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The time had come to leave Turkey so we left Marmaris heading for Bozburun which should have been our last port of call. Unfortunately although we had good winds to start with it soon changed to head winds (20-29 k) that we battled against as well as stormy seas so we halted for the night in Serce Bay. We anchored with line ashore but after a while moved to try to find calmer spot as the wind was not dropping. In the end we copied the gullets and ended up with line ashore from bow so lined up with shore facing into wind. The wind eventually dropped at midnight.

We left early the next morning to head for Bozburun to check out and this time we had calm seas and head winds no matter which direction we headed. We anchored outside the harbour and after lunch and a snooze for Svein we went ashore.  Caryn caught up on emails whilst Svein checked out the checking out procedures. We discovered that if we wanted to  reclaim VAT it can only be done in Marmaris, Datca or Bodrum so we shall now make our way to Datca over the next few days. We went ashore for dinner at Osman’s and also changed some books . The temperatures are definitely rising.

We decided to stay in Bozburun another day and in the evening we were invited to dinner by the owner of Osman where we dined with the staff and ate a very tasty local fish.

In order to try and beat the head winds we left Bozburun early and although we managed to unfurl the genoa for a short time we motored most of the way and eventually anchored outside the new Datca harbour that has been completely refurbished. We explored the town a little but must now go to Bodrum as the customs office does not have the right stamps!

We continued down the coast line but stopped for the night in the anchorage of Knidos because of the strong winds.

In the morning we left the bay under engine and again had very strong gusts heading for Bodrum that increased as we rounded head and crossed the bay. We managed to unfurl the genoa for a time.  Arriving at Bodrum we entered the marina and refuelled at the fuel quay and then treated! (being the operative word) ourselves to a night in the marina as we thought it would be our last night in Turkey. It turned out to be very expensive with staff that were not very pleasant and the marina was like an oven.  Fortunately we did have the shower block to hand and made very good use of its excellent facilities although it worked out that each shower was very costly taking into account the cost of the night (€77). We tried to find an agent to check us out – one wanted 120€ and another 170€ – and we were told that the VAT could not be reclaimed as we had dealt with companies that were not recognised for non VAT products!!! We had a lunch in town and wandered round it again in the evening when it had cooled down. During the day we had read 40+ in the cockpit in the shade. We surfed the web for most of the day and caught up on emails. It is a very busy town and  crawling with tourists. The choice of gullets available for hire was incredible. Certainly not our favourite town and we sincerely doubt that we will return there.

Hopefully our final day in Turkey so after a shower we sorted out the marina and left heading for Turgutreis. The forecast had suggested supposedly lesser winds but it was not to be. We battled against them for 3 hours but then anchored outside Turgutreis harbour. This is a very nice harbour with very nice and helpful staff. We took the dinghy in and started the checking out procedure. It was very simple. We paid a small agent’s fee to the marina who prepared the papers and then took them to the customs building within the marina complex and went from one guichet to the next getting the stamps and removing a page of the transit log each time. It took 15 minutes and that was because one of the officers had to be woken from his nap and he was sleeping soundly and it cost 55 Turkish Lire (25€). Once the check out done we went to do some last minute shopping for vegetables and Caryn then left Svein at the pool and went to spend the remaining lire at the hairdresser with a pedicure, manicure and haircut.She still did not manage to spend everything so there will be some in the kitty for the next trip but the sour taste of Bodrum was removed and we were left with a pleasant memory of our last day in Turkey. Back on the boat decided to open a bottle of champagne to celebrate our Turkish trip and dined on local lamb with potatoes and squash cooked in the Cobb.  There was a classical concert in the harbour but unfortunately it was sold out and we were not able to hear much from the boat.

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We tried to leave Kastellorizo early but the neighbour had managed to put his anchor over ours so we were delayed a little in leaving the harbour. We started out motoring with no wind but that soon changed and for a short time we were able to motor sail but even that did not last long and we ended up with very strong winds on the nose (20+) and a very bumpy sea. So much so that we shortened the journey and stopped for the night in Cold Water Bay. Firstly we anchored in Karacaonen Bay but we changed to anchor behind St Nicolas island when the swell entered the bay and we were rolling like crazy. George came and greeted us having remembered us from our previous visit and we treated ourselves to some pancakes from the pancake boat. Just right to finish off dinner.

After checking the water pump axle and greasing the propeller axle Caryn swam ashore and released the land line. We motored out of the channel and starting making our way towards Marmaris. The swell was still very bad and with strong NW winds forecast we decided to put into Kizulkuyruk bay again to wait for a calmer sea. We anchored amongst the gullets that had a never ending dance of entering and leaving the bay with their different customers. It is a pity that one cannot impart the sense of smell in pictures, film or video as the day we have spent in the bay has been a bouquet of smells. The strongest has been the scent of pine that wafts over boat every time there is a strong gust of wind. There have been some very strong gusts into the bay so very glad that we were not fighting them at sea. It should be calmer tomorrow so we can continue on our way and reach Marmaris where we shall pick up the new sail and fill diesel as well as stocking up on the engine spares that we need.

We have had a change of plan. After checking the diesel we have decided to go into Gocek to fuel as we want to be sure that there is enough to get us to Marmaris with no problems. We had a dicey exit from the anchorage as Caryn had to raise the anchor whilst Svein was taking in the line ashore and then we had to store the dinghy in the davits whilst underway and all this during strong gusts of wind and anchored between big gullets. In fact we even thought that one had put his chain over ours but that was a false alarm. On arriving in Gocek we filled the tank and all the cans and then anchored for the night in Gocek bay and got it right after several attempts

Very bright and early Svein started the engine and weighed anchor (06h00) to get as far as possible before the strong NW winds hit us in the afternoon. We motored for a few hours and round the head and crossed the wide bay where there are military restrictions. We were able to unfurl the genoa for a time that increased our speed by nearly 1 knot but had to furl again on the approach to Marmaris. We finally anchored in the bay outside Pupa at 13h30 just before the winds started. We stayed on the boat in the afternoon as Svein took several naps to recover. We saw Alex from North Sails who sailed passed on a catamaran that was trying out their new genoa. We also saw Orion in the distance.

Before going into town to see North Sails we packed up the main sail in preparation for fitting the new one. Svein saw Ginny leaving the bay early. We went into town and arranged an appointment with North Sails. We did our shopping and then North Sails drove us back to Pupa and fitted the main sail. North Sails took back the staysail to adjust. This will  take a week. We went over to Orion for drinks in the evening

Our wedding anniversary today. We went into town to pay for the sail and declined the compressor. We visited every chandler looking for spinlocks without success and went to Yacht Marina to change books and have a swim in the afternoon.

We finished the evening with a very good dinner at Pupa to mark the occasion.

Today we took the boat out into the bay to try out the new sail. We had very little wind but managed to stay on the water 7 hours before coming back to anchor nearer to Yacht Marina.

A new day and we decided to go into Yacht Marina to get a good internet connection and to have a swim.  We are just filling in time now until we get the stay sail back and can check out of Turkey and back into Greece before Svein goes to Norway to visit his family.

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We left Port Sevento early and motored over to the island of Kastellorizo – the last Greek island opposite Kas. We walked the island exploring the nooks and cranies. Sybaris arrived with their guests. We did a little shopping (mainly pork products) and had dinner with Sybaris and learned a great deal of the Greek locals feelings regarding the economic situation. It is a truly quiet island that has many visitors that are Greeks who have emigrated to Australia and elsewhere and come back to the family home.

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What a fantastic day. With the guidelines from Darren we started out early with Elly and Per and drove by Kapusta Beach where the Saklikent Canyon ends and then visited Letoon , Xanthos (both historical Lycian sights). Letoon had temples dedicated to Leto and her two sons Apollo and Artemis. Xanthos, on the other hand, was the largest city of the Lycia nation and large remains have been excavated including an amphitheatre. It was also the town where the citizens jumped into the river from the cliffs to avoid being captured.

It would also seem that this area is the tomato growing area and there were kilometres of plastic warehouses and all the roads were filled with tractors filled with tomatoes. Even the air was filled with the smell of fresh tomatoes.

We then continued on to the entrance of the Saklikent Canyon where we had a lunch before braving the cold water. Svein and Per were brave and crossed the torrent to wander up into the canyon whilst Elly sat at the water’s edge with her feet in the water.

From here we finished the tour with a trip to the Yaka National Park whilst passing through ruins of Tlos the old Lycian capital and stopped at a fantastic restaurant/hotel. Here there were waterfalls everywhere and tree houses had been built for people to relax in whilst eating and drinking. The bar even had trout swimming through it. A fantastic end to a very rewarding day. We returned to Kas to return the car and after a quick session on internet and a light snack we went back to the boat.

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Stopped for the night in an idyllic bay in Bestas Limani. Originally only boat in the small bay but later on we were joined by  two others for company.Thee is a  fresh water spring in bay. George helped us with the line ashore. The only inconvenience was the boats selling ice creams, bread, pastries and pancakes that came by and were very insistent. Their goods very expensive.

We left the bay early with George handling the line ashore. We motored out of the bay and then had a light tail wind so we hoisted the spinnaker. We sailed under spinnaker for 3 hours but our speed dropped so much that if we had continued it would have taken 26 hours to reach Kas! Svein was eventually persuaded to start the engine and we reached the anchorage outside the new Kas Marina at 17.20. We discovered that anchored beside us was Sybaris who had just dropped off guests. As it was St. Hansen (the longest day in the calendar) they invited us over for a typical Swedish dinner.

We took the dinghy to get ashore and took the bus into Kas town. After a pedicure and a few other bits and bops the girls met up with the boys and Tom Erik our Norwegian friend who now lives in Kas and who we had not seen since he left Port Napoleon in 2008. Elly and Caryn did the town whilst the boys went back to the boats. After several hours and a few purchases including a much needed pair of swimming trunks for Svein we went back to the boat to get ready for dinner in town. We met up with Tom Erick and his friends Mark and Darren. Darren was mine of information and helped us plan our tour of the local sights. We picked up the hire car and returned to the boat ready for our adventure the next day.

After our visit of the cultural Kas we arrived at market day. Elly and Caryn visited the market and stocked up on fruit and vegetables. Caryn also bought some scarves for the family in Norway. She made a strawberry cheesecake for dinner with Sybaris and tried her hand at sun drying tomatoes on deck. With the price of tomatoes at 50 cents a kilo it is a pity not to try but we must wait and see how the experiment turns out. Cary  took a deserved swim afterwards. Svein visited Tom Erik’s new boat and returned to ours for drinks. As our dinner finished quite late we decided not to visit the concert in the harbour. 

Time to leave the anchorage outside Kas Marina and motor to Port Sevento opposite Kas harbour. A truly lovely spot with beach and jetty. We filled with water and washed the deck down at last then spent afternoon on the beach just like a holidaymaker.

Whilst Sybaris left with their guests we decided to stay another day here as it was so peaceful. Svein got out the sewing machine and made a cover for the new outboard. #whilst we were having lunch we saw several calamari swimming round the beach area. We preferred to swim from the boat. Svein took the dinghy into Kas town to get bread and post the cards that had accumulated. It Took him just over 6 minutes to do the journey. Whilst we were at the jetty we were ticked off by an off duty coastguard that our Turkish courtesy flag had to be changed! We are not the only people who have had this experience and it is true that all the Turkish flags on the boats or buildings are always in pristine condition.