Alanya to Kas

We motor sailed for most of the way to Alanya, and were welcomed by Louisianna, La Vida, Quicksilver and Taralee, all rally boats. We were beginning to wonder if we were in a twilight zone, where the rally never really ended. It was great to see them all, and we spent a few Happy Hours in the Kings pub with them. Alanya is a lovely marina with great facilities and a fantastic pool, so we decided to take advantage of the buy 2 nights get 1 free offer, and chilled out for a few days. On the Friday, the marina laid on a free bus to the local market, and we stocked up on fresh fruit and veg at rock bottom prices. We also managed to recharge the dongle, and after so long in countries where communications with family had been a bit erratic, it was reassuring to no that we were now back in touch. Before we left, we caught the dolmus into town, and walked along the ancient city wall to an amazingly well preserved drydock and boatyard from 1221BC

We made full use of the free washing machines, and good quality water, and left Alanya all clean and fully stocked, ready to spend the next week or so at anchor.

First stop was Cinevis limani, an isolated bay surrounded with high cliffs that plunge straight into the sea. It was quite spectacular, and made all the more special because there were loads of turtles which swam right up to the boat, completely unfazed by us. Inevitably there were rally boats there again, and we had a very pleasant impromptu cocktail party on the beach, with Louisiana and Quicksilver, just to continue the rally tradition!

After 3 nights here, where we thoroughly enjoyed the snorkelling, walks up the hillside and generally just chilling out, we decided to head back up the coast a few miles to Tekirova, and the ancient harbour of Phaselis. We anchored in one of the 3 ancient harbours, and went ashore to look at the amazing ruins, complete with aqueduct, a clearly defined main street with shops and bath houses, and a beautiful theatre.

After a couple of nights here we decided to go back to Cineves for the peace and tranquillity, but unfortunately, some holiday makers from Istanbul had rented a shepherds hut on the beach and used it to hold an all night rave. The music finally stopped at 7.30 am, and when Justin went over in the dingy to investigate, he was told that they would be doing the same again the next night. Funnily enough, we decided to up anchor and move; so much for tranquillity!

We motored around the headland for about 25 miles, to Andraki, which seems to be a base for all the gullets to pick up passengers from the local hotels for day trips. We went ashore and found a tiny shop where we bought bread, and after a short dip in the sea, we realized that there is a cold river which feeds into the harbour here, and it keeps the sea temperatures much cooler. We had a little trip in the dingy up the river, but couldn’t get far because it was very shallow.

Next day we followed the procession of gullets for a couple of miles and ended up in Gokkaya limani, and area where a group of islands form navigable channels a bit like mini fijords. It really is a very beautiful area, and we were very happy to spend a few days here, swimming in the waters cooled by the spring, and watching the gullets come and go. There were no shops or restaurants, so I made bread, which was a great success!

Next we headed into Kekova Roads, an area where a long thin island runs parallel to the mainland creating a long thin channel like a roadstead. We anchored off a beautiful little village called Kale Koy, which has a magnificent castle, and took the dingy ashore to explore. There are no roads here, and everything has to come in or out by boat. As we walked up to the castle we were accompanied by a young Turkish girl who lived there, and she gave us a fascinating insight into how difficult life can be. She goes to school in Myra and has to take a boat and a bus to get there, but she wants to go to Uni in Antalya, which is quite cosmopolitan by comparison. We wondered how she would cope with city life, but then she sold us a sarong and we ended up paying twice the price that we would have paid from the shops at the bottom of the hill. We realized that she wasn’t as naive as we had thought! After a delicious home made lemonade in one of the cafes, we realised that the wind was building, and that the holding for the anchor was a bit uncertain, so we decided to move round the corner to Ucagiz, a landlocked bay which is completely sheltered.

We anchored again under the castle, but this time we had a view from the rear and the next day we took the dingy into the village of Ucagiz to buy some provisions at the little supermarket. Whilst there we ran into Miagi Moon, who we had spent quite a lot of time with over the winter in Yat Marine. We had a cup of tea with them, and caught up on some of the Marmaris gossip!

After a couple of nights here we were running low on water, so we headed to Kas, and the new marina that had hosted us so well at the beginning of the rally. It is still very new, and trying to promote themselves, so they had a special deal of buy one night, get 6 free. We needed to do some jobs on the boat, laundry and shopping, so we didn’t take much persuading to stay for a week. Also they have the most beautiful infinity swimming pool, which is essential as the temperatures soar to 41 degrees.