A Great Visit with Stephanie and Aleks

We were excited to have Stephanie and Aleks come to visit us in Fethiye! It had been a trip planned for many months and day had finally arrived after their 3 day visit in Istanbul.

It's so handy to pick up guests at one of our favourite anchorages, just a 20 minute drive from the airport but in the middle of wilderness. Trevor picked them up at Sarsala Beach at noon.



It wasn't long until we were in the water enjoying the beautiful warm clear waters.



For three days we relaxed, enjoying the sun, water and a little site seeing cruises along the coast see some of the Lycian tombs that have some of the best views in the world overlooking the blue waters of the Turkish Med.


























Steph had a brain wave and decided she would create her own foot fish therapy (you know when you put your feet in a tank of water with small fish to nibble away at your feet). So Aleks took her for a trip in the dinghy with a pail in hand along with some bread to attract the fish. Unfortunately, the fish didn't think it was such a great idea so the plan never did come to fruition.





























One evening we anchored at Gocek and walked around the small village and went off menu and had Italian food... a treat something Trevor and I don't get often in our part of Turkey when we go out for dinner.
























It was with some hesitation that we decided to leave the anchorages and head into the marina for some land touring for a few days.








We had a beautiful sail back to Fethiye with Aleks taking the helm for the trip back and Stephanie trimming the sails.












Trevor and I decided we liked having a crew for a day as we sat back and relaxed.




































For the next few days, we toured around the town, walking, biking, driving and yes, even a little paragliding!

First, the most exciting - paragliding! Aleks and Trevor decided to do the tandem jump off Baba Dag (which means Father Mountain in Turkish) at 2000 metres. Since they hadn't pre-booked, and it was still high season with lots of people wanting to partake in the adventure, they were fortunate that there were a couple of "no shows" for the first flight of the morning. It's a long windy narrow road up the mountain that can be more nerve racking than the jump. It was a beautiful day, clear blue skies (but then it's like that every day for 4 straight months in southern Turkey).














After launching from 2000 meters, you glide down to sea level with numerous other paragliders. Depending on winds and updraft, most take about 25 to 30 minutes to come down.






You glide over the resort village of Oludeniz and the lagoon which is photographed and shown in many tourist brochures for Turkey. You can see the beautiful long sand beach and ends with the spit at the entrance to the lagoon.






















Later in the day, we drove further along the coast where we could look back to Baba Dag where we took a photo of Aleks and Trevor with Baba Dag in the background. (The launch point is the highest peak set behind them in the photo with close up photo's surrounding them.)









































So our days were full, biking along the promenade and stopping at one of the inventive outdoor adult fitness centres overlooking the sea; going to the market where fruits and vegetables of all descriptions are sold and where Stephanie purchased a sponge loufa similar to those used in the famous Turkish bath house (oh yes, they went for a Turkish bath and massage one afternoon too). Aleks had a great experience receiving a full service shave and massage at one of the many barbers that are all over town.


We really hope that they enjoyed seeing our current home... Fethiye, Turkey and hope even more, that they'll return to see us again aboard Onward before too long and where ever that may be.