20. Arrival to Turkey

6th December 2008
Our arrival into the gulf of Gőkova, SW of Bodrum, was auspicious. The new moon rose as we sailed up the gulf towards the village of Karacasőğűt and right in the middle was Venus – just like the Turkish flag! Above them both was Jupiter, as if leading us into the Global Sailing Club – our home for the next three months.

We sailed from Kos to Bodrum early on 1st of December. We completed the formalities of entering a new country without a hitch though it did involve a lot of walking backwards and forwards between several offices spaced over a 2 km stretch of road around the harbour. Passport control was one of the last offices we had to visit, we thought this rather odd as we had been let loose on Bodrum for over an hour collecting forms and getting them stamped by various officials without being checked in. We even went shopping en-route but stopped short of stopping for lunch as well! When we eventually presented our passports we hadn’t got the required visas so had to wait while the visa man was summoned. Deep Blue got five years but we are only allowed three months.

We left Bodrum at mid-day as the muezzin called for prayer. It was hot with the wind behind us so we ate lunch like the old days in Croatia – no clothes! What a perfect day, the scenery was breathless, few houses, pine forests and the most rugged mountains tumbling into the clear, warm sea. We had a long way to go and had hoped to arrive in daylight but the formalities had taken up valuable time so by the time we arrived at the tiny entrance to the cove it was very dark. The New moon offered us no light, there are no navigation lights and all we could see in the dark was cliff but fortunately we have a chart plotter – it would have been impossible to navigate through the rocks otherwise. Haluck and one of his men were waiting for us and came out in a rib to meet us. They helped us moor stern-to between several other yachts and made us feel very welcome. We were home!

Global Sailing is a real oasis with vegetable garden, pet sheep, ducks, dogs and rabbits! Haluck and his English wife Chris circumnavigated the world between 1987 and 1992 with their two young children returning to Turkey wondering what to do. They bought a derelict restaurant and house and have turned it into a mini marina plus sailing school where their, now grown up, daughter and son train the Turkish Oppie and junior laser squad. Global (because they welcome circumnavigators) fits our requirements perfectly. When we woke the next morning we were delighted to see the clean waters, tree covered mountains surrounding the bay and a small village nestling a short distance from our pontoon. No big marina, no sprawling holiday village, just lots of fish, kingfishers, herons, owls and bats. We were straight into morning swims from Deep Blue.

Once we had found our feet we were on the Dolmus to Marmaris, a 23 km drive along very rural roads. Marmaris is a pretty and bustling town even in the winter, with the most enormous marina a few miles out of town with a sizable population of live-aboards.

It hasn’t taken long to discover how generous and friendly the Turkish people are. We wanted 2 cups of Turkish tea in one restaurant and for some reason he was unable to make it so he went to another cafe and bought two for us. When we went to print our Christmas card photo we found out he was able to use photo-shop. We had already had a (very low) quote for the printing but first we spent a happy hour with him playing with our design and making friends. When it came to paying, he would not take the extra money he had quoted for the photo-shop work even though we were very prepared to pay more than double his quote and made it clear to him. He would not even keep the change! This attitude is universal. We are loving everything about Turkey – the only exception is the bread which is always soggy and full of air!

Today we hired a car and went for an explore around the local area. We have ended up in a beautiful place. By lucky accident we met a couple of brothers who own property in a small mountain village and are prepared to rent us one for Christmas. It is so easy to meet people here – they are instantly your friend – it was easy to ask for advice. So as you can tell, we are happily installed in Turkey for the next 3 months at least. We will be spending the winter time exploring inland Turkey and visiting China. We are also thinking about changing Deep Blue because we have fallen in love with another boat, so if anyone reading this wants the bargain of a lifetime – a beautiful, excellent sailing yacht in the Med, suitable for cruising live-aboard – let us know and we will send you details. Instead of being a human being become a human doing!!!

Visit Global Sailing Clubs website http://www.gokovayelken.com/ in the photo gallery the 3rd photo shows where Deep Blue is!