While in Albania, I was contemplating how I wanted to visit Greece, and decided I wanted a vacation from my vacation.
Yes, that's a thing.
So I decided to go to trusty old Google and see about cruising my way through some Greek islands. Rather than trying to make my way overland and being forced to visit the main hubs (like Athens, which several travel buddies had advised me against) or the big touristy islands, I wanted to see something more with a bit more... Something.
And here's where I found Sailtogether.
Sailtogether is a company created by a Lebanese guy named Laurent, and for less than what the traditional "small city" sized cruise ships charge you get to hang out on a sailboat for about a week. Less because, as it turns out, all cruise companies charge single people double the average price because the cabins are designed for two people. (I get it, but thanks for punishing me because I'm single guys, that's nice...). In Sailtogether's case you can either pay a percentage more to have your own private cabin, or you can take your chances on a roommate and pay the normal price. So I wrote them an email to see if they had available space for the beginning of September. It was a bit pricey, but you only live once, right?
Within a day I was in touch with Marlene, Laurent's sister, and on my way to booking my Greek Islands sailboat adventure. In the end I had to have dad wire the money for me (trying to figure out wire transfers to Lebanon while traveling = no thank you).
So after having spent a couple of week in Turkey I made my way down to Marmaris to await the beginning of my vacation from my vacation.
On the morning off the sailing, I grabbed a taxi to the marina, and the driver kindly dropped me off right next to Calypso, the catamaran that was to be my new home for the next week. I arrived to an empty boat, but in short order was joined by Laurent and Marco, his Italian associate who normally captains a second boat when there are enough people to require two. I learned quickly that normally there would be up to ten passengers per boat, but since it was a slow week we only had to wait for one - a girl from Canada (born in Lebanon) named Raya. Marco would only be joining us until the next day, when he would depart from Rodos to meet his brother. Therefore, we had what basically amounted to a private cruise with just myself, Laurent, and Raya for a week. I ran back to town to pick up an impromptu pair of prescription sunglasses, then we went through customs and set sail for Greece, a day earlier than usual.
Or... So we thought.
As it turns out, Calypso has two engines, and one decided to bail, so after several hours we found ourselves back in Marmaris for the night, where we transferred everything to Axana, the single hull, to avoid further mishaps.
Marco and Laurent supervising attempts at repairs.
Swimming in the ocean is my favorite.
We went out to dinner at The Pineapple, a nice restaurant in the marina that we reached by dinghy, because nothing says "we are super cool" like having a door to door boat service.
It's kind of like the limo of the sailing world.
No big deal.
Photo credit to Raya.
Anyway, the next morning we transferred the last of our things to Axana, went through customs again, and made our way to Rodos, learning such skills along the way as how to put up the sails, drop anchor, and tie up in the marina when we docked.
Laurent and Marco, wind in the curly hair and all.
Our captains, chillin.
Marco attempting to remove the luxurious locks from his face.
Once in Rodos Marco took his leave, and Raya, Laurent, and I hopped a bus to the other side of the island for a few hours. Lindos was gorgeous.
Home.
Very strict bus instructions about inappropriate foods on board.
Sunburnt arms bar.
I totally took this photo because it says "Rub Russian." Which of course means rubles but I have the sense of humor of a ten year old boy so I enjoyed their lack of letters.
Harvesting figs.
Three very warm and shiny people.
Eventually we made our way back to Rodos where we had the most amazing dinner, and I discovered the glory that is symi shrimps (tiny soft shelled shrimp cooked in the shell and eaten whole with a squeeze of lemon... Oh my god...).
The next morning we made our way to Saint George Bay, where we swam and barbecued and generally enjoyed spending the night in a place devoid of human settlement.
Captain Raya.
Entering the bay.
Yes, the water is actually that color.
Our captain found a new boat.
Sunning.
This is the life.
I made an improvised version of latkes for dinner while Laurent cooked cutlets (we had no flour and no proper grater; enter Laurent and I slicing potatoes painstakingly matchstick thin and then crushing corn flakes in lieu of flour - surprisingly this actually worked). Late at night Raya and I got to some serious chatting over wine, to be interrupted by Laurent who insisted we must see the stars, so we laid on the deck and... Wow.
There are no words. Very few times in my life have I seen such a sky. It was brilliant.
On my way to bed I stuck my feet in the water, where I noticed the sea was glowing when I moved. At first I was wondering if perhaps I was just more drunk than I had thought. But then Laurent joined me and gave me a brief lesson on phosphorescent plankton, while we splashed like a couple of eight year olds to see it glitter.
Stars from above and below.
I was tempted to go for a swim, but decided against it in favor of bed.
The next morning we got up at a leisurely pace, said goodbye to our bay, and sailed towards Halkhi. Raya, who has been taking sailing lessons, steered a good part of the way, while Laurent and I relaxed on deck.
We stopped in Alimia for a quick lunch and a dip before heading onto our final destination.
More swimming pics.
We are cute.
Raya being towed back to the boat.
In Halki we docked (twice, in fact, because we had trouble with our anchor holding), then Raya and I went off on a quick exploration of town before meeting up with Laurent for drinks and a much earlier than usual dinner. Once again we trusted Laurent with ordering, and wound up with a gorgeous array of amazing food.
"No Laurent you have to angle selfies from above, we look better that way."
I forget how tall I am until I see shots like this.
Sharing beers and generally having a grand time.
Nirvana.
The meals in Rodos and Halkii are two of the most memorable of my entire life.
Tzaziki, simi shrimps, shrimps cooked in spicy tomato sauce, grilled spicy feta, fried calamari... Heaven.
We had a bit of an earlier night, then took our time the next morning, buying fresh bread from the bakery and local honey, which we turned into our breakfast (bread with honey and butter is one of my favorite things now).
Leaving the island.
We eventually took off for Alimia where we would be spending the night in a deserted bay. We stopped in a different bay first, but we didn't last long there because...
Bees.
No, not bees, wasps. What we call yellow jackets back home.
As soon as we pulled in and were dropping anchor, they started investigating the boat.
Now, I'm not a wimp when it comes to bugs or creepy critters. I can handle snakes, spiders...
But bees? Not so much.
This is basically what we saw of the first bay.
The next hour or two involved mostly Raya and I shrieking and running around and jumping in the water and diving under to escape the aggressively inquisitive pests (and then laughing hysterically at our own antics) while a puzzled Laurent watched us while bees flew harmlessly around him. We decided we wanted to explore land, which became a failed mission for as soon as we landed on shore the bees reappeared and two screaming girls dove back in the water and swam back to the boat. Poor Raya was stung and at this point we had enough excitement so Laurent indulgently took us to the other bay where we hoped there would be less "killer bees."
Lucky for us there were a lot less, so we managed to make it to shore to explore the WWII German base on the island (now abandoned) and grab some good photos while Laurent napped. Later that afternoon we swam with our snorkels to the shipwrecked ferry nearby, where Laurent was hoping to spear a fish for dinner, but no luck.
Abandoned German WWII base.
Exploring.
Snorkeling gear, check.
Sunkissed and loving life.
Sunset.
As for the bees, there were definitely a few still hanging around but nothing like our previous stop. Still, Raya and I giggled nervously while dodging to and from our cabins for the majority of the late afternoon.
That evening I prepared my first ever risotto (which tasted good, but I had a little trouble getting the texture of the rice correct) for our dinner and we hung out topside listening to a few big fish splashing nearby (where were you earlier you wily bastards?!).
The next morning I was woken up bright and early by a little wasp intruder, and after he flew out my hatch I closed myself in so I could nap in peace a bit more.
That morning we left for Symi, our final stop in Greece. We made it there in the afternoon, and after walking around to do some shopping, Raya and I made our way up the hill for the view.
The little boats with personality.
That afternoon we had become acquainted with our neighbors on one side, and invited them over that evening for drinks on our boat. Our new Swedish friends came bearing gin and tonics (quite literally the first gin and tonic I've ever found tolerable) and we chatted and got to know each other a bit. It was a mother and father (who live and work in Africa), their daughter (also works and lives in Africa), their son (lives in Sweden), and two of his friends. They invited us out to dinner with them, where we all opted for the chef's choice dinner, where they basically just bring you plates of food until you tell them to knock it off.
Not the most amazing meal I've had (I'll admit I'm getting entirely too spoiled now) but the rooftop was gorgeous and the company was loads of fun.
The whole crew.
The next morning we took off early, on our way back to Marmaris. I managed to nap for a couple hours while we were on the water, quite a feat considering even the strongest stomachs tend to feel queasy indoors.
Leaving Symi, early morning.
Our reminders of the real world: life jackets from Syrian refugees. This area is the closest to Turkey so a lot of people come through here looking for a better life.
We stopped for lunch and a swim on the way, eating some sausage with onions before puttering back to town. Raya and I decided it was time for a shower (my first of the week, because why bother when you're swimming every day?) and then went into town where she bought us matching lucky bracelets (I haven't taken mine off since). We went out for dinner with our captain, and boy was it amazing! I had some steak with pepper sauce which was perfectly cooked. Oh so good.
Back in Turkey.
This cute girl!
Suffering from too much sun and salt water.
That night I said my goodbyes to Raya, as she was leaving the following morning early enough where I figured (quite rightly) that I would miss her. It was sad to see her go, and a trip to Canada is definitely in order!
I spent one more night on the boat, as captain Laurent and his new team weren't leaving until the following day, and I got to meet a lovely Spanish couple and we had dinner together.
Finally I left Axana behind and made my way to the guesthouse for my final night in Marmaris, spending my day napping and arguing on the phone with travelgenio, who had decided a mere four days before my flight to Vietnam that they were postponing one of my three flights to 24 hours. Given the choices of a) wait in the Bangkok airport for 24 hours (no hotel offered) or b) accept a refund for that flight only, I was more than a little peeved.
I think the technical term is "hopping ass mad."
Due to my persistence Martha gave up the fight and agreed to give me a full refund, so I rebooked my flight for a day later for pretty much exactly the same price. And I gained an extra day in Istanbul, which was wonderful.
That's all for now, I'll catch you all up on the rest of Turkey in my next post.
~Swan
