Never Seen That Before

Imagine our surprise when an endangered Mediterranean monk seal launched itself onto our neighbor's boat or how shocked we were when we spotted a pleasure boat completely engulfed in flames. During our 3-week stay in Turkiye, we witnessed and captured a few unusual situations and also share with you some everyday scenes.

Unexpected Guest On Board

While enjoying a peaceful dinner in our stern cockpit we were interrupted by unusually loud wet exhales coming from a blowhole, which sent all of us running to our transom to check out what we assumed was a dolphin. It disappeared briefly and as we scanned the marina, a huge sea animal launched itself onto our neighbor's boat transom and shimmied its way deep into the storage area of this boat, grunting and snorting loudly. With a little research, we confirmed that this was indeed one of only 100 Mediterranean monk seals that exist along the Turkish coast with a total population of only 600-700 that live on our planet. The marina personnel eventually came and gently prod the monk seal out of boat.

MAYDAY, MAYDAY!!!

A huge plume of smoke immediately caught our attention as we rounded the peninsula towards Gocek. As we sailed closer, we were shocked to find a pleasure boat completely engulfed in flames. A dinghy rescued the passengers, whom we suspect jumped in the water, so the good news is that the passengers were rescued. The bad news is that there was nothing anyone could do to save the boat. The fire boat did not arrive until there was very little left of the boat. Dale believes that there must have been a gas leak on the boat.

Grocery Shopping at Sea

Need more toilet paper, produce or peanut butter while anchored in a remote inlet? Fear not! Carrefour (similar to Target in the US) will travel to anchorages allowing boaters to secure their dinghies to the boat, hop aboard and do some grocery shopping. Here they were resupplying their stock in a port in Gocek prior to leaving the next morning. There is also a good supply of ice cream boats cruising around that will pull up to your boat if you make any eye contact with them or the slightest twitch of your arm, even before you realize you are raising it.

Hear the Call to Prayer

In Turkiye, Islam is a widely practiced religion as evidenced by all of the mosques we saw centered in each port. The devout pray 5 times a day and the Call to Prayer (Azan) summons them to the mosque before sunrise, mid-day, late afternoon, dusk and after sunset before midnight. Click on the video to listen to a snippet of the call to prayer.

American Treat

Apparently Kellogs is a novelty in Turkiye, as it is merchandised front and center in a display case, gently cradled in raffia, alongside fine Mozart chocolates and specialty bakery items.

Adopt a Pet

Stray cats and dogs are everywhere to be found, even inside Starbucks! All are friendly, especially when you are eating. I don't mind them so much, but have my limits - I do not like stray cats jumping in my seat during a meal. We've also discovered cats on our boat on two occasions, thankfully prior to leaving the dock.

To Market We Go!

The Saturday farmer's market in Didim had the freshest, most beautiful produce at amazing prices. With access to markets such as these, there is no excuse not to eat healthy. We went on a shopping spree here with guests, Jonno and Sass, and were so thrilled with the bounty we each collected.

Magic Kingdom Turkiye-Style

We were not sure what the occasion was for this impressive fireworks display above Bodrum Castle. Helios happened to be anchored right in front of this castle with front and center views.