Marmaris Harbour, Southern Turkey

Current Position at anchor: North 36*51'023 East 028*16'062

Sorry for being pretty slack at keeping up with updates over the past couple of weeks but we're back on track after a quick visit home by me and then a family visit topped off with a bout of the flu that knocked us down for a couple of days! On my return from the UK we sailed Blue Moon 50 miles west along the coast from Fethiye and are now anchored in Marmaris harbour off the town Quay.

My mum flew in for a visit staying at a local hotel here in Marmaris so we enjoyed a week of exploring (mostly shops and markets...mums favourites!) and have gotten to know the main town and it's smaller neighbouring villages almost by heart. We spent one day on a jeep safari which resulted in us getting soaking wet, thanks to the Brits with water pistols, but found it a great way to see some of the country side we tend to miss with our usual short excursions on foot from the boat.

Marmaris is a lot more touristy than Fethiye with rows of hotels fringing the harbour beaches, but it still holds a lot of the Turkish charm. With small winding alleyways snaking their way around the old castle that sits over the harbour and creating a labyrinth of tiny shops selling anything and everything. From fake designer clothes and bags to Turkish trinkets and carpets It's all available and if something your looking for isn't at hand it can all be found for a price!

Pretty cafes with a blissful aroma of Turkish coffee wafting out onto the street are dotted everywhere and a great place to try out the hugely popular apple tea or just sit and watch the games of dominoes that seem to be continuously taking place. The harbour wall is packed with traditional Turkish wooden sail boats called 'Gullets' that shine with all their brightly varnished hulls and take tourists by the bus loads on tours of the bay.

It's also been great while we're here to catch up with some friends, Mark and Nicole, that we haven't seen since Oman on board their yacht 'Sea life' for a lovely Roast dinner (proving that Aussies can cook a roast as well as us English!) and to swap Red Sea Stories and plans for the trip across the med.

In a couple of days we plan to up anchor and start slowly cruising up the west coast of Turkey before jumping over to the Greek Islands next month. Not sure yet where we'll stop but we'll keep one eye on the weather and the other on our cruising guide and take it from there!