Chilly Winter!

Here's Emma sitting in front of a space heater in the hotel room. We have been very blessed to be able to stay at "Domino's" a hotel run by a great English couple, Paul and Karen. They have made us feel very welcome as they usually don't have guests during the winter. We more or less have the whole hotel to ourselves most of the time, which is strange, but they're here on weekends running the restaurant and bar for the local English expat community. By the way, Paul is an excellent cook and we've been regulars at the Friday night fish-n-chips dinners. I can't imagine fisn n chips in London could be better, or more accurately, "Brilliant"

It's been a bit colder during the month of January than December, and we keep steadily buying more layers, praying February is warmer and Spring comes soon!

With it being cold and sometimes rainy, we've been spending a lot of time hanging out in the rooms, playing games, going to the neighborhood park, and having fun walking to the market (fantastic fruit & veg) and riding the Dolmus (public buses). Of course, lots of cool shopping sprinkled in there as well.

We're now planning a road trip which may include Istanbul, I can't imagine an easier way to get there or see it. From everyone we've talked to or heard from, it's an experience we shouldn't miss, so we'll keep you posted.

See you soon,

Hems

Marina Visit

Here's Erik's parents John and Rosie on our first outing to check out the marina and the sailboat. This is one of the travel lifts in the marina capable of lifting 330 tons! And believe it or not, I have doubts it could lift some of the huge boats out of the water here in the marina. I mean they are HUGE! (not Mehari of course!)

Anyway, they came aboard the boat and were surprised by how big it was.....so I guess that's good! Maybe they would change their mind after a few weeks with 5 kids on board!

We had a good time, seeing where we've been and boat projects we've been working on. The marina has a great sauna on site that's open only certain days of the week, so we took advantage of that and had a good sweat in there.

They were also able to meet some of the friends we've made over the Winter. There is a family on 'Time Warp' Peter, Ruth and Will (13) They are newer livaboards as well, and have already crossed the Atlantic last Summer on their way to the Med, so we were impressed. I think they actually know what they're doing! No, it's been fun meeting them and they've since headed back to the States. Pater is taking his Captain's Test far another Atlantic crossing next year. At our rate, we could very well still be in Turkey!

We also met another boat, 'Tiger' with Neal, Emile (7) and Peter (5) originally from South Africa, now Americans. They have been cruising for almost 4 years and were getting ready to finish their circumnavigation when their mast broke about 15 miles from here. That left them stuck for the Winter and Neal's wife went back to the US to work ($$) for repairs and Neal is here getting ready to head out early Spring and head across the Med. They kids are great and Emile had a great little business selling rope knots he makes. He's made something like $200 just this Winter.

So......between boat projects, and hanging out with our new friends for potlucks, quiz nights, & game afternoons, and now with my parents here, the Winter is actually quickly passing and we'll be sailing soon! We all can't wait!

Anyway, that's it...see you soon.

Hems

No Camels :(

Rain!! We found out late Saturday afternoon that the camel wrestling was cancelled. It had been raining since Wednesday and if the ground is too muddy, they can't do it. With the camels being worth something like $60,000 each, I guess I can understand. We were disappointed, but decided to make a road trip anyway and went to a local Thermal Hot Spring and Mud Bath. The temperature was perfect, not too hot. The bottom of the pool was gravel and the whole pool was made of marble slabs, situated next to a huge mountain lake. Very gorgeous setting. I'm sure it's been used for thousands of years.

Afterward, we went to a lake village on the other side and had some Turkish Chai sitting by the lake, while the kids burned some energy on a big playground right on the boardwalk. We also sampled some Turkish donut type sweets called Locmav. Basically anything fried covered with sugar is good, so they hit the spot.

Next we went to a town called Dalyan, where there is unique rock tombs carved high up on a sheer cliff by Romans some 1500 years ago. It was a burial site for their royalty, and judging from the work involved, they must have been loved (or feared!) Their settlement was just over the hill so we hiked there and scouted around the ruins as the sun slipped behind the mountains. I'm sure this town was on the Mediterranean at one point, but with earthquakes in the area, now there is just a ribbon of a river tying it to the Med. You can see it in the distance and it made a majestic end to a great day. We were all reminded again of our insignificance!

Thanks God!

Getting ready to move.....

Tomorrow we head into to town for a little change of scenery. Erik's parents, John and Rosie are coming into town and staying for a month! We're all excited to see them and catch up after our first 7 months of sailing.

We were able to find a great apartment in town run by an English couple, Karen and Paul, who themselves are yachties. The place they own is called 'Domino's' and it's a great location in the center of town, and an easy walk to groceries, the big Thursday produce market, and lots of shopping.

The first thing out of the gate for them will be adjusting to the time difference. I know it took us almost a week to stop waking up at 3 am, wide awake, so hopefully they adjust quickly. Then Sunday morning after they arrive, it's off to Selcik for Camel Wrestling, Turkish style...I understand it's a bit like running of the bulls in Pamplona, only in slow motion. Let's hope.

The past week has been interesting, lots of activities! Levi and Erik had the opportunity last Saturday night to attend a kick-boxing event in Marmaris. The marina arranged for free tickets and we thought, why not? I went for the cultural experience if nothing else! How often do you get to see hundreds of Turks fired up and ready to fight and not be wearing a uniform? Kidding... it was fun, we appreciated the athletic ability to be hitting someone with your fist, while you're trying to kick them in the head at the same instant. Not an easy feat you can imagine. About 15 of us from the Marina went in town for it and didn't get back until 12:30!

Meanwhile, finally in the finishing stages of some overdue boat projects and still hoping to keep chipping away over the next 6 weeks. It's hard to believe the time to departure is quickly approaching! Time to start looking at the maps and planning our attack.....

Later!

Hems

Home sweet home

Here we sit in Yacht Marine, Marmaris. and if we have to sit in a marina, this is a great place to be 'stuck'! We have, we think, the best spot in here, we're tucked in 'side-to' tied up secure and kinda tiucked out of the wind. We're blocked from the wind by several hundred boats out of the water for storage and a big row of Eucalyptus trees. So we're happy.

Trying to chisel away on a bunch of boat projects and so far, doing pretty well checking them off the list. Nothing major, just small things it'll be nice to get done and the things you can't ever seem to get to when you're on the move. Rachel's borrowed an industrial sewing machine and we picked up some fabric from an upholstery shop in town and she's busy making storage pockets we can hang on any available wall space. For us -- storage is the biggest issue (this week) You MUST be organized to live in small space and not have to move everything around all day long !!

John and Rosie (Erik's parents) are coming next week and staying for a month! We're excited to see family and show them around our favorites of Turkey........
The first thing we get to go to right after they get here is going to be quite an experience,...... "Camel Wrestling" is happening near-by, and we're going with a group in a van we rented. I can't imagine what it's all about, but apparently the Turks get into it with traditional dress and it's quite a show. We'll certainly be posting pictures of that!!

See you soon,

-Hems

Sarah?.......Zoe?

Some of you may have seen or heard we've been calling Sarah, "Zoe" , let us explain.......
Sarah is a name that means 'princess' and while she is that, at times, she is more often 'full of LIFE' which is what the name "Zoe" means.

• It's not unusual to find her in two sets of clothes with a crown and one glove and two different shoes, of course on the wrong feet.

• When the ferry boat driver asked her what her name was she told him, "My name is Sarah, but they've been calling me Zoe for about 10 years now"

• She also informed us last week that her favorite actor is "Tarzan", what a coincidence that her idol is a wild man running around half naked in the jungle.

• She loves exploring and climbing all over the boat and she likes hiding in closets and lockers and giving us heart attacks when we can't find her.

So, if you read the blog and are wondering who this new child is....it's Zoe. It seems, as we've been living so close together, that we are really able to see her personality up close, and it's been fun to watch her grow!!

Marmaris Photo Update

Mehari sitting at anchor in the city dock, right downtown!

"Blue Moon" New Years' Eve

Maggie taking Zoe for a ride around the marina

Cool Coastline from Turkey

Mehari - safe and sound in Yat Marine

Lily and her new friend from France - Tahaa

Rachel and her new 'friend' Levi

Emma's friend Jordin at a tea party

Downtown Marmaris - lots of shops to explore

Lily and Zoe, always grandma magnets!

Happy New Year!!

Hello from Marmaris,

We've had a few busy weeks, thinking we were going to be sitting around in the marina., however, we realized the season is fast approaching and with a visit from John and Rosie, we only have a few weeks to get the boat ready for season. After talking to a lot of other experienced cruisers in the marina, apparently the lists never get done!

So...we're doing the best we can. There is an area in town called 'Sanai' which is a large industrial area where you can get almost anything machined, welded, fabricated, repaired, milled, etc. You just head in there with what you're looking for and they send you to someone in the area who deals with that area. Very nice to have it all together, every city should have one! It would sure cut down on running around!
We've had a winch rebuilt and some wood cut for pieces on the back deck and are waiting for a water tank to be repaired.

Last night was New Years' and we got together with two other families here in the marina for a potluck and cards. One family from South Africa/America on their way to complete a 3 year circumnavigation, and their mast broke here in Turkey!! They started in Boston area and have been traveling West, through the Panama canal, across the Pacific and through Asia. So, the wife is back in the States (US) earning some money so they can finish. He's here in the marina with two young boys waiting for Spring.
The other family is a husband/wife and a 13 year old boy from Seattle. He bought and refit the boat in New Hampshire this Spring and they came across the Atlantic in June, and have been through the Med since then. Their plan is to go back across the Med and then back to the Carribbean next December.

Our plan, for the moment, is to head up through Greece in early March, weather permitting, and into either Italy or Albania, Monte Negro, Croatia through the Summer. We haven't figured out wintering next year, just know that we want to be warmer than we have been this year! We were not set up for winter at all and have been buying sweatshirts and more clothes. One thought is North Africa, Tunisia perhaps. We've heard good things from those who have spent some time there, so we'll see. It's hard to plan too far ahead.

That's it for now, talk soon!

Hems