We let the skipper recover from his dunking, being ever so careful to be a good crew, at least for a few hours....and departed Didim Marina, without any more calamities. Having had a night in the lovely marina, we were in search of a remote quiet bay where we could dive overboard once more, swim and relax with the company of little more than pine trees. Trilogy moves so effortlessly with the wind in her sails and before long we nudged into Paradise Bay...perfecto! The day trippers were still there, but before long the tranquility of the bay and the dropping of the wind, gave us the ambience we desired. Swimming around the bay along the rocky shore to the yellow sandy beach, gave us the pleasure and exercise we all were seeking. We hosted drinks for our neighbours Bill and Janice from the UK, who have been wandering these waters for 12 years and who seemed to know every nook and cranny of coastline. Having discovered the wonders of pressure cooking, Sue and I soon served a delicious chicken dinner on deck, by the light of our very classy table lamp. Next morning we swam again and then all hopped into the dinghy for a trip around the point to visit a lovely village, set on the shore. The beach cafe set under the trees served us Turkish tea and delicious buckwheat pancakes. The pancakes were cooked on the open fire behind the hut by women sitting on their haunches and each pancake was filled with a white curd cheese and a mix of parsley and spinach. Many cups of tea and pancakes later we wandered through what appeared to be a retirement village, all very neat and tidy, with beautiful cerise bogainvillia adorning the white two storey dwellings. We purchased several bags full of groceries, including four bottles of wine for under $80 AUS, and some linen from the stall outside before heading back to Trilogy, all getting a little wet as the wind had picked up.
We up anchored and headed further up the inlet to Asin Limani, passing many fish farms along the way. There were also a myriad of modern housing complexes tumbling down the hillsides, all white and nearly all ugly, at least to our eyes. The Turks seem to have lost the aesthetic they had traditionally created and must think that the modernity is attractive. Asin Limani is a quaint traditional village with a stern to sea wall for us to tie off. The heat was oppressive on arrival, so the aircon was cranked up and copious water consumed. Once the sun had settled behind the hillside behind the town, we wandered along the main street, taking in the simple life style. Men were drinking in the cafes, women working in the fields of vegetables ( nothing new!), children riding bikes and playing the drums (loudly), cows being shuffled along the road, call to prayer from the minaret and a kindly jesture of plums from the tree for us all, were memorable moments. Dinner was eaten at Ceyar Restaurant, on the water front and what a surprise that was! We were invited into the cafe to choose our meze and main courses. Our host was very diligent and clarified our order and we settled back at the table. The food started to flow and didn't stop until we were 'stuffed'.... not only did we get what we ordered, but we got what our host thought we should have ordered! It was all delicious but it just kept coming...calamari, mussels, shrimp, meatballs, bread, and many many meze dishes... not many Turkish lire but many handshakes later, we bid farewell. The Turks are proving to be generous hosts!
Next morning we climbed to the top of the hill on the opposite side of the bay for a magnificent view of the surrounding waterway, but also to visit the ruins of the ancient city of Iassus. Myra has previously written about this site, so I will not describe our visit. We were fortunate to time our visit for the Friday market adjacent to the ruins and had a wonderful time selecting fresh fruit and vegetables and eating more delicious pancakes and water to boost our energy after the hot climb. We headed back to Trilogy and before long, set sail for Ilica Bükü.