Marmaris to Pammukale

We got a taxi from the boat the collect our hire car. After the taxi driver had driven past the car hire place, asked someone at another taxi rank and then done a u-turn he kindly deducted a few lira from the fare on the meter. When we got to the office no-one was in - turns out we had arrived earlier than we said. Anyway we were soon sorted out and on our way back to Naviga I (or as close as we could get) to collect Carol and Stephen and all our bags.

The crew kindly carried the bulk of the luggage and, as a nice man had moved a “Tourist Information No Parking sign” so that we could park long enough to load up, hugs and good wishes were exchanged all around and off we set for Pammukale.

Stephen was in the front navigating and I tried to limit the long left short right reminders from the back as much as possible.

Despite having confirmed that we would not have a room with a round bed, and we would have views of the garden, when we arrived at The Melrose in Pammukale we had a round bed and the room had a view of a vacant block that was mostly a dust bowl.

However, the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Pammukale and its travertine terraces did not disappoint, it was amazing. How anyone could have ever thought that building five hotels on top of it is unbelievable, and I am so glad they are not there now.
The sunset didn’t quite deliver the colour we had hoped but it was still a pretty impressive sight, despite the hordes of fellow tourists 

That bed!	Frank getting wet!
Carol and Stephen (not getting wet)	Sylvia getting wet!
Traffic on the Travertines	Sunset on the terraces

Last day of sailing

Another wonderful (if rather large) breakfast and then some swimming before moving to Paradise Island for lunch (reminiscent of the Hawkesbury). I have never eaten so much as I have on this trip. I dread to think what the scales would say. Then off to Marmaris which has a reputation of being the third of Turkey’s hugely overdeveloped Agean resorts.

Time for knitting	While others go paddling
Street lights of Marmaris	Last dinner in a restaurant alongside Naviga I's berth

Heading to Marmaris

The weather forecast wasn’t very good again and so it was a long day sailing / motoring to reach a sheltered mooring near Marmaris. When we arrived there were quite a few day trip boats around but most left to return to Marmaris. I woke around 2am to go to the bathroom but when I went back up on deck found it hard to get back to sleep due to the unaccustomed noise drifting across the water from Marmaris, which has a reputation as being a bit of a party town. After the relative quiet of being moored off uninhabited coastline the noise seemed strange.

Frank and Mehmet join the party boat action	Then time for diving practice
One of the larger vessels leaving Marmaris	BBQ night – Oktay’s turn to cook and give Servet the chef a break.

Samet and Mehmet in back row, then left to right:Oktay (Captain), Sylvia, Carol, Elise, Han, Stephen, Servet (Chef) and Frank

Bozborun to Bozul Kale

We had lunch on Naviga I in Bozborun and then sailed to “Broken Castle” - Bozul Kale. We went ashore that night and had dinner at the one and only restaurant. The rain was so heavy that there was flooding in Bodrum and many of the cabins let in a considerable amount of water again. But the crew quickly got everything dry again as soon as the weather improved.

We joined the ranks of inconsiderate holiday makers and, with encouragement from the Captain, danced into the night – Carol and I both ended up with blisters on our toes.

Frank taking a selfie?

Bozul Kale

Selimiye to Bozborun on foot

Frank, Carol, Elise and I set off to walk from Selimiye to Bozborun. The Rough Guide said 7km but they must have measured from the “town” signs at the outskirts of each place, as Frank’s GPS said 11km. The views from the top of the hill were quite sensational and we could see Elise coming along behind (she wanted to walk by herself). Carol found a tiny tortoise on the road, it was bound to be run over by a car and so we moved it. Not far but to a slightly safer place (hopefully) and near a puddle with some rainwater from a day or two before.

Selimiye viewed from the top of the hill	Elise on the road below
Baby Tortoise	Where we found the tortoise - on the road on the hill