Turkey here we come.... 3 blog catch up today, so scroll down

When entering a new country, you are supposed to fly the 'Q' flag which is orange, the Q standing for Quarantine harking back to the Cook era.

Formalities can be time consuming and tedious and so we decided to simply fly the Turkish flag as if we'd complied with the rules and visit some anchorages for which the Turkish coast (or Turquoise coast) is famous.

We'd then head for Bodram where the Frasers would depart for Rome on the 18th, giving us a couple of days to explore before they went.

First stop, Yedi Adelari 30 odd miles away. The boat was back in the water by 11:30. We gave it a quick scrub and by 12:00 on the 13th September, we were on our way.

The Meltimi is very consistent here. Very light in the early morning, but by 10:30am the white caps appear and she is blowing 25 knots and does not quit until late into the night. From Kos the wind comes from the West, so we had everything up making 8 knots all the way to our first anchorage.

A beautiful spot up 'East Creek' well protected from the prevailing wind, but not the turquoise coast we had been sold. The water was clean, but not pristine. Greg swam the long line ashore, but hot as it was, we didn't envy him. The shore line was littered with the usual coastal flotsam and really quite a disappointment.

In the morning we decided to head for Castle Island. This is a place where Cleopatra had galleon loads of sand imported from Egypt to create a beach for her lover Mark Anthony


A complicated exit because by our 11:45 departure time the wind was finding its way onto our starboard beam so as soon as the long line was released at the far end, the wind would push the boat into the rocky shore to our port. We made it, but it did mean towing Greg for quite a way before he was able to get back onto the boat. Really not sure how we will do this without them?

Castle Island was crowded with Tripper Boats and tourists but we found a spot and waited for them all to leave before taking in the environment. Once again, the shoreline was littered and the water had oil slicks from the tripper boats.

In the morning we ventured ashore and after a long a difficult bush bash we were rewarded with a fantastic and intact amphitheater among other fairly impressive ruins. Unfortunately, given that we swam in, I have no photographs at all of this island to show you....

We had one more night of anchoring before having to head for Bodrum and we'd have to leave early to avoid beating straight into the westerly Meltemi. We chose Cokertme as our destination and at 07:15 on the 15th September, Wendy swam to retrieve the long line and we were on or way.


Cokertme instantly overcame all our Turkish disappointment as we entered the bay.

We had managed to avoid the wind and we were met by a man in a dingy. He pointed out where we should moor, which was on his jetty. I positioned the boat and when I looked around, we was standing on our boat. He'd hopped up off his with very long slime line in hand and gave me advice as we reversed in.

Moored,. All we needed to do was eat at his restaurant and the wifi, the power, the water, the laundry and the mooring were free!

We were in by 10:30 just as the Meltemi cranked up outside the bay.

Getting somewhere early means you can really enjoy the place even though we were only there for the one night.

The water was pristine and the kids frolicked for hours on and around the jetties and a floating swim platform.

The Frasers found shaded sun beds and Sal and I relaxed in true Turkish style enjoying what turned out to be quite expensive Rose'. The food was out of this world, so fresh, so tasty and so different from what we had been eating over the past 5 months. Sal is in her element having tired of Greek cuisine within a month of arriving there....

We dined at the water's edge that evening. More exquisite flavours, washed down with sumptuous Turkish wines but when the bill arrived, we did come to understand why everything was free if you ate at their restaurant.....