Category Archives: Information

Information we discovered during our travels.

Dry Dock Work in Turkey

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Today we were up early and got right to work. Christi scraped barnacles off the metal on the underside of the boat for 7 hours. It was infinitely easier to scrape most of the metal out of the water than in. The exception was the stabilizer keel cooler, which is equally hellacious both in and out of the water. Christi found barnacles in every crack and crevice, including places that she hadn’t even realized existed. She was shocked to find that several of the barnacles stuck to the top of the main engine keel cooler were bigger than American half dollar coins. It is amazing that the keel coolers continue to work just fine despite the barnacles.

Eric’s first task of the day was to Continue reading →

Kosmos Haul Out and More Turkish Food

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Recently, someone e-mailed us from Bodrum, Turkey. He said he read our blog, admired our trip, that he owned a boat yard, Yatlift, and would happy to be of service if we needed work done. He generously offered to haul us out for free. Wow. We have mentioned a couple times now that we really needed to give Kosmos some more attention. We weren’t planning on taking her out of the water to do the work, but this was an opportunity way too good to pass up. Most of the work to be done would be easier out of the water than in.

Yesterday we spent the day preparing for the haul out. Christi did laundry and housework. Eric found and read the manuals pertaining to the various jobs he was planning on doing, and also gathered together the tools, which required some digging into storage spaces.

We did go out to breakfast and dinner. For breakfast, we got a traditional Turkish meal, which consists of one egg, cheese, sliced meat, tomatoes, cucumbers, olives, white bread, honey, butter and a cup of tea.

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For dinner, we tried coban kovurma, which turned out to be Continue reading →

Exploring Turgutreis, Turkey

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After we arrived back to Kosmos, we rested for a little while, and then went into Turgutreis for dinner. Once you finally manage to escape from the enormous marina complex, downtown is only a few short blocks away.

Earlier in the day, when we went to and from the bus, it had been pretty quiet. There weren’t many people out. What we gather to be the center of town consists of a large open area along the water. There is a small park and a beach. The opposite end of the square is lined with restaurants, with a large mosque dominating the scenery, looming magnificently just behind the restaurants.

Tonight was a whole different story. In the previously completely empty town square there were now several rides set up for kids, including little cars and an astro jump. The previously deserted playground near the town square was full of children. There were quite a few families out walking around, and a lot of people gathered in the restaurants around the square. It felt like a family oriented community. It has a completely different feel than inside the marina complex, just a few blocks away.

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We wandered along the town square until Continue reading →

Welcome to Turgutreis, Mugla Province, Turkey

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We pulled out early this morning to head to Turgutreis, Turkey, which is on the western edge of the Bodrum Peninsula. We would have liked to have spent another day exploring Kos and another day or two exploring Rhodes, but the marina at Kos was full and we needed to go. When we made the reservation they had told us we could only stay for the three nights.

The trip to Turkey was short, only taking 1 1/2 hours. Good thing, because the waves were rough yet again. We had made a reservation at D-Marina. The reservation had been confirmed via email, but they had not asked for payment up front. We pulled up to the marina and called on the radio. They responded that they had no space for us. What? We replied that we had a reservation. They didn’t respond, nor did they respond to subsequent calls. We waited in the harbor outside the marina, hoping they would respond to us eventually. We heard a boat on the radio call for a pilot boat to help them leave. Maybe we could get this newly vacating spot? Eric hailed Continue reading →

Welcome to Rhodes, Dodacanese Islands, Greece

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This morning we were up early to catch the ferry to Rhodes. Like Santorini, the marina in Rhodes is first come, first serve, and the anchorages are not good. We figured we were better off leaving Kosmos safely in Kos than to risk having to anchor her in an anchorage infamous for its poor holding.

The ferry over was a fast catamaran, similar to the one we had taken to Santorini. It was a quick two hour trip, and a smooth ride. We were dropped off at the main town on the island, the city of Rhodes. The imposing fortress walls of the old city of Rhodes loomed in front of us, similar to the walls in Kos. We walked from the bay to one of the city gates. Christi felt like we had walked into a history book. It is a true medieval city, different than anything we have ever been to before, with gothic buildings made of stone block and stone block roads.

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Rhodes is Continue reading →