Another boat

Photos: Hoisting sails, David trying on shoes, necropolis

Oct. 30, 2022-Kaunos to Marmaris, Easy peasy to transfer from our gulet to the canopied tourist motor boat taking us to Kaunos. Somehow we didn’t perceive that early morning chill plus speed of boat over water equals frozen tourists. Even with jackets, the 20 minute ride was grueling. We chugged from the Mediterranean into a brackish river lined with reeds and debarked onto a paved road. For the first time we got to walk to ancient ruins and not put our lives at risk. The site at Kaunos was first inhabited in the 10th century BCE. Following civilizations flourished in that seaport until it was abandoned in the 1400’s. Aside from the Roman ruins, it is remarkable for the friendliness of its sheep. As soon as they heard us, they wandered over wanting to be petted. We climbed, scrambled, and photographed (sheep and ruins) to our heart’s content before returning to our craft. The town of Dalyan was a short ride away and we were given free time to mingle with British tourists, buy bananas, and for Rudy to find shoes for David. For unknown reasons. Rudy has taken on the challenge of finding size 15 men’s shoes. David needs walking shoes, but Rudy was convinced he’d found the “perfect” solution. He bounded over with a pair of slip-ons and a pair of moccasins. He insisted David go back to the store with him to try them on. The entire group followed. Even though they didn’t fit, there were hugs and thanks all around. On our way back to our gulet , we passed a Lycian necropolis modeled after Greek architecture. Cut high on the side of red rock cliffs, they exemplify the artistry and technical genius of the time and show that there was contact between the two civilizations. Now the sun was at its highest and the trip back was more comfortable especially for me. I slept. The crew hoisted two of four the sails for us. It was a demo. No wind, no current, no progress. Pretty anticlimactic after the expectations. Someone played sea shanties on a phone, on went the engines and we continued to Marmaris. Formerly an ancient seaport, it’s now a tourist haven. We moored to a rock across from the harbor for the night. Tomorrow we leave the gulet and become landlubbers again. Toby