01/10/07 Colin, Trish and I caught the 0840 water taxi into Marmaris to search for one or two things we needed, including a large hypermarket we had heard about, and to check out the other marina in town with a view to moving there (too expensive, too near the night clubs!). We returned around 3pm to find Storm Dodger and Impulse had arrived and were moored close-by, so the rest of the day and evening was spent catching up with their news.
04/10/07 A strange phenomenon today which someone was calling 'rain!!' Woke to the sound of rain which only lasted a brief while, but later in the afternoon the skies turned black and the heavens opened, the wind howled and the thunder and lightning was all around the bay. It continued into the evening but had stopped when we all left the marina restaurant around midnight. It made a pleasant change and is the first real rainfall on land since Gibraltar.
05/10/07 Happy Birthday Colin! Astrid, Gina, Trish, Colin, Roger and I caught the dolmus into town during the evening, all trying the local Turkish food in Sofra's restaurant for Colin's birthday.
07/10/07 Sadly, all from Storm Dodger flew home to England because of a family bereavement. Our condolences from all the group here.
08/10/07 Went out on Moody Time for a half day sail with Colin, Trish and Vic who is here on holiday with them, just around Marmaris Bay, stopping at a local anchorage for lunch and a swim.
16/10/07 Nothing unusual happening over the last few days, just the daily jobs onboard or trips into Marmaris. The weather is now changing from hot and sticky, to sunny but cooler. It's also time for the first rains of October and we've had a couple of thunderstorms over the weekend, the rain seeping in through my deck hatchways. I guess the constant flexing of the boat in rough seas has allowed cracks to appear in the hatch sealant, which now obviously need to be resealed in preparation for the winter. Today, Colin, Trish, Vic and I joined several hundred tourists and spent the day on a boat trip from Marmaris to Dalyan, some two and a half hours along the coast, where we transferred onto smaller river boats to enter the Dalyan River delta (running aground in the process) and travel upriver to see the Lycian King Tombs at the site of the ancient city of Caunos. The tombs, believed to be that of King Amnythas, his son and three daughters, were hewn from the rock by two thousand slaves using just hammers and chisels, whilst hanging on ropes down the cliff face, and took some 25 years to complete. Caunos (pre 400BC) was once a sea port, but over the centuries, the silt from the Dalyan River has choked the entrance and now the ruins lie several miles inland. We also visited the Dalyan spa sulphur springs where I chose not to chuck myself into the mud (but it was hilarious to see others do so!), before coming back downriver to Turtle Beach, a 7km long sandy, environmentally protected haven for the endangered loggerhead turtle, spared from the builders and developers by the efforts of David Bellamy and other like minded individuals.
21/10/07 Happy Birthday Sandra! Trafalgar Day......and still no National Holiday in England! Well, a change of temperature for me - I flew into London Gatwick late last night for a visit to family and friends - and it's freezing here!! A somewhat worrying phone call from Gina in Marmaris, informing me that a storm arrived just after my departure and winds of over 75 knots had pushed the bow of Rhumb Do onto the pontoon, though she assured me there was no damage done.
30/10/07 After staying a couple of nights at Ann's house, (Sandra was also staying there whilst working in Tunbridge Wells), and a couple with Trev and Babs, I collected a hire car and drove up to Lancashire to see my Mum and brother, arriving at Clive and Barbara's after several detours avoiding accidents and roadworks. It's the first time I've driven since September '06 and nothing has changed - the traffic is still as bad as ever!
31/10/97 Clive and I spent some time with Mum this morning. It was lovely to see her again.
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