Bozcaada - Tenedos

December 27th we headed out for a week* of adventure. We started with a ferry from Gelibolu to Lapseki and then travelled nearly an hour south to Geyikili. At Geyikili after a long wait we caught one of three daily Gestas** ferries to the island of Bozcaada.  as the family travel planner and booking agent, I wasn't surprised by the view from the ferry, but I still thought it was a "WOW".

The arrival of the ferry caused a mini rush hour at the harbour and of course that was the moment our mostly uncooperative new Garmin GPS choose to completely lose its mind and quit transmitting.  Thankfully one of our back seaters pointed out that we were right behind a taxi displaying the name of our hotel.  So in a Turkish version of "follow that car", we tailed the taxi until he parked near a construction site on a dead end street.  Getting out, we discovered the driver was also our host at the hotel and the hotel was in fact steps away.

Parking in front of the hotel meant we would have to make two turns down tiny lanes which would have been fine if we were driving something smaller than the X-Trail, maybe a Mini or a Smart Car.  Anyway our host found us a better place to park, far from the drift of construction debris and only a couple of short blocks on cobbled streets from our hotel.

We didn't do much more than nap, take a walk and eat supper the day we arrived. Oh and I had to find the ATMs so I could get enough Turkish Lira to pay our hotel bill in cash. I booked with booking.com which said the hotel would take credit cards but small private hoteliers prefer cash.

Cam is tall.  Bamboo is taller.

The next day after a deluxe Turkish breakfast in the "garden" of the hotel, a small walled patio outside the kitchen, we went for a drive.

With all the talk of refugees in small boats, I was rather distressed to find this torn raft, PFD and a couple of very small mismatched shoes on an otherwise deserted beach.

Up the hill we found a monastery converted into a restaurant. It's a beautiful site with amazing views. We explored and rested and enjoyed the sunshine and the view.

Sam found a bunch of dry leaves to crunch through. 

Nicole, Cam and Sam listened to Johanna who narrated all the things she found over the embankment in the overgrowth of shrubs.

Amazing vistas - everybody got a picture!

And then I turned around and saw a trail leading up.

Me at the top of trail.

These houses near our parking spot seemed deserted, but laundry moved on and off the line.  

The Fortress of Bozcaada

The Fortress of Bozcaada has been in existence since Venetians were in the area in 1464 and perhaps earlier.  The island was under Roman rule from 133 BC.

Turkish "castles" and fortifications are often nothing more than ruins due in part to their age, earthquakes and the incredible cost of upkeep. This one was a nice surprise.  

The castle was renovated by the ministry of culture and tourism between 1965 and 1970. This period was the most recent period of Greek emigration from the island.  It wasn't until 1990 that foreigners were allowed to visit the island.

Bozcaada from the fortress.

These were the only others at the fortress the day we visited.

I don't know how many photos I have of Johanna on top of things - but it must be a lot!

Later we walked the town.  Local jams and wines are for sale. 

When the Turks come to town ... eventually entrance to your Greek Orthodox church is barred.
Here's the wiki link to the history of this island and their Greek inhabitants.

Wine's a big deal on this island. 

Sack of potatoes anyone?

Harbour (Palm Trees)

Lots of fishing boats in the harbour. 

One last story:  We had supper at the same place on the harbour the first night and the last night we were in Bozcaada.  The first night we saw a man come into the restaurant with a whole fish in a plastic grocery bag.  He ended up in the kitchen.  The second night, the same thing happened, but this time I paid attention.  It wasn't long until the same man walked past the restaurant towards the fishing boats docked on the harbour.  This time he had no fish, but grocery bags and a six pack. The fish is fresh and local and fishers are paid in cash.

* Sadly our week away was cut short because of cancelled ferry sailings to Gokceada.  The weather took a turn on December 30, so instead of trading one island for another we came home.

**Just a note about Gestas's website.  Good Luck!  Yes they do have an English page but you're better off translating the Turkish site with Google Translate or better yet get a native Turk to interpret or phone.  The folks who answer the phone have just enough English to tell you they don't speak English.  If you've got a little Turkish, you'll make out okay. 

Here Fishy Fishy Fishy

We decided to go out for lunch today. Dad is still at the rig so Mom, Sam, Johanna and I walked over to the cay house in our village.
After we ordered, and sat down Mom sent me back to the house for the big Turkish/English dictionary.

On my way to the house I noticed that Bayram (the caretaker of the village) was unhitching his boat trailer from his tractor. On my way back he was standing in his boat, on his boat trailer. He spoke to me so I stopped, he carried on in Turkish while I nodded and smiled. He said something else, and threw something in my general direction. It landed five feet away from me. Upon closer inspection I found that it was a little silver fish, about as long as my palm, and still gasping. I looked at Bayram, O.K., why did you throw a fish at me? He made a throwing motion, he wants me to set it free? Bayram continued to talk and I tried to screw up the courage to pick up the gasping fish. I couldn't just leave my new friend in the dirt!
I picked up the fish and nodded to Bayram, I pantomimed setting the fish free and he grinned. I grinned back and went on my way. I gave the book to Mom and explained what had just happened. I then went down to the beach and set the fish free.
I then went back to the cay house and sat down.
Presently Bayram came along again and said hi to Mom and my siblings. He asked about the fish and I confirmed that I had released it. Contrary to my fears he seemed to be OK with the fact that I'd set his sardine free.

The End

Two Weeks - so far so good

I arrived back to Turkey more than a little exhausted from three months in Canada.  Our first two weeks back have given us some time to settle and to enjoy the end of Turkish summer.  When we arrived temperatures were in the low 30's and there wasn't enough air conditioning anywhere.  We've all acclimatized a little and the temperature has dropped to high twenties so we're not needing the ac all the time.

Cam has been living at the rig these past two weeks.  He drops in every day or so to do paperwork or run us to town for groceries.  Speaking of groceries, I bought ketchup this week.  If we go to the big city, I can actually buy Heinz which is a familiar brand from home.  However, locally we usually buy Calve brand.  In Turkey, ketchup is available in regular and spicy.  So far I've carefully avoided buying spicy assuming it would be more flavour than our Canadian palates could bear.  So like I was saying, I bought ketchup since we got back.  In fact, I bought two bottles; both "acili". Ooops!  It certainly livens up home fries! The red swoosh under the word "ketcap" is actually a red pepper another flavour clue.

We've really enjoyed the ocean since we returned.  I did a few days of water aerobics and I've been snorkeling with Nicole and Sam.  I didn't really like snorkeling the first couple of times I tried it last year. I had trouble figuring out how to breathe and I found the water depth disconcerting. I've really enjoyed it since we returned though.  I like following the fishes and it gives a purpose to swimming. Speaking of fishes, Cam took me out for lunch this past week.  We ate fish at one of the restaurants at the harbour in Gelibolu.  When we were finished with our meal, the waiter stood beside our table and frizbee'd the left over toast into the sea. Before the fish were finished, gulls swooped down and carried the bread off.