Kizil and Flat Island and Gobun Bay

31st October 2020

Last year before we left New Zealand I had a full body really bad Eczema outbreak. Thankfully due to functional testing, supplementation and diet changes it was gone within 2 months. Once we moved to the boat the special diet was soon history, with my little organic shop gone and the gluten, dairy and egg free thing just too hard in foreign countries and with family not really wanting to eat what I need to eat, so I completely slacked off, ate gluten, baked, had dairy and not entirely surprisingly I discovered a spot of eczema on my hand today. I was hoping that I could go back to my old ways, but my poor body says no. So off to the Migros we went to shop for my special diet and stock up on normal groceries.

In the afternoon we moved on from Fethiye to Kizil Island for a bit of peace and quiet and to make water. Tim and I really like the quieter bays and beaches rather than staying near towns. Once we settled in, I cooked up some nice salads for me to eat. I am trying to follow the Plat Paradox diet by Dr. Gundry, which has helped many people with auto immune diseases, but it means I am basically mainly on vegetables and a few seasonal fruits. I will see how it goes, but hope that my gut will eventually heal, so I can have some more variety.

In the evening we prepared a bon fire on the beach to make some baked potatoes and roast some marshmallows. We always love those outside activities as a family – it gives us a real thrill – something so simple and easy, but so special. We ate and drank while the sun was going down until it got dark and it was time to head back to the boat.

The next day was Generator day, meaning that we made water, I did much needed laundry duty and we topped up our batteries. We all went for a nice walk at the beach in the afternoon and took the Frisbee and in the evening Adventurous and Lostura joined us.

We have been talking with the other cruisers as to what to do next. We could go further south, but we will do that during winter anyway, so it was decided we take a trip up north and to spice things up a bit Tim wants to do a Night Passage with Imagine to get to Bodrum. I know its the right thing to do, to try it out while there is no pressure and we have to do it at some stage, but it worried and scared me to sail at night. The following day we all moved a bit more north to catch up with Laurie and Paul again, who went to Flat Island in the National Park. It was a short trip of 6 nm and took us 5 hours.

We all rafted up again in a beautiful anchorage with the clearest water. Soon dinner prep was on the cards, a shower for me and Nina, as each time we are motoring there is rare hot water. And each time I shower I also clean the bathroom most of it gets wet anyway. Luca scraped some of Adventurous’ hull until he got too cold. Soon we where all snuggled up down below with the nights now being cooler. The boys listening to podcasts or watching movies, the girls listening to audiobooks and crocheting.

In the morning the kids did some schooling, Tim and I did some work on the sites, blogs and vlogs and in the afternoon we moved on as the winds changed. We all sailed to Gobun Bay, which again was a beautiful anchorage all to ourselves with clear water and a pretty little beach with Olive Trees. In the evening it was decided we would all catch up for a fire at the beach.

Our crew again had a baked potatoes, baked onion dinner with some sides. The Adventurous crew cooked an octopus they caught and some pumpkin, onion and potatoes. While Freddie, Paul and Lauri just joined for drinks. It was a lovely evening until Freddie pulled out fireworks and scared the heck out of Lucy, she ran off to the hill at the back of the beach. Luckily she returned soon, but was frightened for the rest of the evening. I really hate fireworks for that particular reason, they scare animals so badly and litter the environment, but the kids big and small enjoyed the sparkles.

In the morning most of us decided to go for a walk and explore the bay. It was a beautiful walk lined with many olive trees, pine trees and we found lots of wild lavender. We soon came past lonely farms with a few barking dogs, some sheep and goats and many, many olive trees. We all collected some olives to try to brine and cure. We walked quite a big distance and Nina wanted a rest. There where farm like buildings at the beach where we just arrived and we saw a very broken jetty with a few tables and chairs and a building site in front. A man was sitting there and waved to us to come when he saw we looked a bit lost. He invited us for a cup of tea and we gratefully sat down for a rest and nibbled on the few snacks we brought.

He told us that he was building a restaurant and that he is going to repair the jetty. He also owns gulets in Bodrum, where we are headed. It was such a nice and kind encounter and left us all feeling warm and fuzzy to be welcomed in so kindly by a stranger. We all decided we would come back sometime and maybe even give him a hand building his restaurant. Soon we where headed back to the boats and collected some more firewood on the bay. In the evening our family once again headed for the beach to bake some potatoes and have our dinner under the open sky while the weather is still pleasant enough. We all went happily to sleep smelling of smoke and fresh, salty air.