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Date: 03 Nov 2010 07:38:06
Title: 36 35.998N 030 34.294E Kemer, Turkey
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My sister asked me if I was still alive out here so I guess it is time to
write something. Time is slipping away... I guess it has been about a week now
since we arrived at Kemer. Bill Stellin described this place as a "day
camp for adults". Pretty close. We have been here about a week and have
been through two parties, complete with disk johnnies, cake and decorations.
Happy hour from 6 to 8 every night at the Navigator restaurant where they
also give the boaters a 20% discount on everything including the daily lunch
'blue plate special' for about $6.00. The Halloween party had
about 60 people dressed up in pretty elaborate costumes, masks, witches
hats, wigs, and all the trimmings. There was a Swiss guy, who keeps ducks on
the deck of his boat in a small inflatable swimming pool, walking around
playing an accordion singing German drinking songs in lederhosen and a red
wool shirt with suspenders. He was good enough that people were dancing to
his music. There is a big German/Swiss speaking group here maybe two thirds
of the boaters, several Brits and at least four American boats. Most of the
boaters here have been comming back for many years and know the
'tradition's. On Pipedream I have two pairs of jeans, two pairs of shorts
and about 7 or 8 shirts... no Halloween costumers. Katie and I took the
sheets from our beds ( we have one set for each bed) and went in togas. Et
tu Bruti? Everyone is trying to get us into the tennis tournament which
seems to be on going. No shoes or racket but I listen.

We took a bus trip into Antalya ( second biggest city in Turkey) that is
about 45 minutes from Kemer to go shopping. The boaters take turns
organizing activities at the marina and the marina staff helps with all the
rest like getting buses lined up and getting turkeys for Thanksgiving. We
went to a Home Depot knock off complete with orange sign on an angle called
something else but it had to be the foreign arm of home depot - same store
layout and all but smaller. Instead of the hot dog stand out front,
there was a Turkish cafe where Katie and I had a hot Turkish tea - special
little glass and a spinach and cheese like blintz pastry thing. The second store we
stopped at was like our BJ's club... home stuff and groceries. You needed a
membership card to cash out ... supplied by the marina. They even had
Crystal hot sauce and taco shells... these were two of the best store we
found since being in Europe/Asia but we were guided there by folks who had lived
here for maybe ten years. On the down side we bought an alarm clock and a
USB extension cable... neither of which worked when we got them back to the boat.

So far we have got our cell phone activated with a Turkish sim and yesterday
we bought a used bike from a shop on the outskirts of town. We signed up
today for a trip into the symphony and another hike through the mountains.
Katie went on a ten miler about two days ago... rough mountains. I stayed
on the boat as all I have for hiking shoes are my Crocks... I went to the
clothes market (Tuesdays) and looked for some hiking shoes. Nothing yet. I
also got my second pair of jeans and my shorts back from the tailors where
he patched some holes and sewed on some buttons. Katie went to the food
market on Mondays and bought lots of fruit and veggies for the week. UK
sails are comming by to collect sails for cleaning , storage, and repair on
Friday. My Genoa and Staysail have been beat up pretty good and need some
repair along the bottoms so I think I'll pull them off and send them in. I
haven't had a sail washed on this boat in 30 years. I also had the boat
yard guys come buy to see if they could straighten my stearn rail. Waiting
for an estimate.

I am starting to plan leg 4 of the trip - going north to Istanbul. I have
also heard about an organized regatta called the Emyr (look it up on the
internet if your interested) which Bill highly recommends. It takes 80
boats to places like Cyprus, Syria, Lebanon, Israel, and Egypt all
sanctioned by the respective governments... places I would not likely try to
visit on my own. I am also exploring the Black Sea trip option. So much
to see, so little time.

I just got an e-mail from Mary with most of the election results... congratulations Doug and Janis!


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