We left Marmaris Yacht Marina late afternoon on Tuesday after a couple of frenzied days getting a few final things in order. There was a tremendous thunder and lightening storm that lasted several hours from late afternoon into the evening. The rain reached us just as we were casting off. We went to a tiny anchorage just outside of the marina between Sedir Adasi and Nimara Adasi (two islands). Wednesday morning was calm and beautiful. We finally had the chance to try our stand-up paddleboards.

Late Wednesday morning we got underway for Ekincik. (You may remember that name from an earlier post.) The trip was a bit of an adventure… …the Turkish Navy was doing exercises and we had the Sahil Guvenlik (Coast Guard) chasing us around trying to keep us out of a secure area. Their instructions were not very clear; we inadvertently crossed into the exercise area on more than one occasion.

We anchored just off the beach. Our friends HH and DH and their crew on Delawana joined us in the anchorage. We had a group dinner on board Delawana.

Thursday morning we hired a local tour boat with captain and his son for a cruise up the Dalyan River. We passed Turtle Island where loggerhead turtles come to lay their eggs. We stopped for a tour at the ancient city of Kaunos. The river itself is quite interesting. It is lined with tall reeds. We stopped for lunch at one section where there is quaint development along the riverbank.

Further up the river there are mud baths and thermal hot springs. We ran out of steam on this trip; but, we will definitely return to the river for further exploration.