Dearest friends and family,

We have been in Turkey now for about 6 weeks and have enjoyed every minute. The sights are spectacular; the food is scrumptious -- especially if you like lamb--, and the Turkish people are the friendliest we have EVER met... ANYwhere. And, I'm happy to say that they're also VERY dog-friendly. Of course, who can resist our adorable, affectionate little dog with the giant ears!?! We spent a month in Marmaris having great fun re-uniting with old friends and meeting new ones. By the 3rd time i had gone to the butcher, veggie stand, bakery, supermarket and wine shop, the shopowners were waving at me and greeting me. It's great to feel part of a community. In comparison, after a MONTH in the small town of Vibo Valentia in southern Italy,.... going to the same shops, NO one every acknowledged that they'd seen me before.

Since our rendez-vous with the rest of the fleet of the Eastern Mediterranean Yacht Rally was May 9 and about 100 miles east, we left Marmaris on May 1st. On our cruise east, we stopped in the towns of Fethiye, Kalkan, Kas and Finike, enjoying most places hugely. i just LOVE the Turkish breakfast: cheese (usually goat or sheep's), olives, tomatoes, cucumbers, bread, and an egg. we also were served something that looked like fat bologna.... coulda done without that, but everything else was so fresh and tasty. And contrary to what you might think about everyone drinking that gritty turkish coffee, Turkey is a nation of tea drinkers served in little tulip-shaped glasses. And i can't get enough of lamb or chicken or doner kabobs. Doner kabobs are very much like Greek Gyros, but whereas Gyros are made from pork, the Doner kabobs are from beef/lamb. and much tastier and leaner.... plus with a yoghurt sauce mixed with dill, garlic, mint and salt, it's well.... addictive! And as scrumptious as the meat dishes are, a vegetarian would also be happy here. stuffed peppers, stuffed eggplant, stuffed tomatos... stuffed ANYthing, and plenty of time they're without minced meat.... just rice, tomatoes, onions, garlic, etc. Everything is just SO GOOD.

And yes, i succumbed to a Turkish rug merchant, and then suffered from buyer's remorse for about 3 days... i just KNEW i hadn't negotiated as well as i shoulda (bargaining is just not our custom, yaknow?). But .... whatever. it's done, and we now have 3 small 20" x about 38" rugs on our cabin floor....AND 4 new pillow covers. and all the colors are great and have some blue in them to pull in our new upholstery.

The marinas that we've visited so far in Turkey have been the most professionally managed that we've experienced ANYwhere. (And.... they've all had laundromats, too!) They are also very pollution conscious and smack big fines on boats that expel dirty water. There's always a little pilot boat that guides you into your mooring space, and help you with the lines. it's a far cry from Greece or Italy.

Something very interesting about Turkey. Kemal Ataturk was the WWI hero-turned-statesman/president who in the 1920's set forces in motion that created the modern turkey that we see today, including a latinized alphabet, universal education, universal suffrage, set the groundwork for a modern legal system, and made Turkey a SECULAR nation, albeit with a 98% moslem population. well, it's almost 90 years later, and he is STILL revered as the nation's hero, the nation's father. There are statues and pictures EVERYWHERE of Ataturk. he's like George Washington, Abraham Lincoln and FDR all rolled into one. It's pretty amazing.

Tomorrow we leave Kemer, Turkey and go to Alanya, Turkey. It's a 68 mile day and we leave at 4am. yuck. but, that's the last time. After Alanya, we'll be doing overnight passages between each of our destinations of the EMYR. So far we're having a good time. 80 boats and about 260 people. all pretty laid back, too. though.... believe it or not, chuck had to dress up in a jacket and tie last night. there are several "formal" dinners during the rally, since most of the communities that we visit put on a big cocktail party/dinner spread. and, well, it's just a way of showing respect. of the 80 boats, about 22 are american; 22brits, and then dutch, german, french, spanish, danish, czeck, canada, belgium, israel, new zealand, australian, switzerland, sweden and.... turkey! so, we're a real international group. this is the 19th year that the rally has visited many turkish ports, turkish cyprus, syria, lebanon, israel and egypt. The communities really roll out the red carpet.... so they say. Sure hope the Lebanese crisis settles down by the time we're ready to get there.... if not, we might have to give it a pass.

i don't know when i'll have a chance to send out the next ChaliGram.... might be a while. no idea what kind of internet access we'll have, or how much TIME I'll have to write. .. but the next one should be a doozy.... as will be the pictures!

hope you're all enjoying your spring. Like most places in the Spring, Turkey in the springtime is pretty breathtaking. Roses seem to grow wild here.... EVERYWHERE, plus zillions of other flowers. it's wonderful. are we happy??:????? what do you think!

xoxoxoxo,

alison, chuck and zoey

p.s. happily we've had good access to the internet, and so have been following the news avidly.... and are particularly happy with how things are progressing on the nomination front. Sorry, you Hillary fans!


Alison Spinney
s/v "ChaliVentures"
Living the Dream in....Turkey