Winter makes an early appearance

Our usual Mediterranean gear??

What a difference a week makes! We remain in Fethiye to wait for Cathy’s sister Marion and her husband John to arrive on 3rd October. The moment they arrive in the early hours one morning after a long drive from Antalya, a fierce northeasterly plunges the temperature to the low teens, and we have to dig out our jeans and fleeces.

View of Yes Marina, Fethiye

We decide to wait until the wind abates to make the long trip down to Kas, especially as poor Marion had seriously bruised her ribs falling from her horse just three days before and wouldn’t appreciate a rough ride. The wind made our berth at Yes Marina very uncomfortable and after a sleepless night feeling like we were crossing the Channel, Marion and Catherine checked into a local pension to get a peaceful night, leaving John and Leighton onboard. That’s a first!

John dreaming of his next boat-building project?

Leaving Fethiye, we had a very brisk sail towards Gemiler but before we reach the Seven Capes the wind’s gone and we motor the rest of the way to Kas, pushed on by a dying swell. At least it’s getting warmer. A rolly sail the next day takes us to Kekova and we finally start to relax.

AAhh......Kekova........heaven

A good dose of sunshine and a bit of gentle walking is the perfect tonic for Marion’s bruised ribs, and she manages remarkably well given a boat isn’t the most comfortable environment.

Past Bunda Burun, Finike comes into view. We call up Setur marina on the VHF to let them know we’re approaching.  Their crackling reply echoes across the cockpit, ‘Makarma, this is Setur Marina, welcome back.’  It is six months and over 1,000 miles since we left in April.

The marina dogs are underwhelmed to see us

Pleased to be home

Fiona comes to visit

Fiona in her element

Cathy’s sister Fiona is always a welcome guest onboard, even though this year she arrives at 2am one Sunday morning when Marmaris’s nightclubs are still competing with each other to wake the dead.

Delicious Chinese meal at Kumlubuku - our first stop

We have a fantastic week. As the week goes by, we fall into a relaxing routine of a walk every morning, plenty of swimming in calm water, and eating out most evenings.

Kapi Creek

The only decision is which of Skopea Limani’s many restaurant pontoons we’ll use. The weather stays idyllic and we even have a couple of good sails.

Setting off on another morning's walk

Inspecting the Lycian tomb at Tomb bay

Fiona fancies the slide on the gin palace

Showering off after another swim

At the end of the week we anchor in Fethiye bay and row ashore to eat a last meal at Fethiye’s fish market before putting her on the bus to Dalaman. The bus trip turns out to be the only bad experience of the week, but Fiona makes it in time for her flight back to Bristol.