Bozcaada
Serafina
Rob & Sarah Bell
Sat 20 Jun 2009 17:19
Saturday 20th June
Last night Sarah was so thrilled with Ewan's news that she went off to buy
some postcards and returned with a new dress!
Molivos is a wonderful spot, but we had forgotten about the fishermen. They
are a cheerful bunch, but this isn't quite what you want when they get back
into port at 0230 hrs. They then start sorting out the catch, shouting to
each other and others on the quay, loading the lorry, which they had
difficulty backing up the quay and then the crowning glory was the battering
of the octopus catch which involves repeatedly hurling each octopus onto the
deck, or quay to tenderise it!
We set of for Bozcaada Island at 0830 hrs with the sun already blazing hot
and not a breath of wind. Big swell running from the north which was
inconvenient rather than uncomfortable, but then as we reached Baba Burun (a
high headland on the mainland coast of Turkey, north of Lesvos) the wind
rose quickly to 20 knots across the decks and was accompanied by a steep
short sea that made progress quite slow for a while. Eventually the seas did
ease a bit and we made reasonable time into the headwinds, avoiding the odd
ship and finally arrived at Bozcaada Island and slipped into the large bay
and moored stern-to the quay under the dominating presence of a huge
medieval fortress.
This is a quite remarkable place and a walk round the town revealed a maze
of old houses and cobbled streets. It is one of only two Aegean Islands
belonging to Turkey and it is surprisingly unspoilt, however its tourist
season is focussed firmly on the school holidays and by all accounts is
packed between mid-June and mid-September, which is sort of now! But there
is pretty much no one here and the ferry which runs every few hours arrives
with just a handful of people each time. Clearly the locals are braced for
the busy times, though as the place is packed with restaurants all of whom
have laid up every table they have and they have a awful lot between them!
Certainly hope things pick up for them.
According to Homer, this is where the Greek fleet moored up whilst Odysseus
and his men hide inside the wooden horse at Troy, (which is just across the
water on the mainland very close to here).