Wednesday

I'm going to post more on this blog when I get home as it's a bit difficult to get onto the internet here.

Just to say today we took a boat trip to Agios Pavlos rock and triopetra where we had a fab lunch with Tim and sally, who went swimming before and after.  The scenery is so stunning but I will have to wait until I get back to put the pics on here as I don't think my previous ones have worked.  But of course some are on Facebook.

Waiting now for Bill to get ready as we are going out tonight in the mountains to a place called Silla for dinner as the menu the other day looked very interesting.  Mind you I am looking forward to going home and having some of my own cooking, Bill has said I still make the best moussaka and we've had some here ranging from veery good to "all right"

More tomorrow, it's our last day and I think we are going back to Damnoni beach which is a favourite.

Lutro for the night

Saturday we tok a boat trip to loutro which is only accessible by boat. Or ferry in our case to stay the night.  A fabulous experience, staying at a very nice hotel owned by Christina who Tim and Sally know well from previous visits.

At last I managed to air drop a picture !!

Having had a lovely meal and a good nights rest we got the ferry back the next day and then Damnoni beach again for lunch and a swim/snorkel.

Today we went back to Shirana beach which is a bit of another climb with great views and much swimming and snorkelling after another great lunch.

Last night and today, Friday

Last night we ended up in yet another fish bar where we had a banquet of fish to share as I wasnt hungry after the huge moussaka at lunchtime.  Lovely evening with Tim and Sally they are very good company with coffees and brandies to finish (not me tho).

Today's trip involved a drive into somewhere called Spili where the mountain springs come out of lions mouths along a stream, a bit touristy but remarkable just the same.  A quick beer there then off to Danmoni beach again for lunch and swimming, snorkelling and sunbathing.  I had corn on the cob for lunch and the rest had chicken, sardines and shrimps that looked lovely, we are going back there next week.

To get there we passed through a drive thigh a huge gorge called Kourtalioti, the scenery was just stunning.

Tomorrow is the boat trip to a beach that can only be accessed by boat and we intend to spend the night in a hotel there as it is just a dream place to be.

Another lovely day, great that we have our own tour guide Tim and Sally !

I'm sorry the photos didn't come out, I will try again sometime but I put most of the best ones on Facebook.

So Tuesday night we met up with Tim and Sally and had a meal in the goat restaurant but it was quite late when we ate and I was tired so retired early.  Yesterday we met up and went to Damnoni beach and had a lovely lunch of sardines and salad then sunbathed on Plakias beach after.  

The evening was hilarious - Tim mistook the tzatziki for a napkin and picked up a whole load of yogurt !!  Eeaarrr he said

Today we have been to a beautiful beach not far from here called Shinaria but the hair raising bends and heights didn't do me any good, still it was well worth the journey as the moussaka I had was very authentic and Bill and Sally had the chicken dish of the day and Tim had a pork souvlaki which is a kebab.  Hot day but quite windy still I know I have had some sun today.  There were plenty of goats on the hillside one looked like a Spanish black bull.

The ride back in the jeep was off road then we saw a nudist beach with some bloke bending over - we thought it was a goat.

So here we are in the Lamon taverna enjoying a glass of wine, they drink ouzo which I find disgusting but then I'm going to try some Retsina which they said was equally awful.  Mum do you still like it ???!!!

More later....

Arriving in Plakias

Back in February Tim and Sally, landlord and landlady from the Wheatsheaf  said why don't you come over to Crete and have some cracking laughs in September ?

So I duly booked Plakias which is Sally's favourite place in the south of Crete, and he we are a day earlier than them sunning it up and ending the lovely view of the bay and the surrounding mountains. It is truly a spectacular place and the views are fantastic.  We walked to the port, some 2-3km but made out way back fairly quickly in the heat as it was getting very hot.

After having a couple of beers in a local literally waterside cafe we came back and decided as we didn't get here until gone 1am last night just to lounge around the pool.

I have to say I'm  impressed with the hotel as they put some salad and bread out for us in the room in the fridge and a complimentary bottle of water as the journey was 11+ hours all told and the transfer time is nearly 2 hours as we didn't get here till well past midnight.

So now just relaxing having a glass of wine on our terrace - Tim and sally will be here about 8pm where we will join them for either a meal or just a gin and tonic.

So I will now try to upload photos :

Salcombe to Lyme Regis

As soon as we left the Dart River I lost my internet connection at Start Point so haven't until now been able to post.  Salcombe is a very pretty estuary and we laid on one of the visitors pontoons just out of the run of the tide.  Paddling ashore in the dinghy was a bit of a struggle because they are difficult to row and I nearly fell in, but didn't as that would have got to the Wheatsheaf eventually when we got back.  It was a close thing.  The waste and recycling has its own pontoon but trying to get on to it proved difficult from a low dinghy to discard our garbage.

We needed stores; running low on wine, bread and other supplies, luckily all the shops were open and it was crowded with tourists.  No supermarket though and although we paid a little over the odds for the wine it is superb Marlborough Sauvingnon blanc.  This morning we took on water as the water is soft here and it's lovely to have a shower on board without using hardly any shampoo.  I made use of the open butchers to get some sirloin steak and some fresh croissants.

So after that about midday to get the right tides we headed back east towards Start Point, crossing the entrance to the Dart river whereupon another pod of dolphins came towards us at speed and I managed to get a decent picture this time (loaded up later when I'm home).  What I am going to do is go to the Apple shop next week and purchase something that wil allow me to post pictures from my phone or my iPad onto this blog, it's infuriating as the scenery along the coastline and the estuaries and rivers is stunning.

So crossing Lyme Bay in some heat of the day, flat calm seas I read yet another book, that's my 4th this trip and I'm really enjoying them.  it's taken around 5 hours to get here but worth it as the harbour has changed alaot over the years and now can accommodate boats like ours in this tidal harbour and we can get ashore without the dinghy.  Bill is currently being a tourist and looking at a trawler that's just come in to land the fish.

Dart River

So here we are in Dittisham on the Dart River just up from Dartmouth where it is a lovely setting very quiet and glorious sunshine.  We picked up a visitors buoy about 10 minutes rowing from the shore where there is a good pub but we are eating aborad tonight with my home made spag bol.  Probably go for a drink later.  I am currently enjoying a spanish style gin and tonice.

Yesterday we took the bus from Torquay to Paignton and had a very nice lunch in a place called the Harbour Inn where I had a very fresh plaice and Bill had a piece of haddock with chips the batter was fantastic.  My plaice was with garlic butter and absolutely delicious.

Decided to look around the small harbour and I went to the Harbour Masters office and met a very helpful mand called Simon who gave us the low down of visitors.  The harbour dries out completely at low water but there are a few moorings just outside that we could use and then row in.  It may be one of our destinations on the way back as I'd love to try the rooftop restaurant called TJ's as the menu looked great and Simon gave it the thumbs up.

Bill is currently trying to feed the ducks with my stale loaf of bread but trying not to feed the seagulls who are very aggresive and horrible.

Looking forward to Salcombe tomorrow.

Weymouth to Torquay

So having arrived in Weymouth our destination for food for the evening had to be Chinese  One of our faves is the Ming Wah in the high street and so good was it, we left a good tip. We decided after some debating whether to move on to the west or go home but now we are in Torquay and are staying 2 nights as the weather is iffy but its still very warm and close.  Went for just a tapas last night and tonight as we had a lovely meal in Painton this lunchtime where i had a very fresh plaice and Bill had haddock in a very crispy batter it was a lovely lunch.  I also went to see the Harbour master there to get the SP for going there in the future because it is a lovely harbour.  His name is Simon and his oppo is Sam and we shall probably go there on the way back home.

The next thing I have to mention is Mike in the MDL Harbour office in Torquay.  If you ever come here by boat he is he best man to help you in guiding to the allocated berth and very happy to accommodate freezer blocks in his freezer to assist you with your cold box if you have one like we do.  His Oppo in the evening we met is John and he was very helpful too and obviously they have a good chain of staff that help people in the seafaring community.  How great is that ??

So tomorrow we plan to go to Dartmouth in fact we shall go to Dittisham for the night and eat onboard my spag bol i prepared earlier before we left that was frozen but no defrosted.  the pasta is in the cupboard to be cooked al dente but we have no parmesan so i think my cornish cruncher cheese will suffice !!

Thank you to Torquay Marina for your great service, Mike, John, you will be remembered.  It was a pleasure being here.

Lymington

Having left Portsmouth yesterday lunchtime by the time we got to the waters off Egypt Point near Gurnard the tide had turned going east where the wind was coming strongly from the west, therefore the slop in the Solent made it very uncomfortable on the boat.  We decided to shelter in Lymington here for the night.  After a late lunch snack we sat on board in the lovely sunshine relaxing before going up to Stamwells for dinner.  We wanted a Chinese meal but the one on the quay has gone and the other one at the top end of town wasn't rated very highly by the barmaid in the pub nearby.  We tok her word for it as she was very intelligent and well spoken and made us feel very welcome.  I don't think I'd go back to Stamwells as it was quite expensive, although the food was good.  Bill said that we were paying for surroundings and lots of staff.  Main courses were typically £20 or more and starters nearly £10.  Nice boutique hotel though.

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Trying to go to Weymouth today with the tide that leaves about 1pm, it's 12.30 now.  If it's messy out there again on the water we will probably go to Christchurch.

Christchurch

So after waking up on Saturday morning to beautiful sunshine decided to get under way to get the tide up to Christchurch entrance.  Suddenly all these swans turned up..

There are hundreds of beach huts along the shore here opposite Mudeford.

This is the second time we have been here (see Chrystianneinspain.blogspot.com from July last year) and we wanted to go to Splinters Restaurant in the evening, so after contacting Rossiters boatyard for a berth made our way up the Estuary and finally the river to our destination.  We are virtually in the same place as last year.  Booked in, paid up for the night (£25), plugged into the electric and had some breakfast of bacon sandwiches and an egg sandwich as well for Bill. I thin phoned Slinters to reserve a table only to discover that they had Jazz there that night which was an absolute plus for me.  The sun was so warm decided to stay on board sunbathing (and reading) until about 2pm whereas we went and bought a timetable for the local area then into YOGI, the pub.  After a lovely glass of Pinot blush and sitting in their cool courtyard, meandered back to laze on the boat and study the tide tables.  Interesting that there is a second high water nearly 3 hours after the first which is higher on the springs and lower on the neaps.

 

This is a lovely picture looking up the river

After changing into some suitable clothes we made our way to Splinters, we are only about 15 minutes from the town centre where it is near the Church.

We sat outside and had gin and tonics listening to the band who were outside playing very nice smooth jazz.  I ordered lamb and Bill the beef steak.  Both were absolutely delicious washed down with a very nice Spanish White.  I shall now make my lyonnaise potatoes with garlic.  After that I ordered a tasting dessert which was a mixture of 6 small portions of a selection that they do there, although I couldn't finish all of them (I thought I'd have some help) the whole meal is definitely one to go back for.

So up and early the next day to catch the first tide, Bill wants to do some fishing although it was a fruitless pursuit in the end so we ended up in Newtown Creek for the afternoon to wait for the rising tide to take us back to Portsmouth.  Got a take away curry for dinner.  All in all another lovely weekend.

Robinson is safely ashore

We'll we did our deed yesterday and took the mouse ashore to let it find it's new home.

So after a couple of gins decided to eat the pizza I'd made the previous day only to find that the centre hadn't been cooked enough but anyway the flavour was delicious.  We then watched itv3 and watched an episode of Frost.  Very quiet and tranquil, lovely sunset and a bright moon later.

 Water slapping at the bow made it a bit difficult to sleep seeing as this is he first time we've been out and stopped away on the boat this year.  So now have phoned the boatyard in Christchurch to see if we can stop there as we want to go back to Splinters Restaurant where we had a very memorable meal last year.

Studland bay

Having left Portsmouth at 10am with the tide we arrived here bout 3 hours later.  In the meantime we inherited a mouse and 2 mackerel.  The former was found in a cupboard with the tins of soup and beans, god knows how it got there, our cats must have caught it and we must have put something in the cupboard ?? Who knows.....still we didn't have the heart to throw it in the tide so we gave it a little meal of croissant and some fresh water and he will be taken to Brownsea Island in about an hour via the dinghy and let free to make his new home.  Thankfully Bill has offered to inspect the cupboard later to check for droppings and a nest......

Here's the first mackerel :

The views of the  Harry  rock and the surrounding Jurassic coastline are spectacular.

The weather has been glorious this afternoon and a gin and tonic had to be had, whilst we sunbathed in the cockpit of the boat watching the world go by and the occasional irritating jetskier.  Planning to stop at the north end of the island in Poole harbour where the tourists have never been to, to anchor up for the night.  I made a large pizza yesterday which will be our evening meal tonight with some salad.

Bodrum

Having spent a very peaceful night in Sea Gardens bay after a very good moussaka lunch w are now in Bodrum for our overnight stay before we depart back to Blighty tomorrow afternoon.

Lots of  Gulets in this harbour mostly doing charter business but as my summing up at the weekend will show, not all are they seem to be.  Some look very expensive but that is not all money can buy.  One of the most important aspects is that the Captain and his crew have to work with ease and continuity, and be professional and helpful in all manners of their jobs.

 I can imagine the harbour side will be very noisy tonight as all the bars compete for business with loud music but hey we've got 4 hours on the plane to sleep tomorrow.

It is very humid and hot today with cloud cover so we are having iced drinks to cool us down.

One of the highlights of this morning is that Chris who has been on a fishathon since we set sail actually caught a nice octopus on his rod and line, so Sezayi our Captain had to go snorkelling to get another of which he was very successful so it looks like that is what they are having for dinner.  Bill and I are going out to a recommended restaurant on our own for a change to eat some lamb.

More later ...

Sea garden bay

Haven't had the wifi for 2 days until now.  Been to 4 more bays since, one they got the kayak out and I paddled rand in the crystal clear waters for half an hour.  I've been swimming without the wetsuit most days as it's so difficult to get on whilst its so hot I've just jumped in with a swimsuit.  I'd describe the water as refreshing but not too cold, but like gin it's so clear.  Mary's husband is yet again on another fishathon.  Yesterday he had a really good bite with a large fish (it now must have weighed 4 kilos !!!)

Also the other day we had an ice cream man in his moron boat whizz out to us as we were moored with a few other boats in a huge bay.

So here we are in another by called the Sea Gardens.  The skipper, Sezayi, his father used to own all the land around here when he was alive I've just been told.

More later....

Tuzla

Got a signal eventually on the on board wifi.

This bay is very secluded and there are no other boats, we moved from one bay earlier because it was too windy.  So here we are having had a lovely meal again from a BBQ from Chris, Mary's husband cooked some bream and steaks for me and Mum ( Betty, Mary's Mum we all call Mum!) they were delicious.  Earlier for lunch we had stuffed peppers which had a lot of flavour with the salads and tzatziki.

Travelling on the Gulet was a bit rough to get here but well worth it as it's so peaceful.

As we are alone I got the clarinet out and we had a bit of a sing song, all merry and jolly!

English Bay

Moored here for the night.  Dinner again was very nice, home made koftas with spicy beans and salad  with scallop chips.  Got out the clarinet but as there are others nearby decided it was too late to start partying.

Today decided to go to Marmaris which is about 40 minutes away on the other side of the mountains 1) to have a proper Turkish bath and 2) to get some boat stores.  I also went into a jewellery shop and bought some earrings and a new wedding ring !

The Turkish bath was a new experience not to be missed.  Mary, Sezayi Mary's mum and I got there via another of Sezayi's friends who had to take us to one out of town as the one he knew as shut.  We first off went into the sauna and seeing as it was 100 degrees outside was ridiculous so I managed to stay in there for about 3 minutes.  Next room was a huge marble room with several basins around a huge plinth which was hot !!  It's supposed to be relaxing but I found that very strange after the sauna so poured cold water over myself to cool down.  We then were instructed to lie on the plinth whilst a young lad then took a mitt like sandpaper and got rid of all my dead skin, then soaped me all over to clean up.  I was then drenched with lukewarm water.  After this lot we then went upstairs where the were several booths to have the massage.  If I thought my osteopath Audley was a strong man this one was stronger and  I had to cry out if the pain was too much and I have a high threshold when it comes to massage.  Then it was back to the changing rooms and dress.

So all in all an interesting day away from the boat but I'm glad to be back.

So now just having a G&T with Mary and recovering !

Special Bay

After a lovely breakfast of  bread, jams, eggs and honey we set off to this beautiful bay where we stopped for lunch.  Yid and Tungey cooked us a superb lunch of baked aubergines, spicy beans and salad, the food is so different but very simple and delicious.

Mary and  I went swimming this morning and the water wasn't too cold, Bill and Chris sat on board the only thing that was wet were their drinks.  Currently sipping a glass of wine from lunch.  The weather today is hotter about 26 degrees plus, very comfortable.  The sunbeds on the boat are really relaxing and there is always a place where you can be alone.

Now we have moved into another bay around the corner presumably for the evening.  We have heard thunder storms over the mountains but the threat of rain has now thankfully gone.

Chris is just about to hand me a nice gin and tonic ......

Oracler bay

Stopped here for the night yesterday after a 2-3 hour steam with sails from Gumusluk.  This bay is fantastic, the water as clear as gin.  Mary went in this morning but I can't be bothered to put on the wetsuit again to go in so may have to grin and bear it with just a swimsuit :( anyway we're for the off now after a lovely Turkish breakfast to somewhere new.

Going to look at the local charts of the area now...

Golden Princess

So here we are now on Mary and Chris's Gulet which we joined this morning in Gumusluk harbour.  We set off to a lovely bay for lunch not far from the town but by an island and a lovely beach.  I donned the wetsuit with great difficulty - I never used it again - and jumped in for a swim (water was cold!!) and lost an earring but saw it on the sea bed ...Yid, one of the trainee yachtsman (also doubling as a gin wallah) working on the boat jumped in and retrieved it for me as I had no fins on.  Thank you Yid !!

Here's a picture of Yid


(all pics to follow later)



This boat is just amazing, 77 ft all told with 5 double cabins and very luxurious.  We've just had a lovely lunch cooked by Tunjay and are now crossing the waters outside Bodrum and Bitez.  Going to stop for an hour whilst someone looks at the engine as there is an oil issue needs inspecting.

I just love it here on board and regret not doing this trip sooner.

This afternoon

Gosh it's so hot.  We has a snack lunch in a restaurant we will go to tonight, saw the Golden Princess come into the bay which is our Gulet we are on from tomorrow.  Mary and here mum came and fnd us at the apartment and had a glass of wine and we all caught up with our travels.  We will be visiting them later after we have had our dinner.

Currently sunbathe on the terrace but it's so hot I've come in to have a shower and change for the evening.  I still seem to be on UK time as we nerve get to breakfast before 10am and it's now gone six but feels like the afternoon.

Here's a picture of that market we went to yesterday (and a mosk turret)

Went to a posh restaurant last night that had a good menu but as I don't eat fish that often went for the lamb chop dish. It was ok but a bit over done.  Bill had white grouper which he wasn't sure of but it was ok.  We've decided to eat in the home restaurant tonight but not sure if Mary arrives today or tomorrow in her Gulet.  We will go with the flo as she probably knows more about things than we do.  There is a market in town today so we are going to that shortly then probably sunbathe on the beach like we did yesterday.  It was so hot by 4pm yesterday afternoon I couldn't sit out in it on our veranda.

Here are some pictures of the bay, the restaurants and some cows !!!

Last night and today

Ended up last night after a couple of early drinks back at our apartment restaurant - the food was very good I had a Turkish pizza which was different to the ones we know.  Chilled out all day here after going for a walk the morning to the other side of the bay.  The sun has been shining all day and we probably stopped out too long in it but hey we slavered the cream on big time.  Relaxing in our apartment later on was great, Bill caught up on some sleep he didn't get last night due to a disco being played until nearly daylight.  I didn't hear a note.

Here are a few pictures of the bay from our balcony and the restaurant below :-

So now we are going out probably to the aubergine place from yesterday for an evening meal, not sure yet.

I think Mary arrives tomorrow in the Gulet so await that text from her.

Gumusluk

After arriving at Gatwick yesterday and checking in easily via the bag drop we swiftly went to the lounge (via Clarins top up skin care purchases) and ate their buffet food and a gin and tonic before our flight.

There seemed to be hundreds of blasted infantile and badly behaved English children and a few very well behaved Turkish children on the plane.  They (English) did eventually settle down but you have to just have deaf ears or plug into music.  Why are they so badly behaved?

Still the good news we the flight was on 3 hours 35 mins a we had an immense tail wind of 100mph.  On arrival in the terminal to collect the baggage there was the family from hell going mad cos not all their bags had arrived but they were still unloading.  Bill said I hope they are not going to where we are as the son was drunk abusive and swearing for no reason.  Happy stupid families.

So next I was really impressed with the meet and greet service that Mary had organised for us which was virtually instant on coming out of the arrivals.  My name in big letters, then we were whisked away into god knows where as it was now 2145 and dark.  I had the number of Mary's friend Gediz who recommended the accommodation but not the place we we're staying at.  There was a tense 15 minutes whilst the taxi driver phoned a number but eventually he went to another taxi rank in the village where we are now.  Then a taxi driver in a scooter took us to a place so dark we couldn't see anything, but after moving some stones to get to a driveway we arrived at our destination.



We met Gediz and her husband Tim who was born in Brighton but has lived all over the world but is settled here now.  He used to be a music promoter in America because I asked after the music here as they said they had a jazz bar up the road.  He also mentioned after he found out I was a musician that they play live music here a lot and that I would fit in.  I've bought my clarinet (a insisted by Mary) so we may have some fun.  I won't bore you with the music details but Tim thinks I will be able to join the band without any difficulty whatsoever !!  Watch this space.

The bay here is fantastic.  The accommodation is very rustic and basic but has lovely views all over the bay.








It's a bit overcast today but warm so I will take some more photos when the sky is blue.  We got up this morning to a lovely warm day a bit cloudy and sauntered over to the restaurants to have a look see but I'd forgotten a couple of toiletries so we got a cab and went to Tescos just up the road !!!

Came back and had a coule of drinks and then a lovely lunch that consisted of calamares fried with a sauce of minced garlic and I had a baked aubergine with garlic and topped with cheese.  It was divine.

So now just chilling out I shall continue my book now and will be back later.

Turkey

We're off to Turkey on the 18th May to spend 4 nights in a B&B in Gumusluk near Bodrum and then 7 nights on a traditional Turkish Gulet owned by friends of ours who live in Park Gate.  We're meeting them out there next Wednesday as they will be picking us up in the bay of Gumusluk.  Here's a picture of the boat :

 

 

Lovely isn't it ?  Sleeps 10, but there's only going to be 5 of plus the local Skipper, Sezayi.  Mary, Chris, Mary's Mum, Bill and yours truly are the passengers.  It's a recce for us as we have friends who are interested in chartering the boat next year. Watch this space for all the info !