Marmaris. My first call here ever.
Shameless selfie.
It was a really warm day in Marmaris. The guests had all wandered ashore on a beautiful day. This was my first call ever to this port. It is delightful. It lies within a protected bay and to get to it we passed through a wiggly passage which acted as a magnet for every man in a boat.
Once alongside and the guests had gone Kai and I went for our usual stroll along the quayside to check out the ship and where she needed a little TLC.
On the other side of us are lines and lines of plastic fantastics. Millions of dollars of boats of all shapes and sizes tied up waiting for somebody to take them to sea. Bronzed adonis’ ( what is the plural of Adonis) nimbly flit from one to the other armed with Brasso and cloths to keep the spangly bits sparkling. In a way we were men in whites looking to keep our bits sparkling too.
A fibre glass repairers Nirvana.
The next day we were in Kusadasi. It was a gorgeous morning which did not last long. For soon after we berthed a huge cruise ship docked beside us. Our view of beautiful beaches and hills was replaced by rows upon rows of balconies upon which half the worlds supply of winseyette nighties were being paraded.
Luckily the ship sailed at 17:00 leaving us alone to enjoy a glorious sunset.
What else to do but stand and stare.
Now we have visited the islands of Patmos and Limnos we are headed at 18 knots to pick up our pilot to take us through the Dardanelles waterway. We are heading for Istanbul once more and cruise end.
The crew that go home tomorrow are packing their bags. Appraisals have been completed. End of contract paperwork needs signing.
I am sitting in my cabin looking at other ships heading for the waterway. It is not often we do this sort of speed as we pass them by. The ship is humming gently under the power of the engines.
The coast of Turkey and the ancient city of Troy are smudges on the eastern horizon right now but we will get much closer. It will be a late night and an early morning for we pick up the Istanbul pilot at 6am so I will be up around 5 in the morning. It will still be dark and the lights of the fabulous Mosques and Topkapi palace will show us the way to our berth.
Not a bad day at the office if the truth be known. Not bad at all.