August 2023


Where is Ayvalik?

We were excited to visit the Ayvalik area because it offered a variety of anchorages and experiences - offshore islands; a large, sheltered bay with lots of coves; beaches and trees; a couple of towns; a marina where we could take care of mandatory every-fifteen-day pumpouts... And it didn't disappoint! Once we arrived, we stayed for nearly a month. There was so much to see and do!


Look at all those anchorages!

Ҫiplak Island
Coming north from Ҫandarli, we anchored at Ҫiplak Island, a small island with a sparse covering of grass, just south of the entrance to Ayvalik Limani (AKA the lake, or the bay).


Ҫiplak Island anchorage

The cove on the southeast side initially appealed to us because the afternoon wind was forecast to come from the west, but as we got closer, there was even more to like: beautiful, clear water, with a big, juicy sand patch for us to drop our anchor in.


Awildian on his own



And RABBITS. Tons of them. Every color, big and small, hopping around everywhere on shore.


Find the handsome black island rabbit

Ҫiplak means "barren" in Turkish, which, I suppose it is. This island was once used extensively for grazing sheep, but the story goes that about a decade ago, some fishermen brought "a few pairs" of rabbits to the island, who adapted well to island life and set about doing what rabbits do. Which is why there are now thousands of rabbits and not much vegetation.



We didn't see any sheep, but I did encounter some shaggy goats while I was kayaking around near shore.


Shaggy goats

Tavuk Island


Tavuk Island anchorage

We anchored in this large, sandy cove three or four times. It's a nice spot, with a great view of the two towns - Cunda and Ayvalik - and a lush, forested shoreline behind a pretty beach. Good holding in muddy sand. It's sheltered from the daily western sea breeze, and convenient, as it's just a short dinghy ride to the little town of Cunda.


Robert and Robyn Kiwi enjoying a Tavuk Island sunset

Several times while we were there, I put our kayak in the water and paddled around. Sometimes I encountered some odd flotsam.


A dolphin skull


Some gangster lost his hat

Other times I paddled to shore so I could walk in the forest.



Even though I live on the sea, I'm a forest person at heart, always on the lookout for anchorages with trees, where I can recharge my soul in their green and shady presence. The Tavuk Island anchorage was perfect for that. I spent several hours hanging out with the pines, being serenaded by a chorus of lusty cicadas.


My buddies the pines

One day I decided to wash our pillows. I soaked each one in a bucket of soapy water and vinegar, and after rinsing them, set them out on deck to dry in the sun. It was a calm day, and hot, so I lay down on one of the cushions in the shade on our back porch and shut my eyes for a few minutes...

"HONNNNNNNK! HONNNNNNNK!" I jolted awake at the sound of the loud boat horn, and looked around to see where it was coming from. The only boat around was a large power boat about a hundred meters behind us, heading in our direction, so it must have come from that. Why had the skipper blown the horn?

Then I noticed that between Awildian and the power boat were several white billowing things, experiencing different levels of submersion. What the heck?

It dawned on me then that the wind had come up; while I was dozing, the afternoon sea breeze had arrived. I glanced around at the half-dozen pillows on deck...and saw only three. Oh no...

Oh yes! Those sinking white mounds were our pillows! I ran to the davit switch, lowered the dinghy, stepped in, started the outboard, and took off to rescue the pillows, waving at the skipper of the power boat as I passed him. By the time I reached the nearest pillow, only it and the next one were still above water. The third one, alas, had sunk into the murky depths.

Do you have any idea how much a waterlogged pillow weighs? Me neither, but it's a lot. I was able to rescue the two remaining pillows, dragging them aboard the dinghy like two heavy bodies. Back on Awildian, I rinsed them several times in buckets of fresh water, washed them, rinsed them again, then set them in a sheltered place to dry. Lesson learned.

I'm happy to report that these survivors cleaned up quite well and we're still using them.


A Tavuk Island sunrise