Bodrum and the Sea
Jul 10th, 2014 by willmarks
After the one hour flight from Bodrum to Istanbul, we were greeted by a new guide, Yuval, for the 30 minute drive to the harbor. It is certainly a cute little village/harbor, but unfortunately our first impression of Bodrum was tainted by Sea Song’s (tour company) lunch recommendation, Korfez Restaurant, “the oldest restaurant in town,” which warranted negative feedback on the survey, particularly due to the shrimp plate lacking shrimp and what was there was overcooked, as was the pasta.
Yuval took us through the 15th century Castle of St. Petrus (Peter); interesting for its design contribution from many countries, including England, France, Germany and Italy. In the castle’s Museum of Underwater Archaeology, we saw artifacts from various shipwrecks, some as old as the 16th century B.C. While it was a hot day and the guide’s detail was overwhelming (this was our first trip of the year that threw Greek history into the Roman mix), MEM made it through the castle, boosted by the prospect of the afternoon gullet launch.
Yes, we are tourists…
I probably give the girls too much photo attention in general, so here’s another shot I like of Max, at the castle. His expression is saying, “I’m hot, I’m thirsty and I won’t admit it, but this place is actually pretty cool.”
From atop the castle…
At last, it was time to board the gullet, Freya.
While everyone else was settling in and before I had a chance to view the boat, I picked up necessary alcohol provisions. Then, when I arrived on board, MEM were excited to give me a tour of our home for the next 3 days.
Day 1: Bodrum – Alakisla Bükü
Day 2: Akbük – Sedir Adasi (Cleopatra Island) – Okluk Koyu (English Harbour)
Day 3: Çökertme – Orak Adası
Day 4: Bodrum
We snorkeled every day in the clear and comfortably refreshing Aegean Sea…
With Muca and Ahmed, Maggie drove the little boat back from Cleopatra Island, where the perfect sand was apparently delivered from Egypt for the benefit of Cleopatra.
We feasted on amazing food; note the stuffed mushrooms. The ship was equipped with a TV so we did observe some World Cup games after dinner, including the U.S. loss to Germany. The matches were followed by the Turkish game show, “Joker”; even with no understanding of the language, we found ourselves partially able to participate.
Relaxing on the deck, Maggie perhaps creating her “Guacamole” song…
Leaping from the plank…
Observing Chef Ahmed cleaning the fish that we would later consume…
Our final breakfast, with Bodrum Castle in the background…
With the crew, Chef Ahmed, Captain Mehmet, and Muca, at the end of the voyage…
