The Russians are coming, no they’re here

Sheltering from high winds today, we are tucked up in Kas marina and rented a car.

First visit was Myra with its rock tombs and enormous theatre. I tried to pick up one of the information leaflets and they were all in Russian. All the tour groups with their numbered badges were also Russian. The prices in the gift shop are no longer shown in GBP or Euro.

Next was St Nicholas Church in Demre- the original Santa Claus. The tomb in the photo was robbed by fishermen from Bari, where they still parade his bones annually. The Russians in the photo were having a religious service - St Nicholas being an important Orthodox personage.

Finally Andriake, the ancient port of Myra, where St Paul changed ship on the voyage towards Rome that ended in his shipwreck. It was impressive and strange. Apart from workmen digging up an old column we were the only visitors at a wonderful atmospheric site. The photo is from a huge underground cistern.

The bread boat

Yesterday involved leaving KaleKoy and making our way to Bayinder Bay near Kas, with its tall cliffs dotted with caves and rock tombs.

KaleKoy is a strange little place. There is no road and no modern development. Apparently it is mostly owned by a wealthy family who don't want it to be spoiled.

One little repercussion is that it is totally reliant on supplies coming in by boat from nearby Uçağız. We watched the women from the tiny shop, and from each of the pensions and restaurants, queue up in the morning on the old stone jetty waiting to be given their allocation of bread fresh from the delivery boat (which looked as if it spent the rest of the day as a fishing boat).

Sun, moon, but few stars

One of the only stars visible last night was the twirling girl on the next jetty at sunset.

The harvest moon rose on cue, and was duly followed by a glorious sunrise this morning.

An early departure to beat the forecast winds had us in Bayinder Bay near Kas before lunch. The cliffs overlooking the bay have more Lycian tombs, and the shelter is good. The lights of Kas are twinkling in the distance, and we'll see them close-up tomorrow.

KaleKoy

Overlooking the inner sea of Kekova Roads is the castle of ancient Simena, now KaleKoy. It was a settlement from at least 500BC, but I'm sure much earlier.

The Crusader castle seems to have been built on an old Lycian stronghold as a Lycian rock tomb is incongruously peeping out below some battlements.

The theatre is tiny, but the views from it are magnificent. Dayboats drop sightseers all day, but by the end of the afternoon we had the castle to ourselves.

Change of plan, again.

Having enjoyed the bustle of Üçağız, with the dozens of tripper boats lined up on the dock, we planned a stage to the west to a different quiet anchorage. However the weather forecasts didn't look encouraging- we could just feel that F5 whistling by as we tried to eat in the cockpit. So back to the glorious shelter of Gokkaya.

The moon is up, so we'll be able to eat by the light of the moon again. Very eco-friendly.

The Coastguards are everywhere this year. We have seen them every single day. Changed times from a few years ago.

The men in the third photo are not in a tug of war, but hauling a fishing boat up the slip. Who needs winches!

What depth have you?

A departure from our little anchorage at last, and a short trip to Üçağiz, a small village in Kekova roads that serves as the harbour for dozens of dayboats that take visitors to the sunken city opposite and to the nearby coves like our anchorage.

The exit from the anchorage and entrance to the village are both narrow and rock bounded. As I asked the crew 'what depth have you?' I realised that this was one of an endless series of questioning euphemisms. It really meant 'watch out for those rocks'. Along similar lines, 'what course are you steering?' really means 'where on earth are you going?'; 'where is the wind?' really means 'have you not noticed that flapping sail?' I could go on, but better not.

Book review day!

Having been lured by the delights of our anchorage (marked with the red arrowhead on the chart) to stay put for a third day, there is no sailing to report.

However the reading has been enjoyable. Gail Honeyman's 'Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine' has been on best sellers lists for months, so most people reading this may have read it. Highly recommended. A serious story with tragedy aplenty it still manages to be hilarious.

Brian McGilloway's 'Bad Blood' was interesting because of its setting in Derry and the familiar issues of paramilitaries, religious rabble rousers, intimidation and immigrants.

Colson Whitehead's 'The Underground Railroad' was a devastating read about slavery in the US.