We quickly became accustomed to the friendly atmosphere in Fethiye. Everyday we walked into town where we were greeted by all the ice cream salesmen and restaurant owners, who soon became so fond of our trip, what South Africa is all about, and what we had done new everyday. Ash became particularly fond of stopping at a particular restaurant that looked after many cats. While she checked in on the cats, I was updated on the Turkish football league that was coming to a end over our stay.
To our knowledge, Fethiye is divided into three smaller areas. The two that we visited is the Marina (where we were based), and then Oleudeniz which is known for its Blue Lagoon beach. The third area (NAME) could almost be described as a British Vegas. All the streets are lined with Tattoo shops, English Breakfast specials and pubs showing Barclays Premier League. As we are visiting UK, we didn't find it necessary to experience the "genuine fake" version in Turkey. For this reason we stuck to visiting Oledeniz and exploring around the Marina.
The first night after our group separated, we went for dinner with an awesome Canadian couple who we met on our tour (Lindsay & Graham), and an Australian guy (Simon) who we met in Istanbul and happened to be in Fethiye at the same time. It was also the FA CUP Final: Man City vs Wigan - so It was my task to find the restaurant, and it obviously had to have the game playing live. In HD. With surround sound. And beers on tap. Man City lost, so while dinner was great, I walked home dragging my lip on the promenade.
If we weren't lying by the pool at the hotel or exploring the town during the day, then we were seeking a great sailing trip for a day. Hence, we had to bargain prices and look at the different boats docked in the marina. We obviously also had to google weather forecasts! We eventually chose a boat, and booked our one day sailing excursion for only 45 TL (R225 each) for 8 hours. To our luck, we woke up to the wind howling and the rain bucketing down. Either Fethiye is like Cape Town, or Googles weather man was a bit confused as to where Fethiye is. It said it was going to be the most perfect day?
After breakfast we decided to still take a stroll down to the marina, because if the weather is too bad to depart - you can still get a refund. On our walk down, the weather suddenly improved drastically and we ended up leaving the marina not by foot, but by boat!
A lunch buffet was included, otherwise drinks and snacks got put onto a tab. We snuck a 1L water on board, but then had to order one coke as Ash and I came to realise very quickly that we don't have sea legs! We sailed past 12 islands and stopped at about four or five for 45 minutes each, to swim and snorkel. Our boat was made up of mainly British tourists and it was eye opening to discover that a lot of them couldn't even swim - or wouldn't attempt it. So, for the few of us that swam; we lapped up the clear blue ocean, jumped off the roof of the boat, and snorkeled through coves. Being in the water or on land was a treat, as the rocking motion was a little struggle.
On our way back the wind started to pick up, and it was clear that while we were blessed with some sun - the weather was turning again. So, the captain and his team turned the engine off and pulled up the sails. It was amazing to experience authentic sailing in the middle of the ocean.
On out last day, we realised that we had been here for too long. Not only because the owner introduced us to new guests as part of the team - and told them that if they needed anything we could help, but also because we only realised today that we were meant to check out yesterday! I guess we've just been so happy here, that we forgot when we were supposed to leave. V-GOs guesthouse had been very kind to us but we were ready to go exploring again.
Our next stop is Bodrum and then a rushed look at Greece before we head into the Balkan region.
* Shengen Zone: 26 European countries which have abolished passport & immigration controls at their common borders. Simply put, one Shengen Visa is required to see the 26 countries. Visitors can only be in the Shengen zone for 90 days, and then you have to be out of it for 90 days before you can go back in. We are therefore in Turkey (non-Shengen) to reduce clocking up too many days in the Shengen Zone. We will leave on either 89 or 90 days - so it's very close. If you are over, they can give you a huge fine and suspend you from coming back for some time.
Here are some photos that were taken by the photographer on the 12 island cruise:
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