May 11th to May 18th

REFLECTIONS OF TURKEY

So far, Turkey has been the hardest place to leave.  The people of Turkey, 
our fellow cruisers, the delicious produce and meat, the magical sites and 
the wonders around every corner (we traveled over 4,000 miles by car) are 
going to hard to beat!!!  The Turkish people have been the kindest, 
friendliest people as a whole we have come across.  Our special thank you to 
Ufuk Sayer the manager at Netsel Marina and all his people.  Ufuk was never 
too busy to answer our questions and always with thoroughness and a warm 
smile!!! The marina crew was also great.  When the winds came up in the 
middle of the night, the crew at Netsel Marina would be out in their 
dinghies putting extra lines on our boats and they always waiting to catch 
our lines coming and going into the marina as well as arriving in their 
dinghy to help if needed.  Also, our special thanks to Erton the manager of 
Pineapple’s and his waiters (especially Gazi) who made their restaurant feel 
like our second home. We enjoyed our weekly game nights and every meal we 
had at Pineapple’s. My favorite shop in the little Bazaar in Marmaris is 
called the Kilm Art Shop..ask for Gazi.

We left on May 11th with eyes glistening especially when we said good-bye to 
John and Pam, Lois and Eric, Pat and Dick, Dan and Nillie, Connie and Paul 
and John and Tania. ( everyone else said their good byes when they left!!)  
Dan was waving good-bye at the outer breakwater as we cleared the harbor 
entrance. We hope to see you and Nillie  when we come back to Marmaris and 
everyone else as we continue our travels.

We arrived at Symi at about 5 pm after motoring all day, mostly into 15 kts 
on our nose.  It took us three hours to check in…don’t ask!! Since it’s 
Symi, Rudy went diving again, this time for his tool for the windless. (he 
did it thank goodness!!)  The water was not as cold as when he, Jaclyn and 
Jason went for a swim the day we took them sailing in the Marmaris Bay!!  (I 
took pictures)  Anyway, about 2 a.m., the winds woke us and almost everyone 
else tied to the wall.  We all made sure our lines were secure and then 
tried to go to sleep.  Then about 5 a.m., we woke again, but this time it 
was the roll that came in and we decided to leave earlier than scheduled.

We arrived in Kos on Mother’s Day after we motored all day again in calm 
winds!!  We had a quiet dinner at a Mexican restaurant whose cook hadn’t 
arrived, so someone cooked us Greek food instead.  We are doing many little 
chores and waiting for Shawn and Nancy to arrive on May 20th.  The marina is 
new and has great bathrooms and showers, a small grocery, an ATM, a 
chandlery, an Internet service and a laundry.  We have our bikes and will 
explore more of the island on them!!!

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