Mystery amphorae and rainbow sneezes.

We are having a time getting this horse out of the barn. We had a brief window to leave the harbor around 7am when the wind subsided, but the hydraulic winch that hauls the anchor up broke. So we stuck around here for the day. Some of us slept in a bit after getting bumped around a bit yesterday. A huge breakfast appeared, complete with waffles and jams and cheeses and olives and all manner of amazing things. We ate our fill and there was still so much on the table.

The water is a pleasant 80 or so degrees here, and we jumped in for our real first swim after standing in the sun for a bit, so it felt cool.  The Mediterranean is not known for its abundant fish life anymore, so I was glad to see a few schools as we swam along the edge of the bay. Have I mentioned that it’s windy? It’s strong enough to pick water up from the surface of the sea and blow it into the air a little, creating rainbows, like rainbow sneezes, so that’s nice. In this protected bay, we’re not getting much swell and not much chop, and it’s actually kind of fun to swim in the wind. For awhile. We could use a break tomorrow, and I think we’ll get one. I was feeling pretty seasick this morning, and spent much of the day waiting for my sea legs. Luckily, I have 2 great partners here in Simon and Heather tha have my back. 

During our two swims here, we spotted some large shards of amphorae; ancient ceramic vessels used 2,000 years ago for transporting things like wine and olive oil. Not long after, we spotted a whole bunch of intact amphorae, lying in about 40 feet of water in the shape of a boat! Could this be a real ancient wreck? Later, we saw four or five more bunches of intact amphorae, along with some suspiciously placed ancient looking underwater columns and statues. We later read that these were placed in 2016 as an underwater art exhibit. But what about those amphorae? More research required. 

Here’s a little video to give you a sense of the wind and chaos we swam in today! Doesn’t quite to it justice, but our swimmers were game and joyous in the melee. - HP

Turkish food keeps surprising me. Just when I think I’ve tried most of it, another dish appears. Hard boiled eggs in yogurt sauce. Creamy beets. Leafy salads with crispy twiggy delicious things. Hot peppers in a cream sauce. What I really like is that Turkish chefs don’t try to pretend to be anything else, and they’re not coming up with the next great cheeseburger. We are in Turkey and we’ll eat Turkish food, dammit. Luckily, it is delicious, thoughtful, varied, oh and healthy. Tonight we paired a nice dry red wine. Banana, chocolate, and caramel ice cream for dessert. 

We watched a swamped, abandoned (I hope) boat float by just before dinner. After dinner we sat around and talked story, as our Hawaiian friends say.  It’s been a wild couple of days, but our guests are still rolling with it. After running these trips for 15 years, I know that this week we’ll have better days than this one. And maybe some disappointments, too. This is the nature of travel and certainly travel on the sea. Our plan is to head to Kekova tomorrow morning, and I hear that it’s awesome up there. 

Our cabin feels cooler tonight. The wind sounds less menacing. We sleep. 

Hopper