Our stop in Kemer was very brief, as this was holiday central for Russians. Friendly, robust and loud people enjoying their new found freedom on jet skis and pirate boats with very loud doof music. We anchored a few miles further west at Phaselis, a picturesque site which was founded in 690BC by colonists from Rhodes. It quickly grew into a prosperous trading city under Roman jurisdiction with many structures remaining. Phaselis is thankfully a preserved site, in contrast with the lack of grace and balance of the walls of reinforced concrete hotels along the rest of the coast. The next morning, we explored the ruins in the town.
Phaselis – aqueduct.
Phaselis – theatre.
Phaselis – main street, all quiet now.
Finike harbour 42 miles to the west was our next stop, where we anchored outside the marina. We had a midnight visit from the Coast Guard who wanted to inspect our documentation – all very courteous. The girls went shopping for provisions in Finike the next morning, while I topped up our diesel tank with 80l of diesel from our jerry cans. Late morning, we motored west to enter the Kekova Roads, a lovely sheltered and indented coastal area behind Kekova Adasi, a four-mile-long island. We anchored at Kale Koy, where a magnificent castle is situated on a steep ridge behind the hamlet below. A fabulous place to explore.
Approaching Kale Koy.
Climbing to the top of the castle – a small theatre inside the walls.
View of the village through the castle wall.
View from the flagstaff at the top.
Lycian sarcophagus near the castle – the hills are littered with these sarcophagi where the dead were interned.
Esprit tied up at the Likya cafe down in the village.
The village.
We then motor sailed to Bayindir Limani, a bay opposite the town of Kas, where we had dinner at the La Moda restaurant. The owner, a friendly and soft spoken retired investment banker from Zurich. We detoured past the harbour of Kastellorizon, a Greek island barely 2 miles off the coast of Turkey. We planned to enter Kas harbour the following morning, but found it packed with tourist tripper boats and gulets. The girls wanted to visit Kas town, so we motored around a peninsula which took us to Kas marina, where there is an anchorage close to town. The girls went sightseeing and shopping, while I started this post on board.
La Moda restaurant.
Kastellorizon harbour.
Kastellorizon town.
Our journey continued west to overnight in Kalkan, have lunch the following day at Butterfly Bay and med mooring at Olu Deniz the night after. Olu Deniz is at the foot of the high Taurus mountains, providing an ideal high altitude launching pad for paragliding enthusiasts, with dozens of parachutes floating down to the beach from early morning to sunset. At night the beach throbs to the moronic beat of popular dance music from the numerous discos and bars – not really the yachties’ scene.
Butterfly Bay.
Julia enjoying the water.
The island of Gemiler Adasi was our last stop before Fethiye. On the slopes of Gemiler Adasi are the extensive ruins of what must have been a sizable Byzantine community and it is interesting to wander around the remains. Part of the island connecting it to the mainland, sank 20m below the sea after an earthquake. There are the remains of no less than four Byzantine churches. Evidently St Nicholas (Santa Claus) visited or stayed on the island.
Background information.
Partially collapsed tunnel connecting two of the churches.
Small theatre at the top.
The girls with the mainland behind.
Darby & Joan at the top.
In Fethiye, we tied up at the Classic Yacht Hotel marina, so that Michelle and Julia could catch their respective flights to Istanbul and London. In Istanbul Michelle would catch a train to Bulgaria, where she would meet up with Karen at the “Meadows in the Mountains” festival. We enjoyed dinner at the hotel with live music provided by a chap on guitar, playing Spanish and Brazilian music faultlessly.
Dinner at the marina.
Annie and I then had a leisurely exploration of the large bay north-west of Fethiye, anchoring in five different bays over five nights, before tying up at the Skopea Marina in Gocek. Gocek is still as pretty as always, but the growth in the number of tourist boats and yachts, have resulted in no less than six packed marinas in this relatively small bay. This has resulted in strict pollution controls on boats, to preserve water quality.
Skopea marina in Gocek.
Gocek town.
Before tourism, Gocek’s mainstay was chromium mining and agriculture – Ataturk in the centre.
32 years ago, in 1986, we chartered a yacht in Rhodes with six friends, to explore the Turkish coast and sailed west to Kusadasi and then east as far as Fethiye. In subsequent sailings, we haven’t sailed further than Gocek, six miles west of Fethiye. This time, we were pleased to have explored the coast further to the east. The changes in this area over time have been remarkable – sometimes not for the better, but generally resulting in better infrastructure and employment for the locals in their vast tourist industry.
Annie & Karen hiking up a mountain.
Destination: Some Lycian rock tombs.
Karen arrived from Bulgaria on the 12th June to spend a week with us on Esprit, while we cruise to Marmaris. Having the girls join us from time to time has been most rewarding, as we have been able to learn of their pursuits in more detail than we ever did in Sydney. For the week she spent with us, we visited numerous bays in the Gulf of Gocek, before she caught a taxi to Dalaman airport to fly to Istanbul for w few days and from there to the Greek island of Corfu.
Esprit anchored med style to the shore.
Another beautiful bay where we tied up at a restaurant jetty.
The friendly restaurant owner who couldn’t do enough for Karen.
An old farmhouse – the people must have been small.
Migros and Carrefour have supermarket boats visiting the anchorages!
More exercise – another bay.
The last stop before Marmaris.
On reaching Marmaris, we came to the end of the Lycian coast. We will spend a few days at the Marmaris Yacht Marina, to do some work on the boat, stock up with food and wine and catch up with Darryl, Mike and Sarah who are also in the marina. Our next post will take you from Marmaris, further west. Cheers for now!
Note: The Turkish Waters Pilot uses the ancient titles for the Turkish Aegean and Mediterranean coasts, rather than the modern ones such as the Blue, Turquoise, Emerald coasts etc. We will use the ancient.
After checking out at Latchi harbour in Cyprus, we did a short 10-mile sail to Pomos fishing harbour in north-western Cyprus, to reduce the next day’s sailing distance to Turkey to 53 miles. We had a pleasant dinner at a restaurant overlooking Pomos harbour.
Pomos harbour.
Pamphylia and Cilicia.
The conditions for the crossing to Turkey were perfect, with a flat sea and starting with an easterly wind, which by midday had swung 180 degrees to a westerly – both on beam reaches. We anchored off Cape Anamur in Turkey at 4:30 pm and had a swim in crystal clear water before sundowners. At 7 am the next morning, we motored 6 nm to the east to anchor at Anamur Kalesi, to visit the castle of Mamure Kalesi. It was built in the 12th century and is one of the best preserved castles on Turkey’s Mediterranean coast.
Sailing to Turkey.
Old castle on the left, the main section was restored by the Ottomans.
The landward side has a moat and drawbridge.
View inside the restored castle, from the old castle.
Old castle and old man, both falling apart.
An hour was enough to explore the castle, before we motored back to Cape Anamur to visit the ruins of ancient Anemurium, founded by the Phoenicians in the 4th century BC. It reached its heyday in the 1st to 4th century AD during Roman times. In 580AD an earthquake damaged the aqueduct and many buildings. Still, it is amazing to walk around the baths, the theatre, the remaining houses and a large necropolis for the inhabitants.
Soul motoring to Cape Anamur.
Anemurium information.
Sarah, Mike and Annie ready to start the long hike.
The theatre – Mike taking a bow after addressing his friends and fellow Romans.
Audience of one.
Sarah and Annie in the tunnels below the theatre.
The aqueduct.
The baths.
Inside the baths.
Fortifications on the hill.
A lot of the buildings were clad in limestone – some of the remnants.
Finally, the cemetery – a grand affair.
We set sail in the afternoon and anchored at Yakacik (ancient Charadus), about 20 miles to the west before motor sailing to Alanya to tie up in Alanya marina the following day. The checking into Turkey through an agent went smoothly, albeit expensively. Turkish transit log cost AUD 155, visa for Australian passport AUD 75, visa for UK passport AUD 25. It gave us the opportunity to wash the boat down, after a dust storm from Syria hit us on the way. We bought local SIM cards and Annie went to have a filling repaired at a local dentist. The marina chandler had passerelles (gangplanks), so we invested in a 2m folding model for local use.
The new gangplank.
Alanya – these guys take their pirate history to the limit.
After two nights we headed west and anchored off Side in a bay between the old town and the modern tourist strip. An early morning walk through this charming old town showed its various stages of settlement, from the early days when this strip of coast to Alanya was a pirate stronghold, until the Romans drove them out and settled here. There are remains of the Temple of Apollo, Roman baths, Theatre, Aqueduct and Agora. Also Byzantine structures like churches etc. All in all, a town worth visiting – can’t get enough of old stones.
Plan of Side.
Temple of Apollo.
The Agora with the theatre in the background.
A house in the old town.
Traffic free street in the old town.
Very sensible – new shopping development with glass paving to show the history below foot.
Dinner at the Cuba bar.
Mehmet the owner married a Cuban lady – we promised we will visit them in Havana.
Our next stop was Antalya, where we tied up in the fishing harbour on Monday the 28th May – just in time for Michelle and her Kiwi cousin Julia, to fly in and hop on board to join us for 10 days of cruising. Or so we thought – they only arrived the following day! We got the date wrong, but it gave us the chance to explore the beautiful old town of Antalya and watch the tourists coming down to visit the quaint little harbour.
40 m high waterfall of the Demer river, just before Antalya.
Approaching Antalya harbour.
View of the harbour from the old town.
View of the harbour from Esprit
The old town.
We are not through with the pirates yet!
Hello, is this the Society for the preservation of Seagulls’ dignity?
Once the girls were on board, we set sail the following day for the Lycian Coast to anchor in the bay south of Kemer Marina.
More in the next post, until then, cheers for now!
Before we realised it, twelve days had passed in Larnaca marina – at the very reasonable cost of 13m x E0.60 = Euro 7.80/day, which equates to AUD 12.48/day. Having done all the sightseeing inland, jobs on the boat and cleaning, we set off again on Monday the 7th May, motor sailing to Limassol, 38nm to the west. We anchored outside the marina, which is very modern and expensive and out of the wind. The next day was spent exploring the marina and the surrounding city area, before motoring 4 miles to Ladies’ Mile Beach.
Limassol, approaching the marina.
Limassol marina houses.
Limassol marina boats – check the scale of the guy washing the decks.
Black boat: “You may be bigger than me, but I have bigger Mickey Mouse ears!”
Sign in a Limassol supermarket – fortunately, I found a youngster to buy me some Retsina.
Let’s dance!
Next day, sailing around the aptly named, Cape Aspro.
The following day we sailed around the Akrotiri Peninsula to anchor in Pissouri Bay, taking shelter from the strong westerly wind. It should be noted that the prevailing wind on the south coast of Cyprus, is a westerly wind, which starts at about 10am and builds up to 25 knots in the afternoon, before dying down again in the evening – leaving an uncomfortable swell in unsheltered anchorages. The coastline is dotted with windfarms of dozens of wind turbines, providing clean energy. Our next stop was to be Coral Bay, but one look at all the Jet skis and tourist boats with blaring music, had us hot footing it to Lara Bay – quiet and undeveloped.
Pissouri Bay
The reason we left Coral Bay.
Esprit anchored in Lara Bay north.
Lara Bay north – turtles come here to lay their eggs to hatch.
Lara Bay south – Van Gogh could have painted this scene.
We motored the 8 miles from Lara Bay to Cape Arnauti, the the north western tip of Cyprus, before anchoring 3 miles down the east coast of the peninsula, at Aphrodite’s Beach (According to legend, Aphrodite comes from this area). Our anchorage opposite Ttakkas’ restaurant was in crystal clear water, on sand, 1.5m under the keel. The fold up bikes were taken ashore and we cycled into Latchi town, about 5 km away, over an undulating landscape of olive trees and wheat fields. Latchi is quite a pretty town, built around the harbour.
Aphrodite Beach – Ttakkas’ restaurant.
The beach in front of Ttakkas.
On the Sunday, we cycled to the 300-year-old village of Neo Chorio, pushing the bikes up the steep hills for the last kilometre, before enjoying fresh pomegranate juice and baklava at an elderly lady’s small taverna. The ride down was quick, so we pushed on to Aphrodite’s pool to look at where the goddess reputedly bathed. Arriving back at Ttakkas’ restaurant we sank a few refreshing Keo beers, before going for a swim.
Stopping for a welcome drink, going up the mountain.
300 year old Neo Chorio mountain village.
Annie inspecting the menu at the Taverna where we stopped for refreshments.
View from Neo Chorio down to Latchi town and harbour.
Arriving at Aphrodite’s bath.
Me and my Aphrodisiac at Aphrodite’s Bath.
Ttakkas’ Sunday special lunch of lamb Kleftiko, which he starts at 6am with lamb cuts and potatoes on top of green Carob branches, bakes in a sealed clay oven for six hours. At 12:30 the Kleftiko oven was opened and we sat down for lunch with Mike and Sarah, who arrived on Soul that morning. The food, wine and company was excellent. After the very smooth house red wine, we had a Nanna nap in the afternoon.
Ttakkas’ uncle plastering the oven closed.
Ttakkas opening the oven 6.5 hours later.
Inside the oven -yum!
Lamb Kleftiko with Mike and Sarah.
View from our lunch table to Esprit and Soul.
Tuesday the 15th of May was a milestone for us – it marked two years since we set sail from Sydney and when I threw away my $7.95 Aldi Limited Edition watch. During this time, we have covered 16,739 nm (31,000 km) by sea, via Papua New Guinea, Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, India, Eritrea, Sudan, Egypt and Cyprus. It has been a wonderful experience for us, meeting the local people in the countries we have visited, as well as sailors from all corners of the world. Health providing and with no grandchildren on the horizon, we estimate our circumnavigation of the world, will keep us busy for the next five years, maybe more. A great transition from work, to eventually chillaxing in retirement.
Latchi harbour approach.
Latchi on the north-west coast was our next stop. Panos, the harbourmaster at Latchi harbour, allocated us a berth at 9 Euro/day, including water and electricity, for 5 days – an absolute bargain, in a lovely harbour/marina. A coastal cycle/walkway leads to Polis town, a couple of kilometres away, where we shopped at the local Papantoniou supermarket. We cycled back with the bikes laden with wine, vegies and believe it or not, some excellent “boerewors” from the butcher, who once worked in South Africa.
Our marina berth with Mario’s furniture to relax on.
Dramatic cloud build up over Latchi every afternoon.
Our neighbours on the marina, Malcolm and Ann from Oxford, came around for drinks and we made a good impact on our white wine collection. Mario the other neighbour, lives on board and has an outdoor patio setting and an excellent collection of 60’s and 70’s hard rock music. The next morning after her morning walk, Annie cycled to Polis again for a haircut, while I dismantled Esprit’s winches to clean the gears in diesel, from the dust from the Red Sea and lubricate them. Quite a messy job and tricky to re-assemble.
Cycling to Polis – old farm buildings next to the road.
Cycling to Polis – prickly pears next to the road.
Sampling the prickly pears.
Polis church.
The winch stripped bare.
Right, all clean, now let’s put this together again – repeat this 4 times!
We have now almost spent a month in Cyprus and would be happy to spend another month here. But Turkey beckons – so on Monday the 21st May we will set sail for the Turkish coast – only 55 nm away.
After our second Suez Canal pilot Alec, was picked up by a pilot boat at 6pm on Monday the 23rd April, we set sail from Port Said for Cyprus, 225 nm to the north-east. The conditions were as good as was predicted, with a light 10-15knot wind allowing us to close reach on a rhumb line course to Cyprus. By 2am on Wednesday the 25th we spotted the loom of the lights of Limassol on the south coast of the island.
Map of Cyprus.
At 9am we made contact with the marina in Larnaca, where we had booked a berth and after a 40-hour transit, we were tied up to a berth at 10am. Soul arrived shortly afterwards and was allocated a berth, directly opposite us on the B-finger. We checked in with the friendly marina staff, then customs and finally the marina police, who handled the immigration formalities. All friendly and efficient and very European. We then went to buy SIM cards for our mobiles with sufficient data for our internet and email use.
Larnaca marina.
The afternoon was spent catching up with sleep, before we hit the town with Mike and Sarah for a fantastic dinner of Cypriot food and wine. The following day was spent cleaning our respective boats inside and out of the layers of desert dust. Next thing, the bikes were taken out and we set off first up, to the tourist information office where a friendly lady supplied us with maps and information about the Republic of Cyprus.
Restored warehouses outside the marina.
Cyprus is the third largest and third most populous island in the Mediterranean and a member of the European Union. It is located south of Turkey, west of Syria and Lebanon, north of Egypt and east of Greece. It is roughly 213 km east to west and 126 km north to south. The Republic of Cyprus is partitioned into two main parts; the area to the south, comprising about 60% of the island’s area, under control of the Republic, and the north, administered by the self-declared Turkish Republic of Cyprus, after the occupation by Turkish forces in 1974. The occupation is viewed as illegal under international law and is recognised only by Turkey.
Old stone buildings in Larnaca.
For us wine lovers, it was good news to find out that the wine history of Cyprus has been alive and ongoing for something like 6,000 years. There are 41 modern wineries presently on the island which produce not only the well-known French white wine varieties like Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon and red varieties like Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Shiraz, but also indigenous Cyprus varieties like Xynisteri, Mavro, Spourtiko and Ofthalmo.
Very old Greek orthodox church just outside Larnaca.
Best of all, these Cypriot wines sell from AUD5.50 to around AUD10.50 for good quality blends in the supermarkets and you aren’t made to feel like a criminal buying wine and beer, as you did in India and the North African countries we passed through. Supermarkets are well stocked, prices are reasonable and the people are friendly and fashionably dressed. There are also a number of yacht chandleries where we could buy the required Navionics SD cards for the Med, cruising guides and all manner of yacht fittings.
Inside the very old church.
We decided Cyprus was definitely worth a 3-4-week visit, inland and cruising along the coast. The 28th April came around, as did my 71st birthday. Annie treated me to a new pair of Ecco shoes and we celebrated suitably with a BBQ on board Esprit with Mike and Sarah. Annie had bought some Cypriot meat dishes with baked potatoes and salads and desserts. Over dinner with bottles of wine, we all agreed that our present lifestyle should continue for as long as our health continues. We do indeed feel fortunate about the present.
Beautiful stone masonry in the old church.
A rental car for three days, shared with Mike and Sarah, allowed us to explore the mountains and wine regions. The first day we headed west along the coast to Zygi and then inland between Larnaca and Limassol to the mountain village of Lefkara, famous for its lace and silver smithing. We explored the narrow streets and shops and had lunch at a taverna, before driving back to Larnaca. The second day we went east to Agio Napa and Cape Gkreko, an area on the east coast popular with Russian and British tourists, packed with hotels and holiday apartments. You could be in any generic tourist destination in the world – not for us.
Approaching Lefkara.
Lunch with Mike and Sarah.
Lefkara street scene.
Agio Napa beach.
The third day we headed west to Limassol where we had to pick up pilot books at a chandlery and some other yacht spares. Then we headed north into the mountains and wine producing areas, tasting wines at the cellar door and buying some indigenous varieties. We had lunch in Omodos, a beautiful mountain village where we explored the narrow streets and visited the monastery. We turned back after visiting Mount Olympos, the highest mountain in Cyprus and popular for snow skiing, before driving back to Larnaca.
Highway to Limassol – colourful Oleander on the verges.
Chapel on the harbour.
Baby girl to be christened in the chapel.
Walking street in Nicosia.
View from our lunch table in Nicosia.
Whilst we had the car, we did a major shop at the local hypermarket, stocking up with local and imported products, wine and beer. The local retsina wines which Annie and I enjoy, sells for about AUD 1.80 per 500ml, so we stocked up! I took the opportunity to borrow Mike’s oil sucking vacuum device, to drain the oil from Esprit’s 54 hp Yanmar, replace the oil and fuel filters and fill up with 5.5 l of fresh oil. While on a roll, I drained and replaced the oil on the 5 hp Mercury outboard and replaced the worn sacrificial anode.
Omodos village.
The monastery in Omodos.
Gents from the monastery.
Street scene Omodos.
Another street scene in Omodos.
Annie on top of Mount Olympos.
Tomorrow we set sail for Limassol. We plan to spend a week to 10 days exploring the south and west coast of Cyprus, before checking out at Pafos and sailing to Turkey.
We will tell you all about the coast in our next post. Cheers for now.
Be careful of the reefs – a wrecked German yacht near Port Ghalib.
We departed Port Ghalib after checking out at 4:30 pm, on Thursday 5th April, in the company of Darryl Laurin from Canada, on “Vimy”, a Beneteau First 47.7 which he has sailed around the world singlehandedly.
Vimy – Beneteau First 47.7
As you sail north in the Red sea to Suez, particularly in the Gulf of Suez, the prevailing north westerly winds blows continuously against you at up to 30 knots, for days on end. This results in long waits for sailors, for the right weather window to sail north. The various forecasting models, six of which we use, predicted a four-day window of light north westerlies starting that evening, hence the sunset departure.
The Gulf of Suez is littered with oil and gas rigs.
Well, as experienced many times before, these models all proved inaccurate, because as we headed out of Port Ghalib, the wind picked up to 20 knots – straight on the nose. This resulted in a bone jarring all-nighter of choppy 2m swells, which we tried to motor sail into obliquely with waves breaking over the boat, crawling along at 2 to 4 knots. So jarring in fact, that one of the ceiling panels in the saloon dropped down! 11:30 am the next morning the wind and the swell decreased, allowing us to sail.
Ceiling drop down – took hours to re-assemble the switches!
It was a relief to sail into Marsa Abu Makhadiq at 5:30 pm. Having only covered 119 nm in 25 hours. We had a good night’s sleep, setting sail again at 5:30 the next morning to take advantage of the lighter winds. A difficult day’s sailing is usually followed by a good day, so we were able to sail across the entrance to the Gulf of Suez in a 16-18 knot wind averaging 7 – 9 knots SOG. The coast of Africa was left behind and we were able to cross the busy shipping lanes between ships, heading for the southern tip of the Sinai Peninsula.
Marsa Abu Makhadiq.
Goodbye Africa.
A brisk sail.
After 40 miles, as we approached the Sinai coast, the wind petered out, so we started the cast iron genoa to make as much northing as possible, before the next N-W buster was predicted to come through at midnight. This got us as far as port El Tor just after sunset, having covered 87 nm. This time the predictions were correct and at midnight the wind started howling, putting strain on our ground tackle. We were surprised to find “Salima 2” a Bavaria 36 at anchor, with an elderly French couple (read, older than me) on board, who have sailed around the world. We first met them in Darwin and have caught up in different ports along the way.
Salima 2 in El Tor.
Port Ghalib to Suez.
Sunday was spent relaxing, servicing the anchor winch, tightening the jib furler and other maintenance items while the wind continued blowing. On the beach was a hotel with water sport equipment and the board sailors were flying past us. We had internet via our phones, so were able to catch up with emails. Also made some calls via satphone to the rellies. The wind pumped continuously through Monday and Tuesday, but on Tuesday after lunch with Darryl at the Moses Bay Hotel, we walked into town to buy fresh produce and provisions. It was a long walk, but we found more or less what we needed in small shops and markets.
Remember when we were addicted to this?
Le Tor shopping precinct.
On Wednesday we bit the bullet and motor sailed across the shipping lanes in an 18 knot NW to Ras Gharib, where spent the night in a very rolly anchorage, hardly able to sleep. The next day, we zig-zagged back to Sinai to anchor at Ras Malab, 60nm up the coast. Here we had Egyptian soldiers with AK47’s inspecting our documents and passports, photographing everything, as evidently, this was a military post!
Approaching Ras Malab.
Just as well Karen & Michelle caught a bus to Cairo in Luxor, as they would have been a week late for their flight to South Africa by now. They were being spoilt in Cape Town by their godmothers and friends. The Adelbert’s lent them a car to drive up the Garden Route and visit the Afrikaburn festival.
Karen & Michelle in Cape Town.
Vimy in the meantime had developed electrical problems – it appears either the alternator or voltage regulator had packed up. So with his batteries running down, Darryl had to manually steer his boat, hoist the anchor by hand and had no instruments or VHF. We escorted him to Suez, where he hoped to get it sorted. Finally, on Friday the 13th April, the wind died and we motored the last 48 nm to Suez city over flat seas. We were by now over the dust sifting down, and the wind coating the boat in a crust of salt and dust.
Vimy ahead of us.
Port control gave us permission to motor to the Suez Sailing and Rowing Club, despite the southbound convoy coming down the canal, with the first ships already exiting the canal. It was intimidating squeezing past these behemoths with barely 60m to spare in the channel. We were met at the yacht club by Karkar, the offsider of Captain Heebi of Prince of the Red Sea, shipping agents. He deftly tied us to a buoy and pulled Esprit’s stern to the small jetty and tied us up. Soon after, the larger than life Captain Heebi appeared and relieved us of USD500 for Suez Canal dues, port clearance, agent’s fees and 160l of diesel, which was promptly delivered the same evening.
The Suez mosque next to the canal.
On Vimy, Darryl cracks open a bottle of Champagne to celebrate our arrival in Suez.
Captain Heebi also arranged a minibus to drive us into Cairo to see the pyramids on the Monday for USD70 per person including entrance fees and lunch. The Saturday was spent cleaning the boat with fresh water whilst being inspected in turn by Customs, Immigration, The Canal Authority and the Army at 8pm! The Canal Authority makes quite a meal of measuring your boat to determine the fees due, to transit the 162 km long canal. Ours was calculated at USD200, which didn’t seem much, when we were told the big Maersk container vessels pay between USD500,000 to 800,000 to transit the canal. Good revenue earner for the Egyptian nation.
The rundown Suez yacht club.
Karkar and Captain Heebi.
Esprit and Soul tied up to the jetty next to the canal.
After coffee Sunday morning on Soul, we walked a kilometre to the nearest supermarket which was very modern, having opened in January. Surprisingly, the supermarket and two others, are ventures of the Egyptian 3rd Army. The shop assistants are all national servicemen/women doing their one-year military service after college! The manager (commanding officer) delegated Abu, who spoke English fluently, to accompany us through the shop and answer any questions – not many products have English text on it. We were quite a sensation – they have not had any customers spending AUD70 on groceries.
Mike waiting for the supermarket to open.
Not aware the supermarket has opened – Sarah and Annie.
A novelty person for local kids at the supermarket.
The trip to Cairo on the Monday was interesting in many respects. All along the road from Suez to Cairo, the areas on both sides of the road were pockmarked by piles of building rubble and rubbish. It appears there are no demarcated rubbish tips and the people therefore dump everything next to the roads. Cairo has a metropolitan population of 21 million people, living in a large rubbish dump, with half built buildings as far as the eye can see. The dreary dust covered structures are relieved by thousands of billboards along the roads, providing the only colour. The Nile flowing through Cairo.
Urban architecture.
But then you arrive at the Pyramids of Giza: These 5,000 year old structures are truly amazing. It begs the question how such an advanced civilisation from so long ago, building such complex structures, could have degenerated into the chaotic and unplanned city that Cairo is today. Mike and Sarah from Soul, Darryl from Vimy and ourselves, negotiated a guide and camels at $25 per person to take us around this vast area, having espied the sandy terrain we would otherwise, have to negotiate by foot. The camel ride is an experience in itself and not recommended for persons suffering from hemorrhoids. You do walk like an Egyptian after extended periods in the saddle.
Camel train.
Walking like an Egyptian.
Khafre’s pyramid. The limestone cap is what remain of the cladding, which was stripped by later generations for buildings.
Close up of – Khafre’s pyramid, 143m high.
The ladies had to touch the great pyramid of Khufu.
Ahab and Fatima with their camel called Clyde.
Our tickets also included a visit to the Sphinx and the museum underneath it. Then, there was a bit of a frisson with our guide about the size of his tip – everyone tries to milk you for every piaster they can get. Afterwards, we had a lovely lunch, compliments of Captain Heebi, before fighting the traffic back to Suez, where we arrived at 5pm. Thoroughly parched and aching for beers, we decamped to the spacious deck on Soul, where after the beers, many soothing wines were consumed with gusto.
Below the Sphinx.
The Sphinx guarding the entrance to the pyramids.
Bye-bye Clyde!
The Suez Canal
We were planning to stay in Suez for four days, but we ended up staying for nine days, due to very high N-W winds off Port Said and on our route to Cyprus. This gave us the chance to do some maintenance work on the dinghy outboard, the deck wash pump and also do a couple of loads of washing in the yacht club laundry. It also provided a non-stop view of all sizes of vessels steaming past us in the canal, a 100m away.
American warship heading south.
Container vessel making the warship appear like a Dinky toy.
And then, “Majestic Maersk”, when launched in 2013, at 400m, the longest ship in the world. (20,566 TEU containers)
We also braved the streets of Suez city on our bikes in search of a chandlery. Not recommended, as we saw not a single other bicycle and our presence on the road resulted in rubbernecking by vehicle drivers, causing near collisions. Also, in a city where the burqa is quite common, a woman on a bike dressed in shorts and a shirt, raised some lecherous banter from the Arab studs in their clapped out cars.
Suez canal route.
Ahmed, a canal pilot came on board Esprit on Sunday morning at 10am, the 22nd April and after the main convoy of ships had passed, we headed north in the canal to Ismailia where we arrived at 6pm for a compulsory overnight stop for yachts. Ahmed wasn’t backward in coming forward: As soon as we departed Suez, he asked for a pair of sunglasses and a packet of cigarettes and matches. Five minutes later it was for coffee (only drinks Nescafe) and cake. Annie offered him biscuits, which he grudgingly accepted. There followed a string of requests for orange juice, tea and lunch, which he woolfed down, but didn’t enjoy!
Ahmed.
Ahmed was proud to tell us that he had been working for the Suez Canal Authority for 21 years, that they paid well and that he was arranging for his son to get a job there as well. On arrival in Ismailia, the usual arguments then ensued about baksheesh, which really puts a damper on everyone’s Egyptian experience. The four yachts who were transiting together agreed to provide food and water, and tip the pilots USD10 each plus a packet of cigarettes and clothing. They were after all earning salaries from the SCA.
12:00 and a warship leads the southbound convoy.
Esprit carefully passed these monsters.
We were warned about Somali pirates, but not about the Egyptian pirates. The pilots demanded between USD20 – 50 each for their eight hours of work. The guy who caught our lines at the jetty, demanded USD5 and the SCA yacht club manager wanted to rip us off for more than the standard SCA, USD21 per night.
The well maintained SCA yacht club at Ismailia.
The next morning at 5am, when we were supposed to depart Ismailia for Port Said, we were informed that a warship was transiting the canal and that we will be informed later when we could leave. We phoned Captain Heebi who, after numerous calls managed to get us back in the canal after the warship had passed, at 11am. A new pilot Alec, came on board to accompany us to Port Said where we arrived at 6pm. Since the wars with Israel, the Egyptians have put numerous rapid deployment canal bridges in place – see below:
Mk. 1 bridges.
Mk. 2 swing bridge.
Mk. 3 floating bridge.
The new high bridge – still no traffic on it!
To summarise, for sailors who may be planning a similar trip – April 2018 costs for the Suez Canal in US$:
Suez marina 9 nights @ $21: $189
Canal Authority for a 44’ (13m) monohull: $200
Port clearance: $40
Agents fee (Prince of the Red Sea): $80
Ismailia marina 1 night: $21
Baksheesh pilots: $20 plus cigarettes, food, drinks and clothes.
Midnight Wednesday 28th March and we tied up at the Port Control and Customs jetty in Port Ghalib, Egypt. We had sent emails advising the authorities of our ETA and tried to call by sat phone to find out if a night entry into port would be in order. No response, so we navigated in to find a couple of officials waiting for us on the jetty and welcoming us warmly. We gave them our passports, ships rego and crew list and were told they would be back the next morning at nine, with all the paperwork. We had a celebratory drink with Mike and Sarah on Soul who had arrived with us, went to bed and slept like logs after the 43-hour passage.
Dust storm – Port office and Esprit.
The winds were kind to us as we had 15 knots of easterlies on the beam for the 280nm route – blogs often report winds of 35 knot northerlies on the nose, blowing for days on end. We woke up on Thursday the 29th March, four weeks to the day since we left Cochin in India, to find that the wind had turned west overnight, bringing in dust from the desert, covering everything under a blanket of dust. The sun could not be seen through the dust cloud and we decided to chill for the day, or until the dust cleared, before cleaning up.
Port officials with Mike of Soul.
Esprit covered in dust.
At about 2pm the dust started clearing after a wind change to the north east. Our visas, customs clearance and other formalities were completed after 5 hours. Lots of paperwork, but very friendly officials. We were allocated two stern to tie ups on the long break wall of the bar and restaurant strip – right in front of the “Hakuna Matata” bar where people partied until the wee hours. We had a late lunch and stroll through the commercial centre next to three huge resorts. Sundowners with “Soul” and “Vimy” was followed by dinner on shore at very reasonable prices. We bought data for our modem and reserved a guided tour to Luxor, about 4.5 hours inland on the Nile river.
Girls on land in Port Ghalib.
Sundowners with Mike & Sarah opposite the boats.
Paddle boarding.
Snorkeling.
Haircut for dad.
Saturday at 5:30am, Abdul the driver picked us up at the marina and set off at a cracking pace through the desert. Annie had a similar Kia Rondo in Sydney but never drove it at more than 100km/h. Not Abdul – he put pedal to the metal and cruised at 160km/h, on roads with potholes, negative camber and overtaking on blind corners. I wished I had a handful of Valium to relax or fall asleep.
Formula one Kia.
Some greenery in the mountains.
Miraculously, we arrived in Luxor intact. We picked up our guide Bahy, who took us to the Valley of the Kings – a vast necropolis where many kings from 2000 BC onwards were buried. The story of Howard Carter’s discovery of the boy-king Tutankhamun in 1922 is well known. We visited his tomb, as well as the tombs of Ramesses 5 and 6, and Horemheb.
Entering the valley of the Kings.
Tomb of Horemheb.
Sarcophagus room of Ramesses 5.
Two friendly guards showing Michelle how to wrap her scarf.
Walk like Egyptians.
The Colossi of Memnon.
After lunch we drove to another valley where the Temple of Queen Hatshepsut was located. The adjoining temple of Mentuhotep 2, was not rebuilt after the earthquake of 27BC.
Temple of Hatshepsut.
See, we were there!
The colonnade.
We checked into the Lotus Luxor hotel where our room balconies looked down on the Nile. We had a swim, showers and sundowners before bedtime. Lunch was late and huge, so we skipped dinner.
Dhows on the Nile – from our balcony.
The following morning after breakfast we set of to the Karnak temple, the largest temple complex in the world, comprising 25 temples, built over thirteen hundred years. I was gobsmacked by the scale of this site. In my first year of architecture, we had to acquire Banister Fletcher’s bible “A history of Architecture” and I used to marvel at this temple complex, hoping one day to clap eyes onto it – well, here I was, overwhelmed!
Walking to the entrance of Karnak.
Hieroglyphics.
The hypostyle hall – 134 gigantic columns, 21m tall.
One of the two remaining obelisks – each carved out of one piece of granite.
Reconstructed statue of a Pharaoh.
For an encore, we visited the Luxor museum where a lot of the treasures of these sites are on display – many though were installed in the museum in Cairo, which we hope to visit when we go to see the pyramids.
Luxor museum.
Pharaoh no. ? (There were 30 dynasties)
Amenhotep 3 with the god Sobek – 18th dynasty.
The middle coffin of Ramesses 6.
We also visited an artisan community who still produce artefacts in stone, in the traditional manner.
Craftsmen at work with traditional tools.
Finally, we were treated to a cruise on the Nile before heading back at breakneck speed to Port Ghalib, compliments of Abdul – with me now ensconced in the back seat, my eyes glued to a book. Karen and Michelle took a bus from Luxor to Cairo from where they will fly to South Africa, for the “Africa Burn” festival in the Karoo.
Obligatory Nile cruise.
Michelle & Karen on their way to Cairo.
Racing back through the desert.
The boat felt empty without them on board, but we started cleaning up the dust, bought groceries and wine (surprisingly palatable Egyptian wines) before giving the Port Captain 48 hours’ notice of our departure to Suez on Thursday – he has to keep the Coast Guard happy, hence the timeous notification.
The friendly Port captain.
View from the port captain’s office to the harbour entry – note the reefs.
View to the marina.
View to the resorts.
Across the marina, the desert.
The modern souk shopping precinct.
More shops.
A tourist boat.
Cheers until we post a final blog on Egypt, after the Suez Canal and before sailing to Cyprus.
