The winds in Kas harbour eventually peaked with a gust of 47 kts, so we didn’t leave until late on our second morning after they had died.  In the usual Med manner we ended up motorsailing through the leftover confused seas.  After 3 hours heading south east we anchored in the wonderfully sheltered waters in a bay behind Kekova Island.  The whole area was the loveliest we have been in so far in Turkey and it is also studded with more fascinating ruins to add to the natural attractions of the place.  The water was still deliciously warm so we swam from the boat, but found the October breezes made climbing back out a bit chilly – well it is autumn!

The following morning we dug out our inflatable canoe from the bottom of a locker where it has languished for most of this season.  We then paddled round the rocky shore to the little village of Kale which sits below a terrific little castle that we could also see from our position on the other side of the ridge that it dominates.  We hadn’t banked on the wind getting up, so got a bit wet en route but at least not cold as well.  We walked up to the castle (the present one built by the Knights of St John but standing on much older foundations) and were enchanted by the ancient little theatre carved from the rock which sits inside it.  We also explored another extensive Lycian necropolis with the distinctive and massive sarcophagi littering the hillside.  Down below us we had a great view of the ruins of the ancient city of Simena now sunk beneath the water as a result of earthquakes.  There is even a sarcophagus sitting half submerged in the harbour, an image which features in many of the tourist brochures.