Photo: A memorable meal in southern Turkey

After a day spent sightseeing in Kyrenia, northern Cyprus, we sailed to Anamur about midway along the southern coast of Turkey -- well, we actually motored the whole day in order to get there before dark. We spent the next day wandering around the archaelogical site of Anamurium, another mountainside town overlooking the Med, which was apparenty destroyed by massive earthquakes in the 7th century AD. The hillside is strewn with acre upon acre of the remains of stone houses, arches, pillars, baths, ampitheatre, city walls, etc.

We then spent another day motoring (ugh!) westward to Alanya, another pretty harbor with a bustling town where we ignored the castle and just enjoyed strolling through the colorful marketplace. The marina here is full of yachts from around the world, and we had wifi on the boat for the first time.

We then sailed west along the mountainous coast, ducking into a different harbor (either a town quay, marina, or anchorage) each day that we sailed, and then usually staying for a day or two to see the sights (Roman and Byzantine ruins, local markets, hiking trails, etc.). The photo (above) was taken at a little family-run, open-air restaurant overlooking the small harbor where "Selinaris" was moored. Midway through the meal, the proprietor/waiter brought out his violin and began serenading the customers, singing along as he played what I assume were traditional Turkish sea shanties. Then at dusk, just as mosquitoes began to get a bit bothersome, a wheelbarrow filled with smoking coals from the open stone oven was set out -- a remarkably effective mosquito abatement method.

One interesting expedition was to the Chimaera at the base of Mt. Olympus (according to the Rough Guide, one of more than 20 mountains with this name in the classical world). Since ancient times, this mountain, like the fire-breathing monster of the same name, has been spewing fire. We went at dusk, and sure enough, there are flames coming out of the rocks -- quite an amazing sight! We saw a German family sitting around one of the larger fires toasting "stick bread" (what we would call "doughboys").

When we reached Fethiye, Wendy hired an agent to do the "boat leaving Turkey" paperwork for us, then we had an exhilarating sail south to Rhodes, Greece -- flying downwind at 7 knots with the sails reefed in 14-18 knots of wind. We arrived at a very crowded harbor -- with our faded red Turkish flag now replaced by the pale-blue and white Greek flag flying from our starboard shroud along with the yellow quarantine flag, which must be flown until the formalities of entering a new country (involving Customs, Immigration, Port Authority, etc.) are in order. We were glad that Wendy had contacted another agent who directed us (via VHF radio and pantomime) to a very narrow slot between two other sailboats. The designated mooring space appeared to be slightly less wide than our boat's beam, but we were able to nudge our new neighbors aside, with no harm done, thanks to judicious use of our fenders and theirs. While the agent did the legwork to get our visas and boat papers in order, we explored the old town of Rhodes with its castle, dry moat, fort, and maze of narrow streets where we enjoyed getting lost for hours on end. We had a final farewell dinner with Wendy, who was meeting friends from Dubai who would sail with her on the next leg of her cruise.

If you want a more detailed account (including photos) of the month we sailed on "Selinaris," you can read Wendy's blog, Outside the Comfort Zone (the relevant entries are those dated 4/14 to 5/4 and the photo albums titled Kyrenia and Turkey).