One of my first jobs was to climb the mast to replace the rope on my Turkish courtesy flag which had disintegrated in my absence, over the summer. It is considered very disrespectful not to be flying the courtesy flag at all times so there was nothing for it but to get up there and fix it - with a little help from my neighbours, thankfully!
In early October dear friends, Liz and Laurie took a well earned break from their house building and refurbishment in Ermioni, Greece and arrived for a sailing holiday with me on Matapan. We were all set to do a little cruise down to Kekova Roads but the weather decided otherwise. With winds gusting up to 40 knots and big seas outside the harbour we spent a couple of days waiting for things to improve. By the third day Liz and Laurie came up with a plan B! They had always wanted to see Capadoccia - an amazing area in the Central Anatolian Plain of Turkey where you can see the most incredible rock formations, underground cities and ancient cave dwellings. We took a 12 hour, overnight bus journey to Goreme and after grabbing a couple of hours sleep, we set off on an all day tour of this stunning area.
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| Liz and Laurie at Goreme panorama |
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| Ancient site of Selimiye |
What an amazing three days we had here, exploring underground cities, cave dwellings and churches and marvelling at the huge geological rock formations.
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| Fairy Chimneys |
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| Goreme |
When we got back to Fethiye the weather had improved and we finally went sailing!
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All too soon Liz and Laurie were leaving and sadly, I waved them off at the ferry terminal in Fethiye.
I had a couple of days to get the boat sorted before my friend, Mary arrived from UK for a very short visit to soak up some autumn sunshine.
The weather was perfect and we enjoyed some lovely walks including a 7.5 miler from Fethiye to the deserted village of Kaya Koy, along the Lycian Way, with some sailing friends who had just arrived a few days before.!
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| View over Fethiye |
After quite an exhausting walk we were all invited for drinks on board Atlantia, a beautiful blue water cruising boat , owned by Will and Margaret who were now on the last leg of a world trip. It was a great evening. |
| Mary, Margaret and me on Atlantia |
Mary and I enjoyed several days of walking, swimming and lazing in the sun and finished off her very short visit with a day out on a gullet in Fethiye Bay.
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| Return to Fethiye after a day in the bays |
My last few days on board involved packing everything away and getting the boat ready for winter. It was a really lovely surprise when I was invited out for a last sail with friends Maurice and Carol on their friends' beautiful gullet. Sadly the day was a little over cast but we all enjoyed the day and it made a lovely end to my season in Fethiye. Thank you Bert and Jo!
Bert and Jo on 'Lady be Good'
A quiet anchorage for lunch
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| Carol and Maurice |
This will probably be my last season in Turkey as I am planning to bring the boat back to UK next Spring. I shall miss Turkey and the wonderful friends I have there but I think it is now time for Matapan come home.
