Last night felt warmer even though I had slept in the open, under the stars (as opposed to under the canopy). I didn’t use a blanket unlike the first night. Perhaps I felt warmer because of the dew condensing on me, making me feel all humid.
After breakfast around 0800, we swam for quite a while because we had the presence of a playful turtle. It certainly wasn’t shy and we took turns swimming with it. We eventually cruised to Simena nearby and all walked up to Simena castle from which we could see ancient tombs on the nearby grounds. I stocked upon water again before reboarding.
We continued cruising to Kekova’s sunken city nearby. We could see remains of buildings on the hillsides and in the water. I suspect they were sunken due to an earthquake but I need to read up on that.
Captain found us a very private narrow inlet where we parked for 4 hours. It was a heavenly spot for swimming but a delicious lunch of stuffed peppers (stuffed with rice) at 1400, came first.
Having seen others use the foam noodles/tubes, I tried one out. It was actually a very restful way to stay afloat in the water having one under the armpits or between the legs and up the back.
It was sad to leave such a nice spot when we cruised to Gokkaya Bay. Tea was served on the way. Once at Gokkaya, we swam again. We were parked next to another boat from the same company.
The guests were a much younger crowd and they were more of them too. It was a party boat.
After dinner, we were given feedback forms. While we were all happy and were enjoying ourselves, improvements suggested included:
- Cheaper pricing of drinks.
- More snorkels and masks
- Bottomless tea/coffee.
- Not parking next to party boat.
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- We were greeted by a playful turtle on our second day at breakfast. We soon went in to swim with it and it wasn’t frightened away.
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- We were greeted by a playful turtle on our second day at breakfast. We soon went in to swim with it and it wasn’t frightened away.
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- The town of Simena on our third day.
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- View of our boat from the top of Simena castle.
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- View of our boat from the top of Simena castle.
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- Ancient tombs as viewed from Simena Castle.
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- Our boat.
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- Kekova sunken city.
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- Kekova sunken city.
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- Kekova sunken city.
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- Lovely swim in secluded narrow inlet.
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- Our last dinner together.
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- Great meals lovingly prepared by our onboard lady cook.
At around 2230, a tender came round to collect guests who wanted to go to the pub. The Turkish and Iranian chose to go (along with all the guests from the party boat next door). We were happy to see the party boat people take their party elsewhere. But the crew remained on board and the music continued but at a more sedate local beat.
Despite the music I was able to sleep. I was briefly woken up when the party boat guests returned and continued their party on board.