All Kashed Up ....................or Kas Here We Come

Kalkan was a great spot with us taking up a great position just around from Ross and Jo.
late afternoon we all tikkied around to Ross and Jo's in a beautiful bay beside two very rundown resorts which is stretching the description a little. Forming a massive backdrop behind the anchorage was a cliff containing necropoli which we were keen to try to get up to but did seem rather high and beyond our abilities. We landed on the resort dock with a promise to return for beers after the walk and me and the womenfolk took off in the direction of the cliff while Ross and Don Robbie chased photos in the glorious sunsetting light via dinghy.

The climb was much easier and less hazardous than we had ever imagined and in a very short space of time we were high on the cliff marvelling at the extensive views and the incredible nature of these tombs designed to present the occupiers to the sun for as much of the time as possible in their afterlife. Well they did that we were bathed in golden light high above the bay feeling very satisfied that we had made the effort and also a shade like a scene from Tomb robbers.
We returned to the resort and had a few rounds of drinks as payment for the access. The host ran off and returned grinning from ear tot ear with his digital camera and asked if he could take a shot of us leering it up.He was well pleased with the exuberance of the group as we were the only people there in what for the Turks is a very bad season and he happily displayed our smiling group photo announcing it was "perfect for Internet". Can't say we hadn't done our bit for the local economy.

Back at the boat we scrubbed up for dinner on sojourn and got into our Turkish regalia. hats for men and belly dancing scarves for the women.
Jo and Ross produced their usual major effort with us all sitting in the cockpit while Ross addressed the lamb jobs in a crematorial fashion on the Bar B Que in keeping with the necropli theme of the early evening.It was a great night and as often with the Blackmans culminated in Ross on guitar and Don Robbie the trusted side kick helping out with some spirited dance moves as is the custom in this country for the male to also dance or play a female dancing role.
The cockpit aft wires were not in place. Don was exuberant and ambitious in his manoeuvres, it was dark and the transom of the Beneteau is steep and mysterious beyond the cockpit.
Don disappeared into the night for an awful few seconds then surfaced as Fletch readied to dive in if a reappearance had taken any longer.
He returned to the transom apparently unharmed but battered and announced that in all probability his brand new Canon compact had probably failed the float test.

We quickly withdrew the card so at least the shots were safe and a rapid discussion ensued on how best to deal with an aquatic piece of high tech electronics never intended for more than the humidiity of an Auckland living room. My suggestion based on the submergence experience of three cell phones was the isopropyl alcohol squirt shake dry routine...which has never proved successful anyway, but in the absence of isoprpryl Don opted for a steady soaking in gin followed by time out in the warmth of the engine space....sans battery to prevent meltdown as the newly formed circuits took out what life was left.
Don was well, it was only a camera and we had had a great night. Two songs later with no dancing we returned to Ocean Free.
The next morning we released the stern lines with a quick and welcome swim and started motoring for Kas township.
Kas is a beautiful little breakwater port like Kalkan but smaller and prettier in some ways and lies just one mile of Kastellorizon the Greek island and our destination for tomorrow.
Fletch had us on the wall without fuss as we combined on lines and shifting of dingies to slide in and secure in short time . On one side a German couple with over heating problems to whom I offered the ususal diagnostics for raw water cooling troubles and on the other a small Turkish family group in an old boat abut Mama out the back carefully filleting the first of the two tuna we saw they had caught. They were obliging in which lure they used but success escapes us still. We wandered the town in extreme heat till found a local restaurant out the back and had the large oval baked pitta with lamb and cheese served with lashings of beer and ice cold water. Life felt good. we talked away the afternoon caught up with the others who were just starting their lunch and returned to the boat with produce and beers.
Once again we swam on the crude breakwater side of the marina in the sumptuously cool ocean after melting in the heat as we discovered a decrepit iron ladder down the rocks fro which we could launch ourselves into the tide. You have to wonder what response such behaviour would produce back at Westhaven on the outside wall. Here it is a crowded prime site with loungers and drink service.
We will dine ashore in a local restaurant and tomorrow off to Greece.We plan to use the local accepted trick and change flags and slide on in back into EU just like everyone else as it is so close and the traffic is so constant in both directions. we will see how we go.