Yachting Through The Meditteranean

July 5-8, 2008

Blue Cruise from Fethiye to Olympos  

(Matt)

When we were in Varanasi, India...what seems like years ago at this point...I opened up Lonely Planet's Europe on a Shoestring guidebook and started reading about Turkey to figure out about how much time would be required to do it. At that time, I made a plan of attack for 21 days with first-tier, "must-see" items, and second-tier, "if we have time" items.

After spending some time, I easily came up with my number #1 thing that we had to accomplish in Turkey, which was a no brainer...spend 4 days on a yacht sailing along the Mediterranean Sea coast, starting in Fethiye and ending in Olympos. Called the "Blue Cruise," I have been intensely looking forward to this since Varansi, when it seemed very far away. Really, I forgot everything else I read about Turkey.

I knew that I had allotted 21 days for Turkey and that we had to do the Blue Cruise no matter what. Well, I was not disappointed. It was ridiculous, just amazing. I'll have to let the pictures mainly speak for themselves, but it was some of the most incredible scenery that exists in the world. It's the scenery you picture when you are having a terrible day at work and wished that you were living on a boat sailing around the Mediterranean Sea on a yacht and snorkeling full time, taking occasional breaks to eat or do acrobatics off the bow and off of various cliffs. It was perfect.

(Amber)

We were picked up at our hotel at 10am and taken to an office, where they took copies of our passports and our tickets. Once the paperwork was done, we walked across the street and boarded the gulet.

A gulet is a traditional design of a two-masted wooden sailing vessel from the south-west coast of Turkey, although frequently found all around the eastern Mediterranean. On ours, there were 16 passengers and about 3 crew on it. We were the only Americans, there were 3 Canadians, 2 Kiwis, and the rest were Australian. It turned out to be a great group.

(Matt)

I should add that the scariest thing about being on a boat for 4 days is the prospect of being stuck with people that drive you insane. We have been very lucky in these situations during the rest of the trip, most notably on the safari, and we were both concerned about who might board the vessel on that first day. We beat the odds again and actually made some really good friends. It was a great group, and we had many hours of great conversations. In fact, we actually hung out for many more hours for a couple days in Olympos after ending the yacht trip, and I was sad when the group dispersed and went separate ways.

(Amber)

Day One

We got on the boat and were briefed on the rules (no shoes on the boat, no jumping in with engine on, no paper in the toilet, etc...) and then were shown our cabins.

The cabins are small and simple but perfectly nice. Each has a bed (or 2) and a bathroom. The bathroom is a toilet and a sink. The sink spout pulls out and doubles as a shower.

(Matt)

Most know that I was a salmon fisherman for a season in Alaska. I lived on a 58-foot boat for about 4.5 months, and this gulet cabin was much nicer than the one I was on, though I lived on one of the nicest fishing boats in Seattle, the FV Shackleton. So what I'm saying is that these gulets had nice rooms by boat standards, but probably not by cruise ship standards.

(Amber)

Outside the cabins is a small kitchen where the cook preps meals. Upstairs is where the time is spent...on the deck.

There are covered areas and areas in full sun, and lots of cushions around for lounging and reading. On the back deck, there's a large table where we have our meals and afternoon tea....and just generally hangout, play cards or backgammon, and try to solve the world's problems.

On day one, we stopped at Samanlik Bay for swimming and lunch. Lunch was good. All the food was. Lunch is always veggie, and on day one it was an eggplant salad and a tomato, cucumber, and onion salad.

After lunch, we pulled into a bay by Butterfly Valley. Until about 20 years ago, Butterfly Valley was relatively unknown. For thousands of years, its only inhabitants were butterflies. There's still no access by land, so the geographic isolation has kept the area pure and intact.

The valley is home to a clear blue bay, huge rocky mountains, several waterfalls, and more than 100 species of butterflies. When you walk through the valley toward a waterfall from the water, you are surrounded by huge, blooming and fragrant Butterfly Bushes. We saw very few butterflies because of the heat this time of year, but the views of the plants, mountains, and ocean were stunning.

(Matt)

A few of us went to the waterfalls at the upper end of the valley. The view from the top is great, and the waterfalls are pretty cool too, but it may not be worth the danger of climbing them. The whole boat started up to the waterfalls, and only 3 of us made it to the second one because it was kind of perilous. Ropes with knots are placed hanging down the slipperiest spots to assist in scaling the cliffs, through waterfalls, to get up to the higher and large waterfalls. It was fun though.

(Amber)

After a couple of hours exploring Butterfly Valley, we battled the current to swim back out to the boat...and then headed for Oludeniz, the location where Brooke Shields' "The Blue Lagoon" was filmed.

(Matt)

I saw Blue Lagoon when I was a kid, and I was little disappointed by this spot because nowadays it is next to a big resort, where a speed boat was taking people from the resort on rip-roaring tube rides in the bay next to the lagoon. Of all the places where we swam during the 4 days, the "Blue Lagoon" was my least favorite. I expected it to be like the others where we swam in the following days, ones accessible only by boat. It was not the blue lagoon I remember....and Brooke Shields was nowhere to be found. I did, however, do highest cliff jump of the trip at this spot.

(Amber)

Again....we did more swimming in bright blue waters with amazing mountain backdrops. Matt of course did some cliff jumping. When time at the Blue Lagoon was up, the boat started to pull away, but Matt was nowhere to be found. I had to stop the boat, throw on flippers, and swim pretty far in semi-rough water back toward a rocky outcropping to find him. Winded, and my leg bleeding from climbing onto the sharp rocks, we swam back to the boat, apologized for making everyone wait...and realized that we all had to look out for each other, because the captain didn't plan to do even a cursory headcount before headed for new waters. Lesson learned. It pays to have a buddy.

The sea was pretty rough, and I struggled on the first day to get my sea legs. I wasn't the only one. Several of us were quite queasy. I hoped to pull through intact, because I had 3 more full days on the boat and didn't plan to be sick the whole time. But it was really, really rough.

We eventually arrived at St. Nicholas Island where we anchored for the night. St. Nicholas is home to some amazing ruins, many of which now lie underwater after an earthquake that rocked the region in 240 AD. A couple of people swam to the island and hiked up to the ruins for a view of the area, but we stayed on the boat, sipped wine, and learned a couple of new card games, neither of which has a name appropriate for the blog.

At one point, a local couple in a small boat came to our boat hawking freshly made chocolate and banana gozlemes (Turkish pancakes that are available everywhere - common fillings are cheese, meat, potatoes, or chocolate). The woman rolled and cooked them right on board her boat while her husband did the wheeling and dealing. The chocolate and banana gozleme was heavenly.

We spent the night marveling at the view, playing cards, watching a beautiful sunset and having a great whole fish dinner.

We turned in (some on deck, some...including Matt and me...in our cabins). Plan was to stay in the harbor and start cruising around 4am.

Matt and I slept fine, although it was hot in the cabin with only one tiny window and no fan, but at 4am when we took off...the seas were really really rough. They were so rough that one of our new friends, Tony, was almost thrown overboard and had several big gashes on his head to prove it. Had his friend Jamaal not woken up and helped him, he may well have been thrown off the boat without anyone knowing. I laid there as we rocked heavily back and forth, trying to put things into perspective (the old "we'll be fine, they do this all the time, Matt's not worried" game that I have to play from time to time)...and I thought the oddest thing. There's NO way babies like all of the rocking that we make them endure. If you have a baby and one of those rocking bassinets, just stop. It's not fun to be rocked all night. If you're rocking and they're screaming, you now know why. I feel very strongly about this one.

Day Two

We woke up around 8am, having survived the rough seas that nearly threw Tony into the drink, had a Turkish breakfast (bread, olives, cheese, tomatoes, and cucumbers), and then went for a swim at the beautiful bay-of-the-moment....Kalkan. Again, the scenery was extraordinary throughout. Rocky mountains, amazing boats, and clear blue water in every shade under the sun.

After swimming at Kalkan, we cruised to Kas, where we walked around, had some coffee, and just enjoyed the views. Kas is the only place where banks and internet are available, so some people handled business before we got back on the boat. I had thrown my back out severely a few days before and was really struggling in Kas to even walk. Good news is that life on the boat doesn't require much, and swimming feels great, so I ultimately had some time to recuperate.

We spent night two in Gokkaya Bay, which is home to a lone bar (Smuggler's Inn) that Blue Cruisers can enjoy for a night on their journey. We were ferried to the bar on a rocky outcropping around 11pm, and the night was all about loud music, sweaty dancing, and overpriced cocktails and beers. I happily sat on a Turkish rug, chatted with people, and nursed a sore back while watching the scene unfold. We were back on the boat by 1am and slept much more peacefully while anchored in the serenity of the bay.

I've never seen a sky so filled with bright stars. Well....almost never. Serengeti and Ngorogoro were amazing. Not bad to be a toss up between those three for the title.

Day Three

More stunning views, bright blue waters, great swimming, and good food.

The day started with a sail over the Sunken City (Kekova), a World Heritage Site. This is literally an ancient city that has been partially submerged in the sea. History here goes back to the 4th and 5th centuries BC.

After seeing the Sunken City (you can't get off the boat at this site, because it's protected, but you can see it through the clear blue water), we headed to Simena Castle.

We docked and got off the boat, where we walked through a beautiful quaint town up a hill to Simena Castle. This castle was used during the Middle Ages and has an amazing view of the surrounding waters and bays.

After a visit to the castle and a quick swim, we got back on the boat and cruised to yet another bright blue bay.

Lunch was salad (onions, tomatoes, cabbage, and cucumbers), potatoes & peas, and veggie spaghetti. It was great. And even though we are lounging on a boat, we all eat as if it's our last meal. I think the diving, swimming, and the sun takes it out of you.

My back was feeling better by day three, so I started playing in the water and jumping off the boat. It was a lot of fun (and...incidentally....a great way to rinse six months of travel out of my sinuses). Nothing makes you remember how great childhood was than diving from high things into water. Every adult needs more of that. I got cute though.....and landed square on the backs of my legs after a flip off the boat. Pretty sure I'll pay for that one for a couple of days. Fast forward a couple of days...I do indeed have a huge bruise on the back of my thigh.

We spent the rest of the day literally frolicking in the most amazing waters on Earth. I have decided that you can't really see Turkey without exploring this coastline. It's incredible.

(Matt)

My accomplishments while on the Blue Cruise consist exclusively of the tricks I mastered while on the boat. I began with dives off the edge of the bow, moved to flying squirrels (called the "secret squirrel" by my boat mates...see picture on blog), running dives over the bow railing, which expertly avoided the clotheslines, then back flips and finally front flips off the bow. That is all.

Next time, I want to do this in my own boat, either owned or rented. It was great.

(Amber)

Day Four

On day four, we woke up, ate, swam, and then just hung out on the boat until after lunch. We were eventually ferried to a bus and taken to Olympos.

We did make one cool stop on the way...through the home of St. Nicholas!

Random thoughts:

The water is crystal clear but doesn't boast the coral of the Red Sea, so snorkeling isn't an out-of-body experience. It's more about the amazing clear water that turns every shade of blue as the light and depths change....and the rocky, mountainous, and historical setting. We did see a HUGE turtle and lots of little fish, but it's just not the National Geo special in which we once starred. Crucial rules of thumb to make the most of your surroundings....head under water in the Red Sea (though above is stunning too), head above water in the Mediterranean on the Turkish coastline (though it is amazingly clear)....body always submerged.

For photos, click here: http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8AatmbZk0ZtFIJA&notag=1