Goat-Milking, Wellington-Wearing Local Girls

11:08am – weighed anchor and am pleased to say our mollusc stabbing has done the trick.  The prop spins more freely and our revs are up.

After our turtle sighting in Fethiye two days earlier I was asked to conjure up dolphins. This was a tall order as marine sightings are rare and as the saying goes, a watched pot never boils.  As we motored towards our next anchorage at Tomb Bay, I made my way to the same spot on the boat I sighted the turtle, filled my heart with Chi and called to the sea.

Some say that there are certain animals who sense emotions deep within and while my soul repairs itself from events back home, my heart bloomed like a rose, these are the ingredients necessary to call the dolphins and whether you believe this or not, the following was entered into the ships log – “11:40 – 36° 41.778N 028° 53.780E – SIGHTED DOLPHIN OFF STARBOARD SIDE – STEERED TOWARDS THEN SIGHTED 3 OR 4 MORE SURFACING”

I took as many photos as I could of this sighting as proof, but warn you that even with a high shutter speed selected to counter my adrenalin rush, the photos are not brilliant.  Whilst I enter my sighting into the log, I hear laughter and excitement on deck – apparently a dolphin (who I shall name Sally) launched herself out of the water, back flipped, winked, then disappeared.

This break really is turning out to be one amazing experience to the next.

We moor up in Tomb Bay using a line tied around a tree, which Jamie notes in the log as “a perfect manoeuvre by the Furlong Family”.  We leave Liz slaving in the galley while the rest of us take Tinker over the bay in search of the tombs.

We find one of the Lycian tombs, which is a bit of a climb, snap a few shots, then are asked to leave by the local goats.  Back on Esper, Liz has prepared a wonderful buffet which we feast on after our mini adventure.

We weigh anchor and move on to Tersane Adasi – an island 2.7 nautical miles South East of Tomb Bay.  The rickety pontoon fronts another restaurant for those who want a break from self catering.  I would describe this restaurant as a working farm, with tables and chairs suitably positioned under a canopy with multi-coloured light bulbs daisy-chained through the trees.  The ancient ruins of a settlement scatter around the edge of the farm, possibly damaged by earthquake at some point.

As we approach the pontoon, a very sweet Turkish girl comes running out in her Wellington boots and takes our lines.  We tie up and she runs off again.  When Jamie catches up with her later, he tries to explain to her that we will be staying for food and wine and not to bother slaughtering any goats as we opt for a vegetarian meal.  Her lack of English forces much gesticulation and humble apologies which only accentuates her innocent sweetness.

Mum costumes up and bravely lowers herself into the crystal waters, closely followed by Dad and myself.  The water around here during the day, at first takes your breathe away, but soon you find yourself joining Esper and allowing the brine to float you over the volcanic surface.

Throughout these visits, you find yourself bumping into the same faces/boats and it is mostly the English who you have a strong affinity with because you are here on the same terms.  It is very friendly and you make friends very quickly.  Jamie notes their names and their boat names into the narrative on his log which appears to be an excellent way of “connecting” throughout your journeys.

After Jamie finishes a chat with a guy who happens to live fifteen miles from my home town, we settle down for something to eat and drink.  Once again, the sweet farmer’s daughter comes running down to us and apologises that dinner will not be ready for a while as she is milking the cow and off she runs.  Though we don’t hear said cow, as we play our game of Rumicub, we are surrounded by bleating goats, hooting owls, braying donkeys, jumping fish and crowing cockerels – life on this island is actually quite noisy!

Food is served, a mixture of wonderful, colourful vegetables, crisp, fresh salads, aromatic herbs and golden chips.  The aubergine dish, by the way, is well worth ordering twice!

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