40:58.327N  028:52.597E

13/06/12 

12 Mile Run

9:00

Unbelievably quiet night.  Absolutely no wind.  We had expected a spectacular approach to the city but 4 miles out it is still bathed in mist and nearly invisible.

 There are 30 or 40 cargo ships moored outside the marina area. You need  panoramic photo to appreciate just how busy it is.  We arrive mid morning and are  shoe-horned into a very tight berth.   The Marina is very upmarket and even more expensive than Flisbos in Greece, at least is has a good and free wi-fi service. The staff are very helpful and some English is spoken.

 Spetses to Istanbul is 505 miles by my reckoning.  By day Hopping we managed it in  11 days.  Apart from a few hours it was motor motor motor all the way.

 We discover that there is a bus less that 2 minutes walk from the boat which goes 5 miles to the  center of the old part of the city which is just where we want to go.

Demetra and I go in the afternoon and just miss a bus and have to wait another  hour or so for the next one.  We wander around getting lost almost immediately in the labyrinth of unmarked streets.  The compass  in my iPhone comes in quite handy.   We wander in the amazing spice bazaar, have a look at Aigos Sophia which is an architectural wonder and the 30 meter dome is the biggest ever constructed and it was done in the 6th century.  We also check out the Sultans Personal Cistern which  is bigger that a football pitch with very high vaulted ceilings and a couple of strange Medusa Heads.

I will attach a few snaps of the trip so far.