Today is day five here in Turkey. I’ve spent the first three days overcoming jet lag, relaxing aboard Quetzal, and having some wonderful social time with our dear friends Barclay and Oya. I haven’t even had to cook much. We had a nice dinner ashore the first evening with Barclay and Oya. I had the doner kebab in a tomato sauce with rice and yogurt. The second night we had dinner on Barclay and Oya’s boat, a Jeanneau 37 named Mr. Bojangles. On the third night, I did prepare dinner aboard Quetzal, then John and I enjoyed the cool evening breeze in the cockpit. Too bad we were in stern-to and had no privacy, otherwise I would have just slept in the cockpit.

The heat was blistering hot, probably about 100 degrees Fahrenheit during the day. Unfortunately, we were docked in a part of the marina that had minimal breeze. Fethiye is a nice port town that is booming in tourism. Many people come for the Gulet cruises or they charter sailboats. The best part of Fethiye was the market. I’ve never seen so much produce in one place…fruits and vegetables galore…and all fresh from the farms. It was heaven! It was great visiting the market with Oya. All the vendors were from rural areas of Turkey and spoke no English. Also, she was great at haggling prices and having them offer us a taste of the produce before we bought any of it. I probably bought too much for John and I, but it was only about $16 USD for what would have cost $40 – $50 at home.

Yesterday we decided to ditch the marina for an anchorage. We were destined to go to Olu Deniz but the winds did not agree with us so we changed course and headed to Gocek. Good decision. We had a beautiful day at anchor in Round Bay off of Gocek. We were anchored next to Mr. Bojangles. There was a great breeze, the water temperature was perfect for swimming, and it was even cool at night…so much so that I had to get up and get a sheet from the other cabin. I hadn’t bothered keeping one in our cabin because it had been unbearably hot in the marina.

We had Barclay and Oya over on Quetzal for Captain’s Hour and then dinner. Unfortunately, dinner had not come out as good l as I had hoped. It’s a dish I use with crème fraîche, and if I’m out of crème fraîche I use equal parts of sour cream and heavy cream. Thing is, I couldn’t find any of these ingredients at the grocery store so I opted for yogurt. Turkish yogurt is similar to Greek yogurt. Either way, it was not a good choice. The yogurt immediately liquified once heated. Oh well, it’s a dish that’ll have to be reserved for our canal boat trips in France or at home.

There’s something very serene about mornings at anchor. I love having my breakfast in the cockpit just watching the other boats, people going for their morning swim, or just the quietness. Later in the morning I decided I wanted to learn to row the dinghy. John seemed thrilled at the prospect of teaching me. Once I was ready he advised me that he was not coming with me, that it would be impossible for me to row with him in there as well. I realized he had a valid point, but I started to think he had an ulterior motive when I found myself stranded. I was a bit directionally challenged to say the least and couldn’t get the damn dinghy to go where I wanted it to go. I was just drifting further and further away. Eventually I made it back to Quetzal but it wasn’t a pretty picture. Luckily I was cheered up by the invitation to come aboard Mr. Bojangles for Turkish tea and cake.

We later sailed for Olu Deniz and anchored at Karacaoren Bay. We were assisted by someone from the restaurant and tied up to a mooring. He told us threre was no charge for the mooring but the expectation was for us to have dinner in the restaurant. For some reason John seemed to think about it for a moment. I don’t understand what the hesitation was all about, I was happy of the prospect of not having to cook. Dinner was fabulous, freshly caught swordfish, some Turkish mezes of yogurt, eggplant, or tomato and red pepper, homemade bread baked in a coal fired oven, and salad. I was even told that I look like the actress from ‘Friends’ (Courtney Cox). I get that all the time back at home. Although I’ve never seen the resemblance, I love how he watches ‘Friends’ all the way over here in Turkey. It is a small world after all.

All in all, a fabulous time in Turkey so far.