After an overnight anchor in Ҫukurcuk bay we"officially" arrived in Turkey at the D-Marine Didim marina, a very upscale place we would normally pass by, but we'd heard they were offering 40% off on winter rates and we wanted to check it out.

"Upscale" meant we were immediately greeted by two dock boys who came speeding out in their tender to guide us to a slip, then hopped on the bow of Sangaris to handle the "slime lines", lest Katherine get her hands dirty, while a third guy handled the dock lines - some service! That's Sangaris tied stern-to just to the right of the open spot on the dock.

To check in to Turkey, we scouted up Atilla, the likeable owner of Ҫine Travel Agency. He carefully explained all the steps needed and officials to meet for "clearing in to Turkey" and was especially helpful as he itemized all the related fees, detailing what was required through an agent and what we could accomplish (for no fee) on our own. No surprise we chose the mostly DIY route and completed our transit log purchase, "activation" and endless "stamping" as well as getting our visas all on the D-Marin Didim property.

During the next few days we got to know the marina facilities, lunched on the Yacht Club's veranda (lovely three courses for only 15 Turkish Lire - about $8 or 6€), shopped in the main town of Altinkum, visited with a few resident cruisers and, of course, splashed about a bit in that horizon pool with the sailboat masts visible in the background (gawd, this sailing life can be tough). It was a very welcome respite from temps of 100° to 104°, although while there we were hesitant to actually sign a winter contract because, frankly, it all seemed too posh ... but as we now write (a month later, sorry!) we're all signed up and the deposit is paid.

So, besides checking out a winter home for Sangaris, we followed our guide book's recommendation to visit Didyma's Temple of Apollo. Just 15 minutes by taxi or 45 minutes by dolmuş (Turkey's local mini-van bus) the ruins were an easy trip from the marina base.

That carved relief of the head of Medusa in the opening montage with its serpentine curls has almost become synonymous with Didyma and is one of the many fine ruins to see at this famous shrine. Built in the 7th century BC to honor the god of prophecy and oracles, by 500 BC the Temple of Apollo was one of the leading oracles of the Greek world (yes, now Turkey). In its heyday, the Temple featured 108 ornate Ionic columns, yet only three are still intact. However, the surviving stumps are truly impressive and you can get a bit of the perspective with Katherine standing next to two of them.

Cruisers notes: D-Marin Didim will be 1,909€ for 7 months (Oct 1, 2012 - April 30, 2013) for Sangaris' 56 square meters. This is a special offer "campaign" with 40% discount off regular charges for in-water dockage. Increasing the contract to include an 8th month seems no problem as May 2013 is offered at 30% off; we may contract for that as well to allow us some flexibility for projects upon return next spring.
Total fees for our transit log purchase & registration, port taxes, agent fee and visas (15€ pp for 90 days) were about 110€. We used Atilla at "Cine Tours" for the required agency process; he would have been happy to do all the check-in processes for us for an additional fee but significantly less than another agent's 200€ quote.