Sail in Turkey - Days 2/3 Ciftlik to Sogut

It was late when we arrived in Ciftlik on Saturday evening and I had a bit of difficulty spotting a jetty as, anyone who knows me will tell you, I can’t see in the dark. Fortunately the guys from Rafet Baba’s Restaurant came out and swung their torches to and fro and guided us in. We picked up a lazy line and were soon seated at a water front table ordering dinner.

Ducks in Ciftlik

Next morning Mel made us one of her famous Turkish breakfast feasts and, as we were now in holiday mode, we were a bit late departing. We did a drive round Gerbekse Bay (rightly not to be missed as according to the guide), then had the jib in and out a few times to sort out the lines fouling on the dingy stowed on the fore deck. Once we’d sorted out the halyard hooked round the nav light on the mast we got the mainsail out and reached a pleasant 5.7 knots in a force 3 tacking across towards Rhodes and back. The day’s sailing satisfied thoughts turned towards supper. The entrance to Serce is quite well hidden and in 1977 an 11^th Century ship wrecked there was excavated and found to be carrying a load of Islamic glass, which is thought to be strange for a Byzantine trading ship. A very thin glass beaker with lions chasing each other is now on show in the Bodrum museum. Fortunately we made it in without getting wrecked.

Honu on The Loryma Restaurant jetty

Mel and Chazz at The Loryma Restaurant

Serce is quite remote and Captain Nemo’s is the only restaurant. There was music and merriment with several crews of Germans and Russians enjoying themselves. The food was good and plentiful but my crew found it expensive, being used to Istanbul prices, but it seemed reasonable enough to me especially considering where we were! The combined foreigners partied late into the night back on one of the boats but I slept peacefully through it all.

We didn’t have fresh bread and eggs delivered to the boat for breakfast as the crew had declined to pay the exorbitant prices! After making do with nevertheless delicious left-overs, in little wind we motored into Bozuk Buku and moored at the far end of the bay on the Loryma Restaurant jetty. It was so nice and peaceful I could have stayed there all day. However, after coffee and a swim we motored on round the Karaburun headland then got the sails up and headed for Sogut. Which was where we discovered The Octopus.

The clouds were gathering threatening a mighty thunderstorm but in the event we only experienced a few drops of rain. The clouds however created a magnificent sunset. Following a circuit of the bay we decided on The Octopus Restaurant jetty where once again we were given assistance in picking up their lazy line and mooring.

Despite several days of backing on stern-to I simply wasn’t getting the hang of reversing this boat. I blame the twin steering wheels. Then I watched a woman bring a boat in standing facing rearwards with a hand on each wheel just gently nudging this way and that, it looked good, so I thought that’s the way to do it!

Mosaic at The Octopus

Sunset at Sogut

Mel slipped up to the restaurant to make sure we would get a waterside table for dinner and then we all availed ourselves of the excellent facilities in the shower block. By the time I got there Chazz had found how to turn on the ambient background music so it was a shower to die for. We had the most delicious dinner yet and all for 142 Turkish lira (64 euro) including starters and drinks.

Everyone was blissfully happy.

Sail in Turkey - Day 1 - Marmaris to Ciftlik

West from Marmaris

Charley and I haven’t sailed together for 10 years now, so imagine my surprise when he jumped at my suggestion of introducing Mel to sailing with a flotilla holiday for our annual autumn break. In fact he went one stage further and encouraged me to do a bareboat charter. I took a bit of persuading as I wasn’t sure I was up to it with the old body rather falling to bits now. And, although I have done the course and got the certificate, I know my navigation skills leave a lot to be desired. Ok, I can find my way round the local waters as I have done it once or twice but distant climes? However, having looked at the map I could see we needn’t be out of the sight of land so all should be well. Also, I was confident that Chazz would be able to use the chart plotter and keep us on track.

Free Upgrade, from Diamond Geezer to Honu

It took me a while on the internet to find a boat of the right size at a reasonable price. Some good friends lent me their Turkish Pilot and a Cruising Guide so I was able to gen up prior to leaving. I left home on the Friday morning by car for the bus station on Lefkas. After the obligatory 5 hour bus journey then the 1 hour bus transfer to Athens airport the short flight to Istanbul was soon over. There is an airport bus into Taxim Square where Chazz met me and we went off to their flat for a pizza supper. Early next morning we took a taxi to the other airport in Istanbul on the Asian side. A short flight on Pegasus Airlines www.flypgs.com and we arrived in Dalaman. There was a very clever flight information film on the monitors peopled by children, captivating!

Lunch at The Pineapple

An express bus to Marmaris, a short taxi ride and we were in Netsel Marina by mid-day. We went straight to Sail in Turkey’s office to leave our bags as we didn’t expect to get on board until 17.00. There was good news and there was bad news. The bad news was the boat we had booked had suspected mice on board but the good news was a free upgrade to a bigger boat, and it was ready immediately! I was a bit shell shocked but we took it in our stride. Lunch was now involved and Steff advised us of a couple of good places to go. We went to the nearest, The Pineapple, which was far beyond good.

Ciftlik

 Quick segue into holiday mood and by the time we had provisioned at the local Migros supermarket and done the paperwork it was time to leave. Steff had already talked us through a brilliant publication ‘The Bay Express’ which is a restaurant guide for the whole area. Specifically for sailors, it gives details not only of their menu specialities but of jetties and lazy lines together with co-ordinates and telephone numbers. Mark gave a briefing on the boat, and although I would have been happy to stay in Marmaris for the night, it seemed like a good suggestion to get off. The pilot makes the Marmaris approach sound terrifying but it was actually plain sailing to get out of the bay, round the headland, Kadirga Burnu, and into Ciftlik.

Normal Service Will be Resumed asap

Olympic Flame ran past end of the boat on Preveza town quay last week

Unusual visitor at the coffee shop in Nikiana

Sorry, busy spring cleaning!

More news soon.

Off to the Wild Blue Yonder

Still Life

A lovely bouquet of spring flowers brought by a recent dinner guest.

 

We had a fearful job finding some more tin roofing sheets to replace the green shade netting on the downstairs pergola and in the end Ray had to cut the ends off two trial pieces that were not the right length. We ferried them home on the car roof rack with much trepidation expecting to take off like a primitive flying machine any moment. Fortunately it was fairly still with hardly any wind, except rounding a bend near the Meganissi channel, and the traffic was light. We had to pull over once to let a huge pantechnicon pass that was thundering down behind us and actually got a hoot of thanks, most unusual in Greek driving circles.

After a lot of pushing and shoving we now have two sheets in place, only 8 more to go!

 

JCB at work

Yesterday afternoon saw the arrival of the first tourists of the season to the rental villas at the end of the road. They got the benefit of the improvements done to the road only that morning. A JCB worked his way along the road scraping and spreading, even past our frontage. They won’t last long, the improvements that is not the tourists, as the holes and ruts have only been filled with little better than sand which will soon wear away but it’s better for now and better than nothing.

 

Free to good home, well, any home really

Meanwhile, a friend arrived with a second larger wheel for the boat trailer to make the two wheels even so that it is ready for the off, when we eventually find someone who wants a free boat trailer. How can it be so difficult? Hopefully I will find someone when I have a pitch at the boat jumble next week. I am biting the bullet and taking the windsurfers to sell as I haven’t used them and I am just getting older and stiffer so it seems unlikely I will ever use them again, let alone play the piano. Pity, but I have to accept facts and move on to being a proper granny and leave that particular old life behind. But the good news is that first I am going on a week’s sailing with friends on their yacht so I will be AFK for a week at least.

Finally, it looks like it will be another bumper olive harvest this year as the trees are heavy with flowers.

Olive tree full of blossoms

Suddenly it's Summer (well it would be if this were England but it's really only Spring here)

water feature in full flow

empty pool

The weather turned fearfully windy and dumped the previously mentioned extraordinary heavy crop of catkins into the swimming pool en mass. Due to the fact that we were too busy decapitating more olive trees to clean the pool, when the sun then came out in earnest it turned the pool water into soup. It had been beautifully clear and clean all winter so it was a huge disappointment to see it looking so grotty. It didn’t take long to empty however and it was super to see the water feature in full flow. Ray put the pressure washer to good use cleaning down the sides of calcium and loose paint. Next stop, minor repairs and either repainting or possibly even tiling.

 

after

before

The tops of the two big olive trees that blocked the view of the village came down with a bump and it then took some time to harvest the big logs for the wood piles and saw the smaller branches for the bonfire. The pressure of the end of the burning season ensured that we worked flat out dragging and cutting and burning for what seemed like days on end. The weather helped us in this respect as there were several rainy days which, although it didn’t stop the woodland management work, it made the massive bonfires seem a bit safer. As always, if only we had had another week of this work we could have got it finished but this way we have saved something to look forward to in the autumn!

In between times I managed to get a big bag of fertilizer pellets from the agricultural store in Lefkas and got round more of the plantings which the rain helped wash into the ground. The following hot sunny period then gave another huge crop of weeds; it has been a funny spring this year with alternate hot and wet weather. The flowers have flourished however and put on a huge show of bright colours.

 The grass under the trees by the pool grew to about 12” tall in what seemed overnight but still looked lush and green after mowing with my electric hand clippers, which are a huge improvement on the small shears I used to use. Unfortunately it revealed the full extend of the damage done by the dog chewing the automatic watering nozzles. I shall leave repairing them to last in the hope she will have grown out of her vandalism stage by then. I get her bones from the butcher whenever I can, which she enjoys immensely. In fact, she is quite good at finding bones herself on our early morning walks. The other day she was rooting around the base of a tree and came out with a treasure that she proudly carried home for endless gnawing.

Bank Holiday Weather, again, again

Going

Well, it’s hard to believe but the weather for the Greek Easter, if anything, has been worse than last week. We have had torrential rain, high winds and thunderstorms galore. Nevertheless, during the week we took advantage of the help of some neighbours, out here for the week, to prune a tree in a particularly difficult spot. They borrowed our cement mixer for a day to lay a path at the end of their pool and offered some help with the tree in return.

Gone

This involved the purchase of a long ladder in order to get high enough up the tree for it to fall in the right direction, not on the retaining walls or on the flower beds! Chain saw at the ready and it was down in three. Then came the effort of dragging all the long branches down to the bonfire area before cutting them up for logs and for burning off the leafy ends. The burning season ends soon as it becomes too dangerous to have open fires outside. Even after heavy rain the cut branches are easy to ignite and the fires were fast and furious.

Macho men

It was fabulous to have two fit and energetic volunteers working flat out and enabled us to get loads done in a very short time. Then on top of that they invited us to dinner at their house down the road. We arrived home very full and very thankful.

Pile for burning in foreground, next trees to be pruned behind!

 Unfortunately, the great progress we made enthused Ray to prune two more trees so we still have a great pile to cut and burn, grrrr. However, we can now see the village in the distance and with binoculars it should be possible to read the menu boards outside the tavernas to see what the specials for the night are.

In between times I have been working like a Trojan to decalcify the drippers on the automatic watering systems and carry on weeding. There are also lots of repairs to do to the water pipes and drippers where the dog has chewed them up. I am leaving this to last in the hope she will have grown out of it by then. I bought a product to stop nail biting in England to put on the more vulnerable ones but I don’t think the taste is strong enough to put Kelly off.

Alternative Easter Egg

On Easter Sunday Kelly bought us the gift of a half chewed snake and since then we have seen several others. It seems very early for there to be so many snakes about. It must be a combination of the early hot weather and the spring rain. Doesn’t bode well.

Bank Holiday Weather, again

There are half a dozen yachts in the bay; early holiday makers here for the  Easter break and the weather is so awful. It’s such a shame as March was exceptionally dry, warm and sunny. It is colder elsewhere in northern Europe so I suppose that’s some consolation. I had been wishing for rain however as I had to resort to the automatic watering last week because the ground was getting so dry. I needed the rain to water-in the spring fertilizer I had sprinkled around all the plants we have put in. Before doing this it is necessary to rout out all the weeds nearby as otherwise you are encouraging the weeds to grow as well! Hence my recent exhaustion.

The inclement weather has brought a stop to the cementing, which is a pity as the stone cladding on the electric pillar is nearly finished. It’s now 90% complete, which is traditional for Greece. The steps up to the road are paved and pointed so there is just the surrounding wall to build up. I say ‘just’ but this will take some time, and there’s still a frame and door to make for the meter cavity plus painting the upper section of the pillar. Oh, and the railing to make and erect, and that’s before the electrician can be called.

vine in bud

Rain stopped play on the sanding and repainting of the pergola as well. This is more like 40% finished, so quite a lot more to do on this. At least we can be sure that the weather will turn dry again before too long. Luckily, we were able to get all the leafy parts of the latest olive tree to be pruned burnt off before the rain started. It only takes a short while to chain saw the long branches down then ages and ages to cut up the small stuff and cart it to the bonfire burning place.

vine in leaf

The vines I pictured budding two weeks ago are now in leaf and there are more wild flowers in bloom than I can mention. The trunks of the trees by the pool have had their annual whitewash and the middle one has more catkins than I’ve ever seen. The wild pear trees have also had copious blossom this year, I think it must be a result of the wet, wet spring.

catkins

It has been so cold we turned the central heating back on and brought some more wood in for the open fire. I cautiously hadn’t cleaned out the grate yet, as in previous years I have been caught out by doing it too early. It is so comforting to sit in front of the burning logs in the evening it makes the fireplace chores well worthwhile. We used to have an open fire in the lounge when I was a child and my father taught me to chop kindling and lay a fire. In later years my parents had an electric fire with a piece of cellulose in the shape of coals and two red bulbs underneath with revolving covers so it simulated a real fire, not the same thing at all!

It is a jungle out there

Why do weeds grow faster than flowers? There is no such thing as a weed of course, only a plant in the wrong place! So a lot of plants here have a very poor sense of place I think. Despite thick mulching the weeds come through thick and fast. After a month of rain and now hot sun everything is growing practically as you watch it.

Acanthus against the weeds

 Where we are working at the moment up at the electric point, which is the ugliest electric point in the world, every spare moment I get I am pulling weeds. When I come back the next day there are a whole crop of new weeds which have grown 6” in the night it seems!

Ray has done great work strimming paths through the undergrowth so we can get from one place to another without struggling through waist high verdure. And this is just the beginning, there are weeks of growth to go before it gets too hot and everything dies off.

I'll be sad to lose the Greek gate when it's all finished

 We are stone facing the unsightly monolith where the electricity enters the property. The builders and electricians responsible should be taken out and given a good talking to for providing such a travesty. It is slow painstaking work but the steps up to it are coming on a treat and will provide sound footing for further work. This morning when I was pointing the paving the sage bush along side was providing aromatherapy. There are lots of small cracks and crevices where plants will grown and soften the whole structure in time.

Now it is darker later there is a whole extra hour in the garden and yet more opportunity to exhaust oneself! However, it is now warm enough for breakfast and lunch on the patio to the distant sounds of a Greek spring (the dulcet tones of a stone pecker preparing the base for yet another villa).

A Chill Wind ...

It rained here for a few days after I returned from England, which is a pity as I expected to come back to full sun and blue skies. However I was glad enough to get back without losing anything and safe and sound. Traipsing to Athens to visit the UK begins to pall after the first 64 journeys. I like to fly Aegean Airlines though, as you don’t have to worry about how many bags you’ve got, they give you the full 20kg luggage allowance and you can ask for wine with your meal. I only know this as a woman in the row in front asked for sparking wine and had to settle for white as they didn’t have sparking and then she got red by mistake so I told the air hostess I would have it! Well, it was the start of my holiday.

Flowers on the terrace

I had a good time with my family and got loads of granny practice. Jessica has grown up so much since I saw her nine long months ago. We spent loads of time playing and not much time doing anything else. I did manage some shopping of my own and made full use of my baggage allowance to bring back a hoard of small things that you just can’t get here, including a £1 soft toy for Kelly. Any heavy or large things have to wait for the full Hymer motorhome trip of course.

Peach tree

Anyway, the weather has now taken a turn for the better and the garden is in full swing. I took a walk around today and found lots of fresh blossoms. Unfortunately the weeds and grass are also growing at a pace so my work is cut out for the foreseeable future.

Rock rose

Prunus

Not snow but Chamomile

Although it is over 20C during the day there is still a chill wind which makes it just a bit cool for lunch on the patio without a fleece but it won’t be long now before it is full ‘meals al fresco’.

All around us is frenzied activity by the Greeks busy building and preparing the villas for the new season. Traditionally it’s all smiles for the tourist and keep up the myths, and I expect it will be the same this year. No-one will want to explore the background bad news on their holiday; they probably have enough of that at home. It will be eat, drink and be merry at the tavernas as usual, and who can blame them? A veneer of sunshine will help to gloss over the shaky foundations, but we feel the chill wind and shiver.

Freesia

Chionodoxa

Iris

We also took Kelly to the vet in Lefkada for the last of her three injections for this year against Leishmaniasis. She now doesn’t like going into the vet, she plants her four feet firmly on the pavement outside so we have to push and pull her in the door, very undignified! The cat will soon be going back to his summer residence when his owners arrive next week. I’ll kind of miss his bulk on the sofa night and day!

Kelly and new friend

We took a nocturnal stroll outside last night to a high point to look north east for Mars. No joy, but we did enjoy a breathtaking view of the heavens, so clear and sparkling. In the distance the lit-up ferries passing the bay looked like diamonds speeding across the darkness. Time for reflection and to enjoy the peace and tranquility.

AFK

Sorry, now I am back from UK my laptop is in 'hospital'. Hope to have it back by next weekend. ttfn

No Kites Today

It seems that bank holiday weather is a Greek curse as well. After a wonderful day of warm sunshine we have now had two more rainy days and today is a public holiday prior to the beginning of Lent. You are supposed to go out into the countryside for picnics and kite flying. Well, it has been windy enough this afternoon but raining as well, so not so good for picnics. Unfortunately, it was also raining over the weekend and on the carnival parades. Not my cup of tea but a shame for all the people who have gone to so much trouble.

Syntagma Square, Athens

So it’s off to Athens tomorrow to catch the plane for Heathrow and visiting the family. There has been a lot of preparation, almost as bad as having a week off work. You do so much before you go and then there’s loads to do when you get back!

Persephone's Day

Sand and stone awaiting the cement mixer

No wonder the Greeks believe(d) in myths. After a month of grey, wet days today was glorious, a real new beginning. This morning the sun and bright blue sky girded us into action and it was off to the builder’s yard to order sacks of sand and stone for the next round of wall building. It was just like emerging from the underworld as we have spent the last few weeks indoors. Time has not been wasted however as I have been making doll’s clothes for the grand-daughter and scanning in all the old family photos.

We took the dog with us in the back of the car for the short journey, in order to try and get her used to traveling without being sick. Yesterday she went to the vet in Lefkas for the second of her three 3-weekly injections against Leishmaniasis. The vaccine has only just become available here and is rather expensive but not nearly as dear as the treatment for the actual disease, as our neighbours found out when their dog contacted it. Fortunately, after the first year it will only be an annual injection. So yesterday the dog had a tablet against motion sickness and all went well. As the tablets last 24 hours (and at 5 euro each they need to) perhaps she still had some benefit from it this morning as she wasn’t sick, there or back.

Nice clean ppool

It was warm enough to have meals outside but as we have the French windows barricaded against the dog scratching at them to come in we didn’t! For the first time since we moved here we are using the front door, but even that we have to stop her jumping up at as she is scratching it with her claws. Whose brilliant idea was this dog? Things will have to change as the spring moves forward.

Trimmed rosemary bushes

There were butterflies and big black bomber bees flying happily about outside in the sun. I happily cleaned the pool in T-shirt and jeans. It wasn’t too mucky as there has been a huge improvement now we have finished the wall at the end of the pool and drastically pruned the olive tree at the other end.

Later in the day I trimmed some rosemary plants as they are growing rapidly. I left one with long shoots as I will be able to take cuttings in a week or so. Most of the plants seemed to have survived the winter as it has not been nearly so cold here as in other parts of Lefkada. A bit more sun then a bit more rain and everything will be growing like crazy and there will not be enough hours in the day to get done all the things we want to do. And we are, of course, both another year older.

We have both had birthdays since Christmas and feeling our age like mad. The upside of this is we have leftover Christmas pudding to eat tonight as it is a family tradition for Ray to have it on his birthday and we didn't quite manage to eat it all on the night!

Meanwhile I am getting ready for a trip to UK to deliver said doll's clothes to said grand-daughter. Hope my protective angel is still on duty and I've not pissed it off completely.