Aegean Cruise with Bailey's Tours Adventure &Travel.7th to 14 th September 2013.

              
        AEGEAN CRUISE WITH BAILEY'S TOURS ADVENTURE & TRAVEL 


Introduction to how and why this trip originated.
This trip was basically the result of Viv and myself meeting some great people whilst on our China trip in September 2011. We had both made the decision to leave our two good jobs and to take a year out and travel around the world from east to west, starting in China. (see China blog for more details) We got to know the other group members really well during that month, sharing sleeper trains, monasteries etc, etc. Also our Australian and American friends invited us to visit them, later on in the year if we were nearby. We met up again during our world trip with Barry and Virginia, Marg, Allan and Jeanette, Rey and Laura who all showed us such great hospitality in their home country. We decided to offer them a chance to come and visit us in our home in Didim, Turkey. (As we had sold our home in England and couldn't invite them back to visit us in England at the time) Everything else then fell into place and as planned they all arrived between the 4th and 6th of September 2013 to our Holiday home in Didim . 

I had planned a route out and spent a lot of time getting the best deal I could find from Gulet companies based in Bodrum and chose to do a seven night tour of the southern Dodecanese Islands .

During my research I had also found out that when you take a gulet into Greek waters from Turkey, you can only take 12 people . This led to the first gulet being oversubscribed, I had a waiting list of people just in case someone cancelled. Our numbers game was all resolved however when we went skiing for three months to Bulgaria in January 2013. (See Adventure Travel - Bailey's Tours in Bulgaria Blog) Here our paths crossed with Martin Phelps who runs a ski hire and property management business in Bansko. (you can contact Martin for further information at enquiries@explore-bansko.com) Martin and his wife Leanne were very keen to come on board and suddenly we had two gulets comprising of six Australians, two American Trinnies seven ex pats from Bulgaria or Turkey and eight Brits - a really good mixture of characters - the only thing in common was that they knew Viv and myself !   

The original seven, meeting up again on our balcony in Didim after exactly two years;

     As we had quite a few people staying with us, I produced a pre-gulet itinerary:

The original seven, meeting up again on our balcony in Didim after exactly two years;

A hectic few days, as we had to accommodate 10 people in  our four bed apartment therefore relying  on our friends Pat and Graham  to help us out. with a couple of guests. 

Viv and myself had one night on the sun terrace as there was no room at the inn!

Everyone enjoyed the tranquility of the views from our apartment , looking over the Turkish farm with the geese, sheep, turkeys, and cows keeping us entertained daily:

Notice the geese in the foreground, in line as usual..

(The five cows daily resting place:) under the shade of the Olive trees, with the geese .

On their first visit to Didim, it was essential to visit the Apollon Temple in Didyma:

Apollon Temple

Another beautiful day at the Apollon temple .

A typical Turkish lunch , but this time with a splendid view overlooking the temple of Apollo.

An introduction to Turkey would not be the same without a Turkish bath , where everyone relaxed and enjoyed - especially Barry Ross-

Luckily for the others the photos didn't come out due to the humidity ! I'd arranged an evening meal at the Cafe Del Mar, on the sea front in Didim, where we were also entertained with traditional Turkish dancers.

Turkish Dancers

Plus our own contribution with Laura showing them how it should be done Trinadad and Tobago style - 

A Turkish night would not be the same however without a belly dancer : we were lucky in this respect too as Leanne couldn't wait to show her expertise ......

Leanne showing the belly dancer how to dance

This caused a few of the group to get involved too- Reynold showing his appreciation in the way he knew best.

Martin, not knowing which way to look!

Day 1: BODRUM ;our planned itinerary.
Boarding starts at 15:30 from Bodrum Harbour. Guests who arrive early leave  their luggage at the Boating Turkey Office. On the first day, our boat anchored in Bodrum Port for dinner and overnight stay. Bodrum has a history that goes back to the 12th century B.C. The city which was called 'Halicarnassus' was the birthplace of Herodotus; the 'Father of History' who lived in the 5th century B.C. The 'Mausoleum' of King Mausolus (350 B.C.) one of the Seven Wonders of the World is in this city. The only structure that survived from the Classical Era is the Amphitheatre. It is one of the oldest theatres in Anatolia with a capacity of 13.000 guests and it is still hosting many shows and concerts for the art-lovers of Bodrum. Another place that you should visit when you arrive in Bodrum is the landmark of the city, the 'Castle of Saint Peter'. It is one of the best preserved pieces of architecture with a history dating back to the Middle Ages. 'Myndos Gate' through which Alexander the Great entered Halicarnassus is another place that you should not miss.

We arrived at Bodrum Harbour by coach at 3.00pm as expected and all 23 people quickly got their bearings and found  their allocated cabins.The two gulets were meant to be of the same quality, however due to one of them breaking down the day before I received a telephone call explaining to me that as the charterer I was offered an upgrade. (What an upgrade the Grand Richmond turned out to be as it was pure luxury ,with large air conditioned rooms , flushing toilets and acres of deck space.) That night we had dinner moored up in Bodrum Harbour and the crew on our boat decided to purchase drinks for the trip, we contributed 50 Turkish Lira per head to pay for beer ,wine and soft drinks. It was after dinner when I presented our crew each with their complimentary individually sized Bailey's Tours Captain hat . 

    Nice Hats !

                                      

Day 2: COS (KOS)
After breakfast, you will be informed about the cruise itinerary and the boat. After the customs formalities are completed, we will cruise to Cos Island. Asclepion, known to be the birth place of Hippocrates, who is 'the Father of Medical Sciences', is located here. All the people from the east Mediterranean with health problems were treated in Kos (Ýstankoy). Kos; the second largest island of the 12 islands (Dodecanese islands) has a very mild climate and very fertile lands. The island houses a 560-year-old tree, a 211-year-old fountain and a 290 km long beach. You may take a quick swim in Lambi Beach which is very close to Kos Harbour. Kos is one of the islands with the best night life. Nafklirou, a street full of bars, is always crowded.

 

                                                               

                 

                                        Leaving Turkey and entering Kos didn't quite go to plan ... 

On leaving Turkey we had to first of all go through the Turkish customs - an experience some of us had done before but were not looking forward too. None of us knew however that by the end of the day how one of our crew would have made a name for himself - Martin had traveled all the way through Turkey from Bulgaria, entering by coach and after paying the statutory £10 for a visa, never realized that it had not been date stamped on entry. The result being that he was refused exit initially from Turkey, but after much discussion eventually had to pay 100 TL to get out of the country (initially he was told 500 or go back to Bulgaria !      

Martin, taking the lack of an entry stamp in good spirits, until the reality hit home and money was demanded :

As you can see from Martin's expression - reality had hit home and he was nowhere to be found on the legal immigrant list !

Everyone loved Kos, some searched out everything that there was to see, others the beach or a bar or both . 

Me, posing  next to Kos Harbour - couldn't resist it - wearing my hat to match the anchor .

Grand Richmond Gullet  (Boat one of two)

Jan crew member - La Mer

Rhodes custom house ; Where exactly is Martin ?

Add caption

Steve inside the town walls of  Rhodes

Viv and Diane in Rhodes on the steps of the ruined church.



Half the crew of La Mer , refreshing themselves in Rhodes .


This  parrot first took a liking to Jeannette's  Hat . (it stole a stud out of it )

The same parrot caught the attention of Diane ; who's keen eye spotted the stud being rolled in the parrot's mouth .(Diane for one second forgot she was on holiday from her day job as a dentist !)

Every evening was spent discussing a varied menu of topics ; generally moving on from the fantastic food we were being served, to the great service of the crew to ultimately ending up talking about how to use the flushing pump toilet in our cabins and of course Australian politics !

Both crews together on the Grand Richmond,after I had explained about the daily  evening entertainment schedule .

Typically Dodecanese style buildings -every island had their own version of this style .

Sleeping on deck became more common on the Le Mer  as the week progressed , Allan and Jeanette and Mark and Diane were the most hardy and consistent sleeping on deck seven out of the seven nights !

Our Evening Entertainment in Rhodes was for everyone to wear something that depicted the country they were born in . There were some very subtle and excellent efforts , but the best effort for both impact and colour  was   Barry and Virginia. (Australian life guards !)

                                               Subtle from Allan and Jeanette.

                                                 Patriotic from Viv and Marg

Another Parrot took a like to another hat.....

                                         Another parrot took a like to another hat ...

                                              A local admiring Barry's head ....

                                       Zoe ,dressed as Bouddica ,supported by Viv

Le Mer Girls waiting patiently for their kebab
(Rhodes won the title for the best Kebab Town of our tour )

                                  

Some of the Grand Richmond crew , discussing answers for their team quizzes .

Day 5; SYMI
After customs formalities are completed, we will set sail to Symi Island and anchor at a near bay to Symi Harbour for lunch and a swimming break. We will anchor at Symi Port early in the evening. You can see the shoreline with its neo-classical houses and the peripheral districts. You are going to adore Symi Island for its pine and oak forests and unique bays. You can hire a vehicle to go to the Monastery of Panormitis located in a well-protected bay at the southern part of Simi.

 

Both gulet's entered Symi at different times due to the size of each gulet being different  for docking purposes.Le Mer had to wait two extra hours until a space became available but it didn't matter as both crews agreed it was beautiful and nobody had seen anything like it - just look at the buildings below in the background ...

Approaching Simmi

Wow -Symi !

In Symi i had time to mark the team quizzes that I had so based on two themes ; Nautical and Australian and Uk TV's soaps. (It was already very tight and everyone was awaiting the final one based around the Commonwealth to be held on our last night .

Day 6: DATCA & PALAMUTBUKU & KNIDOS (CNIDUS)
We return to Turkey via Datca. While the captain completes the customs formalities, you may have a walk along Datca Harbour. After lunch, we will cruise to Palamutbuku for a swimming break. Today, our last stop will be Knidos (Cnidus) for dinner and overnight stay. Cnidus was a developed city in science, art and architecture. Eudoxos, a very popular astronomer and maths professor; Dr. Euryphon; Polygontos, a popular painter; Skopas and Bryaksis of Faros, the most famous sculptors of the era; Sostrates, the architect of Alexandrian light house -one of the seven wonders of the World- and Ktesias the doctor, who saved the life of a Persian king from a disaster, lived on this island. Dr. Euryphon and his students founded the second biggest medical science school in Cnidus. The island also hosts the largest sun clock of its time which was erected by Eudoksos. Knidos was the home for Aphrodite's monument and in those times the city was famous for brothels and became popular for sailors and Arabic tradesmen. You may also take a walk on the shore to see the ruins.

 

Datcha

We spent the day in Datcha , many of us going to the local beach and then along the sea front .It was a nice contrast from the Greek islands , more peaceful in some ways ,much more laid back and alot cheaper too.

A very pretty local bar we found in Datcha , next to the harbour sea front


We left Datcha very early in the morning , Some of Le Mer's crew were just waking up

Day 7: POYRAZ HARBOUR & METEOR BAY & BODRUM

We will start to cruise early in the morning to Karaada (Black Island). Breakfast and a swimming break will be at Poyraz Bay which is located on the northern side of the island. This is such a nice bay with its turquoise-blue waters. We will be anchoring at Meteor Bay for lunch which is located on the southern side of the island. There is a meteor hole here and this is how the bay got its name. Here you may jump over the platform into the deep water. You may also take a walk through the underwater caves which are very near to Meteor Bay for a small local fee. We will dock in Bodrum Harbour for dinner and overnight stay.

 

Our captain's decided to change the route , this time due to us being too far away after the windy weather earlier in the week.It didn't matter however as we had more time to spend in Knidus on our way back to Bodrum .

                                               Boarding the speed boat to take us into Knidus harbour .

Knidus Bay ,with the lighthouse in the background .


Marg and Sue joined us on our treck around the ancient ruins .

     
Barry was caught  hosing himself down  from all the salt water .

Trevor and Mark waiting for a beer by The Grand Richmond's bar on our last night , just outside Bodrum in a secluded cove .(we had decided not to go into Bodrum Harbour as it was far too noisy after midnight when all the night clubs started playing VERY loud music.

Day 8: BODRUM
The guests will leave the boat with precious memories by 10:30 after breakfast.

We all couldn't believe the gulet trip was over .We all had really enjoyed the experience ,had seen alot and got to know each other really well.We arrived back in Didim around lunch time and all relaxed ,had refreshing showers and spent a couple of days resting before everyone went their separate ways.

Anyone for tennis ? Mark become an Aussie for the match - (he'd do anything to win }

Final super at the Kamachi restaurant in Altinkum .

I was  pleased with the way the trip went .First of all because in the end it went smoothly , as bringing together people from across the globe is never easy and secondly everyone agreed it was good value .Depending on where and when people arrived in Turkey the average cost per person for the trip was £550  per person.This included full board ,with the drinks being bought by us for the whole trip at around an extra £50 per couple - tremendous value all in all .

People are already asking me to organise another one for next year - I am very tempted and its on the cards,but I'd  better check with the boss first !

Bailey's Tours - Its not the destination its the journey !

(From the 7th to the 14th of September we all had a journey to remember )

stevebailey2747@hotmail.com

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