Yacht Heaven Exists: Welcome to Marmaris

Today is Thursday, 14th of October and I know I am behind on the SLOG—apologies to all. We arrived in Marmaris, Turkey on Saturday the 9th and have been unbelievably busy meeting with scores of the worlds best rigging, sail makers, and carpenters (among other things) to get Belvedere in ship shape. Truth be told, I am working but Jeff is back and fourth in his beloved dingy ferrying people to and fro in the bay you see above. While we expect to go into the marina as needed to get work done we prefer living 'on the hook.'

In a marina you are literally packed in like sardines in a can. While nice for nightlife, the marina (Yacht Marina Marmaris) has bars, restaurants, a supermarket, chandleries, pools and most anything else you could want—being in the bay is beyond tranquil and quiet. We were lucky enough to purchase a yacht that makes us almost self sufficient, so why spend the money until we have to?

After 90 days, the legal limit for tourists, we'll probably get a berth for a year which for roughly an additional £100 pounds per person, will include a years residency in Turkey. This means we won't have to go to Greece after 90 days unless we choose to. We are both tired of travelling and are excited to have the time to get work done to the yacht with the prospect of exploring this amazing coastline and making new friends.

The Turks are unbelievably hospitable and honest. Sure, they want/need your money just like any other country, but they are keen to work hard and honestly for it. The other day we had the rigging inspected knowing that, at the very least it needed to be repaired (best case) or replaced (worst case) due to its age. It would have been easy for them to just say it needed everything and I can't say we would have known the difference. But once again our trusty B57 is over engineered (as if my dad built it) and Mustafa of M2 Rigging said he's never seen one that needed anything more than the occasional fix. Therefore, I get new worktops in the kitchen now, too!! Winner, winner chicken dinner for us both.

I'll be sure to get lots of photos of the crazy stuff we'll get up to and the wonderful views and people, too. But seriously, you need to come see it for yourself. You will not regret it!