Moons, Tombs & Lazy Days Saturday, 19th July 2014

Well, we have been lazy. We did the inlets and bays of the Gulf of Fethiye, taking two days out to stock up, once in Gӧçek and once in Fethiye, the first a good stop and the second a slight disappointment and not as memory served us (apart from the park and a great fish market). The rest was just wonderful bays, clear (bath)water, boiling temperatures, steep cliffs and high mountains. So we lazed in the heat.

We have finally dragged ourselves away and are continuing east and south. The mountains are getting higher, the peaks rising straight out of the sea to up to 2,000m and inland up to 3,000m. We go skiing in the Alps at those heights. All along this coast (the Lycian) are cliff or rock tombs. These are carved out cave tombs set high in the cliffs, centuries ago. Some are quite ornate with pillars and decoration outside and inside sort of 3 large slabs on each side of the rectangle opposite the opening. The idea behind them was that the dead would want to be near their family and neighbours and friends, and so these tombs were built high to allow them to "live" next to each other, but presumably allow the bodies to do the necessary away from habitation and allow the spirit to fly. Very little in the way of other antiquities, apart from various Byzantine ruins inhabited less by ghosts and more by goats. We must do better on that front.

The sailing has been a bit off and on. Some good sailing in the Gulf, some on genoa alone out of laziness and to keep the tent up for shade, and some motoring from inlet to inlet. Heading on now is a bit more difficult - we have avoided most of the meltemi in these parts, but the realities bear little relation to the forecasts due to the high mountains and, as we head east, a significant swell crashing into capes and reverberating off. Yesterday, we passed 7 such capes towards Kalkan. Today, on to Kaş, then Kekova Roads (inland passage between Kekova island and the mainland) - looking forward to both of those which are supposed to be superb, and then to Finike where we will leave the boat for August.

The gulets are becoming a tad overbearing. We almost became a gulet sandwich in Yassica Adalari (archipelago in Gulf of Fethiye). Being squished sideways and lengthened when a big heavy thing wants to share our anchor point and the resulting tension nearly pulls our cleats out. A long thin HR34? Not an attractive proposition.