On 15th June, despite the best efforts of a number of Greek agencies to thwart our progress and after just shy of a year, we left Greece!!!!

We had spent our last night in a part of Kos Town we had not seen before, much more atmospheric than the sprawling bars and restaurants circling the harbour.

We had drinks and dinner at the Jazz Rock cafe (which turned out not to be playing either Jazz or Rock) but did host for a few minutes a local accordion and bouzouki duo!

We set off early next morning for the ten mile trip to Bodrum, Turkey. It felt strange yet exciting to be leaving one country for another.

Goodbye Kos!

Hello Bodrum!

It has been seven years since we were last in Bodrum and of all the major ports along this stretch of Turkish coast, Bodrum was always the most upmarket and expensive, if a little soulless. It is well accepted that since the start of the Ukraine war, Turkey is now one of the few places in the world that Russian oligarchs can keep and sail their yachts. This means that prices that were high last time we were here are now astronomical!!

Mossy Joe, which is often amongst the larger yachts in most harbours, was dwarfed by the mega mega yachts in Bodrum! And the price tag for our one night stay was also off the scale!!

Spot Mossy Joe!!

Keen to get going and out of the confines of a marina, first stop out of Bodrum was ten miles away to the small bay of Pabuc, a beautiful quiet anchorage where we had been before many years ago.

The most important feature of Pabuc was that it had sufficient satellite coverage to ensure that we (well mostly I) could watch England’s opening game in Euro 2024! We had bought a projector and Jacques worked hard to set up a screen for me so that the thrills and spills of the game versus Serbia would be seen in glorious technicolour almost like watching at home or in the pub!

The following day we set off for another of our favourite places, one that we had been to many times in the last fifteen years with the kids and friends. Knidos is a special place in that as well as a natural harbour it is the site of the ruins of an Ancient Greek city.

The ruins of Knidos (kuh-nee-dos), a once-prosperous Dorian port city dating to 400 BC, lies scattered across the western tip of the Datça Peninsula. Steep terraced hillsides, planted with olive, almond and fruit trees, rise above two idyllic bays where yachts drop anchor and a lighthouse perches dramatically on a headland. You may even see Mediterranean monk seals swimming offshore here.

The peninsula’s unpredictable winds meant that ships often had to wait for favourable winds at Knidos (also known by the Latinised name, Cnidus); this boosted the boat repair business, hospitality and general trade. St Paul, en route to Rome for trial in AD 50 or 60, was one of many maritime passengers forced to wait out the storm here.

Although few of the ancient buildings are easily recognisable, the city paths are well-preserved. Don’t miss the round temple of Aphrodite Euploia, which once contained the world’s first free-standing statue of a woman. The 8000-seat Hellenistic lower theatre and the sundial from the 4th century BC comprise other ancient attractions, as do the remnants of a Doric stoa with a cross-stone balancing precariously on top and some fine carvings in what was once a Byzantine church.

We were pleased to see the familiar restaurant had not changed and watched the sun go down and the stars appear.

In need of supplies and the promise of watching the next England game in a bar we headed to the town of Datca, which for a town, is pleasant and whilst touristy it is not a boom boom disco all night place! I called ahead on the VHF and asked for a berth for the night and we motored in as directed, heading towards a very tight place between two much bigger boats. We were relieved twenty minutes later when we were safely in place, it had been quite a job but Jacques had managed to squeeze us in and we had help on shore to attach the many lines securing us. You can imagine then our anger when the Harbour Master said we could stay for two hours and then we would have to leave as this place was reserved for the tourist day boats!!! Fuming!!!

There were no other options for us to moor so we undid all the lines, started the engine and set off to anchor in the bay, hot and bothered and fed up! I had specifically asked for a berth overnight not a two hour pit stop!

Once in place in the bay, the dinghy was deployed and we took off in it for town, a pre match Raki and a to find a bar showing the game! Hooray! I have been abroad for most of the last twenty years when England have been in a tournament but have always managed to find a bar where there are other English fans or at least football fans from some or other nation. Datca is the exception! Although the game was showing on the screen, the sound was off and the bar was more or less empty. I was the only England fan and sitting next to me were a couple of older Turkish Gents who at least showed some interest. The staff did kindly turn the sound on for me, and you don’t need to be fluent in Turkish to get the gist of what’s going on, which was not much as it happened!

The bar was much busier and vibrant when we walked back past it after dinner two hours later!

The next morning after a quick food shopping trip we set off. I was so, so excited. We would be going back to what is probably my favourite place ever!

We have been to more exclusive places, places with fabulous restaurants and facilities, places with more wildlife and scenery but Sailors Paradise has my heart. Probably because the first time we were sailing with the kids we spent our free weekend there and the memories of their happiness and wonderment are etched on my memory.

Sailors is run by Tarek and his family, we have seen his children as babies and now as teenagers, his wife pregnant and then running the kitchen as well as tending the small vegetable garden behind the restaurant along with Grandma who makes the bread in the kiln every morning.

The space between the stern of the boat and the beach becomes our own private pool where you can swim and look at the sea bed whilst being completely safe and secure. We have many stories to tell of our time here over the years, including the kids hiking up the hardy thistle covered mountain, Lily falling in the sea off the gangplank in a storm, everyone jumping off their boats to help push away an enormous yacht as the wind blew it crashing on to the quay plus many nights of song and fun!

Very precious memories and I love it!

We spent two night in Sailors happy in the knowledge that we will be back again this summer, with friends or perhaps the ‘kids’ who are now adults. to make new memories.

A short hop around the point to Sogut Bay and the quay at Octopus Restaurant, another of our favourite places. The restaurant here has always served food of a much higher standard than most of the ‘restaurant on the pontoon’ establishments. Their fish dishes particularly are superb and the swordfish is legendary!

With access to free water on the quay we took the opportunity to clean the boat. With the recent southern winds, Mossy Joe had a deep covering of red desert sands which we were evident on every surface, nook and cranny! The shades that covered the windows were also due a hose down!

We had decided not to use any cleaning products to preserve the clarity of the water but this meant a great deal more manual scrubbing. Armed with my various tools I asked Jacques if I could be considered the boat cleaning version of Lara Croft!!! Well perhaps not!

After scrubbing the boat, which is always hot and exhausting, we scrubbed ourselves up and took to our table by the water as the day cooled to an almost manageable 29 degrees!!

Back on the boat, after a superb dinner, I attempted to watch the last England group game. If the game was not up to par the same could also be said for our satellite connection! I ended up listening to the match on good old BBC Radio 5 with the occasional burst of live footage on my computer. I was starting to worry that Elon Musk knew we were in Turkey (a country Starlink does not service) even though we were only a few miles from Greece and that the satellites were taking a swift about turn as they got close to us!!

With friends due to arrive in a few days, the following morning saw us in the tiny shop buying a few essential e.g. wine and crisps! On our return walk we passed a house which I had remembered from previous visits had always looked abandoned but now was derelict. This house is one of the many that I have pondered on during our travels, thinking it would be a bargain to buy and then fun to restore and update. Perhaps this one might be more of a challenge!

We took the next couple of days to head east to be closer to Dalaman airport to meet our next guests. Our destination was Ekincik Harbour, opposite the once plush My Marina, that we had visited many times before. On our first stay at My Marina some fourteen years ago it was an oasis of calm, beautifully maintained and offering cuisine that would not have been out of place in a 5 star hotel. The walls of the restaurant were adorned with newspaper clippings showing the celebrities who had dined there including Robert De Niro and Dustin Hoffman. Sadly, our last two trips there had been a hugely underwhelming. The marina and restaurant had changed hands, standards had dropped markedly and costs had increased significantly.

It is still very beautiful though!

Hence, we decided to stay in the harbour opposite, which although did not have the beauty of the scenery of My Marina it did have a choice of restaurants and a low daily mooring fee. Crucially, it also had good Starlink connection!

As the Jones family were touching down in Dalaman, the whistle blew on another excruciating England performance as they fought their way through to the Quarter Finals. Phew!!

The result and the arrival of our friends were good enough reasons to open some bubbles and toast our good fortune! The coming days would be full of new adventures and laughter. And some kissing cooks!!

More soon, take care, sail safe and be kind.

And pray for England to win the Euros!!

Tracey xx