This could be a long one. But don't despair...there is lots to tell!
We arrived in Fethiye from Gocek last Friday (I think...these days are starting to run together!!). Fethiye is just across this large bay from Gocek. The bay is full of islands and reminds me of the San Juans that way. We had a beautiful (close) beam reach in 10k with the kite up. It was a ton of fun, and great to do some 'real' sailing. We got a late start and because we spent the first few hours beating out of a channel, and Mehari being a catamaran and not doing well to windward, they opted for a bay in between to settle into for the night while we continued on to Fethiye.

Fethiye is this incredibly well-protected natural harbor with zero fetch (waves) and stunning views from the boat - including an ancient rock tomb that had been carved out of one of the steep cliffs surrounding the city. We had tried to see more elaborate rock tombs at Dalyan on the way down here, but were unable to find our way through the river delta.

Sat. was a lay day as we got our bearings and did a reconnaissance run around town. Carola off Koza (Jeanneau 49; AUS) suggested seeing the sights on Sunday so we made plans. Only they took off in the morning without telling us. (I hate it when my friends keep doing that - leave without telling me!!) So we grabbed Mehari and their 5 kids and decided to do our own thing.

We caught a damus (dow-mish; aka van/bus) out of town for the unexpectedly long ride to Saklikent. Along the way I made friends with this simply adorable 11-year-old school girl. She will be a heartbreaker in a few years, but for now she was simply adorable. The damus driver spoke some English so we got to chatting during the hour and a half ride to Saklikent. I didn't even know what Saklikent was or what we were going to see there - I had just heard it was a great place to see.

I was glad I pursued the hunch. We got there and it turns out Saklikent is this deep gorge cut by a river. You could walk about 200 m into the gorge along this walkway above the river onto a sort of island above the river. From there you could observe the multitudes of underground rivers that feed the main river. It was amazing to see the water gushing out of the ground in such volumes. I have seen springs before, but nothing like this!! The canyon walls were similarly intense. The peculiar thing was that none of the underground rivers exited very high up the canyon walls. They were all at river level, or slightly above. So there were no waterfalls in the canyon. It was like the underground rivers were changing their course to match the above-ground river as it carved its course through the limestone walls.

From Saklikent the damus driver offered to take us to Tlos and Yakapark for an extra 5 TL ($3 USD). Well, what could we do? So off we went, again not sure what we would find. But first we had to stop at the restaurant the driver's wife ran and have some chai (tea). Nothing is going to happen fast, like in America. Everything has its time and purpose in Turkey.

It turns out that Tlos is an ancient Greek village built high above the beautiful valley. When I say 'ancient' I mean, like, really, really old. Like, can you say "4,000 years old"? This village was built 2,000 BC!!!! There was a stadium, an agora (marketplace) and more rock tombs. It was weird to see a shepherd herd his herd of goats right through the middle of this historical site. Equally weird for us Americans was the opportunity to climb all over the ruins, including some very steep drop-offs that would have had any American liability lawyer foaming at the mouth! It was no wonder the village was built here - it had a commanding view of the fertile valley below as well as an abundant water supply from Yakapark.

Yakapark was just around the corner from Tlos. It turns out it is more of the same - huge torrents of water coming out of the ground. Only what they have done here is harness the water to create all kinds of unique and creative channels. We saw water coming out of tree trunks and all sorts of weird of little settings. It was pretty cool. The owners were in the middle of building a bunch of platforms in the beautiful trees at the site. From there patrons of the on-site restaurant could quaff their favorite beverage while listening to the rushing water and watching the various water channels from above. It was really quite captivating. But it was low season when we went and we had the place to ourselves.

We got back on the Damus still glossy-eyed from the full day we had just experienced and headed back to town. We were starving, so as soon as we got off the damus we found a restaurant. All the kids got 'pide', which is Turkish pizza. It is not exactly the same as American pizza, as you might imagine, but close enough. It is not shaped round either, but more like a boat - long and skinny with pointy ends.

That was on Sunday. Yesterday (Monday) I went to work installing my solar panels. I got 2 80W panels in Marmaris and decided to mount the puppies above the bimini over the cockpit. Well, drilling through the stainless tubing supporting the bimini was taking me forever...until, that is, Jim from Koza offered to help. Turns out Jim has/had a stainless business in Australia. He showed Eric (Mehari) and I how to sharpen our own drill bits. It isn't hard and to think all this time I went out and bought new bits whenever mine got dull.

So with Jim's assistance, and about 4 drill bits later, the panels were mounted. After lunch Will offered to help pull wire for the panels, so the next 'big job' associated with the panel installation was undertaken. It isn't much fun getting into the deep recesses of the lazarette (aft locker) to pull the wire, but he stood up to the task admirably.

After we pulled the wire I decided to take a 'break' by cutting off a small bit off some shelves I had made in Marmaris. I had the jig saw out and so this was a good opportunity. (One of the things you will find living on a boat is that digging all the crap out of storage to use it is half the battle!) So I trimmed off one side of each of the three shelves. These shelves will convert the hanging closets in each berth into more useable storage since our wardrobe doesn't require many hanging items (if you know what I mean). I mean, how many t-shirts do you really need to hang up!!


Anyhow, after watching a large, plastic yoghurt container float by the boat, I decided that the small piece of plywood of mine that fell into the water was just too much pollution for Fethiye. So as I leaned over to pull the small piece out of the water I lost my balance and nearly fell in! There I am sprawled out above the water with half of me on the boat and the other half on the dinghy! I saved myself from getting wet, but not the jig saw! In it went for a nice little swim.

It was still attached to the extension cord, but it wasn't running. I thought that since I was having such a productive day that maybe, just maybe, I might get lucky. So after fishing the saw out of the water I took it to the galley and ran fresh water through it. (I figured by this time I couldn't do any more harm to it and maybe the fresh water would wash out the salt water which I know is not good for motors or electronics.

After washing and draining the saw like it was a casserole dish, I performed surgery on it on the cockpit table to open it up and let it dry. To make a long story short, when I reassembled the thing and hit the switch, it purred like a kitten!! Well, actually, jig saws don't really purr. This sounded more like a cat being tied to a bumper and dragged down the street behind a truck doing 15 mph! But at least the thing runs!!

Today (Tuesday) Mehari and us are trying to decide what to do. Today is market day in town. After that we aren't sure. Neither of us wants to say 'good-bye'. They are headed east; us west. I offered to give them a sailing lesson since they have only been sailing 2 years. We may do that today. Then either this afternoon or tomorrow morning we will likely make for a small bay over on the Gocek side where I hear there is fresh, clear, unfiltered and unchemicalized water we can use to fill our tanks. From there it will be back to Marmaris.

As Eric was noting, it is nice not to have to be anywhere until November - 7 months away!!