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Date: 17 Jul 2011 16:01:55
Title: 40 37.166N 028 57.241E Katirli (Esenkoy), Turkey
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We are going on day four here and have decided to make this our Istanbul HQ for now.

We are full of water with a nice high pressure hose right next to us on the dock. Tamer Fidan is a few years younger than myself and runs the dock area the tea house at the end of the dock, and several other enterprises here in town as near as I can tell. He is learning English, wears a New York Yankees ball cap and has adopted us as language lab subjects. He took me around and introduced me to about half the business owners here, several retired Turks from Istanbul who summer here, and his English teacher, a retired English Professor from the University in Istanbul. I have been instructing him on the finer point of how to use ya'll and all ya'll... for all I really know it is free to stay here and he is just collecting money from the gringos who willing to pay?

Tamer arranged for a tank truck to come by the other night about 9 PM so I took on as mush diesel as I had cash available to pay for. (everything is cash here... and no paper work...) One more load should about do it for us. There is only one ATM in town... but there is one. Tamer has been extolling the merits of the town and selling the idea that it is a great place to visit Istanbul from. ( Great idea...Just what we have been looking for) I washed the boat inside and out, scrubbed the floors, bathroom and did the windows. Katie tackled our laundry after verifying there were no Laundromats... about 3 weeks worth... all the life lines were full and we finished the drying the next day. No wonder Mary's grandmother thought the wringer washer was the invention of her life time. We even got our trusty bike back on the road.

Tamer had us over for breakfast at his tea house yesterday and arranged for us to ride into Yalova (20 miles) with a friend of his, captain of a fishing boat We were originally heading there in the Pipedream to stay at the new marina. We stopped there and got a rate quote of about 50 Euro a night unless we stayed for two months then it was 888 Euro for the two months - a smoking deal... but they would only extend the discount for a stay of over a month.

The big market was right across the road from the marina so we stopped there and Katie got to by an official Turkish tea set. We found a 'big' Turkcell store and were able to re-up our internet for another month for 39 TL so we are back on the air. I took the Dolmus about an hour to get us back. When we got back I went up to talk "Turkey" ,(hah, not sure if that phrase is meant to be a gobble gobble or and ackshamlar?) with Tamer and he made me an offer I couldn't refuse for a 30 day stay, which included free Turkish lessons, all the tea we could hold, and amateur guide services.

We have booked seats on the ferry for tomorrow 6:15 AM and reserved a hostel for two nights in Istanbul. Hope the boat will still be here when we get back. Tamer has also given us directions on how to ride the Dolmish to Bursa, first capital of the Ottoman empire and Iznik, famous for their tile work and antiques, places relatively close. I also have to book a quick trip out of Turkey and back in so I can renew my visa. (every 90 days) Everyone tells us that applying for and getting an extension is really a deal and it is just easier to leave and come right back? I think my choices are Greece, Bulgaria, or Romania. Katie is going to Sweden for a few days to visit friends so that looks like the window. We will all rendezvous in Istanbul to pick up Mary on the 13th, see some more of Istanbul and start heading south through the Greek Islands. I just read this last paragraph and it sounds like something out of a James Bond movie... from Russia With Love is my favorite.
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