A week on the Mediterranean: Blue Cruise from Antalya to Kas (and back)

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The Blue Cruise from Antalya to Kas (and back): a week on the Mediterranean

We flew from Istanbul through to Antalya…over some amazing, sharp rock-topped mountains and down to the blue green Mediterranean. The sun was out and it was warm. We prayed for good weather, and I prayed for calm seas, a sturdy boat and no sea-sickness. This was to be the famed Blue Cruise–the small yachts that stay close to the shoreline and journey to the nooks and crannies of the coastline to see ruins, small towns and as we found out, sometimes just to park for a dip in the sea with beautiful, remote beaches around you. This would turn out to be one of the most relaxing weeks I’ve had in my life…and I got a great tan 🙂

Sunrise on the Mediterranean
Sunrise on the Mediterranean

The day we got there was our anniversary. We put our stuff on the boat, named “Be Happy”…our cabin #4 was the last one on the right as you walked from the front of the boat…so, the boat itself was ok, but no great shakes. The “facilities” were less than nice. Bryan took to calling it the “sandbox”. The water ran cold out of the shower faucet, which hung over the toilet. It smelled bad in there. We kept the door shut and the portholes open. Our room was basically a bunk, almost big enough for two, with a small space for luggage. It would do–it was only about $650 USD for both of us for the entire week–meals included. What on earth did we have to complain about: the sun was out, we were on the Mediterranean, and we were celebrating our 6 years married / 18 years together anniversary! We ate a huge afternoon meal at the Ship Inn–steak with mushroom gravy and fries–while watching boats and oil tankers come and go out on the Mediterranean.

The crew at this point consisted of one young “cook” who made some amazing rice and fish dishes. We waited for more passengers to arrive and watched a Turkey vs. England soccer match with him on a small TV that first night. Four French folks arrived at 4:30 a.m.–Denise and Serge (in their 50s), Pierre and Annette (in their 70s). Despite arriving so early in the morning, they made it up for Turkish breakfast–Hard-boiled eggs, tomatoes, small cucumbers, feta cheese, bread, olives, jam, coffee, tea. And that gorgeous sunlight. YUM. It had been hard to sleep in the smelly little room–but I’d get plenty of naps on the deck each day. In the marina, I got up super early and used the showers/bathrooms at the marina and admired the full moon shining over the mountains and the sun coming red over Antalya. There was an old boat dry-docked there with great lines…”The Ark”, that I admired and photographed and sketched. Bryan and I walked the marina–just about the only people awake it appeared. “I just want my coffee and hard-boiled egg” 🙂

The Antalya Ark
The Antalya Ark

We still needed to wait for four more passengers…but that day we pulled out of the harbor and motored to a quiet cove. The rock-top mountains in the distance looked like they had pink snow on top. We lounged in the sun on the open deck–warm from the sun and cooled by a gentle breeze. I sketched the island as I lay there on my stomach. Lunch was called with a bell…green bean salad with tomatoes, onions, and oil, plus couscous, bread and yogurt. The crew seem to fish constantly, from a tiny boat and from small lines simply thrown over the side of the “yacht”.

We pieced conversations together…Serge (alias MacGyver) liked to fish and fix things. Denise was crazy about “Ah-lan-Jack-sone”. The boat’s crew began calling Pierre “Papa”, and Annette was the epitome of French grace at any age. They played dominoes–with a goal to match ends to get to 7s.

Bryan with Annette, Papa Pierre, Denise and Serge on the Be Happy
Bryan with Annette, Papa Pierre, Denise and Serge on the Be Happy

The other four people–again French, but younger, and much more boisterous–arrived around 2:30 a.m. Claude and Frederique, Nadine and Jerome. We left for Kas around 10 a.m…motoring west in the sun.

And so the days passed. Polite breakfasts passing the eggs, Nescafe, the big green thermos of hot water, olives. Right after, we’d move up to the deck with a book and sunscreen lotion. Motoring to a new location–the blue green Mediterranean under us, the blue sky over us and the coastline dotted with ruins of abandoned Greek stone homes or ancient buildings. The dinner bell rang for every meal–and then there was rice, salads, potatoes, tomatoes, water, breads, Nescafe and chai.

Sunset on the Mediterranean
Sunset on the Mediterranean

One night there was champagne and wine and raki galore. Another night, dancing to Elvis under the stars. “more stars than grains of sand” as Bryan said. Bryan and I saw a shooting star together that night. We motored at night that night–a first–toasting our collective good fortune with champagne under those awesome stars. Bryan and I slept outside on the deck that night–cold and dewey, but warm beneath our blanket. And all those stars illuminating the shoreline just barely so we could see the mountains.

The days were filled with sunshine and breezes, naps and reading and watching the coastline go by. There’s a word in Turkish called “Keyif” (sounds like cave)–I interpreted it as “mind in idle”. It was even hard to think or daydream. It was too in the moment for anything to fill your head except the sun, air, sea and sky. We passed Greek islands, other yachts and fishing boats. One day, a young girl in a small boat pulled alongside and boarded with a basket of scarves of every color–some beaded. Another day, we saw the petrol boat zoom past. And we got several visits from the ice cream boat 🙂 My only longing was for hot coffee at dawn and showers.

Sunrise, waiting for the Nescafe
Sunrise, waiting for the Nescafe

In Kas, we took very welcomed showers for 3,500,000 TL each at the marina and then wandered the old town. We heard the muezzin calls again. We walked and looked…great old buildings and displays of carpets and evil eyes embedded in the sidewalks in front of shops. We ate pizza at a little cafe, listened to more Turkish than French and watched the sunset on the land. Bryan had a Turkish shave while I watched a man comb a black cat named Guiseppe. We shopped. When we made our way back to the Be Happy, we discovered the crew grilling out on the dock. 🙂 Later that night, we came back into Kas for cappuccinos. Dogs wandered everywhere. The next morning we showered again and took some photos of the town waking up. Tried to figure out how the mountain that curls around the town’s harbor is said to resemble a sleeping man.

Kas: carpets
Kas: carpets
Kas: Windows
Kas: Windows
Kas
Kas
Kas: evil eyes
Kas: evil eyes

During the days motoring back east, we slept, sunned and waited for the “gling gling” of the dinner bell. I watercolored and sketched, read and napped. Bryan took several dips in the Mediterranean. The crew (co-captain Erinc, Cook Mustafa, Captain Adnan) fished with Serge. One day we took the mini-Be Happy over to the beach for a few hours of sea glass hunting and skimming stones.

Beach time, Be Happy in the background
Beach time, Be Happy in the background

When we got back to Antalya, we’d shower at the marina, hug all the French and Turkish folks good bye…and then head for the airport…on to Cappadocia, but via Istanbul.

Waves on the Mediterranean
Waves on the Mediterranean