Fethiye - Snorkeling Bonanza

At the helm
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Friday 15^th June – Fetihye and multiple islands/bays!!

Got up early and went for a nice run in the baking sunshine (Jo is getting up earlier by the day). We checked out and headed for our boat cruise. We boarded a beautiful boat named Kartel 10 and set sail...The boat has a crew of 3 and 16 guests on board for our trip, Captain, Chef and Deck Hand, all 3 never stop working! The boat is amazing, 3 sundecks with loungers. On this trip we travelled from bay to bay in scorching sunshine, stopping to snorkel and eat as Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner is provided on board. A highlight is when visiting vendors in the small motor boats come and sell local produce including pancakes, icecreams and cakes – yummy! The food is amazing and is so fresh but we struggle eating the European breakfasts – tomatoes, cucumber, olives and cheese first thing in the morning. The day basically consisted of snorkelling, eating heaps of fresh food, laying in the sun and chat with all the other people on board from various countries including David and Julie from NZ who were lovely and Leigh fascinated as David is a pilot!

Antique Turkish Hammam Ruins
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Saturday 16^th June – Island hoping!

Woke up to brilliant sunshine again, looking through the portholes in our room to peaceful surroundings including crystal clear waters. Another fresh breakfast including cucumber, peeled fresh tomatoes, feta cheese, olives, bread and beautiful honey. This was quickly followed by a snooze on the comfy sunbeds and relocation to a new bay. The day was pretty repetitive of yesterday were we relaxed, snorkled and chatted to our new found friends. However, Jo took the helm and sailed us to two different bays, only requiring help from the captain to reverse and park up. Only one minor drama – as we were relocating to another bay 20 Lira flew out of a book into the ocean. The captain immediately circled the area but it was gone!! We then pulled up by an ancient Roman Hamam and explored the surroundings. Tonight we had a disco on board to celebrate Ebony (one of the Australian girls) birthday. Learnt a few Turkish dance moves from Silvia the German girl and had a great night drinking Efes (Turkish beer). Leigh thought it would be a good idea to take a skinny dip with the 3 other Australian girls that he appropriately named Huey, Duey and Luey! Another completely relaxing day!!

Lazy days for LOL
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Sunday 17^th June – Island hoping return to Fetihye

Early morning swim with the little fishes was very rejuvenating after the previous night of beers. Another fresh Turkish breakfast we then headed off for a new spot passing dolphins on the way. The snorkling at the next bay was fantastic, we saw Pike fish and a sea snake curled up, but the water was so clear! Jo learned how to play backgammon with the Captain (Smiley), but was hesitant in making moves as everytime an incorrect move was made he would slap her hand and say “oh my god” in his brilliant Turkish accent. We then decided two brains would be better than one so Leigh and Jo played Smiley for a can of drink. Little did we know he was a champion backgammon player! After bargaining with the visiting icecream vendor we headed back to Fetihye. It was a bit disappointing to get to shore as it had been amazing travelling around the bays. We then headed to the tombs carved into the cliffs in Fetihye with our NZ friends David and Julie, before enjoying a nice pint in a lovely outdoor setting in the town. We headed back on board for another lovely meal before heading back to town for a passengers farewell drinks.