Day 10 - Kas - 15 October, 2015

Weather - Sunny and warm

Accommodation - Hotel Maki 

Today was a relaxing one as we spent the day on a traditional Turkish gullet sailing around the Lycian coast. We left at ten o'clock and returned at six o'clock. Funda had booked us into the open back section of the boat and thankfully it was under cover as it was a sunny and warm day. We had a perfect day for sailing with calm waters. The water was a clear turquoise blue.

After about an hour of sailing the boat was anchored in a small harbour for an hour and we had our first opportunity of swimming in the clear, salty waters. We didn't waste any time getting into the water as we all had our togs under our clothes. The water was a good temperature and because of the high salt content we found it very easy to float. Here's Carol, Brian and Henk doing some sychronised swimming!

Lunch was chicken kebabs and a number of salads. The kebabs were cooked on a small bar-b-que on the side of the boat. The meal was delicious and we probably enjoyed it more as we were hungry after our swim.

We sailed very near the coastline of the ancient city of Simena which has partially submerged ruins and was destroyed by an earthquake in second century AD. With the downward shift of the land the staircases now descend into the water.  The foundations of the houses could be seen through the crystal clear water. 

We proceeded to the small island of Kalekoy which means "castle village" and has 180 inhabitants. An old castle now is ruins sits high above the village. Access to the village is only by boat.  

We spent an hour on the island where there were many enterprising women selling clothing and jewellery. I spoke to a young Turkish woman of 34 who has two children. She has learned to speak  English and German by conversing daily with the tourists. I bought two sarongs from her which she had crocheted with beads around the edges. We finished our visit with a great tasting home-made orange icecream.

We had one final swim at afternoon tea time before heading back to the harbour. Janine and Barbara joined us for dinner at a small restaurant on the harbour. We had dinner of locally caught fish and spent a pleasant time in the balmy evening before heading back to our hotel. It was good day. Tomorrow we start heading north and inland.