We have been agonizing over a pasarelle. A passarelle is basically a walkway that connects your boat to the sea wall when you are Mediterranean moored. Mediterranean moor means that you back into a spot in between two boats and tie the back of your boat to a sea wall. The boat is not usually close enough to the back wall to easily get on and off the boat, which is where the passarelle comes in. Many people skip installing a passarelle and simply use a wooden board. We tried the wooden board in Greece, but it slid around and it felt unstable. In Greece and at DMarin, we would yank on the ropes to bring the boat close enough to the wall that we could jump to and from shore. Both the wooden plank and the jumping were a little scary.

So why would installing one be an agonizing decision? First of all, it is expensive, and we will only use it for two months in the Med and probably never use it again. Maybe a couple months of jumping wouldn’t be so bad? Two, our boat isn’t really made for a passarelle. The ideal place to install it, on top of the half wall at the back wall of the cockpit, has a low ceiling and the person coming aboard could hit their head. The safer place to install it, on the swim platform, isn’t as practical for use. You want the passarelle higher up so it is closer to the top of the sea wall. Third, they are large, heavy and awkward. We needed to be able to easily get it in and out of the lazarette, and the large ones would be difficult to maneuver. The small ones fit OK, but they aren’t really long enough to effectively do the trick, especially from the swim platform.

In the end, we decided to get the smallest passarelle, installed on the swim platform. We figured even if we had to make a big step to get on/off the passarelle, it is still easier than jumping. The angle on the passarelle will be awkward, but once again, still less awkward than jumping. It would fit in the laz well, and be easier to handle than the bigger ones. And of course, it was the cheapest option of all.

Today Eric had to clean out part of the lazarette to make room for the guys to get inside to do the passarelle install. Clearing out the laz is akin to clearing out your garage; a cumbersome task. The guy came to do the install around noon and it took less than an hour.

Meanwhile, the waxing/metal crew finished up. They did an amazing job. They got all the rust stains off the metal that Christi had not been able to get off, including a couple places where we thought the rust would be absolutely impossible to remove (note: the stainless steel pieces that were rusty were parts we added. We knew all the stainless that Nordhavn utilized would clean up). Kosmos looks pretty when she is sparkly and shiny!

The waxing/metal crew also cleaned the propellers. Christi had scraped all the barnacles off, and Eric had sanded them a little. But they were still coated with a hard crust that we thought could never be removed. The crew scrubbed the propellers with a special solution that completely removed all the crust. The props both gleam.

All in all, we have to say that we are most impressed with the work we had done at Yatlift. Kosmos looks brand new again, which we find unbelievable considering how hard we have beat her up since her last wax/stainless work in Fiji.

There was only one more thing that we were having professionally done, fix the stabilizer oil leak. This is by far the most important job to be done on the boat during our time in dry dock, but that work couldn’t be done for a few more days

After the passarelle was completed, Eric installed new the windshield wiper washer hoses. The old ones were a bit too short and would often pop out when used. We now have longer hose, so they should work better.

We put the anchor chain back in the locker and lubed windless. We put away the tools we didn’t need anymore and started cleaning the engine room. There are only a few things left for us to do, and most of them are to be done after the aforementioned professionals finish their work. And, of course, we went into Bodrum for dinner.

We have decided that Turkey wins the number 2 spot for worst drivers in the world (Egypt still holds #1). Driving in Turkey is terrifying. This is the first country that we have ever been in that seems to view stopping at red traffic lights as optional. Lanes consist of wherever you can possibly squeeze your car into. The drivers are unbelievably aggressive. They are constantly trying to over take you. For example, if you are the first car stopped at a red light on a single lane road, the cars behind you try to creep around you and out into the intersection. They never seem willing to give way, even when you clearly have the right of way. Intersections are a game of chicken, and two cars often get unbelievably close to an accident before one will finally relent and give way. Pedestrians have to run for their lives. Cars never stop for them, even when the little green man is flashing to pedestrians telling them it is safe to walk.

The aggressive driving is exacerbated by the narrow roads, oddly angled intersections, lack of signs, and poorly located traffic lights that are often difficult to clearly see. The most maddening thing, though, is that some roads are one way and some are two way, and we often can’t tell which are one way or two. Even worse, when it is one way, we can’t tell which way it goes. We realized that in America, even if there is no sign, you always can tell which direction a one way street is because the cars all park facing that direction. In Turkey, the cars park every which way, so the cars only serve to confuse you, not help you. Needless to say, we have driven down the road the wrong way on a couple of occasions, and maybe more than we realize. Driving has been stressful for Eric, making the overall sightseeing experience less enjoyable for him. Christi is too afraid to get behind the wheel.