Memories of Marmaris…

The days Debbie and I spent in Marmaris passed all too quickly…

Dawn breaks over Marmaris Bay... View from the Candan Hotel...

From the morning of our first day there, until the day we left to fly back to Istanbul, our time was taken up with long walks down the beachfront, visits to the large bazaar; the yacht basin and the “happening” part of town where the cruise liners offloaded their human cargo for a day out in the sun, and to allow them to empty their wallets for the benefit of the local citizenry…

Early morning visit to the yacht basin...

Heads together to figure out what we should do today...

A visit to the local bazaar, where hand painted pottery was on display...

Honest advertising...!! And this just about sums up much of the stuff that is on offer anywhere in Turkey...!!

We took rides out on the Big Fella almost every day, cruising through town while looking down on the far smaller scooters that buzzed around us like a swarm of drunken mosquitoes…

A fisherman returns to the harbour...

We went para-sailing over the bay, seeing the sea-side town from a completely different perspective…

The boat that took us up to dizzying heights above Marmaris...

"I'll be hanging by these two skinny shackles, will I...??"

Kitted up and ready to go...!!

Our chute billows out behind us as our feet leave the deck of the speedboat...

High above the bay, arm-cam is called into action once again...!!

We took the Big Fella out on a country road that led us to the Marmaris Marina on the far side of the bay, about 15 kms away, and experienced a “lunch with a difference”… Visuals later…!!

We watched the massive cruise liners dock, and then leave Marmaris again barely hours later, making place for yet more liners, one which carried over 4000 passengers, and was too large to tie up in the harbour. It sat out in the bay while it’s passengers were ferried to shore by a flotilla of “water-taxis”…

This liner was too big to berth in Marmaris...

We went on a boat cruise around Marmaris Bay, which took the better part of a full day, visiting secluded bays where we swam in the crystal clear waters and discovered that my water-proof camera was not as “water-proof” as the manufacturers would like me to believe…!! But in their defence I suppose the integrity of the seals would be called into question after the numerous little “falls” the camera had endured over the past few months…

The boat dropped us off at an isolated little village where we wandered through the streets, drinking in the peace and quiet, and marveling at the natural beauty surrounding us…

We spent some time exploring the Marmaris Castle, standing high up on the battlements, admiring the wonderful views out over the yacht basin and across the bay to Paradise Island…

Dinner at "O'Yes", a great restaurant on the quayside...

In the evenings, we ate at a number of beachfront restaurants and agreed that the “O’Yes” and the “Portofino” were the best of those on offer…

Both establishments allowed us to drink the bottles of Nederburg Baronne that Debbie had brought with her, without charging us any corkage…!!

But best of all, I got to enjoy Debbie’s company again, having last seen her in March, when I set off on my journey…

At times her news from home left me feeling “disconnected” somehow, and I came to realise how far behind I had left thoughts of everyday life in South Africa…

It was all of the 46 000 km I already had behind me, and much more…

Together with her company, and the spells of good weather we enjoyed, my spirits were lifted again, and I found myself laughing out loud once more at the sights we saw and the jokes we shared…

Mentally, I needed a break from the day to day grind of travel, and Debbie provided just that, banishing all thoughts of the difficulties that still lay ahead of me, in exchange for the “here and now”, and the fun that could be had with a girl on your arm…

My heartfelt gratitude goes out to Debbie for the companionship she provided, the laughter she brought about, and the temporary stilling of the restless and unfocused energy that had coursed through me before her arrival…

She filled me with new purpose, and sharpened my enthusiasm to see this journey through to it’s end… Reminding me again how few people get to live their dreams…

And I was one of those chosen few…

The next few posts will be a collection of photos from our “Memories of Marmaris”… Enjoy them as much as we did making them…

Zeus kept an eye on proceedings outside our hotel... Although I tried to make friends with him, he made no effort to reciprocate...!! Maybe he thought I was trying to nick his T-shirt...!!

The Big Fella regaled his friends with tales of "derring-do" from the past eight months...!!

©GBWT 2010