Maritime Marine Days!
I'll try to catch up. We have been so busy, but at least we are back in the water, albeit mastless. Tomorrow is supposed to be new, wonderful, beautiful mast puttingin day. We miss our great hotel. Last weekend was Maritime Marine Days. Naval ships from several countries, including the US, were in the harbor. Our rug guy told us that the country's finest symphonic band was playing on the dock. Just as we walked up they were playing "New York! New York". Jerry and I broke into a kick line which made them hurry the conclusion. The band was located on the deck of a large ship tied to the dock, and the audience was sitting on the dock which was packed with people. Did I all ready write this?
We have decided our Turkish eating habits are very healthy. We are addicted to raw cucumber and tomato for breakfast with white cheese, we don't know what it is, one boiled egg, the most wonderful toast ever with cream cheese and honey of which Turkey is a leading producer. There are beehives everywhere probably because there are flowers everywhere. We watch as one kind fades away and another appears. Oh, I forgot, fresh squeezed orange juice which is available in every little bar and stand for about $3,000,000 lira or about $2. A car pulled up in front of our hotel and opened his trunk which was full of oranges. We bought oranges and grapefruit at a stand along the road. The person manning the stand carefully washed the oranged and grapefruit before he gave us big, juicy sections to demonstrate his produce. We peel the grapefruit and eat them au naturale?
Constantine, our Greek friend, came in on the ferry and spent a day with us. Next week, we will be taking the ferry back to Rhodes for Maggy and Morris' wedding unless Gracie is up to the trip. We still have a lot of work to do. Our new electric winch handle has found a permanent home under the table, but we would like to have it working when we take our sails out of storage. Its first great test will be to put the jib back in action. We are having new reefing lines installed for cockpit reefing along with all the other new rigging. We are so anxious to put her through her paces. The engine is running beautifully
Yesterday we scrubbed the bilge which is always a big job. The mechanic had spilled a lot of diesel and other good stuff while installing our new muffler and exhaust elbow. We didn't want it to get into the bay so we used a wet vac, sucked it out and carried it to a, supposedly, good disposal area.
I am still teak oiling everything, but that's never ending, otherwise, our greatest excitement has been watching the development of the baby birds in the nest just over the door to the restaurant.
Keep those stern winds aft!!!
- May 12, 2005