Subject: 2001-11-11@ October 28th to November11th The last 16 days we have been cleaning and fixing and cleaning and fixing the boat... we need a vacation!!! We are also getting bids for work that has to be done when we come back to Turkey in January. In between, Rudy and I have been exploring the town by bike and visiting the bazaars. We also took a ride to the town of Antalya. We went the north route going and the southern route coming back. There was snow on the tops of some of the mountains! They do ski here! We visited the towns of Fethiye and had dinner there, Korkuteli where our hitch-hiker was dropped off (more about that later), Antalya where we have to go again to spend much more time and Kemer where we visited another marina. The southern route followed the coast and was about the darkest(it was night), longest winding road we have been on. Good thing there was a huge full Halloween Moon to brighten the road. When we picked up the hitch-hiker (a little old man ), I tried to speak to him, but since neither of us could speak the other's language, it was mostly hand waving and facial expressions!!! He blessed us for giving him a ride when he left us. He did make himself understood how sorry he was about the terror attacks. In fact, everywhere we go in Turkey, people express their compassion for the Sept.11 horror. People here are so very friendly, kind and helpful. Everywhere you go, they offer you Turkish tea and have you sit. Then they start asking questions wanting to find out all about you and your family. At the marina there is no place that I can do my own laundry. I just have to SUFFER and get my laundry... picked up at my boat, washed, dried, ironed (everything is ironed...EVERYTHING!!) and folded and brought back to the boat for $3.13 a load!! AND...the food is so reasonable I don't cook on board every night. The restaurant in the marina gives us 20% off (a roast beef hero normal price is less than $2!) and they gave us a free buffet the other night with trays and trays of food and desserts with punch, wine and champagne!! With all this free time, we joined the Sports Club which is less than 5 minutes from our boat for $15 a month and we will get an extra 25% off because we are a LIVEABOARD in the marina. It has a fully equipped physical fitness center, free weights, a full size basketball and volleyball court, a jogging track, two saunas, two whirhpools, squash court, six tennis courts, 4 bowling alleys, yoga, dance classes and aeobric classes as well as three cafeterias. I THINK I AM GOING TO LIKE IT HERE!!! Turkey is the first country we have visited that is Muslem. They have Mosques every few hundred feet it seems. At sunrise, sunset and five other times during the day, they say prayers over the loud speakers on top of the Mosques. Surprising... it became part of our daily living here and stopping mentally for a few minutes, several times a day, is very mentally relaxing!! (To me anyway...Rudy is always relaxed!!) We went bowling the other night. There were 10 of us. The first game Rudy got the highest score (167) and I came in second (127..2 strikes and a spare in the first three frames!!). Rudy was second by 5 pins in the second game with a 142, however it all went down the gutters for me!!! Tonight we had a BBQ with about 50-60 Liveabroads. Everyone brought their own drinks and meat and also a dish to share. It was another great way to meet people and share ideas. Today they also started a Yoga class which will meet 3 times a week. The boat is being pulled-out tomorrow morning and we found a three room apartment to stay in... the cost you ask... $17.50 a night with breakfast for two people!! After three nights in the apartment, we fly to Istanbul and tour that for three days and then fly to the states on Sunday. We have made an American contact who works in Istanbul and he has been so wonderful to us. He has made hotel and tour guide arrangements for us and since these people are friends of his, they are waiting for our arrival. Next stop ISTANBUL!!!