Spring Flowers

We spent most of the day in town running more errands. And success, we were able to order a brand new, shiny windlass! So looking forward to its arrival and even more so to its trial run! Once again, we were pressed for time with the car since our errands always take longer than we anticipate. But through the hurried walking and driving around town we were able to notice how spring has definitely sprung…well, it’s probably more like summer creeping in. The flowers have all of a sudden exploded! Especially the bougainvillea, the vibrance and beauty of the flowers is so amazing. Not to mention the lovely planter boxes made out of olive oil (and cheese) cans.











Once we arrived back to the boat, we were greeted with additional floor boards(!) and no motivation to start work. While Mike went to help another cruiser with his engine problems, I took my book up to the foredeck to sit in the shade and breeze to read. I am completely engrossed in “Sometimes a Great Notion” by Ken Kesey…and not just because it’s about the Stamper Family! I find myself longing to continue the story but then not wanting it to end, probably perpetuated by the limited number of good books available around here. When Mike returned we ended the day with some burgers from the grill while we sat in the cockpit, enjoying the warm evening and dreaming of completed projects!

Step Away from the Peanuts

For a Monday, this one wasn’t so bad. We woke up with some of the same feelings as last night but decided to not let it get us down. Instead we spent some time cleaning up the boat which always seems to help. Once the clutter is put away we can see the boat again instead of the work pit it sometimes feels like. And what really helped was Ishmail delivering the new floors! We still have a long way to go until that project is complete but were able to replace the door and scraps of wood with a few panels of the new flooring. It’s beautiful and definitely a mood lifter! As for us, Mike worked on the electrical box and in the head…again. And I was able to get part of the starboard toe rail sanded. The days are definitely getting warmer (low to mid 80s) and the sun was shining bright today. I was outside most of the day working and once I got to the scaffolding to sand the outside of the rail, I found that I was pretty much done. Or maybe it was just an excuse to not to have to stand up there, not my favorite job. When our work came to an end, we enjoyed our beer and peanuts in the cockpit but this time looked at the nutrition label on the peanuts. No wonder it takes away our appetite! After 50+ grams of fat and the carbs in the beer, that’s a complete protein meal right there. So we restrained ourselves to just a handful or two (it’s surprisingly difficult), and enjoyed a repeat of beans for dinner since they were so good last night. And ended the evening with a very feel good movie, Invictus, which helped the day end on an even more promising note.

So So Sunday

Well, I tried to stand by me end of the deal and do very little work today. Mike on the other hand almost, ALMOST got the head finished and continued to work on our electrical wiring. I was feeling a little guilty while on the day bed, really not doing much of anything. I definitely didn’t want to work but then just lounging didn’t feel satisfying either. The weather wasn’t conducive to lying by the pool since it was a little cloudy and windy. And my foot didn’t feel like going for a walk. So there I was on the boat just kinda hanging out. I even tried to look at our cruising books and come up with a tentative itinerary for when we are in the water. But it just feels so out of reach and so far off that I couldn’t concentrate on all of those little details. By the late afternoon Mike was done with his projects and I had to get off the boat and just walk outside the marina doors. I could hear the surf on the beach from the boat and wanted to go stare at the water, instead of the cabin walls, for a little while. It was a beautiful evening, the wind had calmed and the sun was low on the horizon. We took a stroll in the marina and then out the doors to the shore. The surf was up and we stood on the rocks feeling an occasional splash from the waves. The cool air and walk did the trick and helped lift my doldrums for a while. We returned to the boat and made a dinner of beans, delicious beans they were, and watched a good movie. Upon going to bed we laid there and talked of feelings and future plans. We really feel that we are at the middle point of our haul out, which means the hardest part. All of these projects that have been started but not completed, which only means that we can’t see the outcome of all of this time, energy and money we are giving to this boat. We also feel a little like we are so far in that there is no turning back. Almost like “What have we done?!”. The haul out is hard and challenging and being in the water will only bring new challenges. Are we ready to take those on? Are we able to take those on? We have also given some thought to putting the boat up for sell because some priorities in life are changing and this boat is just way too much work when it is on the other side of the world. But with the number of boats for sale in this marina, it is doubtful that Independence would sell very readily. And the thought of leaving her somewhere so far away, just to sit and deteriorate and rust, makes our stomachs turn. Again, not too many questions answered but we think we are getting closer to learning more about what we want to do.
And the happiest part of the day was getting to make a phone call home and wish our moms a happy mother’s day! We love and miss you!

Crispy

The day was good but somehow had a bit of a negative feel. Maybe we are just tired and sensitive to others…who are not hauled out. But we both found ourselves having little patience or finding others to be insensitive. Examples… ‘Phiz’, the man who Mike greatly helped with batteries, including driving him into town, had the free bike. Mike called and stated he wanted it and to please hold it for 10 minutes. We heard another call come into ‘Phiz’ from our old neighbor who asked if the bike was still available. ‘Phiz’ replied “It’s yours if you can beat Mike here.”. Really? By the end of the afternoon we were getting a bit done with everything, we were feeling pushed with time, tired and hot. Mike was working down below and the man who we bought our shade bimini from at the boat jumble walked by. They were chatting and Mike told him our plans for the dodger and canvas. The man then turned around and asked Mike if he could have some of the bimini parts he sold us back because he was having problems with his new one and wanted to leave to go sailing tomorrow. Mike said no. Another neighbor comes over and just sits on the plywood that Mike is desperately trying to cut and get fitted in the head before days end and talks about how proud he is of his accomplished son. Then I am out on the deck and Mike is below and I am asking him a question. Another man walks by and says “Wow. You haven’t gone in the water yet?! I told you last year that you were going to have a lot of problems and work in the cabin because of rust. I bet it’s just a nightmare! A nightmare! Ha ha ha!”, still laughing as he walked away. Really? He couldn’t see that we were definitely not laughing with him? I wanted to throttle him! I think we were both a little on the “crispy” side.
Luckily, good progress was made on the head and we were able to get the important wiring (lights and water pump) connected again… and they worked! If they didn’t it could have easily pushed us over the edge. At 8pm we were able to enjoy a beer and another dinner of peanuts in the cockpit. We had plans to join a group for some birthday celebrations but couldn’t muster the energy and definitely not the mood. Instead found ourselves staring at the computer while pages were trying to load with our super slow internet connection. We finally gave up and headed to bed. Pretty exciting Saturday night here in Turkey. And it’s a very good thing that I didn’t realize it was Book Club until Sunday morning or there would have been a definite pity party going on!

Kenerson, be thankful you weren't driving behind this guy! But seriously, happy you are ok!

Boat Camping

We sure made up for our lazy day yesterday. My foot felt better and hopefully wearing my running shoes (no more Tevas or flip flops) until we get rid of that stupid ladder will help. Plus we both slept through the night! Maybe one of the three times since we arrived on the boat! After my last ruminating about my poor sleep, we found the fan which we now have in the aft cabin. It makes all the difference to keep the air cooler and prevent the mosquitoes from buzzing in our ears…or at least keep us from hearing them. This morning we wasted no time getting to work after listening to the Net. Mike even managed to snag a free bike from one of the giveaways. Rusted, flat tire, no seat…but he has faith that with a little elbow grease he can get it to carry him to the store. I got another coat of varnish on the wheel (that thing is a thorn in my side) and while Mike was still tackling the plumbing puzzle in the head, I got to work on the electrical box. Talk about a rat’s nest! It has always looked a bit scary and has been on the ‘to do’ list for quite a while. Only to move up in priority since there was a leak right above it and we now get to install some new navigational equipment! I got to dissemble everything (sure hope I labeled it all right) and cleaned up the rust and grime on the busbars and back panel. I then got to clean every end of copper wire with something called Pur Coz (hailed as the wonder cleaner) and attach new connectors. Along with a coat of paint on the back panel to cover up the rust stains, it looks less like a fire hazard anyways. It was actually one of the most satisfying jobs but that was the easy part. Tomorrow will be the test to see if everything turns on or lights up. And that means… no electricity tonight. That’s a good combination with no floor boards! But thankfully, Mike had bought an adapter for our shore power line so we were able to plug in a lovely fluorescent light to see by. We weren’t really terribly hungry but figured we should BBQ the marinating chicken since we weren’t sure about power to the fridge for the night. As Mike was at the grill, I was fixing us a glass of Raki (to help us get through the night) and making a greek salad. While I was standing under the blue glow of light, cooking with no running water, and then later brushing my teeth with a head light on, it especially felt like camping tonight!

One Step Closer

This morning we found ourselves having a hard time getting out of bed. What did they put in that margarita we wondered? I would open my eyes and think about getting up, only to fall back in slumber. Mike finally made to first move when he needed to make some calls to organize the day. As we were still lounging and drinking coffee, there came a knock on the hull. Our neighbors, Christian and Ilza, were going in the water today and our boats were parked pretty close to one another. There wasn’t enough room to get the travel lift in so since we are in a cradle they wanted to move us out of the way. The only difficulty was that we have a lot of stuff accumulated under our boat. So after moving random pieces of steel, scraps of wood, another inherited wind vane, etc we were moved just a couple of boat lengths away (at least it was towards the water and not further away from it!). And all worth it in the end because we have a much lovelier spot. We have a little garden and grove of Eucalyptus and palm trees on our port side and no one directly next to us. It is also nice to not be right on top of Demir’s shop and all of the hustle and noise. The only unfortunate thing is my new foot has had it with the ladder. It was doing so well but I have noticed some aches and pains over the past week or two. And my foot really didn’t like the ladder this morning. I think it could handle it occasionally, but after 4 weeks of up and down, up and down, it has reached its limit. So with orders from my personal nurse, I was forbidden from the ladder and laid low with my foot up and Ibuprofen in my system. Between my foot and our slow and tired start, this day has become a bit of a write-off. Mike did manage to run into town for a few needed items, but overall we both find ourselves unmotivated and unwilling to take much on. Maybe this will be our Sunday for the week…

Cinco de Mayo...an excuse to drink margaritas anywhere!

Tonight we got to lay eyes on our new dodger in Mehmet’s shop! It was just the steel frame but looks pretty great and we can’t wait to get it installed. We have also decided to go with a roll bar which will be another steel frame that attaches to the transom. It will give us a place to attach our solar panels (which are the next thing to be ordered and will hopefully make us energy self-sufficient), hang our dingy, and, most importantly attach our BBQ! The original plan was for Mehmet to come tomorrow and start installing the dodger. But since the marina charges outrageous amounts for non contracted workers (it’s a little Mafioso around here) to come through the gate, Mehmet wants to wait and do it all at once. So we have a little delay until next Friday. It makes us feel a bit closer to the wire of our deadline of getting into the water the first week of June but should still be able to happen. After we visited with Mehmet in his office, we headed into town to grab a quick dinner since we had the car. We weren’t finding ourselves too hungry so decided to wander over to “Bar Street”. Even though we both can’t remember when we last celebrated Cinco de Mayo at home and it's not celebrated here (or even Mexico for that matter) we decided to have a margarita! Oh my god, they were more like a margarita martini and we definitely got our 10 lira worth! Especially on an empty stomach! After chatting with our friendly waiter, Firat and giving and getting music recommendations, we were able to make our way to a restaurant to help absorb some of that tequila. Turkish pizza of a couple varieties (pide and lahmacun) hit the spot. We sat outside and enjoyed the cool night air as we told ourselves to enjoy the feel of our fleece jackets because these nights aren’t going to last much longer. After dinner we were drawn to the café across the street with live music on the patio. We enjoyed a cappuccino and desert while listening to two young men play beautiful, traditional Turkish songs. The wait staff and customers were silently singing along, as we got caught up in a game of peek-a-boo with a charming 2 year old celebrating his birthday. A lovely way to end the day.w

our Turkish margaritas

See the 'Why Not' bar? That sounds like trouble