Dirsek to Keci Buku

Thursday 3rd September



Skipper takes a 7:30am swim



We might have had heaps of trouble mooring up, ruined the painter to the dinghy and had a 5 mile journey to get food yesterday but to wake up and be totally alone in our little corner of the bay more than made up for it. There were goats grazing on the shoreline nearby and the entire bay had a chilled out feel to it. It was truely wonderful and so relaxing that it felt only right to have an early wake-me-up swim.

There was plenty of time to have coffee and breakfast while taking in the scenery and we entertained ourselves by sitting at the bow watching other yachts leave. At 10:30 we left too, this time taking just seconds to untie the line and get everything (including the skipper) back on board. We toured the bay a bit before we left, taking pictures of the restaurant and the mirror-like water, then motored out into..........no wind. While we were waiting for the meltemi to get going and actually blow us somewhere, we ventured in and out of some of the surrounding coves, making a mental note to return for lunch to one of them on the way back down the gulf.

The scenery as we entered the Hisaronu Kofezi is incredible. Pine covered hills replaced the sinai-like, barren hillsides further towards Greece and we quickly decided we wanted to stay in this area overnight and spend a bit of time doing it justice. We were aiming to stay overnight in Keci Buku, with a lunch stop over the other side of the gulf at Kuyulu Buku where there are two bays. As we were approaching, the wind picked up and we were able to put out the main and genoa and sail close hauled up to our destination and into the entrance of the bays. We chose the anchorage to the north, anchored easily, fitted the outboard onto the dinghy and set off to explore. The bay seemed quite Amazonian with lots of cicadas chirping to break the silence, and reeds everywhere. Once at the shore, we headed in the direction of the restaurant, but were disappointed to discover that it was closed and that the area was full of Turkish caravanners, so we headed straight back to Balina and had pasta for lunch with a refreshing glass of white wine that we just happened to have in our fridge (top tip: always carry an 'emergency' bottle of wine and a few beers in the event that a recommended restaurant, as often happens in Turkey, fails to materialise.

After lunch we had a quick swim, then I roared across to Keci Buku in 2knots of wind! Passing the Marti Marina we made a mental note that it looked a nice place to perhaps see out the winter one year!

We dropped anchor near the restaurants, after I handed the helm back to Marco when he started going into man-moan mode, saying what are you doing, where are you going when i was attempting to avoid grounding us on an obvious sand spit at one end. All the restaurants have a jetty and on approach, someone comes out from each one, gesturing wildly at you to use THEIR jetty. This is  with the expectation that you will eat in their restaurant....in return, water and electric are "free". However, we wanted the freedom to eat where we liked and as we had only filled up with water and had shore power two days previously, we didn't require those facilities again yet.

We motored around the bay in the dinghy and took some pictures of people on the sand-spit. Because it was just under the surface of the water, it looked as though people were just walking on water. If Jesus was an illusionist,  this is surely how he persuaded everyone that he could do this trick!

Back on the boat, we relaxed with an obligatory afternoon beer. Marco phoned his parents, then we got a phone call from Thomas Cook, cancelling a holiday that we had booked as the flight had been discontinued. I was annoyed (with British Airways), so Marco decided to get annoyed with me being annoyed. Don't know why! What annoys him never seems to annoy me and vice versa....one of the many happy things that makes married people roll their eyes behind each others backs....! 

 I showered and got ready to go out, and, after a G&T sundowner, motored across to our chosen restaurant called Ersoy. The owner rushed out to tie us up (well, the dinghy, not exactly 'us'), and welcomed us to his place. The restaurant was delightful, with a decorative hole in the wall so that diners could see into the kitchen. Marco went inside to choose our starters, and also to choose our cuts off of a large Dorada which we were going to have for main course. The food was lovely and melon was served free for dessert. We (or rather, Marco) got chatting to a Dutch lady who took our photo and told us that they keep their boat at Marmaris marina, but come out to sail for 5 months in the summer all over the area. Another Dutch couple got involved in the conversation. They had a large dog with them and told us that they owned the gulet that was moored up at the jetty, and take people out on the water for day trips and holidays  for 6 months of the year from Fethiye. What a great life.

We made it back to Balina eventually for our usual Baileys nightcap and sleep. Another successful day under our belts, although the sailing was limited.

walking on water!