Pavlov has been steaming up the Turkish Coast, taking advantage of some last-of-winter southerly winds. Last blog, we were at Tekedagi, a favourite fjord near Taos. We did meet up with Marco and Petra. It was so iconic of the cruising life, to meet them again in the same fjord in the middle of nowhere, where we rendezvoused a year ago.
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| Fishing shack at the fjord |
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| The reflections echo the serenity of this place |
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| Fjord and Pavlov |
We enjoyed seeing Marco and Petra so much that we made arrangements to visit them in November this year in Berlin. Reluctantly, we took the next southerly express train north, and headed to Cesme, a small boutique marina. We picked the marina as strong storms were predicted.
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| Turkish dulcimer maker |
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| You can see the micro tuners just inboard of the tuning pegs. |
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| He sold a variety of instruments |
Cesme has its obligatory castle, cute cobbled streets and all the other accruements of Turkish tourist attractions. (I'm starting to sound jaded, time to change countries!)
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| View of the castle, Cesme |
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| Old metal Ottoman doorway |
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| Pressed metal panels from the Ottoman era |
But time and wind waits for no man, so we pointed Pavlov's bows north again, sailed around the large peninsula south of the Izmir korfezi, and entered Eski Foca (Old Foca). We couldn't get onto the town jetty, and had some fun and games (including a dramatic recovery of our precious boat hook) trying to pick up a buoy, until we tried the fishing jetty.
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| Old Foca fishing jetty |
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| Pavlov didn't mind slumming it |
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| Megan on the fishing jetty |
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| Swapping engines on the boat next to us |
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| Old WW2 landing vessels being broken up |
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| Lonesome Brommie |
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| Every passer-by is of interest in Foca |
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| Local mosque |
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| View of the harbour at Foca |
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| Admiring the view |
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| Wild flowers and ruins |
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| The inner harbour at Eske Foca |
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| Fishing boats in the inner harbour |
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| Municipal square in Eske Foca |
Time to up-stakes again and move on. It still surprises me, this bipolar existence we lead. When we're moored or anchored, the world is static. We can make trips, visit things, socialise and have a more-or-less normal life. And then, magically, we can drop a few lines, and the whole world changes. Life becomes more fraught, far less taken for granted. We travel, make miles, work the weather, sail the boat, get cold and wet or whatever, until once again, we transform into a secure home. What a life!
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| Admiral's favourite spot |
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| Flying our new stitched flag, of which we are rightly proud! |
Last Turkish destination was Ayverlik, but the only mooring option inside the 'lake' which surrounds Avyerlik was an expensive marina. We were over paying for expensive patches of water in which to stick our boat, so we cruised into Cunda on Adlibey Adasi, a small island connected by causeways to Ayverlik. Adlibey, an old Greek town, was one of the islands that create the lake shielding Ayverlik from the exposed bay.
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| Boat yard in Cunda |
We managed to sneak into a small boat yard in Cunda. Despite a difficult unassisted moor through a forest of floating lines, we found a snug hide-away that cost us zip.
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| Dondurma (icecream) being sold on the promenade |
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| Public water tap was much in demand |
Cunda was also a delightful little town, taken over by the Turks to create a 'working persons' tourist resort. This was not a destination for foreigners, and we saw no foreign flagged boats. Cunda specialised in antiques and old curio's. The street stalls provided an interesting hunting ground for old porcelain, jewellery and other bric-a-brac.
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| Curio shoppers |
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| Antiques on sale |
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| Some rather nice old porcelain |
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| Back street in Cunda |
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| Charming hotel entrance |
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| Carpet show-room, Cunda style |
It was just a short dolmus trip to Ayverlik, where we had to attend to exit formalities. Of course, the Port Police and Customs were at opposite ends of the town to the Harbour Master. It was shank's pony across the town, and we spent another day walking around, taking care of business.
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| View from Ayverlik across to Cunda |
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| Ayvalik harbour |
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| Entrance to Ayvalik marina. We managed to avoid this place! |
After check out, we felt a small pang of regret at finishing our sojourn in Turkey. It had been home for almost 2 years, and we'd come to really enjoy its peoples and customs. In particular, the warm and close relating between the men will stay with me. Having been under-fathered and suffering from that westernised reserve that men erect as barriers around themselves, I found the closeness and intimacy between Turkish men thoroughly refreshing. We discovered that relating is the key in Turkey. Barriers and difficulties often dissolved when we took the time to establish real relationships. We also loved the simplicity and vibrancy of village life, with its simple rhythms and pleasures.
But the world await us, and we need to make some progress westwards. Next stop will be Greece. We will jump across to Lesbos and start our one year visa in Mitilini.
On the photography front, I've been exploring the theme of collections. Here's a few more of my efforts.
See you in Greece. Yassas!
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