Travels in Turkey: Exploring Fethiye and Göçek Korfezi (Part 2)

We weighed anchor in the early afternoon and headed south to Tersane Creek, a delightful anchorage that we visited several times in the coming two months.

Tersane Creek is an almost fully-enclosed little bay on an island that seems to be owned, and definitely inhabited by just one family.  They raise goats and sheep, a few cows and also run a delightful tavern.  There is the standard pontoon which apparently is usually full of charter boats, but this year we were fortunate in that the majority of Western tourists stayed away.  This was not so fortunate for the locals who rely on the tourist dollars, but it meant much less crowded anchorages for us!   We did not moor up to the pontoon but anchored and tied our stern to a couple of bollards on the west side – it was relatively quiet with only a couple of other boats.  Dinner was ashore that evening as we wanted to see what the food was like – most of these restaurants have a fixed price menu per person (TL 60 which is about AUD $30 – expensive for Turkey) not including drinks but including a starter, a main and salad.  I had the slow-cooked  lamb while Tad enjoyed his usual fresh calamari.  The starters were a kind of mezze with three or four dishes of dips and salads, and the salad was fresh from their garden!  We had to have a beer with the meal (!) which of course raised the price considerably as alcohol is heavily taxed in Turkey and 500mL of beer costs about AUD $8 (in Greece it varies between AUD $3.50 and $5.00 for the same thing).  The food was delicious and plentiful and the fresh-baked local bread from their wood-fired oven was so yummy that we bought more the next morning.

Tersane Creek - one of our favourite anchorages

The family-owned and run restaurant in Tersane Creek

The wood fired oven which produced delicious bread each morning

It was a delightful place and so we stayed a second night before deciding to venture further afield in this marvelous gulf.

Our next anchorage in the Göçek Korfezi was Cave Cove – we motored around to some of the other locations but the wind had picked up a bit, and the anchorages we had thought to stop in were too crowded for our liking.  This was not really a cove, but a small beach, protected from the prevailing wind, and a large cliff to one side with a cave about 10m up from the water.  As usual, we Med-moored, tying one side of Bisou to a rock and the other to a bollard.  As we swam that afternoon, turtles came for a visit and I was able to photograph and video them as they swam and grazed.  Such beautiful, gentle creatures, it makes me feel sad when I see one injured or dead due to boat propellers.

The cave at Cave Bay

 We were enjoying a peaceful evening when there was a grating sound and we noticed that the line tied to the rock was slack in the water.  The wind had shifted to our side and picked up in force.  I jumped in the water and swam ashore to investigate, only to discover that the rock I had thought was embedded in the shore was actually just a boulder sitting on the sand.  It was a considerable size but Bisou’s weight had shifted it loose and the rope needed re-tying.  There was nothing else to tie to so I had to tie to the only tree on shore (in this area and Turkey in general, you are not supposed to tie to trees as so many have been damaged by boats).  We hoped that no one would come past before we were able to weigh anchor the next day and move on.

While raising the anchor the next day, the windlass shut down again with only 5m to go.  We had hoped that the problem had been fixed, but clearly it had not.  We were headed to Fethiye that day to collect Tad’s younger son, Patrick, who was due in that evening on the ferry from Rhodes and hoped that we wouldn’t have problems with anchoring.  In the end, we decided to moor at Yacht Classic Hotel which was a treat!  The pontoon was full of charter boats (which were not being chartered) but we managed to squeeze ourselves alongside in a nice spot.    The fee for a night at this pontoon was either EUR 88 (about AUD $125) per night or TL 80 plus dinner (about AUD $40 plus dinner).  We chose the former after looking at the menu, which, while delicious, was not cheap.  The hotel allows pontoon users to enjoy the use of their pool and lovely bathroom facilities which was a treat.  We also availed ourselves of the laundry service (at additional but reasonable charge). 

Yacht Classic Hotel in Fethiye

One of the possible contributing factors to our anchor windlass problem was the fact that the rubber roller over which the chain slid to enter the anchor locker, was deteriorating.  It was no longer rolling and had developed a deep ridge in which the chain was catching.  We decided to go in search of a replacement, and after enquiring at a couple of chandleries, found that there was an industrial area in Fethiye where you could get almost anything manufactured.  So, we jumped on the appropriate ‘dolmuş’ (shared minibus) and headed to the indicated area.  Once there, we did not have a clear idea of where we needed to find the man who would be able to assist us, but we did have a hand-drawn map made by one of the chandlery employees and after showing a few people the item we wanted made, we were led to the correct place.  The people here were so friendly and helpful (when they weren’t trying to rip you off!).  We found the person who could make us the roller and in fact Tad purchased two for a very reasonable amount.  Meanwhile, concerned that we would be late for the ferry on which Patrick was arriving, I took a dolmuş back into town while Tad waited for his two rollers to be made.  In the end, the ferry was quite late and Tad made it back just as Patrick was walking to the terminal.  After loading his gear onto the boat and having a swim at the hotel, we walked into town for a bite to eat before an early night.

Patrick arriving on the ferry from Rhodes

The hydrofoil ferry from Rhodes to Fethiye

Some good friends who have spent a great deal of time cruising the Turkish coastline recommended that we try and visit a spectacular gorge while in this part of Turkey and so we made enquiries as to how we might get there.  We discovered that we could take a dolmuş’ to Saklikent Gorge from the main terminal in Fethiye for just AUD $5.50 per person for an hour’s drive.  It was fabulous racing through the countryside in a local mode of transportation (no air conditioning of course, and it was hot!) and we arrived safely at the Gorge, a major attraction for both Turks and foreigners alike.  In fact there is even accommodation out there in basic rooms, but it is in the middle of nowhere so I am not sure why you would want to stay out there.  The water that flows from the gorge is icy since it originates high in the mountains behind the area, but they have created a unique experience with table and benches, half in the water, where you can sit with your meal (a canteen-style restaurant with fish and chips or gözleme (a kind of flatbread with cheese and spinach) and a drink.  After a quick lunch we bought our tickets to walk up the gorge – the first part which is not difficult, is a suspended bridge along the cliff face, above the rushing water.  Some people choose to come down the water on inner tubes but after feeling the temperature of the water, in spite of the heat of the day, none of us was tempted!  We walked along the cliff face to the ‘island’ where there was another kiosk and lots of people. We could see people walking further up the gorge (where there was little water) and began to walk in that direction when we were accosted by a man who decided that he was to be our guide.  In the end, we were glad we had him as he assisted us greatly in knowing where to go as well as helping us over some of the more challenging rocks and pools along the way.  It was only 1km to the head of the gorge (as far as you can reasonably walk/climb/swim) but it took us about an hour to get there.  It was quite stunning to see the high cliffs on either side of the gorge; some huge boulders jammed up above as well as other detritus – in the winter, the water level is about 10m above ground level and the rapids carry all kinds of stuff down from the mountain.  We had barely a trickle of water, which wasn’t cold so even when we had to wade through water up to our chests, it was refreshing rather than uncomfortable.

The Saklikent Gorge 

Wading through frigid water to reach the Gorge walk

Enjoying a bite to eat on the banks of the river

By the time we arrived back at the boat later on in the afternoon, we had time for a swim in the pool before dining at the hotel restaurant that evening – we decided to treat ourselves!  It was delicious and worth every penny.  Later, Tad and Patrick watched Manchester United  play a game on the pool bar television while yours truly went to bed!

The next day we went back to Göçek Korfezi, and spent the next three nights anchored in various lovely bays (including one night back at Tersane Creek).   Disappointingly, we started to have problems with the anchor windlass motor again – we had heard from the windlass representative in Istanbul (finally) and he suggested that we contact “Blue Yacht”, a company that would be able to assist us.  Once again, we anchored in Göçek, in the bay, and the electrician announced that we needed our motor overhauled as well as a new breaker (which might have been malfunctioning).  We showed the electrician that the brushes had just been replaced and he laughed saying that the original ones still had plenty of wear on them (typical!).  He announced that he would return first thing in the morning (by this time it was 5pm) to remove our windlass motor and bring a replacement breaker for the overload switch.  We treated ourselves to a meal ashore that night and the next morning waited for a call from the electrician (or rather his translator from the same office).  We waited all morning for a call and finally we called him only to be told that the electrician had never shown up for work that morning and that they were concerned.  We were concerned as well as we were waiting for work to be done!  Meanwhile, Tad went ashore and sourced a replacement breaker switch and decided that he would install that so that there would be one less thing to have to pay an electrician for.  By 4pm, still no electrician, so we weighed anchor and decided to go elsewhere while we waited to hear from “Blue Yacht” company again.