Outride to Adakoy…

I had wanted to take Debbie on a ride up the mountain pass behind the town, up the twisting road that leads to Gokova and from there to Fetiye…

The fact that there was no protective kit for her to wear, had kept me from getting her to experience the excitement of the hairpin bends that wound up the slopes like a coiled snake… That, and the steep drop-offs, which often have me reciting the toll-free number of my medical aid to myself…!!

Would have been fun, but the weather up on the higher elevations was vastly different to that down on the coast, a fact I had discovered when I first rode into Marmaris, and again when I returned there from Fetiye… A shower of rain could turn a sunny exciting ride into a “mission to remain upright”, and without protective gear, I was not willing to risk it…

Riding around the cobbled streets of town, and along the tiled sidewalk that runs parallel to the beach was exciting enough at times (especially in the dark…!!) but I wanted to take the Big Fella out onto a quiet road where we could feel the wind in our hair… or at least Debbie, who has hair, could feel the wind in hers…!!

Breaking all the rules, we went for a ride down the coast...

The notion to make a short ride out of town took me when I was clothed in nothing but shorts, T-shirt and slip-slops, but this was the way everybody rode around town… No helmet laws here in Marmaris…!!

Across the bay from Marmaris lies this secluded spot where yachts tie up...

We took the road that led east of the town, towards the naval base (where on the narrow entrance road to the base, we were instructed to make a swift about turn by a uniformed sailor) and then cut away up the slopes of the low range of mountains that line this part of the coast…

This is Southern Turkey Dudes...!!

" 'Allo, Allo...!! What's this then...??" I wasn't sure who to scold first...!!

After passing a few small villages, where yachts were tied up while their owners enjoyed coffee onshore, we came to the narrow spit of land that joins Paradise Island to the mainland…

Close to the village of Adakoy, where the "real money" is berthed...

The Marmaris Yacht Basin lay spread out below us as we parked the bike and gazed out over the bay… Many of the boats were up on land. wedged onto massive wooden blocks, where they were being stripped down and serviced…

On this spit of land, luxury yachts and ocean going cruisers retire for the winter...

The pool at the yacht club...

It was all a bit formal...but well short on grammar...!!

Ok, but will I seat a get then...??

We decided to have lunch at the Marina Clubhouse, but on entering, we realised that we were not exactly dressed for the occassion…!!

The elegant dining area held a smattering of elderly folk, all dressed as though they had just stepped off the Titanic…

If that was not enough to make us uncomfortable, the prices on the menu certainly were…!!

After inquiring if there was any other place in the harbour where we could have a light meal, we were snootily pointed in the direction of the “canteen”…

A great touch...!! This glass wall allows club members to look out over the bay while sheltering from the wind...

Turned out that this is where all the dockworkers eat, and on entering the “mess hall”, I was instantly transported back in time, to what some folk euphemistically refer to as “my military days”… While Debbie sat at a small wooden table near the door, a bemused expression on her face, I marched up to the serving counter to see what was on offer…

Don't tell me that I can't show a girl a good time...!! A veritable feast...!! (If you've just dragged yourself through the burning sands of the Sahara after having had nothing to eat but Camel droppings for a week or so...!!)

Before I could take a peek at was was under the steel lids covering the food, the chef behind the counter grabbed one of the metal trays and began dishing stuff up…

The Army teaches you many things… One of which is, “Never annoy the chef”…

Not only can he wield that big metal spoon like Samurai sword, but he can also make it dish up amounts of food that would not satisfy a mouse, if he so wished…

Which, in hindsight might not have been a bad thing in this case…!!

“No, no… Never mess with a chef…!!” I reminded myself again…

So I just watched and nodded in mock gratitude as he slapped big spoonfuls into the various sections on the tray, then reached forward and began filling a second tray, having seen that I was not alone…

I could barely contain my laughter as I walked back to Debbie, wondering what she was going to make of the slop on her tray…

“How bad is it…?” she asked when I was still a few metres from the table…

“It’s bad…!! Really bad…!! In fact, its so bad, I half expect somebody to come up and pay us to eat this stuff…!!”

The only way I managed to get most of the food down, was the mental picture I had of Regimental Sergeant-Major Smith, marching down the central aisle of our mess hall, swagger stick under arm, moustache bristling, and shouting pleasantries such as,

“You shall eat everything dished up onto your plates, OR, we shall have words later…!!”

“Words”, usually meant a 5 km run with a car tyre around your neck and a heavy wooden pole under your arm, while the RSM rode behind us on his scooter, administering “encouragement” with his swagger stick…!!

I ate all my food then, and made a valiant effort to eat it all in the staff canteen of the Marmaris Yacht Marina as well… Old habits die hard…!!

Mmmm... Yuckey...er, I mean Yummy...!!

After “lunch”, we walked among the boats in the dry dock area, pretending to look for our yacht…

“I’m sure I left the darn thing here…!!” I said loudly… “It was parked next this big green one…!!”

We were in a restricted zone of the marina, and security at the main gate had been quite specific as to where we were allowed to go when we had asked about a place to eat..!! They even made me park the Big Fella outside the gates on a little sand road that leads into the village…

You didn't think the Big Fella was my only toy did you...?? The Silver and Black trim is a dead giveaway, is it not...??

All in all, we had great fun, laughing about the meal we had endured and wondering why we had bothered in the first place…!!

High up above the bay, where the wealthy come to play...

It’s the strange things you do and the even weirder situations you find yourself in, that make a day hard to forget, and today was one of those days…

On our return to town, we found the harbour jammed with cruise ships and a flotilla of yachts who were taking part in the annual Marmaris Regatta...

©GBWT 2010