8. Ayran, Sut, and a Waiter!

Thursday morning I was so excited as I finally solved the mystery of the curdling milk that Steve and I had experienced.  I had discovered that the Turkish word for milk is Sut.  I couldnt see this anywhere on the containers (that looked just like a one litre milk carton!) I had been buying.  I had also looked for "Sut" a couple of times at the Supermarket and had not seen it.  The other mysterious thing was that there was no translation that I could find of Ayran which was the name all over the containers I bought.  While investigaing some of the detail of the 12 Island Tour this morning for the blog I randomly came across a description of Ayran, which is a popular drink in these parts.  This consists of, now wait for it and remember we were putting this in our coffee!!  Ayran is yoghurt, coldwater and salt...eek and blah!  When I had finished laughing my legs off I raced to the Supermarket and today they had Sut.  I took it home and had 3 mugs of coffee, one after the other...just because I could....without the curdled milk...:)!

I tried to make  this day and my few remaining days go as slowly as possible.  I go slowly and enjoy every moment...the non- curdled coffee, my breakfast, time by the pool, time in the gym...I even took time and washed my yoga mat...boy was that overdue...eek!

Friday sees me back at  Dice in the evening enjoying a beautiful light in the sky as I watch the sun set... strangely no camera tonight though...oops!  Sometimes I think its good to just enjoy these things rather than view them from behind a camera.  As Yasin was being very friendly tonight I decided to stay for dinner.  After chatting a bit in the restaurant again we arranged for him to come over after work.  Thats 12.30am eek!  Ill have to have a nap before he gets there.  Yasin speaks reasonably good English and we had a really nice time chatting about everything from politics, family, travel, Dice and there were lots of laughs which made me realise how important I think it is that someone can make me laugh.  We chatted until 4.30am and then I had to send him home so I could get some sleep!!

Saturday was another typical day in Turkey for me except for lack of sleep  Relaxed, hot and sunny.  It felt right today to have a self created ritual to let go of some emotions I was hanging on to...it felt good!!

It seemed everywhere I went today people wanted to give me things a complimentary starter, a picture hologram, a hessian bag as I keep refusing plastic.  I appreciated it, dont get me wrong but as Im trying to work out how to get my 19.3kg of luggage down to 15kg (the luggage limit on the cheap flight I booked, darn that fine print!!).  I just had to go back to Ayyash to have more yummy beef stew  It  seems slightly cooler now and I noticed it is only  27 when I am out for dinner.  By midnight, when I got up for another visit from Yasin, I was not feeling so great.  I had a runny nose and was exhausted, nothing to do with 4 hours sleep the night before Im sure.  Yasin came stocked with wine and sarma (stuffed vine leaves). He knows the way to a girl's heart, rah!  He said he had to go help a friend just for half an hour, so I take my opportunity and suggested that maybe he could come back tomorrow.  I relieved him of the wine and sarma though, promising not to eat or drink any of it before he returned...;)  He was fine with that so we planned to meet tomorrow night.  I headed back to bed and had a fitful sleep, not exclusively from being unwell but due to a pesky mosquito. 

Sunday I slept until I woke up naturally rather than set an alarm, I do a gentle yoga session and use a full lime in my daily tonic that I take (lime or lemon juice, honey and warm water).  I feel better but decide to rest up so no laps in the pool or gym today.  I have breakfast but am not overly hungry. I decide that although Im not sure if its viral or bacterial to take the antibiotics that are part of the pharmacy my doctor shipped me off overseas with (mostly for Bali)!  Im not sure what helped but definitely felt better by the end of the day which is good as my midnight visitor arrived as planned....and that is all she wrote...:)!! 

7. Gocek 12 Island Tour and Rain!

Up early today (Wednesday 21 September) to get yoga done and outta here to catch the boat Aviva 2 at 10am to be taken on the “12 Island” tour out from Gocek.  Its a little cloudy but still beautifully warm.  I get to the boat about 9.40am, buy my ticket for 40 TL (about AUD $23); get a spot on the top deck, planting myself at the front in a bean bag; and sent my dear brother a Happy Birthday message before the day ended in Australia!  There’s a lot to be said about bean bags on a boat...very comfortable!  Those that crewed along side me to Tasmania the year I thought making a bean bag mattress for sleeping on may not agree!  Unfortunately the bag burst, right about the same time we broke the boom and those pesky little beans just get in everywhere, bilges, bunks, fridge, toothbrush holder, trouser pockets!  Mostly unintentionally but sometimes intentionally...sorry Keith... :)!  Anyway, on board this vessel (not a yacht) this was a sturdy, much used, outdoor bean bag so no fear of it bursting.  The day started with apple tea and we left dock about 10.30am.   This was another tour recommended by Sheila and Graham.  There were about 30 people on board from all over the world. 

There were five stops along the way including Cleopatra’s Bath (where she is rumoured to have bathed with her lover, Antony), Bedri Rahmi, Aquarium Bay, Ancient Shipyard and Pancake Island.  So I guess the other seven islands are ones where we entered bays or went close to on our way to our stops.  I hadn’t really expected to stop 12 times and it is a beautiful area to travel around by boat.  When we had stopped it was for about 30 minutes in each bay for swimming and snorkelling.  The lunch stop was one hour and a delicious lunch of fresh fish and salad is served (or you could have chicken).  The meal was ended with Turkish delight which I would usually say no to as Im sure I don’t like it.  This day I decided to try it and whaddya know, I actually like it!  And you think you know yourself...:) 

The snorkelling was just okay in these places.  Highlights included an enormous school of smallish silvery clear fish that swam around me for ages and kept coming back; Cleopatra’s bath;  the dramatic sheer drop offs underwater in these places; the ever favourite trumpet fish, this one quite large; and the bright red underwater caterpillar thingy just like the one shown in this photo. http://projektionstudios.deviantart.com/art/Underwater-Caterpillar-139949683  It was about 10cm long and looked really pretty against an otherwise grey backdrop.  I watched it move around the rocks for ages.  It was the first time I had seen one of these.

It got quite windy as the afternoon progressed so some adjustments were made to the itinerary.  Quite good ones though so each place we stopped was calm and serene compared to the quite unsettled conditions outside.  Freshly cut watermelon was served for afternoon tea and more apple tea.  Yes alcohol was available on board but I abstained, imagine that!  

On the way home I stopped at my local, Dice Cafe as I hadn’t been for a couple of days to have a wine and some sarma (stuffed vine leaves).  To my surprise, the gorgeous waiter was very chatty and ignored calls from his boss several times to continue chatting.  I had mentioned to my friend Steve that I thought most Turkish men were quite gorgeous so I was quite happy about this.  I think I may have scared him off when I told Yassem (?) I was 50 as he is only 35...darn it!  Anyway I am blaming the threatening rain for interrupting us.  As I drank my wine the wind strengthen and it was all hands in to batten down the hatches as this little cafe is right on the water.  Cest la vie.  

I made it home before the downpour which was really heavy!  There was a bit of battening down the home hatches when it hit.  Then the power went off but Necati (the fixer of all things at Safir) sorted that out quite quickly.   It appears it is meant to rain tomorrow as well and then clear.  I cant really complain, can I, one day or maybe two out of 20...:)!!