Day: September 23, 2015

Back to Turkey

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After a short sail from Kasterlorizo, we checked into Kas Marina and got them to organize our entry through their local agent. This was new territory for Dee and it was good to show her one of my favourite towns. Kas comes alive at night and it’s a great place to window shop.kas

After dinner, we headed to the town harbour and who should we bump into but Ali Baba 10, the gullet we attached ourself to last year, when Ewa was onboard. Mutlu, the owner was in expansion mode, having just bought another gullet and a bar. His previous first mate was now captain and after showing Dee around the insides of a gullet, we took off to find Mutlu at his new bar, Mumi’s.

Mutlu was his same generous self as he shouted us drinks and we had a great chat, promising to return.

Next day it was time to head West towards Gocek where we were picking up Toma and Randy. We did the usual stop in Kalkan and St Nicholas Island before calling into Fethiye to get our solar panel fixed and some new sunshades made up. We found someone in the marina selling the exact same solar panel and decided to put a couple more on at the same time. My batteries were on their last legs and I figured they could do with any help they could get. That turned out to be a mistake as the guy had no idea what he was doing. On the plus side, we found a really good canvas guy and we now have a lovely set of new shades for both front and back. Well needed as August was very hot.

Next stop was Gocek and we found a really good guy called Sanli from ModaYacht to fix our panels. He came recommended and the recommendation was spot on. He became my go to guy to get any work done. Given the upcoming events, this proved to be very fortunous.

Gocek was where we picked up Randy and Toma and after we had got them settled on the boat, it was time to get back into cruising and exploring mode.

For pictures of Kas see https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10204339263114604.1073741996.1620379103&type=1&l=bc1b5d282c

The Fantastic Island of Kasterlorizo and Mr Fantastic’s 60th Birthday Celebrations

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After a long motor with little to no wind, we made it to Kasterlorizo about 4pm in the afternoon and sailed past a waving Jenny and Paul outside their Hotel. We found a nice spot on the wall, right next to one of the many restaurants and tied up, stern to.

kosterlorizo

Then it was off to some pre-dinner drinks that Greg, Jenny’s brother in law, was putting on outside the Hotel Mediterraneo. With 54 Aussies coming to Greg’s 60th, all the hotels were pretty well booked out. This turned out to be the start of Greg’s generous hospitality as he quickly accepted us into his fold. I must say, it was good to get a hyperdose of Australian for the week.

pretty

Next day we reciprocated and held drinks on La Mischief for 50+ people, a record for La Mischief. Lots of fun, mixing with a whole lots of Australians for the week. I was amused to find that with all the new people I was meeting, we had some common friends – always the way. A few quick snaps and an email to Fish to surprise him with who I was hanging out with.

town

In between hanging out with Australians, we took time to explore Kasterlorizo. As its name implies, it’s the island with a castle and the climb to the top of the castle that overlooks the town was quite impressive. Even more impressive (and exhausting) was the walk up the side of the mountain that overlooks the town and then to the monastery and around the back of the island through the military training grounds, past the airport and back down into the town. Great views all round.

But the most impressive natural wonder on the island was undoubtedly the Blue Grotto. It’s a couple of miles around the bottom of the island and almost impossible to find without local kno
wledge. And no anchoring near by. So we did the sensible thing and took one of the local boats around with Paul and Jenny. It was quite a tight fit as we all had to lay down on the bottom of the dingy to get in. Once inside, we all jumped in and took lots of photos. It was quite spectacular and every bit as good as the one at Capri or Vis.blue grotto
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Next day we decided to leave the wall and take some people across to St George Beach for the day. Beach is pushing it but it was a great swim spot with lots of turtles and a clear sandy bottom. Plus a bar just a short swim away on a small island. Perfect.

zorbaAfter a week of partying, eating, drinking, walking and swimming, the Island’s temporary Australian population started to slowly decline to more normal levels as Greg’s friends all hopped on ferries or planes to continue their travels. And so it was with us as we said goodbye to Greece and hello to Turkey, a mere couple of miles away