Back on The Hook

Today is Monday, 7th of March and we left the marina yesterday afternoon to come into the bay. There are still some jobs to do on board to get Belvedere ready for the cruising season so we'll stay in Marmaris Bay for a week or two and then head down to Fethiye. We expect this summer to find us in some new place like Kas and Antalya and can't wait to check out Cypress as well. The north half is Turkish so requires no check-in and the other half is Cypriot.

We've met many sailors here and made some really great friends. So much so that it sounds like we'll have a flotilla of amazing people around us as we sail this summer in addition to those of you making your way here. Should be a very busy and entertaining summer! We are very excited to share this amazing way to travel with you.

Before we left in December for the US we noticed YouTubers Mike and Marita from Let's Dance we're in our 'hood.' Jeff got to meet them briefly before we left but they were on their way back to Australia for a couple months so I had to wait until they returned to make their acquaintance. Turns out they are longtime friends of our Oscar pontoon neighbors Natalie and Noel of Osprey. I've watched their videos for years because I always thought, "I'd love to have a beer with them," and I wasn't wrong. They are sweet, humble and tons of fun. The boys played pool til the wee hours and we all shared many laughs. They will head toward the Caribbean this season as they've already been in Turkey for 3 seasons already. You can watch their fantastic videos at: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCTLUxYo63iHKIQMgVr9QZkw and I highly recommend them if you are curious about all the cool things we'll see soon. We've not even started to get our feet wet with video editing and I've no illusions we'll ever be as good as or prolific as they are. Videos of their quality and interest are a full time job to create. Their gorgeous cat is shown below:

The marina yacht yard is chock-a-block with every kind of boat you can imagine. Some are ginormous, like the one below being lifted back into the water in the video below:

We intend to get lifted out later this year for routine maintenance and hull inspections, etc but that will be after the summer season unless something comes up that can not be ignored.

I am getting increasingly antsy to see more of Turkey and regret working and missing so much of it. However, being able to work from the yacht is still a pinch-me moment and I am lucky to be able to do it. I just need to prioritise better and remember to get out and about on the weekends. I did finally get myself to the Hammam in Marmaris with Natalie. Two hours of sheer bliss at Eysa Spa in https://www.greennaturehotels.com/resort/ for roughly a third the cost of anything in the US or UK and much, much better.

On a much different note, the escalating violence in the Ukraine has not effected us but I can assure you we are watching the situation very closely. There have been protests against the war here, and while I am never for war, I don't feel right protesting in a country I am a guest in. I'll continue to share my normal views via other avenues and keep my head down here but not in the sand. If anything changes we'll be well on the way back to Europe and the Schengen area for the 90 days we are allowed.

It's still cold here and raining a lot but the temps are beginning to creep up during the day so we are hopeful about putting away the sweaters we didn't know we'd need. Until next time this is our current view now that the morning rain has just stopped. Not too shabby! Güle güle!