Bottom scrubbing, Baba Noel and Buses Friday, 5th September.

After a whirlwind month at home (full of visiting, at home & away, and jobs on house and garden) we arrived back in Finike to find Myrica in good shape. It is still hot (mid 30's) but apparently not as bad as it has been - the boat recorded a max inside temp of 41.7 while we were away and that was with curtains drawn and the inside dark and shaded. But the water is still hot - 31+ deg C, so still swimming in bathwater.

First day back was spent stocking up and sorting ourselves and Myrica out. Second day and we took a little dolmus (bus) to the next town of Demre, which boasts 3 major attractions. First up, just outside the town is a large and striking example of more Lycian rock tombs. All along the Lycian Way (a sort of long distance trail and "Pilgrim's Way") these tombs are carved out of the cliff face and look a bit like windows on the world for the dead. Adjacent to these is the amphitheatre at Myra. Myra was once a Lycian port - now inland due to silting of the Demre River. The carvings on the stone slabs, and tops and bottoms of columns are remarkable (if a bit ghoulish-looking).
Its third claim to fame is in Demre itself - the Church of St Nicholas, Patron saint of sailors (thank you) and pawnbrokers, but more familiar to us as Baba Noel or Father Christmas. He was the Bishop of Demre who gave away to charity. One of the tales gave rise to our use of Christmas stockings. He wanted to give some gold anonymously to a poor family, so climbed up on their roof and dropped the bag of gold down the chimney. It fell conveniently straight into one of the stockings the daughter had left drying by the fire. Voila! Poor old Nicholas was martyred in 655 and the Greek Orthodox Church has become a place of pilgrimage (even here amongst the mosques). A good visit.

A word about dolmus buses (I know those of you who read the blog regularly are familiar with my obsession with Greek buses!). These Turkish ones have their place - they are mini-buses, a halfway house between large taxi and municipal bus. They hold about 16 people - 15 seats plus 1 (on a fold-out, tallish plastic step-stool that sits in the aisle). They do exceed the rules on occasion when full, as happened to us - the capacity was plus 2. The driver looked at us (OK, not too large!) and motioned for Richard to sit on the plastic stool. Now wedged to one side and slightly behind the driver is a cool box for water. I was told to sit there, facing backwards, shoulder to shoulder with the driver. OK, he asks? OK, not too bad, bit hard on the old derriere, but then… The drive is about 35km along a good, but very twisty coastal road. It was not easy staying put on the cool box while careering around the hairpin bends.

Day 3 and we were off, back to Gokkaya Limani, a beautiful set of bays set behind some rocks and islets. And then to Karaloz on the west side of Kekova Island, a hidden inlet, quiet and clear with only a couple of boats, turtles, goats and wasps for company. Francesca, she-devil for wasps, is doing her stuff.

Here R got to work - he spent hours in the water, bottom-scrubbing. Having sat for a month in a harbour, poor bottom had acquired a nice layer of slime and the odd crustacean. Also R needed to cool off. So now we have a clean bottom (the sailors amongst you here will understand this particular obsession) and a go-faster boat.

We are re-tracing our steps to a certain extent - heading back west and a bit north. The winds will predominantly be against us and pick up in the afternoons. So early morning starts may need to become the norm for a bit. Never mind, more lazing and swimming time in the afternoons?