Sailing Around Bodrum Region

Hi all Sue here

Late again with the blog sorry, don’t know where time goes to!! Too busy enjoying ourselves I hear you say!!

Arrived back from the UK along with my son Joe and his partner Heather, who had come for a weeks holiday. They had never actually sailed with us before so it was all new to them. Fortunately we had good weather and managed to visit quite a few places. From Asin limani we went to Yalikavak where we based ourselves for a few days. They went from here across to Kos on the ferry and a bus trip to Bodrum. It is a good place to stock up and a nice town. We then visited Gumusluk, very busy touristy place, all restaurants and gift shops. It says in the pilot book that you can walk across to Tavsan Ada, Rabbit Island, but it is now surrounded by barbed wire and says no access.

Joe and Heather On Board	Stunning Sunset in Gumsluk

Next stop was Turk Buku. A very pretty resort but also quite expensive place hosting many restaurants and bars. There was a very good fishmongers here though that was very reasonable. We then went to Ilica Buku which is a long inlet surrounded by pine trees. This was a beautiful peaceful anchorage and Joe and Heather managed to do some kayaking here. All too soon it was time to head back to Asin Limani for them to fly home. We then based ourselves here until the 31st May as Caroline and Richard were then due to join us for 3 weeks.

Not Quite in Time Paddling	Sue and Steph – No Drink Involved !!

We arranged to meet up with Steph and Andy in Asin Limani as they were buying our old Dinghy Davits' from us. As usual a quiet glass of wine soon turned into many and we all had a great night. Hopefully we will meet up with them again later in the year.

This Windsurfing is Easy	Whoops – Perhaps Not

Chris also decided it was a good time to try out the windsurfer we bought in Finike, I’m saying nothing as there is no way I could have stood up on it but it did look quite a challenge even for Chris!!

Helen and Jean in Iassos	One of the Ephesus Cats

 

Main Street in Ephesus	Ephesus Library Facade

 

Small Part of Ephesus Ampitheatre	The Traventines at Pamukale

For the first 3 days of Caroline and Richards stay we hired a car and visited Ephesus and Pamukkale. Both of these places are a must see. They were absolutely amazing and well worth the journey. We had an overnight stay in really friendly pension called Sinter Terasse Hotel, Pamukkale. While Caroline and I bathed in Cleopatra’s Pool Chris and Richard hiked up to the Ruins of Hierapolis, which they said were also amazing. They took loads of photos to show us what we had missed but I still think we had the better deal!! After Ephesus all other ruins look so small.

Terraced Pools at Pamukale	Lounging in the Warm Waters

 

Huge Contrast Between the White Traventine and the Surroundings	Anchored in the Ancient Harbour of Knidos

After a major stock up on supplies we were ready to set sail again, first stop Knidos and yes you’ve guessed more ruins!! Chris and Richard went off on one of their little hikes and came back with more photos for us. It was a very pretty anchorage and well worth a visit.

View over Simi Harbour	Rest Stop at Monastery on Simi Walk, Nearly 300m High

Next stop was Simi where we managed to tie up to the pier in Pethi, which was just as well as a lot of the boats on anchor dragged. We watched the fun and games and at one point Chris and Richard took the dinghy out to help one boat. When we arrived in Pethi it was really nice to see Awake there and Francis joined the boys on one of their hikes across the Island. It was a very long and strenuous hike and Richard came back sporting a very large blister but they said it was well worth the pain!! Caroline and I opted for the walk over the hill into Simi town in the morning then a local ferry to a beautiful beach in the afternoon. Are you still with us ladies!! We then all had a nice meal aboard Nimrod in the evening. Next morning we said farewell to Francis, not sure when we will meet up with him again.

Bozborun Sailing Club on Afternoon Jaunt	Sisters Ready to Party

Time to head back to Turkey. Bozborun for one night then on to Keki Buku. We don’t seem to be staying anywhere more than one night so I won’t bore you with all the details but will just include photos of our stops. Keki Buku is where we had the best meal so far in Turkey. The restaurant used to be called Iskelle but at the moment hasn’t got a name!!

 

Night Out in Keki Buku	Moonrise in Kuruca Buku

 

Kargi Koyu Near Datca	Climbing Above Tuzla Koyu to Take -

Next it was Datka for shopping then on to Kargi Koyu. Another lovely anchorage which we ended up having all to ourselves. There was quite a commotion on shore while we were there with one car driving onto the beach and getting stuck so a tractor had to pull him off and a couple of hours later another car rolled down the hill and got stuck on top of a rock so the same little tractor had to be called to the rescue again. It all provides entertainment for us.

Nimrod in Our Own Private Cove	The Girls Relaxing in Crystal Waters

We then spent a night in North Cove before heading on to Tuzla Koyu and had another beautiful anchorage with crystal clear waters all to ourselves. Temperatures are creeping up now so chilling on the lilos is best way to stay cool.

Cleopatras Beach, Castle Island	Akbuk Limani, Doga Restaurant

Akbuk Limani was our next stop. We had a lovey welcome here from the restaurant staff and best value for money meal. It was now time to start heading back towards Bodrum and of course find somewhere for the men to watch the football so we went to Cokertme. Unfortunately the meal was probably the worst and most expensive of the holiday so the Cokertme Restaurant is not a place we would recommend, and not improved much by Englands exit from the World Cup.

All too soon we were back in Bodrum to let Richard and Caroline catch their flight back home and the contrast with our earlier stop here could not have been more marked. Lots more boats in the anchorage, all the beachfront shops and cafes now open, beach all buoyed off for swimming and covered in sun beds and huge volumes from the bars and nightclubs until around 4am, definitely not a place for a good nights sleep.

We moved a mile south to a much quieter bay for a couple of days because we needed some spares for our watermaker motor, a stroll into the Bodrum Sanayi (Industrial Estate) soon found an electrical shop with boxes and boxes of dusty parts and a 10 minute search turned up two capacitors of the right size for very little money so the watermaker was very soon up and running again. This was much needed since all the water along the N Coast of the Bodrum Gulf had been very brackish so  not good for filling the tanks.

From Bodrum we wanted to try and get a bit further N up the Turkish Coast and the nearby Greek Islands so we hopped slowly down the coast to Akyarlar waiting for a bit of favourable wind to get around the end of the peninsula. We got back around to Turk Buku and this was again much noisier and much busier than our last visit so we headed back to the peace and tranquillity of Iassos again for a couple of days.

Agathonisi Harbour, French Boats Filling the Anchorage	Same Place, The Next Day we Have it to Ourselves – Magical

We had a boisterous passage to Cukurcuk with much more wind than forecast and of course it was right on the nose so it was pretty wet and bumpy, luckily Cukurcuk is a lovely anchorage with a few fishing boats, motorhomes and cottages around the deserted shores. Next morning we had a dawn start to get to Agathonisi, only 12nm but the wind doesn’t really start until late morning so we had a gentle motor in nearly calm conditions to arrive in the remote Greek Island of Agathonisi before 9am.

Agathonisis is a delightful, sleepy little place with only about 200 permanent residents and a lot of the tourism is due to yachts. We anchored in the best spot at the top of the harbour seeing as we were the only boat in the anchorage at that time, however by early afternoon the French had arrived in force and proceeded to anchor five boats where most people would struggle to fit two, fortunately most of the close encounters did not involve us so we left them to it.

The water in the harbour is crystal clear and the surroundings are pretty close to idyllic, we have some strong winds forecast in the next couple of days so we are just going to have to suffer the peace and quiet until it all calms down and we can move a bit further N to Samos. So until next blog Adio from us.