Sailing in Turkey!
I've always had an interest in the sailing life. I've watched and drooled over hundreds of YouTube videos of adventurous people living on their sailboats, sailing to any destination they please with the ocean as their highway and their sailboat as their vessel. I was finally able to get a taste of this life in the most beautiful place imaginable, the Mediterranean Sea in Turkey!
Olympos Beach
I booked the 4-day cruise from Olympos to Fethiye through the company GoSailTurkey (https://gosailturkey.com/) and they made my arrival to the boat extremely easy. They arranged a transfer from Olympos, a small beachside village with a collection of family-ran pansiyons at the bottom of a valley nestled amongst an Ancient Roman City, which you walk through to get to the calm, crystal clear waters of Olympos Beach. I only stayed 2 nights here but I would absolutely love to come back here and spend more time.
Ancient Roman Ruins
Day 1
After my 2 nights in Olympos the transfer to the boat picked me up at Bayrams Treehouse Pansiyon at 11am, the staff at Bayrams Treehouse were extremely helpful in making sure I was picked up. It was about an hour and a half bus ride to Demre where the sailboat was awaiting, this was a stunning drive due to the fact that for most of the drive you are alongside the Mediterranean coast. The bright blue waters with small protected beaches were giving me a taste for what I was about to see during my sailing trip.
When I arrived to the boat I immediately took my sneakers off and put them in the communal shoe basket, not to see them again in 4 days, I would be barefoot for this trip, with the exception of flip flops for the very few times we went to shore. The crew of the sailboat were kind and welcoming and showed us to our cabins below deck right away. The cabins were a lot bigger than I was expecting and each cabin had a head! (A toilet) That was a luxury, a fully functioning toilet, exactly what you would have in your own house. There was a shower hose in there, but I knew there would be no need for a shower since I would be surrounded by water for the next 4 days.
Once we got settled into our cabins the crew served us lunch which consisted of beans, rice, salad and Turkish yogurt. All very fresh, all very delicious. Over lunch we made introductions with the rest of the guests and crew, about 13 guests and 4 crew. It's important to get everyone's names and try to remember them, although challenging, but halfway through the trip strangers turned into best friends. That's one of the many benefits of doing small cruises like this, it's a great way to meet people. People from all walks of life living with each other for the whole trip so you're forced to conversate and get to know each other, it's just natural.
When lunch was finished, the captain started the engines and lifted the anchor and off we went! Itineraries differ for each cruise and I didn't bother asking the captain where we were headed next, I wanted to be surprised.
Our first stop was a stunning little village with an ancient castle overlooking it called Kaleköy. We had 2 hours at Kaleköy so me and my new friends hopped on a small boat carpeted with Turkish rugs and motored into the small village. All the locals greeted us smiles as we hiked up the stone stairs winding up through the village to the top of the castle.
Kaleköy
Once on top of the castle we were met with an amazing 360* view overlooking the bay where we anchored our boat. We were running around like little kids for a while taking turns taking pictures and just soaking the views into our eyeballs. I kept thinking to myself that I'd love to show this beautiful place to my friends and family back home, not just through pictures but actually bring them here. I'm sure they would be just as stunned as I was.
View from atop the Castle
We had some fresh pomegranate juice and orange juice on our way down at a lovely little cafe with the same gorgeous views we had on top of the castle, lounging and chit chatting until our time in Kaleköy came to end.
After we departed Kaleköy, we motored across the bay and the captain took us along the shore to view the ruins of "sunken city." We were very close to shore making it easy to spot the ancient foundations of buildings under the water right below our feet. The ruins went from underneath the water all the way up to the top of the hill. These ruins must've been a really cool settlement back in its heyday. Living in stone huts with the blue Mediterranean waves lapping at your doorstep sounds like something out of a dream. If you look closely in the photo below you can see some of the ruins and just how close we were to the shore.
Ruins of Sunken City
Only a short cruise away we arrived at our first anchorage where we would spend the night. A protected bay with several small rocky islands, it was quiet, calm and uhh gorgeous! After the anchor was down I flopped over the railing right into that crystal clear sapphire water. The water was the perfect temperature, refreshingly chilly. I got back on board and went straight to the on board bar, a full bar I might add- cocktails, liquor, glasses of wine, BOTTLES of wine, and beer. I went for the beer, Efes, a refreshing beer in a can the same color of the water right below us, somehow that made it much more refreshing. There's a sheet at the bar with a tally system to keep track of your bar tab. The beers were only 25 Lira, which is about $3.50 US, a good price in my eyes. At the end of the trip I had the most tally marks, so I won the competition of who can drink the most. I'm well trained.
The crew fired up the barbecue and cooked some delicious meat for dinner. The word around the boat was that there was a pirate bar in the cove. After we ate dinner and the sun went down, a water taxi pulled up to our boat and off to the pirate bar we went. It was a bar buried deep in the cove, I was wondering how the hell they get supplies here, it seemed like it was only accessible by water, but I later learned that there's a long windy road that connects them with civilization. The bar was hoppin', Orhan, a fellow shipmate from Istanbul ordered us all tequila shots, oh boy. After many laughs, shots and beers the macarena song came on and so up we went to do the macarena dance. I hadn't done that dance since elementary school, but it came back to me quick. More shots, more beers and we eventually and apparently made it back to our boat to have even more drinks on the deck while trying to find constellations in the night sky.
Our First Anchorage
Day 2
I woke up pretty early the next day feeling great, considering all the alcohol I consumed the night before this was a miracle. First thing I did was flop over that railing again and washed the sin off of me in that Mediterranean sapphire water. We all ate breakfast bringing up blurry memories from the pirate bar the night before. At this point Orhan, who kept feeding us shots the night before earned the nickname "Mr. Peer Pressure." What a great guy. After breakfast the captain started the engine, lifted the anchor and most of us hit the sunbeds to catch some sun and to catch up on some lost sleep. It was a longer cruise to get to our next destination, I couldn't tell you how long it was because time was none of our concerns, but it was a "couple hours."
We eventually docked in Kaş, a small fishing village with picturesque white buildings. We had 3 hours here, so I threw on my flip flops and ventured into the village all by my lonesome. Kaş is pronounced "cash" and this is the only stop with an ATM, so easy to remember Kaş = cash! I got some more cash out of the ATM fearing that I wouldn't have enough to cover my ever expanding bar tab, and then I wandered aimlessly through the narrow streets. Kaş is also a place I could see myself coming back to and spending more time, such a quiet and relaxed atmosphere.
Kaş
Streets of Kaş
We departed Kaş and headed to a protected cove where we would be spending the rest of the day and night. Me and some friends threw on some snorkels and swam to the shore to check out the marine life. The rest of the day consisted of not doing much, what is exactly what you want to be doing, just lounging around the deck having drinks and chit chatting. Orhan, Mr Peer Pressure brought out some cigars, a very generous individual. The crew had bought some fresh fish in Kaş, so we grilled fresh fish for dinner. Every time I eat fish while drinking I eat the eyeballs, I'm not sure why, maybe for attention, maybe I like to see everyones disgusted faces, but I certainly wouldn't eat fish eyeballs if I were sober. This night we all kind of took it kind of easy and went to bed a little earlier. It was a fantastic second day.
Second Night Anchorage
Fresh Fish for Dinner
Day 3
This was the most eventful day. I woke up with the same routine, flopped over the railing into the Mediterranean sapphire water, it never gets old, the best way to wake up! Another delicious breakfast was served by the crew and then off we went to a magical place, a place called Butterfly Valley, a beach wedged between two giant mountains. They call it Butterfly Valley due to the abundance of butterflies that make that valley their home. We swam to shore and hiked alongside a small creek deep into the valley until we reached a plethora of waterfalls. The creek water was crystal clear and cold, I took some showers underneath the waterfalls, my new friends thought I was crazy.
Butterfly Valley
One of many waterfalls in Butterfly Valley
Butterfly Valley
After Butterfly Valley we sailed on over to Ölüdeniz Beach, a stunning beach resort town with a lagoon. This is where I did PARAGLIDING, yes PARAGLIDING. Me and my Australian friend Leia, as in Princess Leia from Star Wars, were the only ones with the guts to do this, although Andy from England had already done it a few days before the sailing trip and spoke highly of it. Leia and I took a shuttle up a steep and winding road to the top of a mountain, strapped into a tandem parachute with a certified Paraglider, and ran off the edge of the mountain. Pretty epic! Once I was up and away my anxieties about jumping off a mountain were left on that mountain, it was unusually quiet and peaceful gliding through the air looking at the beautiful Ölüdeniz Beach below us. We eventually glided pretty far out to sea, above the ocean. I yelled to my Paraglide-guide "there's my boat" and he asked startlingly "that's YOUR boat?" I lied to him for a split second and told him "yup, that's my boat, I own it." But I quickly killed the joke explaining to him that I'm on a 4-day cruise and I actually don't own a boat, fooled him! The Paraglide lasted for about 20 minutes, then we landed right on the beach conveniently next to a bar. We got back to the boat with beer in our bellies and smiles on our faces, then sailed off on MY boat to our next anchorage, where we would be spending our last night...
Paragliding above Ölüdeniz Beach, that is not a fake smile. :)
Our anchorage for the last night had one of the best sunsets out of the whole trip. We were anchored between an island and mainland next to some ruins. Andy and Orhan went to the island to watch the sunset from the ruins, but I missed out on this because I was drinking Efes and flying my drone to capture that amazing sunset. This night was really fun because it was the last night so we all got to know each other the best we could, as we would all be going our separate ways the next day. I had some beers with the captain and crew while they grilled the best lamb I've ever had, and I'm not a huge fan of lamb.
Me, Captain, and Crew
Grilling some lamb in the sunset
Our last night anchorage
It was the last night so of course the booze was flowing and I had to add some more tally marks to my ol' bar tab, we all had a late night and it was more fun than you and I can imagine, and I would do anything to go back to that moment. We would be sailing away early in the morning so we woke up in a different anchorage, which is confusing and exciting at the same time.
Day 4
The next morning we woke up next to a cute little beach, and after breakfast some of us swam to shore to lounge. But I hung out on the boat, had some more Efes and busted out my laptop to get a head start on some video editing and music writing. And to be honest I spent some of the late morning napping due to the late night. Around 2pm we sailed into Fethiye, our final destination and where we would be disembarking, a sad moment.
Efes and work
Once we docked in Fethiye each one of us exchanged hugs and farewell wishes, and I took my long forgotten sneakers out of the communal shoe box, put my feet in them and walked back into reality. It's truly amazing, 4 days before these hugs we were complete strangers, not knowing a thing about each other. But 4 days later we now know so much about each other and are genuinely sad to say goodbye. Like I said earlier in this blog, meeting new people is one of the main benefits of trips like this, whether you're a couple, solo traveler, or a group on a bachelor/bachelorette party we all share the good times together and leave a different person with new friends. In fact, after the sailing trip was over I spent about 3 days partying and adventuring with my newfound friends in Fethiye, we're shipmates for life! These kind of trips are truly my favorite thing to do now, for an affordable price you're covered for shelter, food and transportation. It's up to you how much fun you want to have, the sky, or the ocean, rather, is the limit! Please do yourself a favor and get on board with this trip IMMEDIATELY. I plan on returning to do this trip again, and I'd like to bring some friends and family to show them through their own eyes how awesome this trip really was.
Book here, a truly amazing company. https://gosailturkey.com/
My Bar tab on top of the sheet, I WON!!!!
