The Southern Battlefields, Gallipoli ..... May 2009

16May 2009

We left the harbour at Kabatepe, again with calm weather and headed back south, pushing the current that swept the row boats further north than they planned.We turned left into the Dardanelles (the waterway that leads from the Aegean Sea up to the Sea of Marmara, onwards to the Straits of Bosphorus then ultimately into the Black Sea). It was access to this waterway that caused the Allied Forces to invade Turkey, as by being able to get into the Black Sea they had entrance via the back door into Eastern Europe.

At the entrance there is the Cape Helles British Memorial and cemeteries, we took the opportunity to anchor for a couple of hours and dinghied ashore landing on V Beach. There are also Turkish memorials, trenches, howziters and bunkers, we were surprised at the number of Turkish visiting the site, we forget it is a huge part of their history also and so many of their men were lost defending their homeland.

At the cemetery down on V Beach we found gravestones for both a Private J Farrell and a Private J Moran, both part of the Irish Fusilers, both died during the initial attack in April. Maybe they were distant relatives of ours. So many more thousands of men died here during the campaign, this whole peninsular is one big graveyard.

We headed back to Balvenie and continued our journey up the Dardenelles another 15 miles and are now in the 'marina' at Canakkale. We plan to visit Troy from here then check out and say our final farewells to Turkey and head west to Greece. This plan has been delayed, our run of calm weather has been followed by a forecast spell of 30-40 knots for 4 days, so finally I have a chance, while being blown around, to update the blog!!

Cruising Info:
Anchorages -
V Beach - 40 04.44N 26 10.95E 5.4m sand just stopped a couple of hours
Canakkale - 40 09.134N 26 24.259E 3.4m bow to. Staff on dock will pass mooring line for bow/stern. Saw 2.8m on way in. No showers etc. Cost under 12m 55L p/n over 12m 75L p/n. Transit log checked. Pricey spot but we are sitting out strong Northerly winds and it is reasonably sheltered, no wake at all from the many passing ships and cross channel ferries.
It looks possible to anchor in calm waters out of the way of the marina entrance to the left around 40 09.40N 26 24.44E, flat water in these winds, but pretty shallow. We encountered around 3 knots worse case counter current coming up the straits. We came up the north coast and didn't cross over until 'The Narrows' at Canakkale. We are looking forward to a fast ride back down! Excellent downtown location with all city facilities.
Internet - No wifi onboard (marina signal currently broken!!) but can use computer in marina office if you can cope with the heavy smoke, plus a couple wifi cafes (Ghetto is one) on shorefront and internet cafes by clocktower 2L p/h.
Provisions - Diesel tanker has been delivering to large launches, unsure of minimum required. Water and power on dock. Carrefour supermarket about 10minutes walk
Formalities - Will add checkout details when completed but no compulsary agent here, actually no agent at all must do yourself. Marina staff very helpful but speak almost no English.
Sightseeing - Trip to Troy by dolmus ... see Troy blog update

Gallipoli Memorial ..... May 2009

"Those heroes that shed their blood and lost their lives

You are now lying in the soil of a friendly country

Therefore rest in peace

There is no difference between the Johnnies and the Mehmets to us

Where they lay side by side

Here in this country of ours ...

You the mothers

Who sent their sons from far away countries

Wipe away your tears

Your sons are now lying in our bosom and are in peace

After having lost their lives on this land

They have become our sons as well"

Ataturk 1934

Landing at Anzac Cove, Gallipoli ..... May 2009

13 - 16 May 2009

***looking down on the thin strip of beach at Anzac Cove, doughie the dinghy down there somewhere***Balvenie at anchor off Anzac Cove***next morning at dawn with Balvenie at anchor off North Beach***looking landwards with North Beach ashore***

With the forecast still looking settled enough to anchor off the exposed Anzac Cove, we motored north in glassy waters from Bozcaada to the southern tip of the Gallipoli Peninsular, then we had a southwest seabreeze come in, just enough to send in a sloppy roll and be annoying. We headed north up the peninsular and anchored 100 metres off Anzac Cove, in front of the the very beach, where on the 25th April 1915 thousands of New Zealand and Australian troops landed in row boats in an effort to secure the peninsular for the Allied Forces, in conjunction with British, French, Indian and Nepalese troops who landed further south at the entry to the Dardanelle Straits.


We launched the dinghy, and 94 years and some days after the initial landing during WW1 we stepped ashore on Anzac Cove's thin strip of beach to the friendly sound of birdsong instead of deafening enemy fire. Although the shoreline has no doubt changed over the many years since the landing it is easy to see that this was probably the worst place along the shoreline that they could have landed, as the beach was only about 5 metres wide backed by steep cliffs covered in low scrub and bush. We walked along the pebbled shore until we had access to the road above, then visited the shoreline cemeteries, the Anzac Commemorative Site and the Anzac Memorial, all within an easy walk of each other.

We slowly wandered through the gravestones, so many men buried on these distant shores, with hundreds of them having died on that very first day. Travelling by our own boat enables us to be able to visit places outside the 'tourist' hours which we regard as special, especially here it was a honour to be able to sit and reflect in undisturbed peace, on the horrors our men must have faced during their 8 month occupation of this foreign land.

Just as the sun was dipping in the west we moved Balvenie about 500m up the coast and into the slight indentation of North Beach, we felt less exposed tucked in there and had a calm night with just a little swell. North Beach is where the Anzac Forces eventually set up camp, there is a small parcel of flat land on the shore line and it was the obvious choice for a base. It is also where the Anzac Day Dawn Services are held. We honoured our ancestors and dinghied ashore at dawn, listening to the vibrant dawn chorus and watched as the sun rose above the inland ridges, where so many battles were fought and thousands of lives were lost. The Turkish Government has done a fine job of designating this entire area as National Park, as thousands of Allied and of course Turkish troops lie resting, and the Commonwealth War Cemeteries Commission proudly upkeep's the grounds and historical plagues in the cemeteries to a very high level.


After breakfast we moved 3 miles south to the harbour of Kabetepe. It is thought that this was the original intended landing sight for the war campaign, but that the boats got pushed northwards with the currents and ended up at Anzac Cove instead. Although weather conditions for us were still excellent we felt more comfortable having Balvenie secured in a harbour as we wanted to spend more time ashore visiting all the other sights. We walked to the nearby Kabatepe Information Centre and Museum, and inbetween coach loads of school children who were in and out in less than 5 minutes, spent a couple of hours reading all the information and looking at the war exhibits in this small but interesting museum. There was a display of uniforms from the various armies, I thought it interesting the French included a very heavy long woollen coat, maybe they were the only ones who envisaged the Turks to be a stronger fighting force than expected and came prepared for a war that may last until the winter months!


The following morning, with temperatures forecast to be in the late 20's, the warmest so far this year, we packed plenty of water, a picnic lunch and donned sunscreen, caps and good walking shoes and hit the road. There is a 13 kilometre circuit that follows the contours of the ridges where the bloodiest battles were fought, with cemeteries at frequent intervals along the way. With names like Hell's Spit, Shrapnel Gully and Battleship Hill and a view of the terrain as the road winds upwards, it takes little imagination to envisage the destruction that took place here. The fact that in 8months the Anzac Forces only managed to advance under 2kms inland reflects not only on the huge resistance by the Ottoman Empire troops in defending their lands but also the hostile landscape they were fighting in. We stopped at all the cemeteries, walked in the trenches that were in places only metres apart, and visited the memorials on the way to the top, Chunuk Bair. It is here the Mustafa Kemal (later known as Ataturk) gave his troops the command "I am not ordering you to attack, I am ordering you to die. In the time it takes us to die, other troops will arrive to take our places".


This is a very moving area to spend some time. The wild poppies stand proudly tall, in remembrance to those who fell in 1915.

Cruising Info:
Anchorages -
Anzac Cove 40 14.05N 26 16.25E 7.8m good holding on sand with patches of weed. Exposed to all but east
North Beach 40 14.52N 26 16.70E 4.9m good holding on sand. Better protection but totally exposed NW to SW
Kabatepe Harbour 40 12.02N 26 16.70E 5.2m stern tied in southeast corner by ramp (a tricky manoeuvre as no one to take our lines!!). Large ferry 3 times a day on western wall, backs into ramp on southwest corner. Charge of 31Lira for 2 nights, think same price if we had stayed longer. Transit log checked. Small shop/cafe ashore.
Sightseeing - Kabatepe Museum 3L p/p. No taxis at harbour - time for plenty of exercise in this lovely national park!

Who's idea was this anyway???? ..... May 2009

11-12 May 2009

***the little inner fishing harbour and castle at Bozcaada***Balvenie tucked up on the wall with Bozcaada castle/fort in the background**

Heading Northwest from Ayvalik in sheltered waters with a 10-15knots Northeaster forecast, what more could you ask for? Well, you could ask why the Northeaster is coming out of the Northwest, exactly where you want to go, and for those of you less familiar with sailing you can not sail in a straight line exactly where you want to go if the wind is blowing from that direction. So you head off at an angle, for as long as necessary, then you 'tack' which means you change direction about 90 degrees, sometimes almost backwards if things go pear-shaped, and go the other way (still nowhere near where you really want to go). After sometime of seemingly going in completely the wrong direction you tack back, and go in the other wrong direction ........ on and on it goes, sooner of later you should reach somewhere in the vicinity of your destination - still during daylight hours if you are lucky. This was not one of our better days, we should have just surrendered to Huey, admitted he had won his little game and put the engine on.

Finally, after way too many hours, we reached Sivrice, a large deep bay with reasonable shelter from the Northeast, shallow enough water in one corner and anchored. Before we had even set the anchor the wind changed to the southwest, only around 15knots but putting us on a leeshore and sending in an annoying little chop. It was 7pm, way too late for a seabreeze but no southerlies were forecast. We decided to wait 30 minutes and see if it settled, then make the call whether to stay or go 7 miles south across the channel to the Northern Coast of Levros, back in Greece. So while I sat in the cockpit, searching for signs of the wind easing, Mark is taking bits and pieces apart below as our batteries are low in voltage but we had motored the last 45 minutes, so something was amiss with the alternator. Slowly the wind eased and swung back around to the Northeast, the offending lose connection onto the batteries was discovered and tightened, we had been punished enough for the day. The bar was opened with the Captain ordering an extra tot for all!!!!

After a decent sleep and feeling slightly more positive we set off north once more. A light Northeaster again but this time we were going north so we had a pleasant sail in sparkling blue calm seas, we were even joined by dolphins who must have heard I needed perking up, a think it is impossible to watch dolphins at play and not smile from ear to ear, they are just magic. After not too many hours, and no tacking, we arrived in the small harbour on the Turkish island of Bozcaada, one of only 2 islands in the Aegean that are Turkish. We stern tied up to the new concrete wall, alongside a Swiss yacht, Moira, and went ashore for a wander round this cute little place. We were then invited aboard Moira by owner Rudy and friend Gunther to sample a bottle of the locally grown wine, and very nice it was too. The 4 of us then went out to a harbourside cafe for an excellent dinner. Rudy keeps his boat in Turkey and tries to spend 4-5 months on it each summer, joined by friends along the way while his wife stays at home to 'look after the furniture'!!!! He loves the Turkish coast of the Black Sea, and says we must go.......food for thought as we are so close......but probably not, who knows, watch this space.

Cruising Info:
Anchorages -
Sivrice - 39 28.42N 26 13.75E 11.9m good holding. Reasonable shelter from East to Northwest. Nothing there
Bozcaada - Northern harbour wall, 3.6m drop anchor and stern tie to new wall. Keep well off as occasional surge from wakes. Water and power on dock included in 50Lira nightly fee (we thought too expensive for what was there), transit log checked. Stores and cafes ashore. Accessed unlocked wifi onboard. Dont remember seeing ATM but Lonely Planet says there is one next to PO. Impressive Fort right in harbour.

Further North to Ayvalik ..... May 2009

04-10 May 2009

***lazying on a sunny afternoon***the marble columns at Pergamum***more lazying on another sunny afternoon in Cleopatra's hottub***the poppies, pillar and ampitheatre at Pergamum***

Our unplanned stop in Eski Foca was most enjoyable. It was a safe place to sit out over 30knots that piped up shortly after we anchored, despite being buzzed by an unlit Navy helicopter doing low flying exercises for a good part of the evening, we sincerely hoped our new anchor light was easy for them to see!! The winds finally eased early afternoon so we went ashore for a tasty late lunch, a look around this traditional Turkish town and a quick stop at the weekly market for a top-up of excellent produce at very reasonable prices. Strawberries are in season and at 2Lira a kilo they are just a must have, yummy.
Primarily a fishing town, there was some evidence of low key tourism in summer, a laid back pleasant place. After our two nights there and with a more promising weather forecast we did 'take 2' on heading north. We had light northerlies and calm seas, oh what a difference a day or two makes!!

We had a lovely gentle sail to Bademli Liman, a sheltered anchorage tucked in behind a couple of close off shore islands. Very scenic, almost looked like a spot we would encounter cruising around the Hauraki Gulf at home. There were some other yachts at anchor also, the skies were blue, winds light, temperature warming up - finally feel like summer might be coming and the cruising season is getting into full swing.

There were more ancient cities to be discovered, Pergamum, and although the cruising guide didn't suggest attempting it from here we thought it was worth the effort and spent a successful day walking to the local village, catching a dolmus to Dikili, a bus to Bergama and hiring a taxi for a couple of hours. The ancient site of Pergamum has been around since 1100BC, the Acropolis sits high above the surrounding landscape in a strategic position. It was overrun and occupied by many rulers over its long interesting history. Its library was world renown and threatened to overtake Alexandria's library in Egypt. This caused the Egyptians to cease supplying papyrus outside Egypt, but then led to 'peragmen' (latin for parchment) being discovered by the local scientists. Later, Mark Anthony is said to have had over 200,000 scrolls removed from the library and given as a gift to Cleopatra. I certainly hope she enjoyed reading!! The ruins included some marble columns of the Temple of Trajan, an intact structure set into the hill underneath the main Temple area and a very steep to theatre with quite some view as it is build into the side of the hill. Currently the ruins are awash with wild daisies and poppies, the spring wildflowers are outstanding, and after the rains of winter all the colours of the landscape are so vivid. Back down in the modern day town of Bergama is the Red Basilica from 2AD, we enjoyed a quick look around it as well but skipped Asclepion, an ancient world renown medical centre also there. The return trip back to Balvenie involved a little more waiting time but we made it back by 6pm, a good effort we thought.

We stayed another day in Bademli, more ancient stuctures to discover but this time much closer and more leisurely. We took the dinghy along the coastline to a couple of rock pools, built who knows when, set slightly back and above sea level and continously filled with fresh underground spring hotwater at just the right temperature for this time of year, absolute bliss, what a setting to while away a couple of hours soaking in a hot tub on a friday afternoon. Maybe Mark Anthony and Cleopatra had done just the same thing once upon a time. We ended the day having 'sundowners' with a couple of the other yachts in the anchorage, Roger and Suzie off Tinker Bell from England and David and Kate off Bora Scoura from Australia, a most enjoyable night was had by all, and the 3 of us all set sail the following morning, again in very light winds and flat seas. Ayvalik here we come.

Ayvalik is an interesting area, it is surrounded by islands then entered by a well marked channel, into what they call Ayvalik Lake, a large sheltered bay totally enclosed with more little shallow bays off it. We went down to the southernmost bay of Camlik Koyu, and tucked up in there with 6 others. We went off the following morning to investigate the marina, costs of hiring a car and/or buses to Gallipoli, and check the internet. After all this information had been gathered we had a 'board meeting' over a couple of cold drinks in a cafe overlooking the bay. The marina was expensive, €40 a night for us, a car was 75Lira a day plus petrol and the ferry across from Canakkale to the Gallipoli Peninsular. The bus was 25Lira pp each way to Canakkale then we would need to do a tour from there, oh so many options to look at. Then there was the weather, a very very settled period for at least 5 days with 10-15knots NE forecast the following day. The descision was made, we will sail Balvenie to Gallipoli and land by dinghy at Anzac Cove, 94 years after our forefathers tried to take this land for the Allied Forces.

Cruising Info:
Anchorages -
Eski Foca - 38 40.52N 26 44.80E 7m very good holding. This was a couple of km's from the town but had better protection for the strong NE winds. Took dinghy ashore, several little jetties - some with signs forbidding usage (big navy/army presence here)
Bademli Liman - 39 00.92N 26 48.33E 9m Superglue mud - excellent holding. Tried anchoring off small beach to north first but would not hold there. Had SW afternoon seabreezes 10-15knots and NE landbreezes overnight 10-15knots but flat water. Longish dinghy ride into small boat harbour. There were a couple of smaller yachts inside the "breakwater" looked shallow though.
Ayvalik @ Camlik Koyu - 39 17.46N 26 39.85E 3.6m holding good. Dinghy ashore to beach or small jetty by closed restaurant. Long pleasant walk to town or bus
Money - ATM's in Eski Foca and Ayvalik, closest to Bademli is at Dikili a dolmus ride away
Provisions - Eski Foca Tuesday Market Day, small Tansas at the harbour. Bademli water tap at fishing dock, not always turned on. About 10mins walk to village with a couple of small shops with fruit, veg, bread. Ayvalik, nothing at anchorage but Migros and Tansas in town
Sightseeing - Trip to Pergamum Walk to Bademli Village (tie up dinghy and go inland about 10mins) Dolmus to Dikili hourly at half past 2.50L pp. Stay on till end at otogar. Bus to Bergama on the hour (so only about 10mins wait) 4L pp. Otogar apprx 7kms out of town. We got an (almost)English speaking taxi driver and negotiated 50L to do the sights, stop for lunch and back to otogar. There was a council bus that would have go us into town but then another few km's (all uphill) to Acropolis - entry 20L pp, Red Basilica - entry 5L pp
Internet - Eski Foca, from boat if we had been closer as cafe with wifi on shorefront. Internet cafes in backstreet 1.50L p/h. Nothing in Bademli. Ayvalik nothing at anchor, on walk into town we stopped at a cafe with free wifi for lunch and internet cafes in town 1.50L p/h

Headıng North through Greece ... May 2009

26Apr - 03May

***Lookıng thru the monasteries ancient doorway down onto Skala Harbour*** Mark & Gord stop to take ın the view wıth the Monastery and Hora Village high on the hilltop***A snapshot of the anchorge ın Patmos - fıshıng boats, Balvenie, Cruıse shıp, town, monastery and hılltop village***Insıde the monastery on Patmos***

Time to leave Turkey for a while, our plan is to thread our way north through the Dodecanese and Eastern Sporades, trying to zig-zag our way up depending on the winds. Good plan, just not always so easy to put into practice as the wind gods always have the last laugh!

From Bodrum we cleared the south western tip of Turkey and stuck our bow out into the South Aegean Sea. The Aegean has a nasty reputation, especially over summer, with the "meltemi" winds building most afternoons, sometimes nonstop for days and nights, whipping its way south and churning the seas with a mean standup wave, oh so reminisent of travelling up the northern Red Sea and Gulf of Suez. Even this time of year, if the wind is strong from the north the seas build very quickly. Day 1 was not too bad, from the north but about 15knots and we managed on a very tight reach to arrive into the lovely little bay of Atki on Kalymnos. There is nothing there except a few fish farms and goats climbing the cliffs, their bell collars clanging every step they take. The next day was forecast to be stronger winds so we stayed the day and went for a long scenic walk around to the next bay and village of Vathi and back. The conditions out at sea looked to be perfect from our view high above the bay, oh well. With winds forecast to ease we left the following day, yuk, should have gone yesterday. We had very strong north-easterlies and a big sea quickly developed. We shortened sail and ended up motor sailing through it to calmer waters on the east coast of Leros and anchored in the large sheltered bay of Lakki. Unfortunately our wind instruments did not cope well with falling off some of the waves and the constant variation of wind speed this brings and have died on us, they have done this before and required new parts, heres hoping this time it will be an easier fix.


We dinghied ashore in Lakki and tied up at the town quay, called a marina which charged €18 (not for the dinghy!!). Lakki Town is a somewhat ramshakle place, built by the Italians in the 1940's along with a naval base. It probably looked beautiful in its heyday, but now has somewhat fallen into a state of total disrepair. It reminded us both of the bombed out and crumbling Italian buildings in Massawa, Eritrea. Probably not a fair comparison but certainly the same feel to it. Still, it had a few shops, bank with ATM, internet cafe and a few cafes.

Another day, another island - next stop was Patmos. We had light winds and flat seas, sailing when we could then motoring the rest. The main harbour of Skala on the east coast is a cute little place, dominated by the Monastery set high above in fortress like surroundings. We anchored the first night at the head of the bay. Things ashore were busy with two cruise ships in, all the little shops and cafes open and peddling their wares. The next day we moved onto the town quay as our Canadian friends Gord and Ginny arrived on their yacht Ascension and tied up too. It's great to be tied up, so convenient just to be able to jump on and off to go ashore, especially with friends there, not having to dinghy backwards and forwards. We split our time between boat jobs and having fun. The repair of the wind instruments saw Mark dangling at the top of the mast removing bits and pieces for much longer than he cared for, unfortunately we still have no wind instrutments, emails have been sent requesting help!!!


On a beautiful clear and sunny afternoon, with the med looking its postcard perfect blue, the 4 of us had an excellent afternoons excercise and excursion walking up the hill to the Hora (the village atop the hill and the main Ayiou Ioannoa Theologou Monastery. Just on halfway (time for a much needed breather!) is the Monastery of Apokalypsis built around the grotto of St John the Evangelist (St John the Divine) where John supposedly heard the voice of God, and he wrote the Book of Revealations for the New Testament and also his Gospel, circa 95AD. Then for the final push up to the main monastery, with a magnificent old church covered inside with frescoes, a prominent bell tower, several terraces, covered walkways and the original kitchen with a petrified wood hollowed out tree trunk used for kneading dough for the bread. Outside the monastery the narrow alleys of the Hora are a delight to spend some time getting lost in, peaks of the sea, whitewashed buildings with blue shutters, wildflowers growing everywhere, cats lazing in the sun - unforgettable images of Greece.


After 4 nights in Patmos and with a good weather forecast we left Gord and Ginny. They plan to cross to the Caribbean later this year so we might not catch up with them again, for a while anyway. We have known them since July 2006 when we did the Darwin - Kupang rally together, the definate downside of cruising is the goodbyes when you stop going the same direction or at the same pace, still the reunions are great, hopefully we will find Ascension at anchor in an idilyc Caribbean anchorage one day, good luck guys, we will miss you!

After an excellent sail in a steady light breeze with flat water we arrived back in Turkey on the southern Cesme peninsular in the large bay of Agriler Liman, it was a big day 65 miles and 11 hours, due north and taking a big chunk out of our journey. The following day dawned clear and bright yet again, still with a definate chill in the air, and light winds. We left early and had another excellent sail in the sheltered waters between the Cesme Peninsular, Turkey and the Greek Island of Khios (Hios, Chios). We have now left the Dodecanse Group and entered the Eastern Aegean Island Group called the Sporades.

We stopped at a tiny island just north of Khios called Oinoussa (Inousses). We tied to the wall in the little shallow harbour along with another couple of yachts, had a walk through the almost deserted town that tumbles down a small hillside and pretty much saw it all in about 30 minutes! The claim to fame for this tiny island is that it has produced most of Greeces wealthiest shipping magnets, it was very sleepy, I suspect they have all left town for the bright lights!!
After quite a windy night, and on receipt of conflicting weather reports we left the harbour to continue north. One weather report said 15-20knots Northwest, the other 25-30 Northeast, we shouldn't probably have left in either but there was an anchorage back on the Turkish mainland just 8miles away if conditions weren't good so we gave it a go and made excellent progress in flat seas for the first couple of hours heading Northeast to Lesvos.

Ole Huey must have decided we had been having too many good days of sailing and it was time to put an end to our fun so sent down the 25-30 Notheasterly to sort us out. It just amazes us how quickly the sea state changes around these parts once the wind starts building, and heading to Lesvos was really no longer an option without falling off waves which is not one of our favorite pastimes. Back out with the Turkish Cruising Guide and a change of course to a more comfortable due east heading and a couple of hours we arrived into the sheltered waters of Eski Foca, Turkey.

Cruising Info:
Anchorages
Atki Liman - East Coast of Kalymnos. 36 57.51N 27 01.96E 16m Very clear water, could have gone closer in. Good holding, beautiful spot
Lakki Harbour - West Coast of Leros. 37 07.59N 26 50.82E 10m Outside wall used for ferries so keep well enough clear
Skala Harbour - East Coast of Patmos. Anchored one night 37 19.70N 26 32.74E 10m good holding not much swinging room. Then 3 nights on the wall side tied, 3.5m. Did not check in with harbour master, no charges collected
Agriler Liman - Cesme Peninsular. 38 15.24N 26 23.41E 8m good holding, also marina there. Beware charted shallows on way in on port, no danger marks on them
Mandhraki Harbour - Southern Coast of Oinoussa. Side tied on wall 38 30.85N 26 12.98E only 2.4m, nudged bottom on way out. Asked to check in with port police in morning and asked to leave for Chios or Lesvos to check into Greece (we had done well getting this far unchecked)
Money - Saw ATM's on Leros and Patmos
Provisions - Leros had a few small stores. Patmos good selection of meats, groceries and alcohol. Oinoussa had a small supermarket and veg shop up the hill but were closed. Bread had to be ordered in advance
Sightseeing - Patmos Monasteries well worth it, free entry
Internet - Leros, internet cafe on shorefront 1€ for 20minutes!! Patmos, got wifi on boat. Nothing at the others

Bodrum - Back in Turkey ... Apr 2009

23-25 April 2009

We actually managed a good sail in brisk northwestly winds back across to Turkey to visit Bodrum, one of Turkeys busiest package holiday destinations and popular on Cruiseship itineries. Not really our ideal stop, but on the way so why not. We anchored below the stunning Bodum Castle close to town and sat back and watched the sun dip behind, then silhoutte the castle. Ideal, we thought, little did we know there was a Rock Festival on this week and we were anchored right by the venue. At 8pm we were almost blasted out of the bay, but we could cope with a free rock concert and surely it wouldn't go on all night. Then shortly after 8pm the neightbouring disco kicked in, affording stero sound but of different music, time for us oldies to leave!!!! We moved across the bay and anchored outside a large white hotel, had a peaceful sleep and were asked by the coastguard at 8am to move as we were in "a restricted area", oh well back to the castle.

We filled in our day ashore with hordes of tourists wandering around the quite cute little streets, along the waterfront, found a little 2.50Lira chicken doner place (now we know why cruisers hate to leave Turkey!!) then spent the afternoon in the excellent Underwater Archaeological Musuem located within the Castle. The Castle of St Peter, built in the early 1400's deserves a visit in its own right, with a collection of towers, courtyards and a dungeon but in addition to this the underwater museum (which isn't actually underwater, just displaying items found underwater!!) houses an excellent display of items found in Turkish waters, most discovered quite recently and dating back to the 14th century BC.

Next back out into the Dodecanese Islands slowly heading north.

Cruising Info:
Anchorage - Up in the bay to the east of the castle amongst the gulets. Good holding, just a little noisy a night!!
Money - ATM's everywhere, some dispense Euro alsoProvisions - Everything available, Tansas Supermarket behind the otogar, a few of blocks back from the beach, Carrefour and Marks & Spencers by the Marina,Fruit and Veg market by Tansas on Friday
Sightseeing - Bodrum Castle/Underwater Archaeological Museum. We spent around 3 hours in the castle and the 10Lira pp entrance was well worth it.
Internet - Couldn't pick up any unlocked signals at anchor, some free wifi cafes ashore

Nisyros - The Volcano Island ... Apr 2009

21-23 April 2009

After an enjoyable, if somewhat noisy, weekend of Easter celebrations in Symi it was time to leave this postcard perfect island for the last time and start heading out into the Aegean Sea and commence this seasons cruising, exploring new places and leaving much enjoyed ones behind.

We made the most of little winds and calm seas and motored due west to the island of Nisyros (Nisiros, Nissyros). Lying in the southern Dodecanese chain between its better known neighbours of Kos and Rhodes, the almost round island of Nisyros's claim to fame is that it has two bubbling volcanic craters at its heart and a 7th century BC castle that has undergone partial restoration.
We headed for the small harbour of Pali (Palli) on the northern coast just a couple of miles east of the main harbour of Mandhraki and carefully made our way into the shallow waters and got straight into the swing of things "Greek sytle" and went stern-to against the harbour wall on the northern side. It's a small, shallow (we had 3m) but functional harbour and they have changed the breakwater entrance to be east facing instead of north, affording much better coverage from the prevailing northwesterly winds.

With Balvenie tied up snugly we spent the afternoon and following day exploring the island. We hired a little motor scooter from Captains Place at Pali for €8 for a day. We went up and up, unsure of whether the scooter would make it!! to the crater rim and then down onto the valley floor. There is a large area (free entry when we visited) easy to walk around to access both the volcanos, which you can actually desend right down into and walk around. We listened to the steam bubbling away inside the earths crust and saw familiar boiling mud pools, just like at home, it even smelt like New Zealands' Rotorua. We spent a couple of hours exploring the area, no fenced off areas or warning signs, definately not like home!!! Back down to the sea and into Mandhraki for lunch. A quick reminder of the fact that we were now in "Euroland" and no longer Turkey, no 2Lira Chicken Doners to be found here, but we will soon get used to the prices, grin and bear it and hope the New Zealand Dollar (fondly known as the Pacific Peso) exchange rate keeps improving against the rest of the worlds currencies!!!!

Then it was time to explore the nearby 14th century Knights Castle and the Panayia Spilani Monastery, (couldn't enter inside). Next up to the 7th century BC Paleokastro (Castle). Again we were free to wander aimlesly around this magnificent ruin, which has undergone partial restoration recently and has excellent drawings and explanations in English of the structures. One can only imagine at how it must have been to live somewhere so isolated, and that they had fleets of ships plying these waters many hundreds of years ago. They sure knew how to chose the spots with the best views!! I must also mention the wildflowers at the moment, spring is truly here and both on Symi and Nisyros the hills are dancing in the wind with the sway of wild daisies and poppies, just beautiful. We zoomed around on our little scooter, there arent many roads and very little traffic, so we mangaed to see most of the island and filled up for just €3 so an excellent days outing. Back in Pali there is a tiny Greek Orthadox church, just by the harbour wall, it is freshly painted on the outside and a must see inside if its open, the paintings/murals covered the inside walls and ceilings entirely, we could find no information at all about it but it is an absolute gem.

Mark had an extra trip into Mandhraki on the scooter, helping out Nina onboard a sailing school yacht, she had arrived in Greece 4 days previously for her weeks sailing school holiday but unfortunately her bag didn't come with her and had been chasing her around Greek Islands by ferry since!!! Rumor had it that it was definately on the 6pm ferry into Mandhraki, happily for Nina it was and their trip to the ferry was rewarded with her pack, at last.

Next stop back to Turkey to visit Bodrum

Cruising Info:
Anchorage - Pali, Entry in breakwater now faces due east, we stern-tied to Northern wall in 3m, some side tied. Bollard rusty and started wearing through our mooring line. New south wall in good condition, 4 yachts stern-tied, unsure of depth over there. No charges made while we were there in April. There were power boxes and water that all looked new but didn't yet work. Mandhraki also looked fine, shelter not as good as Pali but quite large, ferries go in there.
Money - Didn't find ATM machine. Is supposed to be one in town and one at Mandhraki harbour but didn't see them
Provisions - Fuel Station on road to Mandhraki. A few small grocery/fruit-veg and bakeries in Mandhraki. Bakery in Pali a little way out on the road east along the beachSightseeing - easy to do everything in a day by scooter. There is a walking path to the volcano, around 9kms each way, it would be a long, hard day
Internet - No wifi signals at all and didn't even see internet cafes anywhere

Exploring Southeastern Anatolia ... Mar 2009

03 - 24 March 2009

Part One: SE Anatolia 03-09 March 2009

***On the City Walls at Diyarbakir overlooking the Tigris River and the Mesopotamia plains where Marks Grandfather fought in WW1*** ***Urfas Mosque and Citadel by night*** ***Beehive Mudhouses at Harran on the Syrian/Turkish boarder***What do Turkish men do all day???? - they gather around, drink tea and play backgammon or cards, here they are in the ancient setting of a caravanserai in Urfa ***

The time had come to go and explore some lesser travelled parts of Turkey so we decided to combine this with our 3 monthly "visa run", and then end up in Cappadocia and rendezvous with our New Zealand friends John and Kathryn who were combining a couple of weeks in Turkey with a visit to friends and family in the United Arab Emirates.

We prebooked our flights from Izmir, 4 hours by bus north of Marmaris to Diyarbakir in Eastern Turkey, infamous as the base for the Kurdish Resistance Movement. The buses to Izmir are regular and all went well. As with many Turkish towns the otogars (bus stations) have been relocated to the outskirts of town to keep the many buses out of the centres. Some of the bus companies offer free connecting servicios (minibuses) into the town centre and we took one into Izmir. Its a city of a couple of million, relatively new and not of much interest so we just stayed the one night in a very marginal, overpriced hotel that appeared after dark to be in the soup kitchen neighbourhood with all the homeless queueing for their dinner. We did venture out down to the waterfront for a look around, drink and dinner and the waterfront area looked quite nice. Next morning we were keen to leave and headed to the airport via bus and train for our flight out east.

We arrived in Diyarbakir in pouring rain, freezing cold, had a taxi driver from the airport to our hotel who seemed to be practising for this years Grand Prix circuit. Deciding to move slightly more upmarket in our choice of hotels were disappointed to discover that the accomodation for our trip just might cost more than we were budgeting on with it still not being of a great standard. Still, our priorities were clean, with bathroom and definately heating. Diyarbakir, first settled around 1500BC, has one of the longest existing city walls in Europe at 6kms dating from Roman and Byzantine times and some interesting buildings built with alternative black and white stones. The following morning the sun was shining so we rugged up and walked around some of the small alleyways, admiring the architecture then explored the city walls both from the bottom and then climbed to the top for great views out across the Tigris river and the plains of Mesopotamia - the fertile lands between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. We enjoyed excellent Kurdish food and Kurdish not Turkish coffee. Everyone we met was proud to tell us they were Kurdish not Turkish and they were all very friendly and helpful.
More to come soon ..................

Time to explore .... March 2009

02 March 2009

It's time to go exploring, yippee!! Tomorrow the 3rd March we get the 1pm bus up to Izmir where we will stay the night. On the 4th we fly to Diyarbakir which is in Southeastern Anatolia and we have a couple of weeks backpacking around the areas of Mardin, Harran and Urfa and we hope to get into Syria and travel down to Palmyra. We then head up to Cappodocia and meet New Zealand friends John and Kathryn on the 17th , then on the 21st we all fly back to Izmir and then will travel to Ephesus, Pamukkale and Afrodisias. We have all our winter woollies packed and are ready for our big adventure.

Will try and do some short updates along the way if we can.

Istanbul ... Feb 2009

18 - 21 February 2009

***view of the Blue Mosque out of our hotel room window***looking at all the goodies in the Spice Market***waiting for our gozleme for lunch with the traditional ladies making them in the corner***Mark and Mustafa the carpet seller in a carpet shop***

Getting to Istanbul from Marmaris isn't exactly the easiest of journies. If you fly then it is over 100kms to Dalaman Airport, then an hours flight to Istanbul then the underground train into the city and then somehow to your hotel. Going by bus is around 14hours with stops and includes a ferry crossing over the Sea of Marmara, then there is the usual getting to and from the bus stations. So when Yacht Marine, the other large marina here in Marmaris organises its annual bus trip to the Istanbul Boat Show there is a flurry of interest and holidays are planned. As well as it being exceptional value, there is of course the priceless advantage of being collected and delivered marina to hotel.

Day 1 was a somewhat early start, up before dawn and luckily we had a break in the rain while awaiting our 6am departure north. The 2 coaches took it easy and we had a few breaks enroute, then a very flat crossing of the Sea of Marmara, onwards to Istanbul. The traffic as we approached was very heavy but it is a huge city and eventually, after a free Istanbul by Night tour we arrived in the Sultanahmet area around 9pm and headed for out hotel. Several hotels were used by the group, many stayed at the http://www.sidehotel.com/ and were very happy with it.

We stayed at http://www.oceans7.com.tr/ a 9 room hotel in a very quiet cute cobbled side street, 2 minutes walk from the Blue Mosque, and yes that really was the view out of our window from Room 203. It cost €40 double (low season special rate) including a buffet turkish breakfast with omelette, our room had a double and 2 single beds, radiator heating, air conditioning and a small but very clean and functionable bathroom. The staff were great, it was very warm and comfortable and we would recommend it.

Day 2 dawned very cold but clear and sunny and after a very good Turkish buffet breakfast with omelette we had time for a visit to the Blue Mosque to admire this amazing masterpiece with millions of blue tiles and 260 stained glass windows, before joining the group for our transfer to the Boat Show. The Exhibition was good but really didn't have many goodies to buy, just bits and pieces to look at, so in a way it was excellent as we weren't tempted to part with any money!!! After a few hours we were collected and taken down to the Bosphorus River and enjoyed a late afternoon cruise, sitting back and taking in the sights from the water of this historical city spanning both Asia and Europe. By the end of the boat trip the skies had opened and a soggy night followed but that didn't stop us having dinner at the nearby Oceans 7 Restaurant which served excellent food in very cosy surroundings (upstairs best).

Day 3, another stunner of a morning but oh so cold. After another very good breakfast we hit the streets to "do" Istanbul in a day. We had the whole day free so started with a walk through the grounds of the Aya Sofya, into the adjoining park and next into Topkapi Palace. Although only around 550 years old the palace is an interesting place to spend some time and has a very colourful history. We wandered through the maze of the harem, trying to imagine how life must have been for over 1000 concubines housed there, all desparately trying to to become the Sultans favorite. The private quarters and the courts were very interesting, but the Treasury displaying the spoonmakers 86 carat diamond takes alot of beating! Originally found in a rubbish dump and bought by a spoonmaker for 3 spoons, what a bargain.

After the palace we headed for the Basilica Cistern (everything is so close you just walk from one amazing attraction to the next in a minute or two), built in AD532 designed to hold 80,000 cubic metres of water, what an engineering feat - but who put the two Medusas heads upside down underneath the columns, and why?

Time for gozleme and chai for lunch then off exploring through a maze of little streets and into the Grand Bazaar. Not as impressive as I remember it to be 20 years ago, but I guess I have seen so many amazing sights since then and it was still great to have a look around out of tourist season. Still time for more sightseeing so we walked down to the waterfront and along to the Egyptian Spice Market taking in the sights and smells and nibbling on all the samples, I wonder just how many flavours of Turkish Delight there really are? (I am doing my best to try them all!!) Time to call it a day with an uphill walk back to the hotel, a very unmemorable dinner opposite the Blue Mosque and a walk around Sultanahmet at night.

Day 4 raining again, we were just so lucky with our two days. We left on the coach at 10am, and made it back to Marmaris at 12.45am. It was a very long day, there was a delay waiting for the ferry and then a slow trip around the Bursa area where the countryside was snow covered, we even had a few snowflakes falling when we stopped for lunch, but all in all we had a great time away and saw as much as we could in a short time. Our thanks go to Marmaris Yacht Marine for organising and subsidising such an excellent event.

Still in Marmaris...Feb 2009

Oh dear, where are the days going. It's the middle of February and the days are sliding by very quickly and still so many "winter boat jobs" to do. As you may have noticed the blog updates have not been happening. I have been very strict and try not to spend any time during the day on the computer, well you start looking at one thing, then that leads to another then 3 hours later you still haven't looked at what to started looking for. I have, however, been uploading some web albums so if you'd like to look at some of our pictures go to http://picasaweb.google.com/yachtbalvenie to see our happy smiley faces in some very interesting places.

No, I have been chained to the sewing machine. Balvenie will, for the first time since we have owned her (now nearly 6 years), soon be the proud owner of new canvas work on everything. Over the years we have accumulated a collection of colours of canvas on various things and we were starting to look like a floating patchwork quilt, so my mission, which I chose to accept, was to make a new dodger, canopy, awning, sun shades, 7 winch covers, 2 outboard covers, liftraft and bar b que covers, phew, and remake our year old mainsail cover so it actually fits and theres always the possibly of adding a new dinghy cover so it matches too. So if you are thinking I have just been sitting here with my feet up enjoying the wind and rain, you are wrong!!!

Talking of rain, we are sick of it, however today it did not rain and we had our first sunshine all day since "the big nasty storm", it has been a long time coming and was enjoyed by all, it even meant I could get out and do a proper fitting for the canopy without getting everything wet.

We are off to the boat show in Istanbul on Wednesday for 4 days, Day One -14 hours on the bus up , Day Two -3 hours at boat show and afternoon Bosphorus cruise, Day Three - play time, Day Four - yes you guessed it another 14 hours on the bus back!!!!, still the other Marina (Yacht Marine) is organising it and sponsoring it so its only 60Lira each for transport, show tickets, cruise AND Yacht Marine Waterproof Jacket so may as well make the most of it. Added bonus is I get to escape from the sewing machine.

More to come on our return from Istanbul

76 knots in Marmaris ... Jan 2009

28 January 2009

***This was L dock at Netsel, it just sort of buckled upwards and snapped, at least it stayed in one piece!!***The storm came from the south and brought with it plenty of African dust, it rained mud for a few hours***Very unfortunate sight at Netsel Marina, luckily major damage avoided by landing on the building***The cockpit was clean before but it just blew dust and dirt***

While parts of France and Spain have been badly damaged and lives lost in dreadful storms, little ole Marmaris has unfortunately been getting its share also, although luckily not as bad. We were forecast to receive a storm from the south with gusts to 50knots to arrive overnight Friday night. As with most of the weather forecasting here it was pretty accurate, but it just built and built and kept building.

Arriving in the wee small hours and building to 40knots quickly we were hoping for a short sharp blast and then resume normal quiet life but by daybreak things were still building. The yacht pictured had left their headsail on and not locked it off properly, the wind caught and unfurled it, of course making the yacht want to sail away, with devastating consequences. While this was going on our dock decided to part company with the main concrete pontoon, it was still all anchored and chained down, but no longer attached to solid land. Not a reassuring thought as the winds kept building. Then the cleats on the docks started popping out of the concrete pontoon, as each one went it then meant that the boats attached to it were no longer attached to the dock!! All hands were on deck, including all liveaboards, marina and charter boat staff to retie to other cleats, of course adding extra load to the remaining cleats, but desperately trying to keep the boats attached.

Still the wind was building, our cockpit wind instrument peaks at 50 knots, it was being pinned on 50 knots for minutes at a time. The noise was horrendous, the spray and sea state in the marina unbelievable, and still it kept coming. We were now getting gusts over 70 knots, and the highest recorded was 76knots, that's way too high. We were watching the clouds build and build, desperately hoping for the rain to start which usually settles the wind down, but more carnage occurred.

A few bow lines broke on boats around us, necessitating the marinaros to take temporary lines into the tender and go across the marina to attach to the far docks. Once the bow lines go there is nothing to stop the boats from falling back onto the dock, damaging their sterns or from being pushed by the wind onto the boats adjacent.

Meanwhile there was minor damage occurring everywhere, awnings shredded, dodgers blown away, the plastic windows in our canopy were blown out, fenders were popping, mooring lines shearing, dinghies flying off decks - then at last around 10.00am, the rain came and the winds started to ease. I remember coming below and thinking how quiet it was now the wind had eased, I looked at our wind instruments and we were getting 38 knots - NEVER have I thought 38 knots was peaceful!!!!!

The heavy rain, actually falling African mud, lasted only a few hours but what a mess it made, it looked like we were to be covered in a layer of clay when it set. So we have been cleaning up since, Mark has hosed all the dirt away inbetween downpours, I have fixed 2 of the windows but am awaiting the easing of the rain for long enough to remove the canopy before I can fix the last one. The marina staff are trying to get the marina back together again, power was only out for about 7hours, water is still off on our side of the dock, and we still have to walk over 18 lines that run across our dock to get to the end as they can not bed new cleats in the rain, its like doing a 200metre hurdles!!!!

Overnight we had another blast of 40knots through and we sat and prayed for nothing higher and it looks like things will calm down for a few days. We shall be very glad when this is all over, the wind dies, the rain ends and the sun comes back to play.

See video footage of the storm at Yacht Marina on http://www.mefeedia.com/entry/storms-in-marmaris-yacht-marina/13883291

Christmas in Marmaris ..... Dec 2008

December 2008

****There's not too many places on a yacht to put the Christmas decorations, but we do our best, inside and out!!!!!!****

Merry Christmas everybody

After a very busy month back in New Zealand and a record breaking 55 1/2hour trip from Auckland back to Balvenie things have been a little slow on board since my arrival back, I suspect they were a little slow during my absence also!!!

It is Christmas Eve, the Christmas emails have all finally been dispatched, if you missed out it must be because we have lost your email because we have sent plenty. Tonight we go down to YachtMarine, the other marina here in Marmaris, to join several friends for a pot luck dinner. We will have to tuck up warm as it is forecast to go down to 2c overnight, goodness me it must be snowing somewhere close by. The days are still mainly sunny, so ok out of the wind but it certainly does have that winter feel to it and after no winter for 5 years it is quite an adjustment for us.

Marmaris is a different place now to the rowdy tourist town of mid summer, there is not a fat tattooed belly or an oversized body bulging out of undersized clothes with bright pink sunburned skin to be seen. Thankfully in winter Marmaris reverts to a pleasant, laidback, provincial town with the locals just going about their business, it's really quite a nice place to spend some time.

A busy month in Auckland ... Nov/Dec 2008

11Nov - 13Dec

After the huge relief of actually getting to Istanbul airport in time to make my connection on Emirates to Dubai and onwards, the following 24 hours just floated by in a haze. Emirates have just opened their new terminal at Dubai aiport which wasn't such a bad place to spend 5 hours and besides being served dinner when my watch said it was 6.30am, the onward flight via Melbourne was uneventful. After a quick stockup at Auckland dutyfree, my pack was already waiting on the luggage belt, then straight through customs and immigration, don't you just love Auckland airport. It is always so nice coming through to a great welcome and a big group hug.

Over the next couple of weeks the days were filled to the brim. Mum had done a great job and had already started packing, we had boxes stacked everywhere. We needed to sort out the "what is to be sold/given away or thrown away pile" and this took priority. We took photos of everything to go and loaded them all at my sister Denise's (faster internet access) on to http://www.trademe.co.nz/ which is New Zealand's answer to Ebay. It is absolutely amazing what people buy, and I think we had only one item out of 28 that didn't sell. We also had a garage sale that we advertised in the Saturday NZ Herald, the cars started turning up by 7am and it was all over with only a handful of things left by 11am netting a few hundred dollars to go towards purchases for their new apartment.

We went out on several shopping excursions, with Christmas fast approaching and a recession in full swing there were many bargins to be had, and we made sure we got every single one of them!!! Mum and Dad's new kitchen is fitted out with lovely new brushed stainless applicances and ended up costing 1/3 of budget due to some very diligent shopping, might have taken a little longer but literally saved many hundreds of dollars. The best thing is they just look fabulous.

Change of addresses, lots for Mark and I and plenty for Mum and Dad took over a day, along with organizing final readings, cancelling direct debits for utilities, setting in place new accounts. We were surprised at the time everything took when you sat down to do it all in one go. Eventually things came together, all the boxes sat neatly in the garage and moving day arrived. Of course it rained, no surprise there, but not too much and things didn't get too wet, the delivery company was excellent and all went to plan.

After a few days of unpacking and trying to make a 3 bedroomed home fit into a 2 bedroomed apartment we started to get on top of things. Shelves were purchased and fitted, all the pictures and mirrors went on to the walls and slowly but surely it has become their home and long may they enjoy it.

Mum and Dad's apartment is in the brand new Edmund Hillary Retirement Village in Remuera, they have built a range of accommodations suitable for all situations and Mum and Dad's is a self contained apartment on the 4th floor with a lovely view out over the gardens and across to One Tree Hill. There are beautifully manicured communal gardens, a bowling green, swimming pool, spa, gym, pitch n putt, free bus excursions, complimentary morning and afternoon tea daily (with hot scones!) and weekly happy hour complimentary also. Better than being in a marina, we don't get the free happy hours!!!! There is also onsite care and support if required and it's all secure and safe. We are very happy now knowing they will be safe and with loads of other people to enjoy life with.

The days flew by, I didn't take nearly as many walks along our beautiful Tamaki Drive in the sunshine as I would have liked, but Denise and I squeezed in as much as we could, always having the excuse of taking Poppy for a walk. My month was up before I knew it, I had achieved what I went home to do so it was a very successful, if short, trip.

With my backpack and dayback jammed to capacity with yummy huge Christmas Cake and Mince tarts fresh out of Denises oven, lots of boat bits (of course), a new laptop - well they have funny keyboards in Turkey, christmas presents, honey and marmite my pack weighed in at 22.1Kilos, not, I thought, unreasonable when the allowance is 20k. But what would I know, the Customer Service lady at checkin said I needed to take 2.1kilos out. Shame they didn't give me a credit on my outbound when it weighed 9.8k but it doesn't seem to work quite like that. So by taking the laptop out of the daypack I then had 800g I could put in there, mmmm still 1.3k overweight. You are allowed 7kg hand luggage plus laptop plus handbag, now my handbag is tiny so the 1.3k couldnt go in there. By this time I was losing my sense of humor so tried one last thing, I pointed out to the check in lady that I was the lightest person in the queue and that should count but what I would do was take out 1.3k of clothes and stand there and put them all on and that would be that. At last, after about 15 minutes, she agreed that everything could stay as is and we completed my check in. Personally I thought this was a total waste of time, it was all coming with me, one way or another, and in total I was not overweight. I must add that she was very nice during this whole incident and really was trying to help but they had obviously been briefed that day and no excess baggage was to sneak through.

And so the journey back to Balvenie commenced. Auckland to Melbourne then the biggie nonstop through to Dubai. If you are on Emirates and your connection is over 8hours in Dubai you get a free hotel with transfers and meal vouchers. My stopover was just over 8 hours but by the time you clear customs, find the transfer desk, wait for the transfer, check in, go to your room, have a shower, zoom down for a quick meal there was only 3hours left before the transfer back again. Still I am not ungrateful and 3 hours snoozing horizontially is certainly better than none. They transfer you back at Dubai aiport 3 hours before the next flight so lots of time to kill. There is free internet outside departure gate 123, this is a very long walk from the new terminal 3 but gave me something to do (about 10minutes each way). Some of the departure lounges have chairs with attached footrests that are reasonably comfortable to stretch out, there were lots by gate 201.

Finally I arrived in Istanbul, about 1/2hour late so pleased I hadn''t booked the flight to Dalaman which was a very tight connection. I caught the subway to the bus station, straight forward enough and can take trolley right to top of escalator above platform. The bus station is all outdoors and it was very cold and wet. I had not booked the bus in case something changed with my flight, big mistake, it was Saturday night and the end of a week long Muslim holiday, all the buses were full. I finally managed to get the last seat on an extra midnight service with Pammukale Coaches, just another 5 hours to wait then a 13hour bus trip. I called Mark with my eta and waited. The good news is it got in 1 1/2hours early so I jumped in a cab and was back to Mark before he left to meet me. Total time door to door was 55 1/2hours, phew. Skipper had been working hard Balvenie was gleaming inside and out, it's good to be back to the two of them.