Kemer

Arwenofbosham
Rob and Jacky Black
Mon 31 May 2010 14:40
36 36.0 N 30 34.3 E
KEMER Tuesday 18th - 20th May
We were glad to get in at Kemer Marina, having had to wait outside for sometime while other boats were berthed!
We were given a very comfortable spot on the pontoon near to the man office so very handy for showers, toilets etc.
which were of an excellent standard. The town was an easy stroll, though most of the shopping area seemed to be
full of touristy 'T' shirt and bag shops or very expensive jewelery shops. There were some beaches right next to the marina
but I chose to swim from the designated bathing area on the eastern side of the main marina wall where there was a sun deck with
loungers and a ladder straight down into the sea. The water temperature is certainly warming up it is now over 25 degrees all the time
and sometimes even hotter! The views from this marina are quite stunning as the area is hemmed in by the Taurus Mountains which are very
close to the sea here. The tallest in the area is called Mount Tahtali at 2365m it dominates the sky line. There is now a cable car to the top so
we took the chance to go up this to see the views. Unfortunately the day we went (on an organized trip from the marina) there was cloud over the top
so we didn't get the view! However the ride up revealed a stunning landscape of crevasses and ravines covered in pine trees and other vegetation with
the occasional small grassed clearing. This mountain is very close to the ancient Greek site of Mount Olympus.
On Wednesday evening we had another cocktail party followed by the Rally Dinner for this port. The setting was delightful - a beach side hotel
with tables on the decking alongside the sandy bay!  The chairs had been 'dressed' in white drapes with beautiful purple bows and all the tables had fresh flowers on them.
There was a band and the food was delicious with 'silver-service' and plenty of wine flowing!
After the meal we had a 'Flag' ceremony where one person from each country represented in the rally carried the national flag to the front and some speeches were made
by our hosts and our rally leaders to thank the town for having us to stay. We then sang the Rally song for the first time set to the old favorite 'Those were the days my friend!'
Dancing followed the formal section and some of us were encouraged to try some of the more local steps when some Turkish music was played!
We really liked this port and think it would be a very good place to stay for the winter especially if one was planning to live aboard.