As there are many of you who do not speak German back home we decided it is about time to write something up in English. We have been here for about five days now and have grown accustomed to the sea; in fact, we are so much accustomed that it was difficult to maneuver around land today. We felt the land waves hit us very hard and had to get back to the safety of the stable waters.

05-12-2011

We arrived on the first night at the Airport in Dalaman (36°43.139’ N  /  28°47.510’ E), Turkey after travelling for around 30 hours. The journey was rather long and we were excited to have reached our final destination for the first leg of our vacation. At the airport we were greeted by a taxi driver who was holding a sign with our names on it. My mum was unable to meet us there are they did not possess a car as that would for obvious reasons not fit on board their sailing boat. Instead they had told us that we would expect to be picked up and driven though what would seem like absolute nothingness for several miles. This was not an understatement. We drove for some time with a driver who only spoke a handful of words in English, and our Turkish was not exactly up to par. Finally we stopped at a little bay where my mother was awaiting us with a small boat. Within ten minutes we found ourselves approaching the sailboat Irsira that they call their home. After several drinks our first night came to a conclusion.

05-13-2011

Very early we decided we could no longer lay in bed as we had arrived at night and had not seen our surrounding. We jumped out of our queen size bed and went upstairs to get the first glimpse of our vacation home and the surrounding countryside. At this point Rachel and Walti were also getting up and the decision had to be made on where we would sail to first. An attempt was made to cross the Golf of Fethiye however the strong winds and high waves did not allow this as a virgin voyage for our untrained sea feet. To avoid spending the next few hours leaning over the side of the boat we decided to go to Tersane (36°40.488’ N  /  28°54.891’ E) instead. The trip took around 3 hours are brought us to a small bay with a dock and one restaurant. This was so small that the owners had to ship in water and and other things they could not grow or breed right there on the island. After docking and drink the mandatory docking drink we then soon had to realize that our evening swim had to be held short as a storm was approaching. Luckily it only lasted about an hour but brought thunder and lightning and heavy showers for the entire duration. We decided that an early night would be a good idea as to sleep away the weather and awake to sunshine. The weather would be much improved from here on forth.

05-14-2011

The second day the decision was made to finally cross over the Golf of Fethiye to spend the next night in Kalevezi Koyou (36°33.818’ N  /  29°04.934’ E), a small bay with a very cold fresh water stream that entered into it underwater. The bay was overlooked by a restaurant that was ran by a Turk who had married a German woman and therefore spoke fluent German. Just as many others though he also spoke very good English too and also Thai, the language of his second wife after the divorce from his first. We learned a lot about him and even got go meet his family and newborn son. The turn (sailing trip) itself across the Gulf was very easy as the waves had settled and instead we were greeted with a constant wind that carried us to our destination. Once in the bay we decided to go swimming and had to suffer with the cold 20.8 degrees Celsius driven by the fresh water leading into the bay. This did not stop us and soon we were snorkeling with 30 feet visibility in turquoise water.

05-15-2011

Day three began with a nice breakfast at the restaurant in Kalevezi Koyou followed by a hike up the mountain to the ghost city of Kayaköy (36°34.567’ N  /  29°05.045’ E). This was an old city that was left in 1923 by the Greeks when Turkey and Greece divided up the area to form independent states. The Greeks left and the Turks that arrived did not want to live in the houses of their oppressors and so the city of ruins came about. During this hike we came across several kashmere goats from which the famous and luxurious cashmere material is made as well as some large Tortoises. Once we returned to the water we had left the boat on anker and had to take the little rubber boat back home. As it was very hot, Theresa and I decided it would be a good idea to swim through the bay back to the Irsira which truly is a wonderful way to go home. After a short rest it was then time to tackle our next turn and sail to Buynuz Bükü (36°42.653’ N  /  28°53.712’ E). This was a small bay back on the other side of the Golf of Fethiye and we enjoyed another peaceful trip.

05-16-2011

After a good nights rest we awoke fairly late around 9 AM to another sunny day and began with a hearty breakfast including eggs and toast. It is surprising how a kitchen on a boat is still fully able to produce the meals we like. We then decided it was time to get a better view of the boat and got ready to climb to roughly 50 foot mast. This offered a great chance for some pictures of the surrounding and a different perspective of the boat. Another quick swim and it was time to set sail to the city of Fethiye (36°37.493’ N  /  29°05.861’ E). Once arrived we laid anker and enjoyed an anker drink before taking the little rubber boat into the city. Her we had a quick walk around and ate a traditional Turkish Durum which could be seen as the Burrito of the area although not so heavy. No shopping took place yet as the market will be open the following day and we will take that time to spend some money.

More to follow