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Published: October 20th 2021
Foxtrot Dock Is Home For Now
Everyone "squeezed" in to our spacesAs is the case when we come into a port, we always check for the wi-fi password and when is the local fruit and vegetable market. We found that the large market is held on Thursdays and a smaller version is at the same location on Sundays. With arriving here on Tuesday, we definitely knew what we would be doing Thursday morning. Now, what to do on Wednesday? Well, with Marmaris being a place we have never been before we decided to hop on the small bus that picks you up in front of the marina every hour on the half hour and takes you to town (drops you off in front a good size grocery store, Migros) for the whopping price of 5.75 TL (62 cents each). It is about a 20-minute ride and then to return you can pick it up at the same place (or flag it down along the route) on the hour. Even with knowing we were heading in the next day to the market, we figured we could “splurge” and go in to town a few times a week and definitely not break the bank!
We just took the time to wander
A Few Canals Here in Marmaris
not sure if the dolphin fountains still work around downtown and very quickly found their “Grand Bazaar”. It is all under cover and is quite a maze of streets lined every inch of the way with shops selling everything from winter coats, pottery, lots of jewelry, Turkish towels, Turkish Delight and lots of clothing stores. We are now used to having vendors engage you in conversation to get you to come into their shop. We were “strong” and made it through without buying anything that day, but told them we were going to be around for some time so will be through the bazaar again. One of the first things that struck us when we got off the bus downtown was the difference in architecture. For some reason both of us said it reminded us somewhat of Germany with the roof lines. There are also some canals running though that reminded us of the Netherlands especially when you see bicycles parked on the bridges. Funny, how you get reminded of different places that you have traveled with the smallest things. We did take a wander around the grocery store just to get a look around to see what is available. It is obvious we won’t have any problem
with getting what we need here. We try as much as possible to buy “local” but we do have to laugh as some of the items that are easily recognizable such as Jif peanut butter and of a can of Heinz beans (even if it is spelled a little different)
We were on the bus into town on Thursday morning as it was “Market Day”. We got dropped off at the same place and then had to walk to the market location but it was a pleasant walk (and much shorter than our walk to the market in Fethiye). This market is all indoors and at first glance it didn’t seem as big, but once inside we could see that there were many rows to explore! As in Fethiye, you can get everything from fruits, vegetables, cheeses, eggs and a few new items such as a thin pancake that you buy and then stuff at home. I didn’t get one this time, but may have to try it in the future. We always try to be careful with what we buy as we have a limited amount of storage on Tsamaya, but it seems like we always come loaded
Bob Spotted This Baby Swing - Interesting Placement!
Keep it out of the porch, but it makes you look twice! down with plenty. With the prices being so inexpensive it is hard to resist. As an example of prices, we got a kilo (2.2 lbs.) of wonderfully sweet seedless grapes for $1.07. We are always amazed when we leave the market of how little we have spent and walk away with 2 full shopping bags full of fresh produce.
The big difference we will have to get used to here in Marmaris is that we have to watch our time in order to catch the bus back to the boatyard as it leaves only once every hour – different than in Fethiye where we would just walk back. We are just happy to have the bus and it will actually make it easier when we have any heavy items to buy as won’t have to carry it far.
We have had the chance to get together with Dawn and Joe from SV Pixie Dust a couple of times now which has been very enjoyable. Along with them we met another American couple here and numerous others from Germany, UK, Israel, and Turkey. With Covid people had been staying away like we were but recently Turkey opened up for
the UK travelers and as a result we are hearing more “British English” on the docks now. Everyone has been anxious to get back to check on their boats – some are taking some time to get a little sailing in, while others are working on getting the boat ready to take out of the water for the winter. When we first arrived, the marina was quite quiet and empty of people, but every day we are seeing more and more people. The marina lift has also been working every day for long hours pulling boats out of the water and we see many tradespeople working on the boats. We haven’t scheduled our return flight to the US yet, but will be working on that soon as that will help determine when the boat will be pulled out of the water. Bob will want to replace the zincs, put a sealer on the prop and be here when they pull the boat. This year will be different though as we will have them put the boat back in the water before we return in the spring which we have never done before. It is obvious with the boats that they
Anyone for Cheese or Grapes?
Thursday market is definitely popular here are moving here, they are definitely very experienced and having it back in the water when we return will make it simpler to be able to live on board again without climbing ladders while it is on the hard.
As I mentioned in the last blog, the employee dining area is very inexpensive and they actually publish the weekly menu so we can see what is being offered. As a result, some days when working on the boat, we decided that it was just easier to go over and eat with the employees. The food is tasty and filling and it means we don’t have to do any cooking or cleaning up in the galley. I remind Bob every once in a while, though that with all that fresh produce we get at the market we do need to eat onboard sometimes!
Since our time here with the help of Erika we have lined up a rigger that will replace all of the standing rigging on the boat. It is an expensive project, but with Tsamaya being built in 1997 we definitely need to get it replaced (if not for our peace of mind, but the insurance company
thinks so too!) The stainless that will be used is being imported therefore we had to pay for the materials now so the they will definitely be here in the Spring when the boat is back the water which is where the boat needs to be to get the job done. We now are getting prices for replacement anchor chain and there are a few more things that will need to be taken care of before we take off in the Spring (i.e. – re-certification of our life raft, bottom paint etc.)
We have found that the marina here has a swimming pool but we haven’t taken advantage of it – we are going to be taking a few days off to go to explore another area of Turkey – Cappadocia – so when we return, we will see if it is still warm enough to get in the water as it is an outdoor pool. We were hesitate of coming to Marmaris with it being out of town, but we are already finding that with it being so easy to get into town, the many here chandleries to choose from and the ease of finding tradespeople it will
be a good stay.
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