10th March 2021

The first morning we woke up at Kekova, Ucagiz village we went to the little village to stock up on groceries. It was a quiet day of schoolwork, cooking, writing blogs, sorting images and footage. The next morning we left Ucagiz, because heavy winds where forecast. We sailed a further 4 nm to Asirli Adasi Bay, where we had been before. The winds forecast where up to 44 knots, so I was a bit nervous after our last experience in Kekova with the anchor dragging.

But now with our new anchor I felt a bit more at ease and Tim put 2 stern lines out, so we seemed to be tucked in safely. Once we where settled in, the kids did schooling. Nina made us fried bananas and pancakes in the afternoon and Tim made chicken pies for dinner. We watched “The long way around” after dinner. I couldn’t really go to sleep that night. The wind was very strong and it creates so much noise in the rigging and I am a real worrier. I really don’t like to be out in this weather. For the me the ideal sailing is a mild breeze, sun and warm temperatures. Otherwise I would be quite happy to be parked up safely in a Marina.

The next morning we woke up to a beautiful sunny day. I disassembled our bed and shook out all the sheets and blankets – having a white shedding dog, who is allowed in beds makes for lots of extra cleaning. I dried our mattresses up in the sun on the deck and aired all our blankets and sheets.

We all went for a walk and I found an abundance of Thyme and Sage growing on the hills as well as lots of Olive Trees. So as usual I did some harvesting of wild Thyme and Sage and cut some Olive leaves for my herbal teas.

When we came back to the boat Tim and I got in the dinghy with our tools to scrape the waterline on the boat. One of the down sides of being in the marina or stationary in one place for too long is that algae and little critters start to build settlements on the hull. We had all sorts of green, slimy decorations hanging off. So it was good to deal to that. I hold the dinghy close to the boat, while Tim scrapes and brushes away at the hull. The water is still too cold for any of us wanting to brave cleaning the underside of the boat.

Tim baked some fresh bread in the afternoon, I updated our budget and we settled in with a snack dinner to watch more of the long way around.

We woke up to another sunny day and I decided it was the day to make water and tackle the washing basket.

Nina decided she wanted a lone pick nick at the shore, which was really pretty with a terraced layout from a previous settlement (maybe a restaurant or resort of some sort). She made some healthy food (to make me happy 😉 and took some of her crafts and pick nick blanket along. She found some wood and once she came back to the boat Tim got his new Tremil Tool out and showed Nina how to carve. Once Nina was satisfied Luca had a go with one of the greenstone looking rocks he found at the beach in Phaselis.

They both had fun for quite some time.

I picked up my water color brush for the first time in a long time and did a drawing that has been swirling around in my head for weeks. It seems like I am going through phases of strongly feeling drawn to writing, drawing, crochet or studying. There seem to be cycles of exploration for me. I am so grateful to have the time to pursue my interests relatively freely while we are on this journey. All of these have been definitely on the backburner or unfulfilled in our previous life. It makes me sad thinking how many people have hidden talents, that may never emerge or properly develop and be expressed in full, because there is simply no time for creative pursuits.

In the evening Martin, Yvette and Jason from Pisces 11 joined us in the Bay to shelter from the winds.

The next day was Sunday and the kids decided they wanted to have fire at the beach with baked potatoes and marshmallows. I decided it had to be for lunch, as the evenings are still so cold and the Mosquitos are not very pleasant coming out at dusk. Tim and kids build their fires. It seems fire making is a passion Tim has passed on to the kids. They both enjoy building their own little ones.

I made a yummy coleslaw salad to go with the baked potatoes and just drove all the supplies to the beach, when Nina came running to me, saying “What’s this on my neck? I can feel something.” Oh, bummer. A tick. Tim got his Swiss Army knife out and found the pliers and I pulled the thing out. Luckily it hadn’t buried its head yet. I think while the kids where looking for firewood it might have crawled onto Nina. I got my oils and homeopathic remedies from the boat, as I know ticks can transmit nasty diseases. I was hopeful though, that because we caught it relatively early that she would be fine. While I went back to the boat to grab these things Lucy tipped over the bowl with the coleslaw. But after that we settled in for a nice afternoon.

The Pisces crew came back from their exploration to the cave nearby and decided to join our little picnic. They grabbed their food and the kids had fun roasting marshmallows, playing games and tending to the fires. Once it got chilly we packed up and retreated to our boats for the evening.

The next 2 days rain was forecast and we had some of it with thunder. They where inside days with work, schooling and cooking, crochet, listening to audiobooks and reading.

Wednesday was a bit nicer, so we decided to walk in the opposite direction. Tim has explored with Nina around the coast for a bit in the dingy and had seen a restaurant. The man told him he was still closed, but we could come for a drink one day. So that is what we did the next day. The walkways are nicely marked out with red and white stripes and we saw lots of hikers in the last 2 weeks walking everywhere. They are mostly from Russia and the Ukraine. Its such a beautiful area, I can totally understand the attraction of walking here. I collected more Thyme and Sage on our way and when we finally arrived at the cafe it turned out it was also a campsite for trampers. We walked a bit further and found a little inlet from the sea where the waves where coming in and out. The kids had a lot of fun running after the water going out and then running back when it was coming in. Lucy joined in the fun and once they had enough we went to have a look at the cafe.

It seemed the man who takes care of it is also into collection herbs, He had a whole floor layed out with Thyme and Sage to dry. We decided to have a drink and enjoy the view from the terrace to the water inlet. I saw new plants, that looked like zucchini or pumpkin. After investigating with the men it turned out it was Gourds. Lots of people here decorate their businesses and restaurants with them. They are beautifully carved and decorated and painted. I just love it. They look so pretty.

Martin, Yvette and Jason had followed us around and joined in for a drink and the 3 kids went off to the inlet again to play with the incoming and outgoing water, only to come back drenched a bit later. Turned out floating the shoes in the water wasn’t such a good idea, because they float away a bit too fast 😉

Before we knew it Thursday, the 18th March came around, which marked my and the kids leaving New Zealand 1 year ago. I can still remember that time so well and how relieved I was once our little family was reunited and we could finally start living on Polly and starting to explore our new lifestyle. It was such an intense lead up to us leaving, all I felt was relief and immense tiredness. Thanks to the Pandemic we got plenty of chance to rest, sleep and restore during our long lockdown. In some ways it seems like the time has gone so fast – in other ways it seem like it has been many years, looking back at all the experiences we have had during that year.

The kids did their schooling in the morning and then Nina helped me to bake a lemon syrup cake and make Dumpling dipping sauce. We had the Pisces crew around for coffee and cake in the afternoon and then moved over to their boat for a delicious dumpling dinner. We came back home happy, content and with full dumpling bellies.

The next morning we woke up to more wind, but at least it was sunny. We where so low in vegie’s and fruit and had no milk left. I was looking forward to tomorrow, when we would sail to Kas to stock up the bilges and fridge. I really don’t like it if we don’t have fresh food. We don’t have enough power for the second fridge and no freezer, so there is very limited storage for fresh food. I made a salad from the last vegies and some spaghettis and bread.

I also sat down and wrote to all live aboard Marina’s in New Zealand to see what our options and costs would be if we managed to sail Polly back to New Zealand and started enquiring about requirements for Lucy on our travels.

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