Let's go Sailing! Ciftlik, Bozukkale, Bozburun, Serce Limani and Turunc

 At last! In between the time we spent at Marmaris, we took advantange of the nothing's-happening-for-a-few-days and ran away to sea. 

Reluctant to head back the way we had come, as we would be doing that once Karen and Lloyd arrived, we turned the bow south east and set off to explore new bays, while testing out new batteries, bilge pump and our essential-to-us upgrades.

We raised the sails - yes both of them at last - and headed for Ciftlik Koyu, a distance of 24nms (nautical miles). As will be the norm, the wind dropped off, and we had to motor a way, but arrived just after mid-day, perfect for congratulating ourselves for not yet divorcing. We had heard of Ciftlik many times, and it is indeed a special spot. A few hotels, scattered around the bay, with a handful of restautants in one corner, and a white beach in the other. Plenty of room for us to anchor, along with a total of 5 boats overnight, plus a few on restautant pontoons. What's not to like? A chilly swim, before we watched the rain fall from the comfort of our new cockpit.

Next morning we decided to explore, following a road behind the few restaurants up the valley. We hadn't actually planned to go this way so it was only a few ks. However, it was very peaceful, checking out what was being grown in the rich dark soil. Olives, corn, vegetables galore, herbs, grapes, stone fruits, nuts and even aloe vera. And it smelled gorgeous. At one stage the most amazing herbal scent drifted past, and following it like some demented bloodhound, I found two elderly residents packaging up oregano. Did I want some? Yes please! It smells devine, which is a good thing, as without that distinctive scent, I think I may have purchased a bag of marijuana.  

Buying Oregano. I think.

Looking the darkening sky, and with thunder rolling around the hills, we turned back and headed to Kirrikie, stopping off a small shop for supplies. Did I need bread? they asked. Once again, yes please! A girl was dispatched, returning shortly from someone's kitchen, bringing a round flat loaf called Bazlama, cooked in a stone oven. Happy days. Then time for a cool drink, watching the competition between the different restaurants trying to entice arriving yachts to come to THEIR pontoon, not their rival's. This is achieved by making haste to the end of the pontoon and wave a coloured flag. It's a lucky dip really, so we made bets as to which ones, if any, the yachts would end up at.

We up anchored and headed off, around the peninsular for our next 2 nights, the outstanding bay of Bozukkale. It was another short distance of 17nms, again travelled with a combination of sail and motor. Nothing special... just a tranquil, amazing deep blue large bay with lots of room to anchor, or tie stern-to*, for yachts and gullets, with 3 restaurants spread around its perimeter, a castle on the hill, goats and donkey.... hmmm. A new favourite. I will have to admit, at this stage I have a preference for not having to tie stern-to so I love any place where this is not required. (Dry your eyes princess...).

Due the exertions of the morning, we once again chilled out in our little world, swimming, watching the goats meander along the shore, and ...  what the hell is that sound?? A donkey braying must be the best test for an echo chamber. It bounces all around you. I have a theory that this is proof that God exists and has a sense of humour - there can be no evolutionary use for that cacophony of HEE-HAWWWW HEE-HAWWWWW. Not even the goats were impressed.

We had our first visit from a visiting 'shop' boat, with a local man visiting us with a variety of goods to sell. Much to my utter amazement, Mike was enthusiastic and bought a white shirt! We later encountered this same gentleman in other locations so it must a profitable excercise.

Next morning we tried to beat the warmth of the day and headed off to check out the castle ruins. Bozukkale is Turkish for 'broken castle', which indeed it is, but what is left for us to see is pretty impressive. The castle was built approximately 700BC as a navy fortress, to prevent enemies from gathering in the natural harbour before or after attacking nearby Rhodes. (On a good day, you can see the now Greek islands of Rhodes, Haiki, Alimia and Symi). There were 9 or 11 lookout towers, the fortress was 334 metres long, 36 meters wide with stone block walls 2 metres thick. We walked along and beside what is left, it certainly still feels pretty solid, with stunning views over the bay and the ocean.

Loo with a view

Looking towards Symi

Bozukkale Bay view from the castle, Kirrikie hidden by the flag

In the opposite far corner of the bay is a posh restaurant (by our boatie standards) called Loryma, after the ancient city that used to be located there. Loryma was an important religious centre at one time, but little remains of the settlement now. 

After lunch we decided to treat ourselves and moved onto the pontoon of Ali Baba restaurant at the bottom of the castle, where we could still swim in crystal clear waters before dining out with Kirrikie safely tied up. And of course, meet our boat neighbours, Gillian and Nigel on SV Salmanazar.   The great thing about this life is meeting new people with a similar interest, and we spent a lovely evening eating a freshly cooked meal with these friends who have years of experience sailing these waters. We just lapped up (pun intended) all the good advice Nigel and Gillian offered.  We 'retired' to their home after dinner, where they shared their stash of Cornish gin. I'm a friend for life, whether they like it or not.

The lovely Gillian had given us a hints and cheats list, of places we should consider while in this part of Turkey, which we relied on to decide to head for Bozburun which would provide more shelter over the next few days from windy afternoons. We waved goodbye and motored out so we could catch what wind there was out of the bay. We made slow but determined progress, trying not to notice SV Salmanazar leave the bay after us and make much quicker progress closer to shore and disappear around the corner. We made it most of the way under sail - we had all day after all - with about 3 hours decent sailing in the afternoon. 

Bozburun is a small town of about 2000 people. While tourism is listed as main means of livelihood, it is not a busy tourist town. Other sources of income are sponge diving, fishing and gullet construction. And although there were many new gullets with their gleaming beautifully crafted wooden hulls, there weren't many going in and out, which made for a much peaceful stay. 

Bozburun

We put down roots in this lovely place instantly, staying 4 nights, the longest we've manged so far. We dropped a load of washing at the local laundry (hauled up from street level to the first floor by an external lift, which the laundress had made herself), and set out to find some outboard fuel. To this we needed some help, as there was no petrol station or fuel dock for this, so we did  as Gillian had recommended and found Osman at Osman's restautrant for this. What a guy! Or should I say what a couple, as he is married to a scottish lady, Lynne. Osman is the go-to man for any problem it seems, even medical emergencies as previously happened to another couple. Osman arranged for our fuel can to be collected, taken and filled up at a servo some way from town, and returned within an hour, while we did a little provisioning and enjoyed a cuppa at his restaurant. He was making delicious zucchini fritters and brought out two for us to eat while waiting. We paid a small amount for this assistance, but the cuppa and fritters were gratis! So, we stayed around in Bozburun for a while.....

We met David and Kate from SV Vakated, who have a slightly younger model of boat as Kirrikie, who are also very experienced sailors, know the are very well, and were incredibily helpful to us over the next few days. Thanks to them we have definitely improved our sailing skills and have got to know our own boat better. The next day Gillian and Dave sailed in, so we picked them up in dinghy and headed into Osman's for dinner. Later Bernard, who had been at Osman's all afternoon, nursing a beer or two as his outboard motor needed repairs, needed a lift home, so we added him to our party and dropped him off on the way back. All a bit merrier, louder and  wondering if Bernard was indeed the drunken sailor, but he was quite ok.. 

Gillian and Dave departed to check out of Turkey to head to Greece, Kate and Dave drifted off after a final good natter, and after sorting out some legal paperwork with the help of Gurkan, recommended by Kate, we decided to leave, waving at the temporarily stranded Bernard on the way. Time to turn back to Marmaris. 

And wow, what a great sail. Our first time in an area where other yachts are out just for the fun of it, it was lovely. Until the wind dropped as we glided slowly past the Turkish coastguard and then our engine wouldn't start... but that's another story. Or not, I'll leave that there.

Eventually we pulled into a small cove, Serce Limani, where we had to tackle the dreaded stern-to mooring. * Stern-to means you put down your anchor, then reverse towards the rocky shoreline, and tie two lines from your boat to the shore so you don't swing around the anchor. The main reason for this is the angle of the seabed is sharp and deep, and you'd need so much anchor chain out you couldn't anchor safely. You can either take the lines back by dinghy or swim them ashore. It should be done relatively quickly to stabilise the boat, and I hate it.  We took a while to achieve the right effect, with nooo swearing or yelling. As if. 

When all was calm again we looked around to see one yacht happily at anchor  - SV Vakated. Over ensuing drinks - naturally - then dinner as we overstayed our welcome, David provided some good advice on how what we did right, and how we could improve our technique. Because watching other boats come in and the shenanigans that goes on makes much better viewing than Netflix.  

Then next day we pushed on closer to Marmaris, with an appointment with electricians due the next day. This time we pulled into the waters in from of Turunc, a seaside touristy town set into steep hills selling cheap T-shirts, bucket and spades, ice-creams etc. But very nice to stroll around, and we found a breezy roof-top cafe for a yummy dinner looking over the beach, spying on Russian and English vacationers making the most of the last rays of sun. A perfect end to our holiday.

Turunc. Spying on tourists and Kirrikie.

PS The best part of this is you meet wonderful people, in a marina or in a bay, sometimes forming meaningful relationships sharing more than sailing stories,  then you say goodbye not knowing if it's forever , or a few months or even a day.  You're sad, but then around the corner you meet someone else who enriches your life and so it goes on. We have been blessed so far in this short time  - thank you Finikians and everyone since then xx