Marmaris to Fethiye

After a one week stay back at Yacht Marine in Marmaris where we took care of boat maintenance, we were on our way again – this time south to the cruising grounds of Fethiye Gulf. The 3 weeks we spent in this area was delightful, a true cruiser’s paradise. Beautiful waters, there were so many places to anchor or taverns to tie off to the decisions were hard to make. Because so many boats visit this area, mooring balls and bollards on shore have been installed in some areas to protect the sea bed and trees on the shore. It made anchoring almost a no brainer. There were several spots which were our favorites. Just before Fethiye is Eckinicik Limani, a well protected bay with My Marina, an excellent restaurant with slips offering electricity and water. This is a good place to leave your boat for the day tour up the Dalyan River to the ancient ruins of Caunos. We were able to wander thru the ruins which included a temple, theatre, ancient port, agora and fort. Further up the river the tour boat passes beneath rock tombs on its way to the village of Dalyan where we stopped for lunch. A great way to spend the day. In Fethiye Bay other spots we enjoyed included Wall Bay, where we snorkeled over sunken ruins, Cleopatra’s Bay, a tiny bay with thick pines, and Tomb Bay with Lycian rock tombs in the cliffs. Two towns anchor Fethiye Gulf, Gocek in the west and Fethiye in the east where we made brief stops in each. The only negatives to our time in Fethiye had to do with it being August – lots of folks on vacation and the heat. Hey we had heard it was hot in Turkey in August but we thought, “We’re Texans. We can deal with heat.” Well we may be Texans but the heat was even too much for us. You know it’s hot when you jump in the water and instead of cooling down you heat up! So after 3 weeks we headed back to Yacht Marine to prepare Lone Star for the winter in the water. We must confess – our thoughts were no longer on cruising – we were anxious to get home. We had a very important date – our daughter’s wedding! As anxious as we were to get back to the states we did stop in Istanbul for four days. What an amazing, beautiful city – truly the crossroads of civilization. We saw many sights including the Haija Sophia (palace for the Ottoman Empire), Blue Mosque, Grand Bazaar and Underground Cistern. Truly a great ending to a wonderful summer of cruising. Now on to the Wedding!