as the Celsus Library facade have been rebuilt, but it’s still a really impressive site. We found the latrines somewhat amusing. With capacity to seat 50 at one time, we’re told the unlucky slaves had the uneviable task of pre-heating the marble seats for their masters. (Can’t begin to imagine what the stench must have been like). Restoration work is still being undertaken, particularly in The Terraces, the well-preserved homes of wealthy Romans, and I daresay it will be for some time. It is extraordinary to think that there is still about 82% of the site yet to be excavated; that’s around 300 years of digging.

We were also pleasantly surprised by our visit to the ancient city of Hierapolis. The near intact spectacular Roman theatre built by emperors Hadrian and Septimius Severus apparently once seated over 12,000. Google Maps took us on a slightly more adventurous route to Hieraplois than planned, but that just added to the whole delight of travelling. Once we’d negotiated ourselves back off the dirt roads and goat tracks we found ourselves in a weeny village where we stopped for Turkish pide for lunch. The people here are just so friendly that it doesn’t matter that you can’t speak their language.

Adjacent to Hierapolis is the wonder of Pamukkale. The claringly bright, white travertine terraces overflow with warm, mineral-rich waters which people swim, wallow and paddle in (shoes off only). On first pass you could be forgiven for thinking you were in the snowfields (if it were not for the bikini-clad people running about). These combined sites now have UNESCO World Heritage status and are well worth the 3 hour drive from Kusadasi.

Since my earlier post we’ve spent most of our time in Greece. From Kusadasi we headed across to the island of Samos, the birthplace of Pythagoras. Pithagorion, the harbour town named in his honour is a pretty little spot. Apparently, apart from being a brilliant mathematician, Pythagoras was a bit of a boozer (or perhaps his mates were?) and he invented a drinking vessel which, when filled to the appointed level can be drunk from in the usual manner, but when it is overfilled the contents pour out the bottom into the lap of the hapless drinker. Fitzy is now the proud owner of just such a cup!

From Samos we decided to explore the northern Dodecanese before we headed  across to the Greek mainland. We visited Arki (max pop approx 40), Leros and the sweet little island of Lipsi. We generally have a loose plan of where we’d like to go, then the weather tells us if and when we’ll get there. In the case of Patmos it was not to be. We’d already had a bit of a squall at Leros and with another forecast from the sou’ east we figured we’d have to skip Patmos and head straight to Mykonos, about 70nm west.

You know you’re approaching Mykonos, the party island, when you can hear the ‘doof-doof’ music even though you’re still two miles offshore, and the AIS is telling you that the ‘Maltese Falcon’ is moored just around the next cove. If you have a lazy 385,000 euro you can charter her for a week. (I’m not kidding! Check out the website: www.symaltesefalcon.com). I can now understand why people rave about Mykonos town with it’s higgledy-piggledy narrow streets and white cubed houses piled on top of one another, all very quaint. Oh, and there’s also some serious retail there too. On the first day we had a look around town. On the second we had planned to hire a car and drive around the island, as we did in Samos and Leros, but the breeze cranked in and some boats in the marina were getting damaged, so not a good day to leave Loki unattended. The next day presented a weather window for going north, so further exploration of Mykonos will have to wait until another day.

From there we headed nor’ east up to Andros, then along the west side of Evia, the second largest Greek island after Crete. The middle of Evia almost kisses the Greek mainland and is separated from it by a gap of only 130 ft at the town of Khalkis (or Halkida – why does everything have two or more spellings in Greek?) You can motor through it, but it’s not straightforward. The channel is known for it’s fairly unique tidal phenomenon, where the water flow changes direction about every 6 hours and whips through at 3-4 knots or more. Rumour has it that in the 4th century BC Aristotle threw himself into the tidal flow, either in an attempt to try and figure it out, or in frustration at not being able to do so!

When there’s wind against tide it throws up a nasty sea that resembles a mini Port Phillip heads on a bad day. There’s an old bridge built at the narrowest part of the channel which is controlled by the Port Authority and slides back into a recess under the road. Water traffic is scheduled to minimise road traffic disruption, which usually means: paying your bridge fees to the authority, being on standby (at anchor near the bridge) by 9pm, then waiting for the radio call to go through sometime between 1-3 am. We got the call at 2 am. Went through uneventfully with 9 other yachts, but once through was astounded to be greeted in the channel by the first south-bound vessel, a 270 ft cargo ship. The AIS showing him ploughing through the narrow gap doing 10 knots. Must have big kahunas.

We are now at the top of Evia, heading for the Northern Sporades, then up to the Khalkidiki Peninsula where we are looking forward to catching up with Billy & Dora and Chris & Penny for a few days. Should be a hoot.

Yassas!