Back Aboard
It’s been so long since I’ve posted here I’m not sure where to begin. In my last post we’d been home a couple of weeks. It was so wonderful to be in the company of my Alaska friends, enjoy perfect cross-country skiing and marvel at the quality of light winter in Alaska brings. It’s really like nothing I’ve seen elsewhere! We then circled around the western states for a few weeks; Seattle, Washington; Portland, Oregon; Mendocino, California; and Patagonia, Arizona. We visited with parents, aunts and uncles, siblings, and children - hiking, building gardens, cooking and relaxing, before returning to Alaska. I’m not going to lie - it was an exhausting whirlwind, but so wonderful to spend time with everyone.
We then loaded up our luggage - another 5 duffel bags (250 pounds), and returned to Meraki. This time we brought bits and bobs for an assortment of little projects and modifications we wanted to do on the boat. We arrived on a Thursday night and were met at the Izmir airport by our friend Murat and the very next day Meraki was relaunched, and we moved back aboard after sleeping in 15 different beds since leaving the boat in late February. It is good to be home.
The next day the work began. Since launching we’ve installed a removable clothes rod in the shower for a “wet locker”, respliced the dyneema line on our crane, added PLB/AIS units to our PFDs, installed a bow-locker cover on our dinghy, affixed a name to the dinghy and added a foil to it’s motor, hung the required Coast Coast registration numbers in the commissary, modified the folding bikes, organized our new country flags, stain-proofed the seat cushions, mounted the tool boxes and organized the tools, added quick-release straps to our life raft, worked on the watermaker, networked the Garmin system and tightened all the hatches. (This is what retirement looks like!).
For the first few days in Teos there were two sister ships in the marina. N41-06 LIMA belonging to Murat and Halide is a permanent resident, but N41-17 belonging to Bernard and Mary Lee was also there for a few days before leaving for Athens. It was fun to meet some other owners and we had lunch together on our first full day back.
Oh yes, and amidst all of that Tom took a spill through a hatch in the floor and cracked a couple of ribs. Despite this mid-week injury we still managed to squeeze in several visits with our Turkish friends before sadly saying goodbye as we headed west - leaving Turkish waters for the last time.
Tom’s injury forced us to slow down and we lay low for about a week so he could rest and begin to repair. It’s going to take quite a while to completely heal but thanks to our amazing doc who consulted via WhatsApp he is well on the way to recovery.
Our first passage took us to the end of the Çeşme Peninsula to the town of Çeşme. The modern translation of ‘Çeşme’ from Turkish is ‘fountain’, a description of the town almost certainly derived from the plentiful and varied potable water fountains which, through the ages, provided water for both local residents and transient mariners restocking their provisions. The land there is sloping and stony with rocky hills and small lowlands between. There are numerous bays surrounding the town with fine sandy beaches - many dotted with boiling hot springs. The region is famous for its clear blue water, rolling landscapes, cultivated fields of sesame, artichokes, fig and gum trees. The city is diverse and multicultural. It was under the rule of the Lydian, Persian, Pergamon, Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman empires throughout the centuries. Once the dominant port of the region, goods were unloaded from camels and exported to Europe by ship through the Aegean and Mediterranean. Today the town is dominated by the Çeşme Castle which was built in 1508. The castle has been restored and is now home to the Çeşme Archeology Museum where handmade pottery, figures and coins throughout the ages are on display.
It is but 8nm across a channel from Çeşme, Turkey to Chios, Greece. We checked out of Turkey in mid morning, to make the 1+ hour crossing. The winds were high and on our beam with short choppy waves. As we entered Greek waters Tom turned us downwind so I could quickly climb onto the roof to take down our Turkish flag and hang our Q flag (quarantine) and the Greek flag. I scrambled back down as quickly as I could. Once inside the harbor and despite the strong wind and current, somehow Tom managed to thread us between two huge vessels and their stretched heavy lines already criss-crossed and tied to the pier. As we were approaching the agent we’d hired to transact our entry ran out of the Customs Office frantically waving. Apparently in my haste I’d hung the Greek flag upside! I yelled to her that I would fix it once we were tied up as it was all we could do to manage the wind, and avoid the other vessels and long heavy lines. Again she shouted - this time explaining that there is a hefty fine for displaying the flag incorrectly. Damn it - I needed to go fix it. I climbed onto the roof again and frantically lowered the flag and rehung it properly. We tied up, the fine was avoided, and I apologized profusely to the customs agent - I hadn’t meant to insult anyone. You can bet I won’t make that mistake again!
Once we’d officially been cleared into the country we went to the town harbor to tie up. This, too, turned out to be more difficult than anticipated. We knew how to stern tie to a town quay (Med mooring), but the wind and waves were quite strong and it was tricky finding the precise length on the anchor chain coupled with the tautness of the stern lines to make the exact distance needed to deploy our passerella (gangplank) so that we could disembark. We eventually got ourselves balanced and once we were confident we were secure and wouldn’t hit the stone wall behind us, we both lay down for a well earned nap!
Chios is an interesting place. It is considered the most likely birthplace of the great poet Homer - the father of ancient Greek literature. For the ancient Greeks, his works were the very core and essence of their culture. Chios is the fifth largest Greek Island in the Aegean Sea with an area of about 842 square kilometers. The island offers gorgeous beaches, long-stretching valleys, high mountains covered with hiking trails, and deep caves and gorges carved by fast-flowing rivers.
Citrus fruit, olives, and figs are grown; and lemons, oranges, and tangerines are exported. Wine and gum mastic are the traditional products of Chios. The mastic (or mastiha, pronounced mas-tee-ka) trees are the trademark of Chios and the main source of income for many residents of the island. Known for its medicinal properties, its cultivation started in ancient times. This resin is used for different products, especially a very unique chewing gum, as well as spices, alcoholic beverages, sweets and cosmetics. It is a substance widely known and used in the eastern part of the Mediterranean Sea as a medicine for various diseases and, of course, for culinary purposes. Different cuisines, including Greek, Turkish, Egyptian, and Middle Eastern have recipes that include mastiha, and many of their desserts have its particular taste.
We spent three restful days in Chios before moving on. This time to a much needed anchorage. It is always exciting shore tying in a new place and learning about it’s food, its streets and its people. Yet after a few days I yearn for the gentle rolling action of a quiet empty anchorage. I have long been attracted to deserted places and I’m so grateful to have begun this journey in the off season when these places are easily found. I know the height of summer is just around the corner and lots more mariners will appear on the horizon and in these hidden coves, but for now I will relax on the hook and savor this crescent shaped bay and it’s deserted beach.
