Early September, 2023



When we left Foça, we decided to see how far south we could comfortably go, before we needed to start heading back toward Greece and then ultimately Montenegro. We thought it would be fun to explore the Güllük Korfezi (Güllük Gulf), since it was reported to have a lot of forests and not a lot of crowds.

Kara Ada 38°25.78'N, 26°20.53'E


Our first stop was a pretty anchorage on the little island of Kara Ada. On shore, we could see goats, donkeys, bunnies, and a small farm house beside an olive grove. Only one other boat had an anchor down, but small day boats came and went every hour or so, tying up briefly at the dock on the western side of the cove, dropping off their passengers, who walked across the beach to have a look at the donkeys grazing in the olive grove, and then have a swim. A herd of goats walked across the beach and out onto the dock to greet every day boat as it arrived, and followed the new arrivals across the beach.



Sağlik Beach 38°19.41'N, 26°17.23'E
We left early the next morning, hoping to beat the forecast south wind to Ҫesme Marina, where we would empty Awildian's black water tanks, and fill up his diesel tanks. But the wind had other ideas; it got up earlier than we did, and was already blowing hard by the time we neared Ҫesme. Rather than try to maneuver in the marina in the strong wind, we anchored in the cove at nearby Sağlik Beach, and decided to try again the next morning. We spent the day relaxing and doing small jobs, and amusing ourselves by imagining that the collection of semi-truck cabs among the palms on the bluff was a "truck resort."


The "truck resort" on the hill

Kirkdilim Limani 38°08.61'N, 26°33.87'E


During the calm of the next morning, we went into Ҫesme Marina and took care of Awildian's pumpout and fillup. We were impressed with the service of the guys at the station. They even had lines that they tossed to us, so we didn't have to use our own.


Unpleasant necessities


How nice that they provide the lines for tying up!

Then we continued heading south, around the headlands past Goldensands Beach, where we'd spent our very first night in Turkey, way back in July. We were heading to Kirkdilim Limani, an anchorage that looked intriguing: a small anchorage at the end of a mile-long, crescent-shaped inlet. The photos on Navily looked stunning, and we wanted to have a look for ourselves.


Kirkdilim Limani from Google Maps

It was as stunning as in the photos. But it wasn't easy to find a good place to anchor: the small cove at the end of the deep inlet was surrounded by rocks and only had a small area with anchorable depths that wouldn't put Awildian too close to the shore. And...there was a boat already there, anchored smack dab in the middle of the cove, so we had to go looking toward the edges. On our third drop, we found a spot that we were happy with, and that Obama the anchor was happy with.



When we were settled, I put our kayak in the water and went paddling around the cove and walking around the forest on shore. It's a beautiful spot.





Middle Cove 38°12.49'N, 26°39.90'E


Outside of our sheltered anchorage, the wind was howling from the north at 20-25 knots. This wasn't a surprise, in this part of the world, in this time of year, and was one of the reasons that we'd chosen to head south. We went south with the wind, huge granite mountains rising up on our left ("like sailing in Yosemite," Eric said), and fish farms strewn across the water on our right. There are so many fish farms in Turkey!

We didn't have an anchorage in mind, but decided to choose one from the many options along the north coast of the Siğacik Korfezi (Gulf of Siğacik). The one we eventually chose didn't have a name that I could find, and since it was the middle of three small coves I gave it the imaginative name of "Middle Cove." My apologies to the Turks for not knowing what they call it.



All of the coves in this stretch of the Siğacik Korfezi are stunning: white and red rocks on shore, white sand beaches, and clear water in innumerable shades of green and blue. We couldn't go wrong with any of them. We chose Middle Cove because it had the fewest boats. Obama grabbed the sand immediately, and we settled in to enjoy the afternoon in this beautiful place.

Later in the afternoon, Eric said, "I hope that dinghy is tied to something," pointing to a red dinghy that was unattended in the water, just off the beach where some people were camping. A few seconds later, a gust came through, pushing the dinghy farther into the water. Down the beach a ways, some guys were hanging out in the shade of a tarp stretched between two trees. Successive gusts pushed the dinghy farther and farther away from the beach. Suddenly, three guys exploded from under the tarp, running flat out down the beach and into the water. The gusts kept pushing the dinghy farther from the beach; there was no way the guys would be able to catch up to it.



The red dinghy before it went AWOL

But every time the wind pushed the dinghy farther from the beach, it pushed it closer to Awildian. We calmly lowered our dinghy, drove over to the wayward red dinghy, picked up its painter, and towed it over to the closest swimming guy. Eventually all three arrived and climbed into their dinghy. They spoke English and thanked us profusely. We told them it was no problem. Just another dinghy rescue for the crew of SCOOTS/Awildian.


Semanli Koyu Cove 38°12.59'N, 26°41.79'E
As you can see from our GPS coordinates, we didn't move very far to our next anchorage. With all the pretty little coves nearby, it seemed a shame not to spend time in another one. Semanli Koyu Cove is another turquoise gem of a spot, and we enjoyed our day there.





Cemetery Bay (Siğacik) 38°12.08'N, 26°46.74'E


We headed for Cemetery Bay ahead of a Low that was forecast to visit Greece and Turkey, bringing strong wind from several different directions, and maybe even some rain. Rain would be nice, since it had been months since we'd seen any, and Awildian was sporting a layer of dust from three countries. Cemetery Bay seemed a good choice because it offers shelter from all directions but the west. Huge Teos Marina was also located here, but in keeping with our policy of avoiding marinas during the summer (mostly because they are so expensive), we were going to anchor out.

It took us quite awhile to find a spot to drop Obama. Much of the bay was too deep, and many areas with reasonable anchoring depths had boats in them already - large barges, fishing boats and other boats, most of them unattended, many of them unloved.



Eventually we found a spot that we could live with, and dropped the anchor in 40 feet of murky water, where he grabbed the ground right away. With the town a half mile away, and the wind kicking up lots of chop in the bay, we opted to hang out on Awildian for the time being, doing some glamorous boat jobs like fixing the inactive "full" indicator light on our holding tank.



The next morning, the rain came - about a dozen drops that only rearranged the dirt on Awildian's decks. After this downpour, we put Rolly in the dinghy and went to town to do some grocery shopping. We wanted to stock up now, before venturing south toward what looked to be a more rural area. After tying our dinghy between some small fishing boats, we walked through town to the Migros supermarket.

The part of Siğacik that faces the water, which is the part that most tourists see, is quaint, with cobbled streets,



cute specialty shops, restaurants, and hotels.



Bougainvillea vines, pomegranate trees, and caper bushes decorated the walkways.



But one street back from these charming areas, in the area of town where the Migros was located, the properties got rough and tumbledown, with junk-filled yards. At the Migros and a fresh produce shop next door, we got everything we needed, and began walking back to the waterfront.


Because this is Europe, random old forts and castles are everywhere. We stumbled upon one on our way back to our dinghy, and had a little walk around, admiring the stonework.






Back on Awildian, we put the groceries away and spent a quiet afternoon. Tomorrow we would continue south and see how far we got.

Late August, 2023

As August came to an end, we were delighted to host some more of our friends. This time, it was a family of four from New Zealand, whom we'd gotten to know while our previous boat, SCOOTS, was moored over several successive summers (and two full years during Covid) at the Town Basin Marina in Whangarei. Brian, who is the marina manager, his wife, Katharina, and two daughters, Zoe and Nina, were traveling in Turkey and spent a few days of their vacation aboard Awildian.



Brian and Co. hired a taxi to bring them to the waterfront near the Ayvalik North anchorage, where Awildian was waiting. Eric picked them up in the dinghy, and I welcomed them aboard Awildian. After they got settled, we lifted the anchor and headed toward Gümüs Cove, where the water was clear and the anchorage was sheltered from the strong NE winds.

As soon as the anchor dropped, the girls jumped into the water, followed shortly after by Brian and Katharina. This is an active family who loves the water!

It wasn't long before Zoe and Nina were jumping off Awildian's roof into the water.




Bullseye!

The girls spent much of their time in the water. It was fun to watch them enjoying themselves.



After dinner, they introduced us to their favorite card game, Five Crowns, which they played almost every day. It's a fun game, and we had a great time playing most evenings. Another evening, the girls wrote and performed a fun play for the adults, with several seamless and quick costume changes.


Planning the production

The next day, we took our dinghy to the beach, to see what the deal was with the HAERE MAI sign at the little campground cafe there. Haere Mai is the Maori phrase for "welcome," and we were really surprised to see it on a random, out-of-the-way beach in Turkey. When we asked the woman who ran the place, she said that she'd recently had a volunteer from New Zealand who'd made the sign.



We continued along the beach until we reached the end, where, a long time ago, people had placed large flat stones to create a partially-submerged causeway from the end of Alibey island, to nearby Maden Island. We walked out a short way onto the very slippery rocks, to have a look around.



While we were there, a Turkish man, who heard all of us speaking English, and some of us speaking Kiwi English, came over and introduced himself. He said that his dream was to one day go fishing in New Zealand. I hope he gets to do that.

The walk along the road was hot and dusty,



so we stopped at the cafe on our way back, to enjoy some cold drinks, while we sat at a table in the shade of a large umbrella on the beach. Life doesn't get much nicer than this.



Our loose plan was to begin heading south, and drop Brian, Katharina, Zoe, and Nina off somewhere along the way. So the next morning we picked up our anchor and sailed south to the sandy beach at Badavut. This was one of the few times we were able to sail this year, which I attribute to the good luck the family brought!







Brian and the girls went swimming, and when they came back, Brian spent some time cleaning the hull and props of the boat. Thank you Brian!


The Badavut cliffs


Some creative time.



After that, we watched as a succession of brides-to-be, bedecked in their fancy, poofy, floor-length white gowns, traipsed along the beach and out along the ledge of the rocky sandstone cliffs - grooms and photographers in tow, trying to get that perfect, one-of-a-kind wedding photo. We wondered aloud dirty their dresses were getting, and we took bets on whether the waves would sneak up and splash them while they posed, with their backs to the sea. One should never turn their back on the sea! Sometimes they did, giving the newlyweds a one-of-a-kind photo, but probably not the kind they were hoping for. Who needs TV when there's stuff like this to watch?







Later, after a fine dinner of Indian food prepared by Eric, we played some games of Five Crowns. Nina stomped us all, to win the night.



The next morning, we headed south again, to an anchorage that we'd been wanting to visit. The Bademli anchorage is a beautiful sandy spot, with clear, turquoise water, between two white rock islands. We dropped anchor and the family headed out in the dinghy to go swimming and exploring.





Several large tourist boats were anchored in the northern part of the anchorage, one of them sporting a huge figure of Davy Jones!



Zoe and Nina made a delicious breakfast the next morning. After brekkie, the girls went swimming, and when they'd had enough, we pulled up our anchor and headed to our next destination.

Foça (pronounced FO-CHA) is a small fishing town with a neat old fort, located on the coast about 21 miles south of Bademli. Brian and Co. had decided that this would be the place where they'd resume their inland explorations. We dropped anchor and then took our dinghy to town. While Katharina and I went grocery shopping; Brian and the girls went to find the bus stop, and to scope out the bus schedule to Izmir for the next day.



After Katharina and I dropped off the groceries at Awildian, Eric joined us and we dinghied back to town, where we met up with Brian, Zoe, and Nina, who had discovered the huge town market and couldn't wait to show us. They'd also found - and purchased - some ice cream, and showed us where, so that Katharina, Eric, and I could also buy some, too.

Ice creams in hand, we went to check out the market, with the girls leading the way through the narrow, winding streets. The market was fabulous, rivaling the Ayvalik Bazaar.



We bought some fresh fruit and veggies, some of my favorite dry-process Turkish olives, and even some Worcestershire sauce, which was quite a surprise find!

Walking through Foça, we couldn't help but notice all the huge Turkish flags, and posters and flags with a man's likeness on it. Katharina learned that the next day was Turkish Victory Day (also known as Turkish Armed Forces day), celebrating the Turks' victory over (and subsequent attempted genocide of) the Greeks in 1922. The man depicted on the posters and flags was Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founder of the Republic of Turkey. On shore nearby was a huge projection screen showing historical pictures and Turkish writing. Anchored in the bay with us was a big gray Turkish battle ship.

Back on the boat, Zoe and Nina had fun counting the large purple jellyfish that were floating all over the anchorage, and scooping up some of the partial ones to take a closer look.





We went to shore to enjoy a farewell dinner at one of the restaurants, walking along the pretty, tree-shaded streets until we found one that suited us.



During dinner, Nina, Zoe, and I shared our food with several stray cats and a dog.



Nina did a great job driving the dinghy back to Awildian. Everyone was too pooped to play cards when we got back, so we all just went to bed.


Foça at night

The next morning we dinghied to shore and said our goodbyes.

It was an absolute delight to have Brian, Katharina, Zoe, and Nina with us; they exude such a positive energy, and it was wonderful to see the love they share, and the consideration they give to each other. As they walked to the bus station, to begin the next part of their land travels, Eric and I dinghied back to Awildian, to continue our own watery travels south.


On the way to more adventures...

Where we went:

August 2023

The Ayvalik Thursday Bazaar


Where is Ayvalik?


The Ayvalik Area with Cunda Anchorage

When the next Thursday came around, we were determined to find the Thursday Bazaar. We'd done some homework to figure out where the bazaar actually was. Our top suspect was another large covered area, near to the ferry docks and to Ayvalik Marina, called "Ayvalik Sebze Ve Meyveciler Odasi," which translates to "Ayvalik Vegetable and Fruit Growers Room." OK that had potential.

We anchored Awildian off the little town of Cunda and dinghied to the town quay, where we caught one of the many ferries to Ayvalik.


The first two passengers

Ferries came and went from Cunda's town quay every half hour for most of the day, and the cost per person for the 15-minute ride was 40 Turkish lira (about $1.50 USD). The cargo and passengers of the ferries were varied and interesting. On our trip, a huge bouquet of balloons rode above the wheelhouse, tied to the railings; women's clothing ran the gamut from full burkas to skimpy bikinis; men were dressed in everything from crisp linen shirts with trousers, to colorful shorts with t-shirts; children scampered around; the scruffy crew hung out in the shade of the wheelhouse with the skipper; some passengers, who, like ourselves, were on their way to the bazaar, carried bags or had rolling carts. People-watching in this part of the world is fascinating.

This time we got it right! After we disembarked in Ayvalik, we joined the steady stream of people who were walking up Ayvalik's narrow streets toward the bazaar. Long before we got to the "vegetable and fruit growers room," we started seeing evidence of the bazaar: tables set up along the street, loaded with all kinds of wares; clothing - everything from dresses to shorts to bras - hanging over the street like multicolored flags; food vendors; spice sellers; ice cream stands. It was such an exotic experience!











On one of the tables we saw small bags of dried hibiscus flowers (what the Mexicans call "jamaica" - pronounced "hah-MIKE-ah"), which got us very excited. Why such a tizzy about dried flowers? During the year and a half that we'd lived in Mexico aboard SCOOTS, we'd made a delicious and refreshing sun tea from dried hibiscus flowers, drinking gallons and gallons of the stuff. But we hadn't been able to find any of the dried flowers since leaving Mexico in 2016. Finding them now, thousands of miles away in Turkey, made our day. We bought five of the bags for the equivalent of a dollar each.

We also scored a couple of kilos of some roasted coffee beans, a rarity as most coffee in the Med is already ground.

We finally arrived at the "vegetable and fruit growers room." This was a huge open-sided, metal-roofed structure with hundreds of vendors selling all kinds of fresh and dried foods: veggies and fruits, eggs, olives, spices, cheese, nuts, and on and on. It was almost overwhelming. But in a good way.


This sign, just outside the Bazaar, translates as "Ayvalik Municipality Goods Market." Looks like we'd finally arrived!



I was particularly hoping to find a spice vendor, to buy some local herbs and spices. I'd made a list of about twenty herbs and spices that I hoped to buy, and then translated each of them into its Turkish equivalent. I thought that this might make the transaction easier.



It did. When we located a spice merchant, I handed him my list. He took things from there, locating each item in one of the dozens of buckets and bins lined up in front of his booth, and scooping them into small bags using a long, shovel-shaped scoop.


The spice vendor's stall

When he got to the basil (reyhan), he surprised me by dipping from a large bin of purple leaves. He only had purple basil, no green. That should make some pretty interesting pesto!

At one point, he started to put a big scoop of saffron threads into a bag until I waved him off. In my experience, saffron is very expensive. I almost never use it, and I just wanted a little bit of it. Turns out that saffron isn't expensive here. Cool! Maybe I'll have to find some recipes that use saffron. In fact the total cost of twenty or so bags of herbs and spices was less than $20 USD.

Another merchant was selling eggs. At his booth were two baskets full of eggs, with slightly different prices. I wondered what the difference was between them. I pointed to each of the baskets in turn and shrugged.


This very clearly says, "free range chicken eggs." I think it's cute that the word gezen translates to "traveling." So, eggs from traveling chickens. :)

He pointed to one basket and pantomimed the sides of a box. Then he pointed to the other basket and made a running motion with his fingers. I got it! One basket had eggs from caged hens, the other were free-range. I bought a dozen of the free-range eggs.


Buying the free-range eggs

Oh my gosh, the olives!! We had never seen so many different types of olives. Bins and buckets of green ones and black ones, wrinkled and smooth ones, wet-brined and dry ones; some that had even been roasted, with the grill marks to prove it. Eric doesn't like olives, but I do. I sampled two or three kinds and discovered my new favorite olive: dry-cured black olives. Yum!


My new favorite kind of olives.

Buying fruits and veggies was an interesting experience, too. For one thing, we had no idea what some of the things were, or how to prepare them if we'd bought them.


What are these? Thanks to Google Translate, we learned that these are fresh hazelnuts.

But there were plenty of the usual, recognizable fruits and veggies, too, and at a very good price. The vendors expected their customers to bargain, something that we definitely couldn't do. Everything had a price clearly displayed, so we just paid the list price. To us, those prices were already really inexpensive, so we didn't mind. But apparently the vendors felt bad that we'd paid full price, because most of them slipped some extra produce into our bag after we'd paid.

Since we didn't know the names for the numbers in Turkish, and the vendors didn't speak any English, they had clever ways to show us what we owed them: some would dig through their cash box and pull out examples of the bills and coins that we should give them, others would punch the numbers into a calculator and show us the display.

Long ago we learned that speaking different languages isn't an insurmountable issue. Smiles, patience, ingenuity, and goodwill go a long way toward communication. Oh, and Google Translate. Definitely Google Translate.

With Rolly stuffed full with our purchases, we walked back to the ferry dock. We boarded a ferry just as it was leaving, paid our 40 lira, and relaxed for the fifteen-minute trip back to Cunda. Once there, dinghied back to Awildian and began finding places for everything we'd bought. It took awhile.

August 2023



Where is Ayvalik?


Ayvalik Area

Pumping out and sticker shock at Ayvalik Marina
We were in the Ayvalik area long enough to need two Turkish-government-mandated fifteen-day pumpouts. Fortunately, we knew that the Ayvalik Marina has a blackwater pumpout station. How convenient! The first time we stopped in, their pumps were broken, so we got what they called a "technical pumpout." This means that we paid the pumpout fee (about $15 USD), the marina registered us as having been pumped out (satisfying the letter of the requirement, but clearly not the intent), and sent us on our way with full blackwater tanks. As we were on our way out into the Aegean, to dump our tanks several miles offshore, Eric opined, "Everyone wins in this scenario except for the environment."


The location of Ayvalik Marina

The second time we went to the marina, two weeks later, the pumps were working, so we actually had our tanks emptied. While we were in the office, enjoying the air conditioning as the marina staff completed our pumpout paperwork, we asked her, "If we wanted to stay one night in the marina, how much would it cost for our boat?"

She typed Awildian's dimensions into her computer. "8422 Turkish lira," she said, which corresponded to $312 USD. For one night! We knew that marinas in the Med were expensive in the summertime (which is why we always anchor out), but this took our breath away. Then she said, "But we have no room at the moment. We're full."

Mistaking our shock for disappointment, she quickly added, "But if you need a space, contact me and I will find a berth for your boat."

Gümüs Cove


The location of Gümüs Cove

On another occasion when a strong NE wind was forecast to blow for a few days, we decided to go outside of Ayvalik Bay and anchor behind one of the nearby islands. We chose Gümüs Cove (also known as Poroselene Bay) because it would provide good shelter from the NE, was reported to have good sand to anchor in, and sports a beautiful white sand beach. What's not to like? Also, the water was clear there, which would be a nice change from the water in Ayvalik's shallow bay, which tends to be murky and not especially conducive to running our watermaker.


Awildian at Gümüs Cove. Definitely not crowded.

The anchorage lived up to our expectations. I would have said "it surpassed our expectations," but we discovered that the cell signal here was spotty and weak, so we couldn't reliably use the internet. That was fine for the time that we planned to be there, but it meant that we'd have to find a different anchorage when we needed a good connection.


Some non-electronic entertainment

One day we went for a walk on shore, exploring the pretty beach (and scooping up a handful of sand for our collection), and then venturing inland to cross the narrow isthmus between Gümüs Cove and the bay to the east (Patrica Bay).



Patrica Bay was taking the bulk of the wind, kicking up sharp chop. Apparently it had proven too much for one monohull, which was now hard aground in the shallows, tilted at a rakish angle, being pounded by the waves and pushed farther toward shore, its tattered jib flapping in the strong breeze. Whether it had dragged its anchor or encountered difficulties while underway, we didn't know, but the result was the same.


Someone having a bad day

A man was on board, another swimming nearby with a mask and snorkel and carrying a rope, looking for something to tie it to on the monohull. Close by, a small power boat held station, bucking in the choppy waves, apparently waiting to pull the monohull when the rope was secured. When the snorkeler stood up beside the boat, the water only came up to his waist. Ooh, not good.

When the rope was tied to the monohull, the driver of the motorboat put his boat into hard reverse, the engines kicking up froth, but he was unable to budge the monohull from its perch. Bugger. The snorkeler untied the rope, waved apologetically at the man on the mono, and swam back to the motorboat. Sadly, the tides here are so small that the usual tactic of waiting for high tide wouldn't help this situation. We continued our walk, leaving the man sitting on his tilted deck.

Yellice Adasi (Yellice island)


The location of Yellice Island

For a change of scenery (and hopefully better cell service), we left Gümüs Cove a few days later and anchored in a pretty little cove on Yellice Island, not that far away. When we arrived, only one boat was anchored, so we considered the available space and gave them plenty of room when we dropped Obama. It was the biggest distance between us and other boats that we had all day.


Uncrowded in the morning

Not long after we set our anchor, the parade of boats began. Little boats and big boats, motor boats and sailboats, all crammed full of energetic Turkish tourists. The boat skippers didn't mind being close to us and to each other. We, on the other hand, were a little leery. At its fullest, fifteen boats were crammed into the little cove, anchored to our left and right, behind us, and between us and the beach. When one boat would leave another would arrive. This was a bit intimidating for us, but I will say that none of them bumped Awildian or interfered with his anchor.


Busy in the afternoon

As the afternoon waned, boats stopped arriving, and by six o'clock, only three boats remained - Awildian, the original boat, and one other. We three enjoyed a quiet and peaceful night at anchor in the uncrowded cove.

Incidentally, the cell service was better than at Gümüs Cove, but not great.

Pinar Adasi (Pinar Island)


The location of Pinar Island

On another occasion when the wind was going to kick up from the NE, and we wanted to get out of the bay and make some water, we headed for an anchorage that I'd been pining for, tucked between two forested islands (haha see what I did there). It was called Ortunc Köyü, and it always seemed to have a few boats anchored there.

We motored out the Ayvalik Channel and headed for the anchorage. When we got close, I stood on the trampoline, looking down into the water to find some sand patches for anchoring. But all I could see, everywhere I looked, were acres and acres of lush, dark green weeds, without even a tiny sand patch to drop Obama in. Bummer.

Some boaters will anchor in weeds, but we won't if we can help it. For one thing, weeds are a notoriously difficult substrate to anchor in - the thick growth keeps the anchor from reaching the bottom, or tangles around it, or makes it slide instead of biting in - not good at all for holding. Nor is it good for the weeds. Weed beds are thriving ecosystems, with all sorts of critters living among the fronds. All good reasons to keep looking for a sand patch.

Which is what we did, motoring slowly, "sniffing" for sand patches along the shoreline of Pinar Adasi. Eventually we did find a good-sized patch of sand, into which we dropped Obama, who held right away.

We spent a few days anchored at Pinar Adasi, sheltered from the NE wind by the bulk of the island, and with the Aegean Sea behind us.



I enjoyed kayaking along the shoreline, which had some really colorful and interesting rock formations,




That white stuff isn't bird poop. It's actually some kind of white mineral that is embedded in the red rock.

and occasionally scrambling up the crumbly hillside to sit with some pine trees, and some cool-looking thorny shrubs whose branches look like stick drawings of organic chemistry molecules.



From sunset until late morning, we were alone, but every afternoon, tourist-laden gullets (large Turkish tourist boats) would motor over from Cunda or Ayvalik, their approach announced in advance by the loud music emanating from their speakers and the loud voices emanating from their passengers.

Click on the link below for a short video of one of the Turkish party boats.

Having a great time on a Turkish party boat

They came near where we were anchored, then turned, dropped their anchor and backed up toward the shore. One of the crew - usually a young man - would dive into the water and swim to shore, dragging a thick rope that was attached to the stern of the boat. He'd tie the rope to a large boulder, then swim back. The skipper pulled tight on the anchor, then turned off the engines and the music. Immediately, people began jumping off the boat as if it were on fire, splashing around in the water or swimming to the beach.


After tying to shore

After a couple of hours, the skipper started the engines and cranked on the loud music. The passengers climbed aboard the boat, the young crewman swam to the boulder, untied the rope, and swam back to the boat. The skipper pulled up the anchor and the gullet chugged away, its passengers dancing to the beat and whooping it up. And another gullet would take its place.

It was a lot of fun for Eric and me to experience this exuberant example of Turkish culture.


Another quiet evening

Eventually it was Wednesday again, and we moved Awildian into the bay, to an anchorage near the town of Cunda. Come Thursday morning, we'd be at the ferry dock, ready to go to the Ayvalik Bazaar. Hopefully for real, this time...

August 2023


Where is Ayvalik?


The Ayvalik Area

Cunda
Cunda is a cute little beach town, with a vibrant and colorful vibe. We were charmed by its cobblestone streets,



brightly-colored buildings,



draping bougainvilleas,



and shady lanes.



Popular with Turkish tourists, Cunda has many restaurants, souvenir shops, clothing shops, and ice cream stands, where tourists can spend their holiday lira.

We enjoyed meals at a few of the restaurants, where the meals were tasty, interesting, and inexpensive. One evening, we wandered along cobblestone streets, our favorite way to choose a restaurant, until we were a bit off the waterfront. There we found a cute little restaurant named Sardunya, along a pine-shaded lane.


The lane with Sardunya's tables

As we were perusing the menu out front (it was all in Turkish), a woman approached us and greeted us in Turkish. We looked up, smiled, and said, "Hello," whereupon she seamlessly switched to English, offering to explain the various menu items to us.

She brought us inside to peruse the glass cases holding dozens of different mezes (Turkish appetizers), and told us what each one was. We chose three: cheese-stuffed peppers, a spread similar to tzatziki, and stuffed grape leaves. We also ordered fried zucchini flowers, which was something new for us. They were really tasty and, I thought, a good use for a part of the plant that is usually discarded. For a main dish we chose their "special" köfte (meatballs).


Eric enjoying our Turkish dinner

The food was great, the scenery pleasant, and the entertainment was free: we enjoyed watching the interplay of the people, animals, and vehicles who all wanted to simultaneously use the narrow lane along which Sardunya's tables were arranged. Servers would emerge from the door of the restaurant, plates balanced on their arms, and have to dodge traffic to get to the tables on the other side. Cats and dogs meandered slowly along the lane, or sometimes lay down on its cool stones, requiring people and vehicles to detour around them. Jackdaws - which look very much like crows, but whose squeaky calls sound nothing like them - called from the pines. Scooters, motorcycles, ATVs, cars, and even a delivery truck - that just barely fit between the tables lining each side of the street - came through in both directions, jockeying for position or squeezing past each other and the tourists who were walking there. It was a laid-back and free-flowing scene that was a lot of fun to watch.

According to Lonely Planet, a restaurant named Bahçecik has a fabulous Turkish breakfast, set among fruit trees in a lovely, shady garden. As soon as I read that, I knew that we had to try it. I had no idea that there was such a thing as a Turkish breakfast, but I can report that it IS fabulous!



What's a Turkish breakfast? you might ask. Well, a Turkish breakfast is sampling of many different items. For us, it meant freshly-made donuts; fresh bread; green and black olives; a small salad consisting of cucumbers, tomatoes and rocket (arugula for you Yanks); a dish of red relish similar to Balkan ajvar; a dish of clotted cream in honey, and another dish of clotted cream topped with sour cherries; a dish of sour cherry jam; a dish of scrambled eggs with green peppers; a dish of sliced sausages; and of course çay.


Van enjoying our Turkish breakfast

Eric also ordered some Turkish coffee. Everything was absolutely delicious, and the total bill was only 550 Turkish lira, or about $20 USD.

Cunda's charming and colorful, Greek-inspired architecture is a reminder that this part of Turkey used to be home to many people who ascribed to the Greek Orthodox religion. Similarly, Greece, was once home to many people who followed Islam. Early in the 20th Century, things got really ugly in this part of the world. Barbarous acts were committed. Of course, it was all about religion.

In a ham-handed attempt to end these atrocities, and to try to bring some sort of peace to the region, diplomats crafted the Lausanne Treaty in 1922, which instituted a compulsory population exchange of followers of the two different religions, between Greece and Turkey. It wasn't rocket science; it's the sort of thing you might do when your two kids are fighting - split them up. It doesn't solve the problem, but it does stop the bloodshed. At least for awhile.

The treaty required the Greek Orthodox-practicing people in Turkey to leave their homes and move to Greece, and the Muslims in Greece to move to Turkey. We're talking about a lot of people here: about 1.2 million Greek Orthodox and 400,000 Muslims were forced to leave their homes and everything they'd ever known, move across the Aegean Sea to a place they'd never been, and start over.

I'm not going to continue the downer here so if you want to learn more about this interesting bit of history, you can start with these links:

Cunda Island the untold story

Population exchange between Greece and Turkey

Kumru Köyü
When the wind was predicted to kick up to 30 knots from the NE, we looked for an anchorage that would provide protection from this direction. Around the corner to the south of the Tavuk Island anchorage were a couple of inlets that would fit the bill. My first choice was one called Camlik Köyü, a nearly-landlocked cove that provided good protection from most directions. It also had a restaurant and a bus stop, so we could eat ashore or venture into Ayvalik if we wanted to. When we got there, we discovered lots of holiday homes and a road lining the shore. Unimpressed, we decided that we'd rather anchor at Kumru Köyü, which had caught our attention with its jaw-dropping natural beauty as we'd passed by on our way to Camlik Köyü.

We backtracked to Kumru Köyü, and dropped our anchor there. Our view was nothing but water and rocky shoreline and pines. And it provided good protection from the NE, too. Perfect.




The next morning, before the wind arrived, I paddled around the cove in our kayak



and went ashore, where I collected some sand and pebbles from the beach to add to our collection, and to wander among the pines.



Ah, pines!



Besides Awildian, only two other boats anchored anywhere near us, also hoping to shelter from the wind in this beautiful place.

The wind eventually arrived and spent a couple of days with us, always blowing at least 20 knots, occasionally gusting to 30-35 knots. Obama remained firm in the muddy bottom, carving a comforting and confidence-inspiring arc on our chartplotter, illustrating his prowess.

The Ayvalik Bazaar - Take 1
When the wind had eased to a dull roar, we pulled up our anchor and headed for the anchorage at Ayvalik North.



Today was Thursday, and we'd heard that Ayvalik has a big produce market and bazaar every Thursday. I'd looked online and found a big covered area called the Ayvalik Belediyesi Semt Pazari, which translated to the Ayvalik Municipal Marketplace. This had to be the place. It was at the northern end of town. Conveniently, an anchorage was nearby, so we'd anchor there and walk to the bazaar.

Along the way, we saw a dinghy with three passengers - crew from one of the boats anchored near Awildian - going the same direction as we were, bashing their way against the leftover chop, sometimes taking a wave into the dinghy. One guy in the back was bailing constantly. We decided to see if they might want a lift...

We slowed as we pulled even with them, and I pantomimed them coming aboard. Discussions ensued on the dinghy, and then big smiles and a thumbs up. Eric angled Awildian over toward them, then reduced our speed. While he went to the stern to help them tie their dinghy, and get them on board, I steered Awildian.

One of the men spoke a little English. He was from Latvia; the others were from Ukraine. They were heading to the Ayvalik Marina, and they were very glad not to be pounding their way there anymore. When we got close to the marina, where the waves had settled down quite a bit, we dropped them off, everybody waving as our boats diverged.


Robert and Robyn Kiwi having a look at the nondescript but convenient Ayvalik North anchorage

When Awildian was anchored, we loaded Rolly up with extra shopping bags and our two cute little gas cans, intending to find a petrol station to fill them with dinghy gas. Then we lowered the dinghy, and zipped the short distance to shore, where there were plenty of places along the seawall to tie up. We walked up the hill in the hot sun to the Municipal Market. Along the way, we passed a woman selling a few veggies, but we didn't stop because we were on our way to shop at the big kahuna.

When we reached the market, we realized right away that something was amiss: it was empty. Not a single person was selling anything. Uh oh... We walked back to the woman selling the produce and using Google Translate asked her where the Thursday market was. She pointed down the main road and said (using Google Translate) "That way. About three kilometers."

Wait...the Thursday market isn't at the Municipal Marketplace? Ugh.

We weren't at all keen to walk that far in the hot sun, or to figure out how to get a taxi, so we bought some fruit and veggies from the woman, checked Google Maps to find a petrol station that we could walk to, filled our gas cans there, stopped to buy a few items at a small grocery store.

It's always helpful to have the "Camera" function of Google Translate handy, when shopping for groceries in a foreign country. For instance, what is this?



I'll save you the trouble. It's cheese made from cow's milk.

Other items are a bit easier to decipher...



Then we walked back to our dinghy, sweaty and grumpy. We'd have to wait another week, to experience Ayvalik's Thursday Bazaar.

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