It seems that no matter how much time we have, the job of getting the boat ready for the winter expands to fill it. We had originally thought we might finish early and spend a few days touring, but we didn't tick the last item off the to-do list until 7.30 on Friday evening. That left us five hours to kill before our taxi arrived. We lingered over dinner in the marina restaurant until 9.30, then went back to the boat and said "What should we do now?" In the cabins below, almost every surface was covered with the items that are normally kept on deck, and the cabin and cockpit cushions were stacked under plastic on our bed. Rick grabbed a cushion and went back up to the cockpit to take a nap, while I cleared a small corner and hunkered down with a book, keeping one eye on the clock. Shortly after midnight, we lowered three very heavy hockey bags over the side of the boat with a rope, then piled them into the taxi that would take us to Dalaman. In the moonlight, we caught glimpses of beautiful woodland and mountainous scenery--hopefully we will do the return trip by daylight in the spring.

At the Dalaman airport, there was considerable commotion about our bags at the security screening checkpoint. Apparently, a wind generator motor looks a lot like a bomb. It was good to know that the security guys were on their toes, but it took Rick about twenty minutes to repack his bag.

Considering how long it took us to fly home from Turkey, I hate to think how long it will take us to sail home! Thirty hours from the time the taxi picked us up at the marina, we finally arrived at the door of our house in Halifax. We had congratulated ourselves on managing to get the direct flight from Istanbul to Toronto, but we hadn't factored in the taxi ride, the two-hour wait in Dalaman airport and a five-hour wait in Istanbul that turned into a seven-hour wait...which resulted in us missing our connection in Toronto. In fact, of the 30 hours we spent in transit, only 15 were spent actually travelling. At least, with someone else on watch, we could both sleep at the same time (that is, whenever the two toddlers in the seats in front of us weren't crying).

A few hours into the flight from Istanbul to Toronto, Rick discovered that Turkish Air's in-flight entertainment system had a selection of promotional videos on the various regions of Turkey. After watching them, we wanted to turn around and fly right back to Istanbul. We're beginning to understand why so many cruisers seem to have difficulty leaving Turkey, and I suspect we'll have some interesting fireside chats during the next few months on the pros and cons of the various options for next year's itinerary.

It poured rain on our first day back, but we were somewhat consoled by the knowledge that a rainy day had also been forecast for Marmaris. Although it was a bit of a shock to put away the shorts and sandals and dig out jeans, sweaters and raincoats, Halifax is looking pretty good to us. Today is a bright, sunny day and the leaves are beginning to show their autumn colours. Christopher and Katherine had everything in great shape for our return (I'm not about to be fooled that they kept the house that tidy while we were away!) and Katherine had been to the farmers' market to buy garlic sausages with corn on the cob for our first family dinner. On Monday night we had a surprise visit from my aunt Connie and it felt great to curl up in a corner of the couch and catch up on all the news from Cape Breton. It will take days to finish unpacking, sorting the mail and doing the laundry, but eventually things will feel all too normal.

It was difficult to leave Turkey, knowing that we could have spent at least another month exploring the beautiful anchorages on the southeast coast. A few weeks ago, we had an email from our friend Jean Francois telling us that, for Mediterranean sailing, "the east-er, the better." Now we finally understand why we seem to like each destination better than the last.

But if we kept travelling further and further east (and then just a little bit north) we'd eventually arrive... back in Nova Scotia. The best place on earth. If you don't believe me, come and see for yourself. Just don't come in February.

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The carpet sellers of Turkey are surely the world's best salesmen. Before you decide to walk through the door of a carpet shop, you should be aware that you are entering a zone where the phrase "just looking" is meaningless. Here's how they sold me a carpet I had never intended to buy:

"Where are you from? Oh, Canada! I have many Canadian friends; they are helping me with my English. I have a book with many notes from my Canadian friends, please come inside and I will show it to you. It will only take a minute of your time. I love Canadians and Australians, you are friendlier than the English and the Germans. Look, here is my book, do you know any of these Canadians who have written in it?

"Is this your first time in Turkey? How do you like our country? Here is some tea, you must try it. No, you cannot refuse, you are our guest. This is what we do here in Turkey. It is apple tea, very good. You are living on a boat? You must meet my boss, he has done a lot of business with people on boats. No, please, you must, it will only take a minute.

"Hello, welcome! May I kiss your cheek? Have some more tea. Yes, you must; it is already poured for you. You are staying at Yacht Marine? Did you see the big boat that burned there? Well, who knows, maybe it was an accident, maybe it was for insurance. Some of these big boats belong to bosses in the mafia. No, no, not the Sicilian mafia, the Turkish mafia. Yes, of course there is a Turkish mafia. They are very dangerous people. In the world, the three big mafias are: number 1 Sicilian, number 2 Ruskie, number 3 Turkish. That boat was worth 5 million lira.

"My lunch has just arrived, it is upstairs. Will you share it with me? Please, you must not refuse, this is Turkish hospitality.

If you cannot buy a carpet today; that is not a problem. Let me just show you some carpets so you can learn a bit about them. Don't worry about missing your dolmuž; I will drive you to the stop on my scooter. This carpet is a dowry carpet- here is the symbol for the bride; here is the symbol for the groom, this jagged line represents the ups and downs in life. These carpets are all hand made and dyed with natural vegetable dyes. Look, if I drop this lit cigarette on the carpet, it does not burn. This is how you can be sure it is wool. If your husband was here, he would probably be willing to pay 150 lira for this carpet. You could take it back to the boat now and if he doesn't like it, no problem, come back and you can pick out a different one.

"You're sure you don't want to take it with you now and try it on your boat? No? Then please sign my book and give me your email address. I know you will come back here when you decide to buy your carpet. We are friends now and I will give you the very best price, not the tourist price. It is the end of the season, it is the best time to buy."
---------
(Two days later)
"Hello, you came back! I have had a busy day, I have sold 400 carpets. No of course I am not serious, in a whole year I would not sell 400 carpets. Have some tea- and here is a special treat, some Turkish baklava.

"What size carpet do you want? Let's lay them all out here, then you tell me which ones you don't like and I will take them away. Never mind the price; we will talk about the price after you choose your carpet. These are all very good quality. Ah, this is a very nice carpet. You have picked one of the expensive ones. You think the price is too much? How much do you want to pay, then? No, really. What is your best offer?

"I want you to put your hand on your heart. Now, reach deep inside yourself and tell me the best price you will pay.

"You didn't have your hand on your heart.

"Try again, put your hand on your heart and tell me what is the absolute most you are willing to pay.

"You're killing me.

"All right. I like you. You came back here to buy your carpet from me, instead of buying it from someone else. I am going to let you have the carpet at that price on two conditions: First condition: you tell all your friends at Yacht Marine that this is a good place to buy carpets. Second condition: you promise me you will not tell your friends how much you paid me for this carpet!"

Did I get a good price for my carpet? I'm absolutely sure I did. The carpet is lovely, but the experience of shopping for it was priceless. So, if you are thinking of buying a carpet in Marmaris, drop in to Bazaar 48, on the waterfront near the castle. I'm sure you won't be disappointed!

Turkey 2009

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Aisling was hauled out of the water on Wednesday evening and our lifestyle has gone down several notches as we are living aboard her in the Yacht Marine yard. Our friend Tom and Liz call this "doing hard time", a term that describes it pretty well, in my opinion. (See their great blog about living on the hard at http://port.boatus.com/blogs/portal/blog_view.asp?BID=2703 )

Onboard Aisling, things are completely topsy-turvy as we simultaneously tackle the jobs of packing, stowing the things that we usually keep on deck and completing the multiple tasks on a very long to-do list. When we want to "go ashore" we have to climb down a steep wobbly ladder, which suddenly makes our usual dockside exit strategy of climbing down the anchor look like a breeze. For the most part, I don't mind it too much, as long as a bathroom trip in the middle of the night isn't necessary. It's funny how the number of times we need to go seems to increase exponentially as the difficulty of getting to the toilet increases. But any elderly person could tell you that. What's not so funny is that, since we moved to the yard, our boat seems to have become the favoured feeding ground for most of Turkey's mosquitoes.

It's always a strange feeling to see Aisling being pulled out for another season. I felt like she was saying "Guys, what's going on, aren't we going home soon?" For now, the best we can tell her is that we won't be taking her any further east. Well, maybe just a little bit further.

Last night, as we sat in the garden outside the marina restaurant enjoying the warm temperatures, we began to wish that we had decided to stay for a few more weeks. The weather is still beautiful and the anchorages will be quiet. In Marmaris yesterday, the streets were so empty that it almost seemed as though a plug had been pulled to drain all the tourists away. Next month, many of the restaurants and shops will close for the winter and waiters and shopkeepers will return to their homes and families in various parts of Turkey.

Aisling is now a second home for us. We'll feel sad, and a little bit uneasy, when we lock the hatches and leave her behind. But the truth is, I don't think I would enjoy what we are doing nearly as well if I didn't know that we were going back to our real home for a while. Although we will be returning to cooler temperatures, work and responsibilities, I get a little flutter of excitement when I realize that we'll be there in less than 48 hours. Back to our family and our friends, our dog, our mosquito-free bedroom, our nice comfy bed and our big bathtub. Autumn colours and morning runs in Point Pleasant Park. Strawberries and blueberries on cereal, salmon and asparagus, fresh milk, bacon and Nancy's antipasta. Thanksgiving turkey and a full-sized kitchen with a floor that doesn't move. Only 14 hours till we meet our taxi at the gate. I'll be ready.

Turkey 2009

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