Sailing Mediterranean with V-Go Gulets

V-Go arranged a bus to pick me up at my tree house at 10 AM and transfer to a bus to Demre. On board the bus, I chatted with a Colombian guy that gave me a list of places to visit in Columbia! He talked and I became more excited about my trip to his homeland. I have a few cities/villages to visit when I make it to South America! I also met the Australian couple and an American man that would be on the boat with me for the next 4 days. When we arrived in Demre, I had 10 minutes to get cash and any supplies for the trip. Then we went to the harbor to board our boat, the Bluekey. I got lucky, no roommate as there were only 8 of us on a 16 person boat. We were introduced to the others on the boat and the crew. They did a quick rundown of the rules and showed us to our cabins.

 

We all laughed and bonded over drinks and were off to a great start. We sailed a few miles and stopped to swim at Pirate's Cove.

 

As we were relaxing and enjoying tea and biscuits, we saw sea turtles surfacing a few yards away.  I was shocked and not expecting to see a sea turtle! I kept my eyes open and saw another surface a few meters away. I was looking forward to snorkeling to see if I can see any more on the trip.

 

The captain asked if we were ok with spending the night in the bay. No problem, whatever he wanted. No mutiny from any of us! We swam and enjoyed a delicious meal.

Life was great! I could get use to this lifestyle! All of us drank beers and laughed as we learned shared stories from home and our travels. The stars were out and I contemplated sleeping on the deck but decided my cabin would be nice. I curled up and fell to sleep with the gentle rocking of the boat. 

I awoke in the morning to sunlight streaming in my window. I looked out my window to see sunrise. 

Ahhh! It was going to be another beautiful day sailing the sea. Yes, this is the life! I got up and went on deck for an early morning coffee. I sat reflecting on the amazing trip I have had to date. Turkey is fantastic! Each day is more beautiful and amazing than the last day. Yes, this country was winning my heart also! Slowly, everyone started to wake up and the boat became more lively. We joked that the captain had slept in and we had a 2 hour late start. Oh well. All of us were relaxed and enjoying our time. We were served a delicious breakfast (French toast, cheeses, olives, tomatoes, cucumbers, jellies and honey) and then set sail for Kekova Island. As we sailed into the harbor, we could see the remains of an ancient castle. After our carb-loaded breakfast, I was ready for a quick hike to explore the area.

 

 

I walked the steps to the top and explored the ruins with two couples. The views from the top were magnificent with the boats drifting in the harbor, ancient sarcophagus and ruins of the castle.

We returned to the harbor and went back to our sailboat then a quick sail to the sunken city before setting sail in the open waters toward Kas.

As the boat glided over the smooth waters, I wrote two of my Bali updates. Put me on a boat with nothing to do but relax and look what gets done! I would be able to update my blog when we arrived in port. Yipee! We arrived at a swimming spot outside Kas to snorkel and relaxed in the warm sunshine.

We spent the afternoon and night at the harbor in Kas. The sea was rough and the captain thought this would be best. Another delicious meal, conversation and an evening walk around the village before bed.

 

I awoke at 6 AM and got dressed. I could hear the crew preparing the anchor. I went up on deck with the 2 Ahmed's and Tom. We drank coffee as the guys fished. Today was going to be our lucky fishing day! In 30 minutes, they caught dinner. We were all excited! I tried my hand at fishing but got bored and handed it back to the captain. Luckily he caught a second fish. Everyone would eat well tonight!

As we floated, I found myself getting into a habit of eating, swimming, sleeping, swimming, eating, swimming and eating. I was getting lazy but it was nice to just relax. These past months of traveling were catching up with me. 

We sailed to Butterfly valley and the Blue Lagoon. We spent time swimming at each of the beautiful bays before we finally came to out destination at St. Nicholas Island for the evening. We were greeted by the most wonderful sight! 

Banana-nutella pancakes made at our boat! Yummy! We all devoured them and then decided to hike the island before dinner.  Our first stop was one of the churches.

 

I turned to look back and our boat was floating in the bay as the evening sun enveloped the bay in a golden glow.

We hiked to the top of the island and watched as the sun set behind another island. Ahhh. Another end to a beautiful day sailing on the Mediterranean.

Our last night on board, we celebrated Tatiana's birthday and played with a local dog that swam out to our boat. Oscar was a cutie and loved by everyone except the captain (hair and saltwater everywhere did not please him).

 

 

I decided to spend my last night sleeping on the deck. I grabbed my pillows and 2 blankets and fell asleep under the stars and moon as the boat softly rocked me to sleep. 

 

I awoke to a beautiful sunrise over the mountains. 

 

It was a beautiful and relaxing voyage along the coast. I am delighted I followed the recommendations of others and took the V-Go cruise. Our journey ended outside of Fethiye. We were transferred to a mini-bus and into town. I loved sailing and will do it again on another leg of my trip.