On our first day afloat, we left Bodrum Marina and headed approximately South, past the Greek Island of Kos, to Knidos on the South West tip of the Datca penninsular. Although our sailing skills were a little rusty, we were blessed with a decent wind and able to do much of the 'leg' under sail.
This lighthouse is on the penninsular tip.
And at the foot of the cliff this shipwreck is a timely reminder that these waters are not always as calm as they were on this day.
Knidos was once renowned for two things: its statue of Aphrodite, and the scientist Eudoxos Both date from around the 4th century BC. Although the ruins have not been systematically excavated, it is easy to pick out the skeleton of the city and identify the two theatres, temples, agora, city walls and ancient harbours. It is now an unspoilt and captivating bay.
We decided to spend the night at anchor, and eat aboard, rather than use the resataurants's pontoon.
There was ample time to relax, and have a refreshing swim off the back of the boat..
As the afternoon went by, the bay (and pontoon) became a little busier.
The restaurant looked very attractive, and in the early evening the staff zoomed around the bay banging a drum - to drum up business! We politely declined, promising to eat at the restaurant on our way back, which was our intention, but in fact never did.
At the end of the day, we watched a beautiful sunset - and the restaurant becoming more lively.
The next morning we took up anchor and departed for Dirsek. It is nearly 30 nautical miles to the East, and the route skirts the northern edge of the Greek Island of Simi. Without suitable wind we had to motor the whole way, but did a little sailing for an hour or so outside Dirsek before entering the bay. I hope you will see from the following pictures what a delightful (and peaceful) bay it is. There are no buildings other than the small restaurant, with its own pontoon of course. The people were very welcoming and hospitable - setting the standard which we were to find throughout our trip.
Here we are - one from the right, with space on our port side.
The restaurant could not be closer o the moored boats!
Some boats anchored in the bay - just a short 'puff-up' ride from the restaurant.
It would be hard to find a more lovely spot to sit and have your evening meal, or shorter distance to stagger back home.
The restaurant baked its own bread every day in this oven, and even 'exported' it along to the restaurant in the next bay.
And here is a closer picture of Marut, raring to set sail the following morning.
These were a couple of the local working boats at Dirsek.
It was just a short hop the following day to an adjacent bay, Kocabahce, and there was plenty of opportunity to sail. The surroundings, as you can see, are beautiful.
The restaurant's name here in Kocabahce is The Sailors Paradise, and I think you'll agree that the name is very apt.
On this occasion, Marut is on the extreme left hand side of the frame.
The restaurant uses the shallow water behind the pontoon to catch and/or keep fresh fish. Fish served in the restaurant doesn't come much fresher than this!
Once again we did not face a long walk at the end of the evening!
After leaving Kocobahce We had plenty of time to get to our next destination, Datca, which was about 15 nautical miles away. Time for some sailing, and a very pleasant swim and lunch anchored in a tiny sheltered bay tucked into the SE corner of the island of Koca Ada. Much to our surprise, the wind allowed us to sail all the way to Datca, sailing as close to the wind as possible and resulting in a curved 'banana' course over the 15 miles.
Datca is quite a large bustling town, although these pictures don't convey that. Having got used to the peaceful bays in which we had spent the previous few days, we were a little surprised at the noisy bars and restaurants adjacent to our mooring. Unbeknown to us, we were to re-visit Datca later in the holiday (by road from Kormen), and became quite fond of the town, and its lively market. Here is Marut moored in front of the shops, bars and restaurants - before the late-comers arrived.
And along the front was a supermarket - tiny in size but one which stocked absolutely everything we needed. The lady even very kindly walked along to deliver a couple of things she couldn't immediately put her hands on.
There were several Gulets in Datca, and we were to see many more as the holiday went on.
This is one of the Gulets we passed on our long passage (motoring) from Datca to Kormen, on the North side of the Datca Penninsular. We are looking East and Simi is the land mass on the right, while Dirsek and Kocabahce are on the hazy horizon.
Here are two more Gulets!
The journey to Kormen was a long one. We had contemplated an over-night at Mersincik, but decided to push on all the way to Kormen. As the afternoon went on, the wind on our stern increased, as did the swell. We were pleased to reach Kormen, but the harbour has to be entered with care as it entails turning across the (increasing) swell.
Here we are in Kormen harbour, and you'll notice from the table and chairs that this time we are even closer to the restaurant!
It was pretty breezy (look at the flag) but sitting in the evening sunshine was very pleasant - aided by a couple of those G&T thingies!
We were to return to Kormen on our eventual way back to Bodrum, but next day we set off (across a glassy flat calm sea, with no wind) to Sehir Adalari. There are two main islands at Sehir Adalari, Snake Island and Castle Island, where Cleopatra is believed to have taken up residence. One of her many extravagant gestures was to have galleys of sand shipped from North Africa to create the beach for her lover, Antony, to sunbathe on. It is true that the sand is not of a type found elsewhere in this region, and is indeed typical of African sand.
We tucked into Castle Island's bay, just as the day tripper boats were (thankfully) leaving at the end of their day. They can tend to be rather noisy, and destroy the enchanting and mysterious nature of the islands.
Here we are at anchor (pictured from our 'puff-up').
We enjoyed a pleasant meal, and sat in the peaceful surroundings to watch the beautiful sunset.
Early next morning, as soon as it was open for visitors, we set off to explore the Island. The first picture is taken from the landing stage, and shows Marut on the right hand side.
The sand on Cleopatra's Beach is now protected, and it is not possible to go on the beach, although walk-ways are provided which allow for swimming off the beach. We were lucky enough to enjoy a couple of hours almost alone on the Island, before the fleet of Gulets arrived to disgorge their noisy passengers. In another 3 or 4 hours the scene would look very different!
There was plenty to see on the Island, including the theatre Cleopatra had built, purposely situated with a view across the bay to Snake Island.
Although very much left 'as is', remains of the ancient settlement are very much in evidence.
But we could see the Gulets heading towards the Island, and knew that our peaceful surroundings were soon to be invaded.
Just time to return to Cleopatra's Beach and enjoy a very refreshing swim before the hordes descended. The beach was still almost devoid of any other visitors, but that wasn't a situation that was going to last long! The bay was rapidly filling, and it was time for us to return to Marut and leave the Island to the noisy day-trippers.
Our next port of call was Sogut.
The following day was a 'sailing day' and we headed over to Akbuk Limani (following a banana course in order to keep close to the wind) for lunch and a swim.
It had been our intention to return to our anchorage at Castle Island for the night but, as you can see, the wind started to get up and the bay is not as well sheltered as one might like.
Time was getting on and if we needed to leave the Island there was limited daylight remaining. We had no choice but to up anchor and make a run for it, through the gathering gloom and uncomfortable swell, back to Sogut for the night.
Wind and sea conditions were still rather bumpy the next day, but we knew we had to start our return trip towards Bodrum. We were very relieved to find this very sheltered bay at Yedi Adalari (Seven Islands). We found an ideal spot, next to a couple of fishermen, dropped anchor and took two lines ashore.
We were in time for a swim and late lunch.
After watching a Gulet spend at least an hour attempting to moor next to us, it was time to prepare lunch.
The following day we'd set the alarm early knowing we'd have a long and difficult run back to Kormen. Whilst still in the shelter of the islands, conditions weren't too bad.
But it proved very hard going indeed once we left the shelter afforded by the islands. We were battering straight into the wind (gusting to 30knots) and sea (6ft waves). It was a bit of an endurance test, and there were times when a large wave would stop the boat dead in its tracks. However, earlier than we'd feared, we rounded the headland and could see Kormen ahead. If the harbour entrance was tricky for our previous visit, it was a deal more difficult now. In the relative calm inside the harbour walls we prepared the boat (fenders and lines) prior to making our astern approach to the mooring on the harbour wall. We knew it was going to be very difficult indeed, with a cross wind still gusting to 30knots, and so it proved. But (as ever) with assistance from ashore, we were finally secured and able to remove our lifejackets etc prior to pouring large G&T's!
It looks fairly calm inside the harbour ...
But one look over the harbour wall confirmed the conditions to be less than ideal!
The weather on Saturday morning still looked pretty unfriendly, but the privately owned boat moored next to us decided to set sail for Knidos. She admitted to a degree of trepidation, but he seemed keen to go. Although we'd have liked to go to Knidos for our last night, we decided the weather was too unreliable, and the degree of shelter at Knidos not certain. We watched them depart, dressed in their wet weather gear but we set off, by taxi, across the Datca penninsular to Datca. By road, the trip was only a few miles, but had taken us several hours the long way round, by sea, a few days earlier. We spent a very pleasant day in Datca, and particularly enjoyed the market.
On the Sunday morning it was our turn to leave Kormen with a sense of slight trepidation, but we had to return to Bodrum. We expected the wind/sea to be pretty bumpy again but, much to our surprise, were able to sail almost the whole way across to Bodrum. It was quite a lively sail, and another 'banana' course following the wind shifts, but this was a real bonus on our last day.
To finish with, here are a few pictures of the deck-hand:
It was time to top-up the fuel tank prior to returning Marut, to whom we had become very attached, back to her berth in the Marina.
It had proved a truly memorable holiday, with the best sailing by far we've found anywhere. The people are so friendly, helpful and hospitable, and they contributed in no small way to our holiday.
We would certainly like to visit this area again.
THAT'S ALL FOLKS!