Serçe Limani

Having explored the ruins at Gerbekse Cove, later on Wednesday 8 April we moved 12nm southwest down the coast to Serçe Limani. This is a large narrow bay with a tight entrance which we hoped would provide excellent shelter for the next few days because the forecast predicted some strong meltemi winds from the north. In the middle of the bay is small cove, perfect for one yacht to moor in. We dropped the anchor, reversed into the cove and ran some lines ashore which we tied onto the rocks. With the sea temperature at 17-18 degrees Celcius we elected to use the dinghy to get our lines ashore. A little different to last October when we just dived in and swam ashore to tie the lines.

When we were shopping in Marmaris, Nicky had found a guide book for the Carian Trail in a hiking shop. This trail runs all around the south west of Turkey, for much of the way very close to the coastline. Usefully the book comes with a map, highlights some of the history of the area and, more importantly for us, where to find some of the ruins. We hope it will help us in planning our walks over the next couple of months.

The day after we arrived, we took the dinghy ashore to the beach at the north end of the inlet and went to say hello at Captain Nemo’s Farm Restaurant. A little early in the season, the proprietor apologised that he didn’t have much in but we were able to get fresh bread, which was very helpful.

We then set off north east up the road through the fertile valley. Ancient olive trees were dotted around, some of which looked a little bare because they had been cut right back and new growth grafted onto the old trunks.

We started to pick up the small red and white paint marks which help to navigate the Carian Trail and left the road climbing up across rough ground. It was slow going and quite overgrown in places but we dropped down into another valley and the pathway got easier.

It is very rural here. We passed a few farmer’s pick-up trucks parked by tracks but also six donkeys at various places along the trail with their riders working the land and foraging. We also saw a great many beehives.

From the high ground there were good views to the northwest across the Aegean but our route took us 10 km northeast towards the ruins of the ancient city of Phoenix.

As we got closer, the ancient trail was clearer with stones polished from thousands of years of footfall. It dropped down again into the valley where we expected to find Phoenix. Our first sight of the place was a run of enormous stonework adjacent to a dirt track. The terrace above it is judged to be the old agora. We continued on, turning off the the dirt track and following the painted marks as we worked our way along the edge of small fields and waterways. Another donkey eyed us suspiciously but the farmer and his wife, who were gathering wild herbs, were extremely friendly.

With faultering Turkish we said hello before quickly slipping into sign language. Ruins littered the area and the farmer pointed us in the direction of the ancient citadel. A little further on we looked back and again followed his calls and arm waving directions. Suddenly it was in front of us.

We were able to climb amongst the overgrown ruins of the citadel and could have spent hours exploring more ruins further up the valley. However, we thought that by this time we should return to BV so, satisfied with our exploration, we turned back stopping to say hello again to the farmer. He highlighted that there were more ruins over the ridgeline so clearly he felt we’d only completed part of ‘the tour’ but still shook our hands and wished us well.

We left the ruins behind us and, after a total of 4½ hours, we were back where we started at our dinghy.

Back on board BV we confimed that the fridge had chilled the beer down very well and enjoyed a glass whilst we watched some goats climbing across the cliffs right next to our anchorage. It was delightfully peaceful.

In the end, we spent 4 nights in Serçe Limani as the meltemi blew at up to around 40 knots around 20 miles to the west of us. We were snug in our anchorage and kept ourselves busy. As well as the walk we also got blog entries written for uploading when we next visit a café with wifi. There had been no time to write whilst we were busy getting BV ready in Marmaris so it was good to get some of what we had been doing recorded. We were also able to properly test out the watermaker now that we are in clear water. One joint needed tightening but after that minor adjustment the watermaker was fully operational with no leaks which is great news as it will give us a lot of flexibility over the summer when the available water on some of the islands can be a little brackish.

The next step is to move just 1 ½ miles to explore the next bay along the coast.

Serçe Limani, Turkey