Baba

Gary and Will hanging out.

Will made it!

Its been two months since our last blog. Reason being we received many visitors this summer. We saw a total of 5 different groups this summer. So that we catch up on our blog to current time we decided to give a quick over view of each visit and our adventures. First up, Mr. William Planck, my father. Will landed in Izmir when school was still in session.

Backgammon

For the first few days Gary and Will spent the days together walking around, resting and relearning backgammon. Finally I finished up school. Whew! We took a bus to the coastal town of Bodrum where we boarded a gullet for a four day blue cruise. This was spectacular. We left Bodrum and started sailing south. We spent the days sailing in and out of coves, swimming, reading and relaxing. Emre, the cook was a wizard in the kitchen and each meal was tasty and fresh. The boat had the capacity to sleep 12 people but we were lucky to only have 9. It was truly an unforgettable adventure. The boat left us of at a tiny town called Karacasogut about 15 miles outside of Marmaris.

Our Boat.

What a gullet looks like.

On board the blue cruise

swimming

A quick boat ride to shore for some refreshments.

On Cleopatra's Island

Amazon Club

We took a small bus to Marmaris and then switched buses to start heading west across the peninsula to our next stop. Next stop, Amazon Club. This place was in the middle of nowhere and was extremely private and beautiful. For two nights we slept in a gypsy caravan (looks like a caboose). It had a glass ceiling so you can lay in bed and watch the stars. They also had a private beach with sea kayaks and a swimming pool. It was like fancy camping. Our original plan was to stay here two nights and then head back to Izmir. After much discussion we decided to continue west along the coast until we hit a small village called Datça on the coast. We had never been here before but heard it was lovely. The people at the Amazon club quickly helped us arrange a hotel and for some transportation out of Amazon. They dropped us of on the side of the highway. Will was excited as this reminded him of his wild and free days traveling by thumb across the United States. After much waiting a van came and picked us up. They had exactly three seats left. Datça was a great town with many yachts making stop overs there from around the world.

Datça

There were people from the United States, Africa and Europe. We soon found out that there was a ferry system between Datça and Bodrum. We signed up for next day service.

The ferry from Datca to Bodrum.

 The ferry was a pleasurable two hour ride. Once we were back in Bodrum we visited the castle there and the underwater museum. Finally we boarded a bus to head back to Izmir, a week later than when we first arrived to Bodrum. Phew! We made it. Will still had a few days left in Turkey before he was to fly out. We decided he wasn't tired enough and needed to see more sites. One day we rented a car and went to Ephesus and Şirince.

Will and Gary in Ephesus . It was hot hot hot!

In Şirince we tried stuffed squash blossoms that were incredible. We decided to take the longer coastal drive home as it was still light and very very hot. After a quick dip in the ocean we rode home to Izmir happy as clams in our wet bathing suits eating ice cream. Another great day. On Will's last full day we stayed in Izmir. We decided to head out to the Bazaar and do some shopping. With shopping complete we spent the rest of the afternoon drinking Turkish coffee and playing backgammon. The two weeks had flown by. Sadly, we put Baba (father in Turkish) in a cab in the wee hours in the morning and off he went back to New York. It was a great visit but it went by too fast.  Till next time dad!