Dawn broke to the sound of waves slapping against our hull, the swell had returned, yet very little wind could be heard. Our neighbours had woken and we're busily preparing breakfast for their hungry crew, dishes clattered against work surfaces and cutlery chinked a metallic tinkling against one another. Kettles boiled and whistled their attention seeking melody, whilst yawns and morning stretches unfolded from a lazily awakening crowd. We follow suit, slowly bringing ourselves into this glorious day, one lazy steady step at a time. Tea mugs in hand we guide ourselves into the cockpit, slumber calling us back towards our comfy bed. We make our way out onto the deck to take in this beautiful day, settling down on the bow our bodies acclimatise to the warm sun. Resting on our recently purchased bean bags, we watch the bay come alive, birds singing loudly and voices gently increasing in volume as the morning slips by. A misty haze has settled on the mountains to our right, just above the town of Olu Deniz. Through the light cloud colourful paragliders slowly come into view, there are so many, perhaps twenty, gently drifting downwards before hitting the thermals and skimming the mountainous backdrop. We are mesmerised, they glide together in an almost synchronised pattern, then twisting and weaving past one another like dancing partners in the stunning blue sky. Each then separate off in their own direction to skillfully come to a sleek touchdown on the golden sandy beach below, what an amazing sight. Our day must move on, we plan to travel further west into Gocek town. As we begin our tidying and securing a couple of small speed boats squeeze themselves between 'Kejstral' and the German yacht to our right, unsure of their intention, we say hello and hope for a little information! They oblige and inform us that if they secure their vessel onto ours, the 6 passengers will experience the swimming in these unique waters around our boat, then they will be gone. We barely acknowledge the request when ropes were secured and all 6 occupants had disembarked into the crystal clear, freezing waters. We carry on tidying and leave them to enjoy the adventure, squeals and shouts, giggles and splashes fill the atmosphere, clearly the cold morning dip has been a success. Our route will take us the 18 n.m to Gocek bay, west of our current location. Our stern lines are loosened from their rocky fastenings, the anchor is drawn in, we release ourselves from this pretty bay and set off on our journey. The winds are light in the bay and 'Kejstral' takes her place in the watery highway, where the wind escalates to 18 knots, she gathers speed quickly. We sail on a close reach most of the way, just a few sail trims required to maintain our 5 knots of speed. this perfect sailing breeze carries us past one other yacht, they glide majestically through these light waves, spray catching their crew by surprise as a rogue wave catches their gleaming white hull. The hot sun drains us of what little energy we have mustered, lethargic limbs rearrange ropes while our tired brains contemplate the next anchorage. We still have not become accustomed to these ferocious sunrays, still struggle to drink adequate fluids and apply yet another layer of sun cream. At night the temperature barely drops low enough to give respite from our sweaty skin and fuzzy heads, but it is now September, it could change at any minute! As we enter the large bay of Gocek, boats appear from everywhere, some are tucked into tiny picturesque coves with barely enough room to swing on anchor, cruisers speed past us creating a huge foamy wake behind them, travelling much faster than the 5 knots accepted by this local area. This coastline is intriguing, so many pretty coves nestled into tree covered hillsides, turquoise waters urging us to swim. Little wooden sunbleached jetties litter the bay, awaiting our ropes and those ready for a taste of adventure and paradise. We bypass this haven and head for the main Gocek bay as we must provision for our next few days. There are as I have previously mentioned in my blog, supermarket boats, they anchor in these more remote little bays, and carry a huge range of stock a perfect solution for those relaxing holiday sailors who with to avoid the busier town. Refuse boats will travel across the bay regularly which is a great assistance when too far from the town, they send a tender out and for a small fee, will dispose of any garbage you have accumulated, a fabulous services. By 2pm, our anchor was sufficiently set in a rather annoying swell, but it should die off later as the wind settles......we hope. Once happy and fed, we took Zoe our tender, to shore for a catch up on the internet and our much needed shopping. Kevin loves this part, he really does, especially the air conditioning and of course the chocolate aisle! The atmosphere is lovely in this town, three marinas sit in the large main bay, the shopping area has a great selection of quaint beautifully decorated gift stores awaiting our hard saved cash. The quality of goods sold here appears a little better than some other towns, I think partly due to the most enormous beautiful cruisers and superyachts which sit elegantly in the bay, who of course send their upmarket crew ashore for provisions. In the evenings, the rather wealthy guests are taken serenely across to land for cocktails and a sumptuous meal in one of the higher class of restaurants. Even the supermarkets are a touch more classy than elsewhere, and stock some of the sought after items which are unavailable normally. We retreat to the local council Belediyesi for our drink, the internet is particularly speedy and refreshments are a good price.......for Gocek! Once suitably refreshed and communications attended to, we head for the provisioning part of the day. Food shopping is a little more tricky than in the UK, mainly due to the lack of availability of tinned goods and limited ranges of packet items. However, the range of fresh vegetables and fruit can be overwhelming. Stepping between boxes of ripe juicy oranges and the biggest mishapen bananas I have ever seen, we wander through the watermelon and find ourselves cornered by cartons of carrots. Potatoes are piled high and still caked in soil, leeks scattered loosely nearby, all of the vegetables and fruit look so healthy and large with not an ounce of preservatives in sight. Nestling among mountains of blue berries and cranberries, sit figs both fresh and dried, mouth watering apricots and peaches, almost too big to hold are stacked high in crates ready to be added to this colourful display. Everything sold here is brought straight from the small local farms in muddy tractors, driven by the farmer and probably his wife and dog. What an amazing way of life, long forgotten to most of us nowadays. Our shopping mission is complete, the bags of goodies are loaded into it tender Zoe, sitting precariously low in the water, we slowly motor towards 'Kejstral' in an attempt to not only soak everything including me, but to avoid sinking our very heavily laden Zoe!
Back on board, the amazing bream caught at anchor in Kalkan yesterday, are washed, then oiled and wrapped loosely in foil, before being placed on our gas BBQ and cooked gently. A huge salad is prepared from our fully stocked fridge of goods. Fresh crusty bread is carefully sliced while a glass of rose, homemade wine is meticulously poured as we settle down for our evening on ' Kejstral'. Subtle music plays from a nearby bar, a mixture of Turkish and occasional European tunes, while we idly linger over the backgammon board. Finally, when unable to keep our tired eyes open we head to our cabin for a good nights sleep.
2 Comments
25/3/2017 11:41:07
I'd like knowing more about Gocek, as it seems like a beautiful place. I'm a tourist, a traveller myself who on an annual basis travels around 50 times and am always looking for new places. These cultures and all are too enriching.
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Dee
25/3/2017 13:08:25
Hi, Agriturismo,
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