It's a Hard Choice Wednesday 21st June

First difficult choice: which beautiful bit of coastline to explore next? We left the Gulf of Fethiye to go around the corner to the Gemiler area for a few days. Here there are craggy reefs and coves - we stopped the first night in a reef strewn, but picturesque setting around the corner from a busy "restaurant bay", Karacaören, that had a flotilla in. It was a bit rolly, but stunning. We carried on to visit Ölü Deniz, a national park area surrounding an inland lagoon very popular with local Turks. We anchored under the cliffs just outside - no powered vessels or yachts are allowed inside, and not even dinghies with engines. We took our dinghy across to the beach where there was a little landing, and were informed we needed to pay TL 14 to land and enter the park (all of about £3.50 for the two of us). No money on us, so had to return to the boat for some cash to come and explore. There are iconic pictures of the place; we found it very difficult to photograph though. It was not what we were expecting, but really set up all around the lagoon as a beach resort for the locals with the usual ice cream, tacky tourist trinkets and cafes. There was even a "Ladies Only" modesty beach - I went to inspect - it was tiny and totally empty, the ladies were all with their families.

We wanted to visit Gemiler Adasi (St Nicholas Island). There is a sheltered passage between the mainland and the island where boats can anchor or take a buoy and tie back to the island. We found ourselves on a buoy due to the persistence of a local boatman, and the following morning rowed ashore to visit the Byzantine ruins on the island. The man at the gate relieved us of the entrance fee of TL16 and we had the island to ourselves for the next couple of hours, except for the company of the gatekeeper's Labrador, who adopted us and led the way around the entire site, only once leading us astray. This is a Christian site, with 4 churches, various burial grounds and mounds, a corridor linking the top church to the bottom fortification and the remains of what must have been dwelling places for the monks or other inhabitants. Most of it is badly ruined, what excavation has been done has not been significantly cleared, with stones, pillars and rubble lying around - but one can get the sense of the layout perched on the island. It is mostly local stone, with few of the embellishments seen in the magnificent Byzantine remains like Mystra in the Greek Peloponnese.

Having completed our tour, our guide dog collapsed panting in the shade and the gatekeeper offered us also a shady spot to sit and brought us out çay (tea) and biscuits. His wife was fishing on the foreshore and every so often would come up to display her latest catch. He told us stories of life there and described how, in the winter months, he runs the entire island in under 14 minutes as part of keeping fit - given the unevenness of the terrain that is some feat. We could see our boat from where we sat, he seemed very interested and asked if he could come and have a look later. But of course, but it is only a very small boat, we warned. We were undecided as to where to go next, he made the choice for us by recommending the eastern cove in Bestia Limani, all of 2nm away. And so we went, to join a young cheerful Russian family on an equally small yacht and a lovely German couple on the last days of a charter holiday. It was an idyllic tucked away spot. That evening the Gemiler Adasi Gatekeeper and his wife roared up in his RIB just as we were about to eat. We put the lid on the barbecue and welcomed him aboard for a whistle stop explore of our boat - he asked us if were selling. Not at the moment!

We got friendly with the our lovely German neighbours; he a doctor turned head of something in their Health Service and she, an opera singer and music teacher. Next day was their last and she offered me the remainder of their food supplies, as they were not allowed to leave them for the next charter guests. She had really stocked up for their fortnight she said. Expecting to get a few tomatoes, potatoes and 1 UHT milk, I ended up with 4 carrier bags of stuff. Apart from tins galore of tomatoes and local beans, there were jars of pasta sauce, 3 bags of rigatoni pasta, two kilo bags of rice, 3 litres of milk, 2.5 bags of flour with umpteen sachets of yeast (she was baking their own bread), croissants, potatoes and onions, spices and condiments and more. Apart from fresh produce I think I am done for a bit! How she must shop at home is frightening to contemplate.

The next difficult choice was whether to carry on, to the "K's": Kalkan, Kas and Kekova Roads, or to turn back and further explore the Scopea Limani in the Gulf of Fethiye. Having raced around last year, we decided to take it easy. (We have visited those areas before.) First stop Fethiye itself, big marina, tourist destination, big boats and good fish market. We did a stock up in the markets for fresh stuff, including fruit & veg, meat and a red snapper for that evening and high-tailed out of there to find somewhere cleaner and cooler for swimming. After a return to the town the following morning to fill up with diesel, petrol for the outboard and water at Ece Marina, the only remaining difficult choices have been which lovely island or inlet or cove to visit next. It is so hard. So we have pootled about several since, stupidly listening to gulet captains with dire weather warnings that did not come to pass (and were not on our forecasts, but you think - well, local knowledge and all that), but finding beautiful spots. Today we are in Ortisim Bükü, recommended to us by a British couple who have kept their boat here for 10 years or so. It is also known as Laundry Cove, as in the NW corner cove there is a fresh water spring that has a hose attached for anyone to use. We went to explore by dinghy and walked to the head of the spring this morning and may well try to take the boat round from our tucked in position further up the inlet to that cove and see if we can top up our tank. We tasted the water and it was delicious.

The next difficult decision is where to go tomorrow - it will be my birthday and there is a rumour that I may not have to cook tomorrow evening - so which is the nicest bay with a little restaurant…..