2010 LEAVING THE MED

Parts finders extraordinaire - Agmar Marine

Stelios and his sidekick Panagiotis

First we want to take the opportunity to mention how wonderful the boatyard we stayed in was. In particular we want to thank the wonderful office personnel.

4/29 - and we're back on our boat. It wasn't too much work to get here. We used our AAAdvantage air miles so we basically go anywhere they want to send us. We flew from Raleigh, NC to Miami, FL (I think we've been there recently) to Madrid, Spain to Athens, Greece and finally to the island of Leros. We left on the 27th and arrived 47 1/2 hours later. We had nice weather therefore great flights but unfortunately my luggage didn't make it. I just keep remembering what else is in that bag that I really wanted. All my shoes, underwear and the few pairs of pants that fit my current shape(?). It's not like there's a lot of shopping on Leros. Fortunately, our boat is in good shape. It's covered with dust but no damage at all. It's always a little tense when you first see your boat after 6 months and you hope everything is fine.

4/30 - I called the airline and thrill of thrills my bag is at the Leros airport. That's a 5 minute walk. I am so relieved. In all our years of traveling this is only the third time our luggage was misplaced and they have always found them. Happy! Happy! As I sit here typing this our favorite 100 goats are coming down the mountain across the road. It is still so pleasant to listen to all the tones from their bells. We went to the grocery store this morning. The island bus driver got a new bus. He has left the plastic on the seats and added plastic grocery bags over the tops of the seats. I guess he really wants to keep it nice. We met a couple with their baby from Austrailia on the bus. They're on a 6 week vacation. They went to Jordan and Jerusalem. I would like to visit Israel but things are just too unsettled in that area for us. We're going to be here for awhile as Glenn has to pull both engines to replace a $4 oil seal. He claims it could take a week on each and then we have to pray that it works when he gets it all back together. We'll see.

5/1 Well, Glenn got the starboard engine apart in an hour, installed the seal and got it back together again in an hour. Things are looking good. I really don't have much to do. I cleaned the inside of the boat thoroughly before we left and since it was all closed up it's still clean. So Glenn decided to make a list of things for me to do. He hates to see me bored. I'm supposed to change the outhaul and reefing lines, the jib sheets and the main halyard. This involves splicing the lines together and then whipping the ends when I'm done. I'm also supposed to oil the winches, install some thingy on the tramp, patch the dinghy and sand the bimini edges. What a dreamer.

5/2 Glenn began work on the port engine and it won't come apart. He spent all day working on it and an entire can of WD40. The shaft is rusted. I, however, succeeded in changing the outhaul and 3 reefing lines while splicing them together. I also whipped one end. I stopped at that. I don't want too much fun in one day.

5/3 Another solid day of trying to get the engine apart for Glenn. He drilled a hole in the casing so he can squirt the WD40 in a better spot. I finished whipping all my reefing lines and washed the boat. The red dust is everywhere. Of course, in between I get to cook and wash dishes. All of this was without running water as there was a broken spot on the water tank that Glenn had to fix before we could fill it and then it was weekend. Today we have water!

5/4 Back to the engine. Finally at 10:30 a.m. the motor came apart. What a relief. There is still a problem getting to exactly where he needs to get for the seal but the main job is over.

Now his only problem is that he is dying for a cup of coffee. The coffee we bought in town is horrible and the bag of white small grains we bought turned out to be salt rather than sugar. Speaking of shortages, I can't believe we forgot to bring peanut butter with us. We ran out last year and we have nothing this year. We read someone's sailing website for a few years and they ended up asking for donations of money for pizza. Well, I would like to ask for peanut butter. There must be some way of getting it to us. They just don't sell it in the stores here. Oh, well. The island is supposed to be on strike tomorrow because of the economic situation here. They have raised the VAT 4% (I think it's 22% now), reduced government pensions and raised cigarette and fuel taxes by quite a bit. With all of this I'm surprised about the new bus. It all boils down to no coffee for Glenn. He's not much for tea. Actually, I don't know what the government spends it's money on here. The government buildings (Coast Guard, Port Police) are always in need of a paint job and the office furniture doesn't match at all. There isn't any air conditioning to speak of over here and none of the gov't. buildings have ever been air conditioned. This brings me to a bathroom story. I haven't had one in a while. I went to the bathroom in the Customs building (all men). There was no toilet seat, toilet paper, soap or towel to dry my hands with. Where do the taxes go?

I'm going to attempt the tramp and sand the bimini today. Whoopee!

I forgot to mention that when we got here we noticed a pair of birds building a nest in our boom We had the same thing happen in the Domincan Republic and really enjoyed the sound of the birds in the morning. Unfortunately, we couldn't let them build it here as we won't be in the boatyard long enough for their eggs to be laid and hatched. We had to stuff a rag in the end of the boom so they couldn't get to the nest. I really feel bad. They spent two days coming back and chatting at us. I hope they have enough time to build a new nest in a better spot. We threw all their nesting material on the ground hoping that they could build a little faster that way.

5/6 Happy Birthday Germaine! I'm not saying how old but it sure doesn't make me feel any younger.

5/8 We're coming along pretty well on our list. I couldn't change the tramp thingys (or is that thingies?). I say we, Glenn did it, my hands just aren't strong enough. But I did paint the tramp. We have the sails back on the boat (more involved than it sounds - as in a day and a half job). We're getting down on our list. We went to town yesterday to begin the process of clearing out. The bus driver had new plastic bags on the tops of his seats. For some reason the little old ladies getting on the bus were giving him flowers. So he gave some to me. They smelled so good. I gave them to the nice girl in the bakery. Pass it on. We told Customs that we wanted to leave Tuesday so they said we had to come back Tuesday to get our log. Well that involves several hours by bus and taxi so now we have to go back Tuesday for our log, pretend like we're leaving and actually get hauled out Wednesday. We also had to go to the tax office to pay two 88 cent taxes. That involved a taxi ride. We finally found a big supermarket, after all this time! We found everything we wanted which is quite rare. A few more days and we'll be back on the water. We can't wait.

5/10 We were going through our ditch bags to check the dates on our flares (all expired of course) and you wouldn't believe what I found. A jar of peanut butter!! We had it in there for emergency rations. Well, this is an emergency for me. I was so excited I kissed the jar.

5/11 Back in to Lakki to clear customs. After waiting for 1/2 for the customs guy to come to work at 10:15 we took our paperwork and walked over to the Coast Guard/port police to get our log properly stamped. Well there's fee for boating in Greek waters. Based on our size boat it's 160 euros every three months. We had to pay for Sept - March coming to over $400. That was a jolt. It's only because we're American. EU boats don't pay it. There was a Dutch sailor in there with us and when we walked out he was more upset than we were over the fee. I tried to tell the Coast Guard guy that we really weren't using the Coast Guard when our boat was on the hard but no go. An hour later as we're walking towards the grocery store we hear "Mr Glenn". The guy from the Coast Guard stopped to give us back a Turkish coin we had mistakenly given him and get two euro instead. We asked him what the Turkish coin was worth and he said, "twenty minutes".

5/12 Today is lift out time. We were instructed to be ready at 8:00 a.m. which is a little optimistic as there is a boat in front of us that will need to be moved first. So we sat, all ready, and waited. I did go over to take my last real shower only to have no hot water. That turned out to be a real slap dash shower. Finally, 3;30 and the travel lift is headed for us. We have a foot from each wall on the sides of the canal they lower us in to. They hold you in the water while you turn your engines on and check your bilges. Remember Glenn had pulled both engines apart and they hadn't been started in 7 months so we were a little anxious. The engines are started and there's no water pumping out of the port engine. Glenn went down and looked and didn't see anything. Meanwhile there's a lot of other things to do and it was about a minute before I noticed that the port engine was still on with no water pumping. We turned it off and Glenn went in to check and the smoke alarm was blasting away and black smoke comes billowing up out of our bedroom. He got a flashlight and went down for a better look. There was 6 inches of water in the engine compartment and you couldn't see for the smoke. Dah, he forgot to reattach the exhaust hose when he put the engine back together. He pumped some of the water out, the smoke cleared somewhat and we backed away from the dock. That was exciting! Fortunately, we had all of the hatches closed so the smoke stayed in the cabin. I would have hated to pull away with smoke billowing out of the boat. We went 1/2 mile from the dock and anchored. That's enough for one day.

5/13 Just a short 10 mile jaunt to an island next to Kos and we stopped. We took a nice walk up behind the beach counting the goats and sheep and then rushed back to the boat to avoid the rain.

5/14 On to Kos. Kos is the home of Hippocrates. This is a port of entry so we will clear out here to go to Turkey. We had to pull along the outside dock. My first docking in 7 months and I was a little nervous. It was an easy setup, no wind, no big expensive boats beside us and two guys to help. A nice way to get back in practice. We could pay half day rates for two hours to clear in so we went for it. We made it with 10 minutes to spare. The dock was 24 euros so we decided to stay and get an early start for Bodrum, Turkey the next day. So, we walked around Kos and stopped for appetizers at 4:00 which basically became our dinner. I picked the restaurant as they had stuffed succhini flowers. This is a dish I had last year and I loved it. Out of season - darn. The waiter suggested Cubanelle pepper stuffed with cheese and fried so I went for it. It was good, just not as good as my stuffed flowers. We explored the agora and back to the boat around 5:30. When at a marina take advantage of the showers. These were the most luxurious showers we had ever seen. We got all excited and headed over. I had such a nice, hot shower. A treat after my last experience. I came out glowing and there's Glenn. "Did you have hot water?" , he asks. It seems he got the cold shower this time. Too bad.

5/15 Off the dock for a nice early trip to Bodrum and I hear a horn blasting behind us. A guy from the marina is charging after us. It appears we were quoted the wrong price. Another 19 euros and we're on our way. Over $50 to sit on an outside dock with no water or electricty. We wouldn't have stayed if we knew that ahead of time. Oh, well what can you do?

An easy 2 hour ride to Bodrum and now the docking gets exciting. We had to pull up to the ferry dock at customs. No one spoke English. A boat comes out to meet us and everyone starts pointing and waving. We finally figure out where they want us to dock and I start heading for that spot. No, more waving and pointing. We're supposed to get a mooring ball from the boat that came out to us. So I do a wonderful job of pulling right up to the mooring ball and Glenn takes it and starts to attach to a cleat on the bow. More waving and pointing. Pull the line in tight and moor right over the mooring site. We did that. Now more waving and pointing. Ah, I've got it. We're Med mooring. I have to back up to the dock. I am so glad this is my second docking this year. I get really nervous backing the boat up to a huge solid cement dock. Our little dinghy is just sticking out there waiting to be crushed. I did it after much tossing of lines and more waving arms. I felt pretty good after that one. Glenn went in to customs to begin the process. I'm not allowed off the boat which is fine with me as I know I wouldn't have been able to make the jump off the dinghy on to the dock. The news is that it is so complicated we should hire an agent to do the paperwork. Last time we cleared in to Turkey someone from the marina took Glenn around and we paid him. You have to go to health, port police, immigration and customs and they aren't together. The guy started at 11:00 and was back at 3:30 with our paperwork. This cost $200 and then as we're getting ready to leave they came out and told us we owed them $10 for tying up to the dock. This has been an expensive month so far. Off we go to find a free anchorage. We are expecting 20Kts out of the southeast tonight so pick a spot accordingly. The first bay we went into was small and pretty full. Everyone was backed in and tied up to land. We couldn't get our anchor to catch and there wasn't much maneuvering room so after two tries we left. Next harbor, plenty of room but still lousy holding (weed). Second try and we felt as if we were caught. We usually back down on the anchor 1500 - 1800 rpms to make sure and it seemed okay. Well the wind picked up to 22 Kts due east right down the harbor. We thought we dragged a little at 11:00 but we weren't sure. I went to bed, 10 minutes later Glenn called me as we had definitely dragged. It appeared that we caught again so after a half hour I went back to bed. One a.m. Glenn is yelling, "Get up quick, we're dragging." We had to pull up the anchor and try again. The wind and waves were pushing us all over, it was pitch black and we couldn't hear each other. When I was letting the chain out the wind pushed us back so hard the windlass overheated and the chain just poured out. I couldn't keep the boat into the wind while backing up. We finally seemed to catch. Glenn put a killick down on the anchor line and then a second anchor. That was a bit intense for a while. We finally seemed to be holding with the wind gusting to 25Kts. 1:30 a.m. the wind shifted direction 180 degrees and died. What a day. If this had been my first day cruising I might have gone home.

5/16 We slept in this morning and when we went out into the cockpit there were streaks of Glenn's blood. He had bled from about three places from last night's battle with the anchors and chains. Good news, we had one more anchor to use if we hadn't managed to catch. Today, we are going to do a few chores on the boat and relax. Great trip so far.

The Kos agora

This is what happens when the archaeologist in chg leaves the crew to finish up on a Fri afternoono

Not all Mediterranean food is healthy

They seem to think the tourists want french fries with everything

5/18 We are in Bodrum now. We walked 1 1/2 miles to St Peter's Castle built by the Knights of St John. We spent 3 hours walking around it going up and down steps that were 15-20" tall, no two alike. They had a shipwreck from 14c BC and another that sunk in 1025. There were two museums and the amazing part was that they had collections of thin decorated Damascus glass pieces and Mycaenean beads. The museums were very impressive.

5/19 We walked in to explore the town and get some groceries. We bought our groceries and asked a carpet salesman where we could eat and find a nice variety of Turkish foods - mezes. He told us to leave our bags in his shop and then walked us to the restaurant, brought us into the kitchen, introduced us to the owner and we chose what we wanted to eat. It was delicious. We had smoked eggplant and tomato, small squares of liver and potatoes, beans in a light tomato sauce and a mix of 6 tiny vegetables. This was all served with rice, bread and tea. The son, who is the 3rd generation of the owner sat down to talk with us. He had just gotten out of the army 2 days ago. What a bright, nice young man. .He only had to serve 6 months as he went to university. He majored in European Politics. He was very interesting to talk to. He said that the countries surrounding them refer to Turkey as little America. After lunch we went back to get our grocery bags and got invited to tea by the carpet owner. They are both named Mustafa so I'll just call the restaurant Mustafa the young one. We had apple tea and sat and talked for an hour. Mustafa (carpet) came out to see our boat and then invited us to his house for drinks tonight. Today is 19th of May, a big celebration so when we go back in at 8:00 the streets are filled. We went to Mustafa's house at 10:00 and visited until 12:30. His house is beautiful. A gorgeous view of the harbor with white marble floors inside and out on the patio. Of course, there were carpets all over the floor. We talked about marriage, children, business, taxes and death. What an enjoyable evening. We travel to meet other people and learn the customs of other countries. The two Mustafas made today an absolutely perfect day. We are beginning to think that the Turkish people are friendlier than the Canadians. It's very close. When we were walking back to our dinghy at 1:00 in the morning there were still shops open and the discos were roaring. I could still hear the boom, boom, boom at 4:30 in the morning.

5/20 We went in to say goodbye. We took a walk, said goodbye to young Mustafa and then went by to say goodbye to carpet Mustafa. The cruise ship was in and he was very busy. He ended up inviting us to lunch with 6 people who had bought carpets from him. There is just no way we can repay the kindnesses we received in Bodrum. All of these comings and goings involved hugs and kisses on the cheeks.

5/21 We finally left. We went to Knidos in cold rainy weather.

5/22 We went in at 9:00 and hiked around the excavation at Knidos. We were by ourselves for most of it and we just climbed everywhere. We had a dog join us at the gate and he guided us throughout the entire visit. We spent 3 hours walking around there. We then went back to the beach for lunch. We have broken our golden rule about eating out and staying on a budget. The food is just so delicious and good for you - and cheap too! In early evening we went to the other side of the harbor and climbed up to the top of the hill to see the view. There were a lot of loose rocks and that's the kind of downhill hike I don't like. It was a lovely view though.

5/23 Datca. It's Sunday so we just went in and walked around a little and came to an internet cafe where Glenn is nursing a beer while I type. The woman who owns this cafe speaks English, German and Turkish fluently. We finally figured out how to say hello - "merhaba".

5/24 On to the lovely harbor at Bozuk Buku. You can see the photo of Elik. It doesn't do justice to her, she is quite beautiful. She sews with her mother all winter at her home and then they live on a fishingboat in this harbor for the summer and sell the items they made. We bought a loaf of bread. There are only 3 restaurants in the harbor and that's it. We climbed up to the Citadel and felt it was quite an accomplishment. The trail is nonexistent in some spots so we did a lot of climbing up some small rocks. As we came down a group of 5 people were headed up and we gave them some hints about following the trail. One of them was in his fifties and had crutches. As we dinghied away we looked back and they were all scrambling straight up the headrocks, crutches and all. Another ego booster down the drain. We then crossed the bay and walked along the valley. We found a couple of old stone houses and what looked like the remains of a temple. At least that's what Indianna Glenn Jones decided it was. The water in this area is very clear and beautiful. Looking at it makes me want to dive right in, until I put my toe in. Maybe July.

The Kindle that I bought last year had broken when it slid from a hammock in Glennie's backyard (one week past warranty). So, I bought a new one this year that has international capabilities. It has 3G so I can download books from Amazon while out of the country. We didn't even realize that it also has internet. We have been able to pick up a signal at every tiny little harbor that we have been in. It's quite remarkable. Glenn can download the weather and we can e-mail everywhere FREE. (Okay, Amazon, was that good enough? Just send that check).

5/25 I haven't mentioned that we have actually been able to sail three days in our travels so far. Strictly sailing happens less frequently than you would think considering that we are on a sailboat. We actually got up to 8.2 KTS the other day. It is still so exciting to listen to just the sound of the water whooshing by your hulls. Not to be the pessimist, but, all of this means that we are going to have tough going when we head back. We plan to continue going east along the south coast of Turkey for about another week and then we are turning around on our way out of the Med. The prevailing winds from then on will be out of the west. Our plan is to travel in the morning before the winds develop too high and to skip between small Greek islands and hide behind land in general.

We are now in Marmaris. It is a large, modern city, the old city having been destroyed by an earthquake in 1957. We walked 4 miles into town to walk around and do our grocery shopping. We took a taxi back, that was enough exercise for one day. We dinghied over to a restaurant nearby to use their internet. It was a beautiful spot and no one was in the restaurant. It's a little early in the season but the owner said the economy is having it's effect also. So we had our favorite Efes Dark Beer and an appetizer while they played 60's American music for us. The owner's daughter, about 4 yrs. old, came out and said, "hi". We spoke to the owner awhile telling him how much we liked Turkey and its people. By this time his wife and a baby were there getting ready to close up. He invited us back for Turkish coffee on the house. I know, I harp, but these people are just so friendly. I forgot to mention that we went to a fruit and vegetable market in town and bought 4 lira ($2.40) worth of cherries, strawberries and onions and the man asked us if we would like a cup of tea. Did I mention I love Turkey? I personally, like it better than Greece. It has many islands that are green and mountainous, it is very cheap and then there's the people. Greece is too dry and barren for me and the food and restaurants can't compete with Turkey for price or taste.

5/26-28 We spent another day walking in Marmaris and now we are in Boynuz Bucku. We are traveling the south coast of Turkey to see the Lycian Tombs and hike the Lycian Way. In the 4th C BC Lycia was a federation of 19 cities in this area. They cut out of the cliffs 100's of tombs designed in the same style as their houses. They have carved doors, beam ends, pitched roofs and prominent lintels. From 500 BC to 4 AD they also produced elaborate sarcophagi out of solid rock. From Boynuz we tried to walk over to Tomb Bay but we missed it by one harbor. We thought it was the next harbor over and it was actually two over. It is beginning to get really hot during the day. It was 90 degrees during our three hour walk so you can guess why we didn't go any further. For gold maybe, but not for a tomb. When we got back to our bay we decided to have tea in the cafe as we were using their dock for the dinghy. So we had a nice tea and then they wouldn't charge us for it. We tried.

5/29 Fethiye. This is the real beginning of the Lycian Way. We asked a teenager where the museum was and since he couldn't speak English he took us there. We stopped at a bakery for tea and the woman kept telling Glenn he had to try some food. He went to pay the bill and came back with a plate of baklava and ice cream. His arm was all twisted up.

5/30 We took a bus to the deserted Greek village of Kayakoy. In 1923, after a truce, Greece and Turkey had an exchange of population. All the people in this town were taken to Greece. There was one house that still had some furnishings in it. As tough as life was then they had taken the time to carve designs in the wooden doors, shelves and furniture. When we got back in town we decided to walk through the market. It was full of shops selling Turkish Delight (a candy that deserves the name), leather jackets, furs and lots of jewelry. As we were walking along a man came alongside of us singing. We asked him if he could recommend a Turkish CD for us. Long story short, we went to a cafe for tea, I was given a silver charm to ward off the evil eye and we ended up in a carpet shop with another cup of tea. We have held strong throughout Turkey, we still don't own a Turkish carpet. I do admit that they are gorgeous. But we have one little dog at home, I won't mention her name, but she is a bit lazy about going outside once in a while and she finds carpet a good substitute for grass. We are gradually going to eliminate all carpet in the house. I prefer wood anyway.

6/30 - 7/1 Kas Another small, pretty town with tombs and a Roman theater. We were visiting the theater and Glenn walked up to the top. There was a woman there selling handmade scarves and jewelry. She took Glenn 15 minutes away to a huge, well preserved tomb. When they came back I felt I had to buy something from her for the favor. I now own a green beaded ring. I feel we owe these people something in payment for how nice they are to us.

I downloaded a Turkish cookbook on my Kindle and bought some local spices (the spice dealer gave us tea). The food is really good. There are a lot of vegetables and spices used. Much better then the meat heavy meals that Glenn tends towards. He actually likes all of the vegetable dishes here. We actually go several days without meat. Just as we were headed back to the boat a huge wind came up out of no where. We rushed back, got in the dinghy, got soaked from waves coming over the stern as we backed off the beach, ran around the boat taking in dry laundry, watched as we swung by the rocks and then poof - it was gone.

6/2-3 On to Ucagiz with a shore lined with sarcophagi. We walked 6 miles round trip on the Lycian Way, another of my wishes fulfilled. The Lycian Way is Turkey's version of the Appalachian Trail. It goes along the area of the Lycian tombs mostly along the coast. We walked up a hill to another fort and then down to the coast to a beautiful little town full of flowers. This is as far east as we are going to travel. We are at longitude 29 minutes and 50 degrees east. We are now beginning our trip out of the Med.

6/4 We are back in Kas at the weekly market and, happy, days Glenn has his souvenir, 5 goat bells. He must have bargained back and forth 6 times, it seemed like forever. I did my part by saying it's too much let's go. Then we walked to a stand where they were selling all sorts of tools. The owner handed me a brand new scythe and all the men in the circle took a huge step back. I gave it a couple of small swings and then the owner took it back and showed me how to do it properly. I made the hands in prayer begging sign to Glenn asking him to buy it for me and we all had a good laugh. Not a word of English was spoken. We bought more fruits and vegetables here stocking up before we leave. The tomatoes are a gorgeous red through and through and they sell for 35 cents a pound. The strawberries and cherries are just wonderful.

6/5 We headed out for Fethiye but the winds built up so high with the waves that we turned around and went back an hour to a small bay that we had passed earlier. We had 29KTS of wind and the boat was moving at 3.8 KTS.

6/6 Up at 3:00 a.m. to travel while the wind is down. We arrived in Fethiye at 10:00 a.m. after a nice trip. Unfortunately, this is probably going to be our strategy for most of the trip. The winds calm down at night then gradually build up to a peak between noon and four. They will largely be from the west. We are here to clear out of Turkey. The countryside is beautiful with its hills, greenery and beautiful clear water. This same countryside is home to more and better preserved ruins then we saw in Rome and Athens combined. I'll miss the call to prayer, my cups of tea and the delicious Turkish food. Most of all I will miss the friendly people with their soft merhabas as we walk by and their beautiful smiles. They were constantly telling us how blessed they are. They are proud of their country and believe that God is good to them and they must, in turn, be good to others. They all wanted to really know us as individuals and they were all in love with America. And, by the way, they think President Obama is wonderful. We have found this to be true in all of the countries we have traveled in the past two years. We cleared out of Turkey in 25 minutes. That settles it. Turkey takes top prize in all categories. So, a sad farewell to Turkey.

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BODRUM