What Have We Done?

Did I say we felt optimistic yesterday? Huh, because today was pretty depressing. We started the day at 4am because we found ourselves awake and unable to go back to sleep. The early morning was pleasant with drinking coffee and reading in bed, but then reality set in. We had some folks come by and look a couple of the projects which need to be done before we can go in the water. The ‘head’ (bathroom) was completely removed last year to do some work on the hull underneath, and is now just a bare little room that needs to be completely rebuilt. Also the dodger has been partly cut away and windows removed (to repair more rusty metal), and what is left of it has even more rust in places. The first man who came by to look at both projects (from the shop right underneath us) told us that he was actually unwilling to do the head remodel because they only do “top of the line work” and need to think about their reputation. Thanks a lot! And then suggested that the best thing to do would be to cut down the existing dodger and completely start from scratch. He was willing to work on an estimate for that job but would not be able to start until mid May. And we want to launch the first of June. Our experience is that if anyone gives you an idea on a start day or length of job it is always sooooo much longer. And not to mention the cost of having the dodger rebuilt. We feel we are stuck between a rock and a hard place. It has to be done...and soon or we don’t get to start the fun part. At this point it all feels really overwhelming and is hard to imagine the boat being in a position to go in the water. As Mike was dealing with logistics and doing small projects, I was sanding various bits and pieces to get them ready for varnish. At least we have a hand sander now but I had to stop after 4 or 5 hours because I was actually getting cramps in my wrist. I didn’t know that could happen. I gotta get my chops up if I am going to be doing this for the next 2 months. In the early evening we hunkered down in the cabin because of gray skies and high winds. After a meal of leftovers and very limited conversation we went to bed early with hopes of a better tomorrow.



The windowless and rusted dodger

A Good Start

We awoke slowly a little after 8am as the shops began to open below us. The weather is gorgeous, blue bird skies and morning temperatures around 60 degrees! I took a walk to the store (and bathroom) to buy some milk for my coffee. And couldn’t resist some yogurt, honey and simit (sesame covered pastry) for breakfast! We spent the day furiously cleaning and wiping away the muck that covered every surface of the cabin…at least some of it anyways. It was satisfying and makes the boat projects feel less daunting. We then took the dolmus into town to get a new Sim card and do a needed grocery shop. We returned home and Mike made us a lovely dinner. A very good and optimistic second day!


The dolmus stop with a nice view of the Mediterranean


Mike cooking dinner in our clean galley

Welcome to Shantytown

After a 14 ½ hour overnight bus ride we finally made it to Marmaris. We arrived at Yacht Marine and dragged our suitcases through gravel and puddles all the way to the back corner of the yard only to find that Independence had been moved. After some searching we found her parked in her new home.

We are backed up to a row of boat shops so there is a constant buzz of grinders, banging and what not. And surrounded by a sea of boats.



After we said hello to Independence (and Mike lugged our suitcases up the ladder) I took my first of many walks to the bathroom. As I was returning I had this sudden feeling that I was living in a shanty town. We are surrounded by plastic, wood and metal ‘homes’ which are held up by nothing more than sticks and boards. There are electrical cords running all over the ground, puddles where dirty dish water collects, piles of boat debris and dumpster diving cats.

Our backyard

But thankfully Independence appears to have survived the winter storms well. We were envisioning the worst…our foam mattress being water logged, the bilge overflowing but the inside remained mostly dry. Amazing considering there were holes left in the companion way and wild winter storms which could have blown away the tarps. After a moment of “What the hell are we doing?” and Mike asking where my passport was so he could hide it we began to get to work. I scrubbed the aft cabin so we could have a clean respite and Mike began organizing the decks and cabin. After a few hours of work we gave into an ice cream which led to a fitful nap (again, boat shops right underneath us). We didn’t have any food on board and a galley not suited to cook in, so we went out to eat. Too tired to leave the marina we had two choices, eat at the worker’s cantina which was serving “chicken boiled” or to the fancy restaurant. We chose the fancier and ate at linen covered tables with candles and flowers, a world apart from our current shantytown existence. We were barely able to keep our eyes open during dinner and went straight to bed at 8:30pm. That is after locating the green bucket which I discovered the last time to be a life saver. “Life saver” being literal due to keeping myself from climbing up and down a ladder in the middle of the night for a pee run. I slept deeply for the next 12 hours but poor Mike woke up a few hours later and stayed up until he came back to bed at 4am. A combination of very weird sleep patterns and boat full of impending projects to contend with made for poor sleep. Let’s hope I don’t have to knock him on the head to make him get some sleep these next two months!

Awake in Istanbul!

Our third and last day in Istanbul and we are beginning to feel normal again. Being a little more decompressed and relaxed makes the crowds a bit easier and more fun to take in. Last night we had an incredible meal at a restaurant around the corner. How could it be bad with an eggplant appetizer and then stuffed eggplant followed by baklava?? The evening was much warmer and we took a lovely walk through the Hippodrome. Mike also befriended a local dog and got a little more attention than he bargained for! The pup seemed starved for attention (he was playing with a can after all when Mike whistled at him) and wanted to play like Sunny which causes a little apprehension when it’s a street dog in Istanbul. Mike was finally able to get away from him and his friend but only after being softly chewed and slobbered on. It definitely got some laughs from me and other folks walking by! We spent our last day doing some familiar things such as walking through Hagia Sophia and being overwhelmed at the magnificence of this place in history.



Also drinking a beer in one of the many fish restaurants under the Galata Bridge.



We feel that we could sit there forever just watching all of the boat traffic, as well as the tourists and Turkish families strolling by.





Also the dozens of fishing poles on the level above us casting their lines into the Bosphorus only to bring up a fish the size of a sardine.



We also stopped in a bakery we went to a couple of years ago that had the most amazing baklava. We ordered a piece and savored it only to find that it was on the house when we went to pay. The morning started off with sunshine but the clouds darkened and wind and rain came as we left the waterfront. We battled upstream on the tiny sidewalks through the hordes of locals making their way to the waterfront to catch a ferry back home. We then hung out in our cozy hotel lobby until it was time to leave for our bus. Once at the otogar (bus station) we had the sense that we were finally traveling….and all from the smell of the squat toilets. Our friend Steve calls Nescafe the “taste of adventure”. Well, now I call squat toilets “the smell of adventure”!

Istanbul by Night

Istanbul by Day

Sleepy in Istanbul

It's a good thing we have been to this city twice before, or we would feel really guilty for spending most of the time in our hotel room. Between jet lag, a frantic last few weeks at home and a return of Mike's bronchitis we are finding ourselves exhausted and prefer to nap and lounge in our quiet room. We ventured out for a bit yesterday however, and took a nice walk across the Galata Bridge into Beyoglu. We went to the top of Galata Tower (originally built of wood in the year 528) and took in the expansive views of the city. It went on for as far as the eye could see and the density of buildings was incredible. It's mind numbing to try and fathom the history that has happened right under our feet. We then took a stroll along Istiklal Caddesi which is a wide promenade with tiny streets and alleys splintering off. As lunch time came the promenade became packed with people. Where did they all come from? Again, almost as far as the eye could see there was a sea of people. It was a bit overwhelming making our way through the crowds, dodging traffic and touts. And it wasn't long before we decided to return to the refuge of our room. A long afternoon nap gave us the energy for an evening walk along the grounds of the Hagia Sophia and The Blue Mosque. The night was cool and the streets were quiet. It made the spires and domes of these two ancient buildings appear even more magnificent. We had originally planned to only stay two nights in Istanbul but will spend one more night here to rest up and reset our clocks before the 13 hour overnight bus ride to Marmaris and the boat projects waiting for us there.

Out the Door!

We finally made it out of the house and Seattle on 3/24/10. It was a marathon run packing up all of our belongings and getting the house ready for our new tenants. We also said goodbye to Sunny the week before and the house seemed so empty without him. But after many farewells we got on our plane and now find ourselves in Instanbul. We splurged on a nicer hotel than usual, since this is technically our honeymoon(!), and have an amazing view of Hagia Sofia right across the street. Unfortunately, we are so beat that we are hanging out in our room and resting up (after the 21 hour door to door trip) to continue our exploring of this city tomorrow. We look forward to hearing the calls to prayer, eating kebabs, boat rides on the Bosphorus, feeling really out of style amongst the Euro hipsters and paying through the nose for an afternoon cocktail!