SUMMER  2010

The plan for 2010 was to go up the Turkish west coast and hopefully reach Istanbul, before we turned back to Finike. It didn’t work out like that at all. Our season this year turned out to be an injury season, as they say in football. After experiencing pain in my body the doctor sent me for extensive tests and I was diagnosed as having a herniated disc. Other problems in my leg resulted in an operation. Mike’s rehabilitation was going better and after a complete rest for two months and then training, he was feeling a lot better.

How do you feel when your plans have gone to pot? Disappointed – of course. “Why should this happen to me – just now, of all times?” How do you motivate yourself to be inspired and think positively when your body hurts and you can’t do what you want to? The first thing that came to mind was that a lot of people had it a lot worse than me. The second was that I am the only one to influence my own mood and state of mind. I could blame others and other things, but that wouldn’t lead to anything positive. The third was to be happy and grateful for what I had. And of course it works! As I say to my children: “Stand in front of a mirror and smile!”

Nevertheless, we have accomplished quite a lot during the season, which is described below – even if we haven’t sailed a lot.  Only 10 days to a nearby bay.

I have also received requests to update our webpage more often. I shall do my best.

The serial about our engine room

We did the customary hauling out with cleaning, painting, etc. in April. At the same time we noticed that our propeller shaft was worn in a couple of places. The difference in millimeters was enough to warrant a change of shaft. The technical department in the marina manufactured a new one in just a couple of days. A fantastic service to a reasonable price.  It cost €170.

When launching the engine didn’t start. An electrician appeared in minutes, dismantled the starter motor and disappeared. He was back in 30 minutes and had exchanged the old cogs to new ones and given it a service. It now worked perfectly.  This cost €62.

We have Sven-Erik Andersson on Nikoline a lot to thank for when it comes to sorting out our flange. A big “Thank you”! We have a new flange clamping the propeller shaft instead of it being wedged. We hope that this solution will do the trick. Thank you also for the tip of installing a vent on a swan neck between the heat exchanger and exhaust pipe. This to stop the water coming  the back way into the engine.

A lot more hasn’t happened to the engine as we haven’t been out a lot! It has its’ advantages…

Visitors

Later in April my brother Risto and sister-in-law Anna-Lena came to visit. We went on several excursions to explore the countryside. Here are some selected excerpts.

South of Kemer there is an area called Olympos with ruins from an ancient civilization and also a sacred area called Cirali.

According to mythology there is a monster, Chimaera, that breathes fire. This monster is supposed to have a lion’s head, the body of a goat and a serpent’s tail. We didn’t see the monster, but did see fire coming out of the mountain. The logical explanation for this is that natural gas is leaking out and lights as it is mixed with the oxygen in the air.

The area is 300m above sea level. Doesn’t seem that high, but you definitely feel it climbing up there. Here we are taking a well deserved rest.

The surroundings are very beautiful with forest and flowers in many different colours. Spring is wonderful!

We walked quite a lot and here we see Anna-Lena taking a closer look at a “Blue Acacia”. But, why is it called “Blue” when it is all yellow?  It is very nice though.

One day we hired a car and went to Melanippe. A peninsula not far from Finike where there is also a light house. Pictures of this can be found in “Winter in Turkey”. We took the opportunity of eating our picnic on the beach and swimming in this wonderful little creek, enjoying the sun, the surroundings and just feeling part of it all.

On the last day but one of Risto’s and Anna-Lena’s visit, Finike was decorated for a festival. A part of Turkey’s cycle competition was going to finish in Finike.  There were a lot of people milling around and everybody was waiting for the cyclists. Here we are waiting in the shade.

Others were waiting too and here we see a group of women in traditional pants and scarves. It is mainly the older generation dressing like this – as you see in the picture the younger ones dress differently.

Atatürk Parki was heaving with life and activity.

At last the cyclists arrived – and swished passed in a few seconds!

It was nice to get visitors from home and it would be good to see more friends some time.

Pinarbasi

The 2^nd May the sailors from the marina were invited to the annual Spice Festival in Pinarbasi. It was the first time for us but others had been there before. We were met by music and dancing and we quickly got into the spirit of things!

The spirit of Atatürk rested as usual over the activities…

We were shown to a special place and felt like proper VIP:s!

A lot of people were gathering…

Everybody got a plateful of food (free of charge). Very nice too!

It was time for an exhibition of traditional Turkish dancing in their traditional costumes.

There was dancing for us “ordinary” people as well…

A professional entertainer came and sang beautifully – a shame we didn’t understand everything.

On the way back to Finike we stopped off in Kas where there were more dance exhibitions. What was characteristic for these dancing groups was that all participants were deaf. It was quite amazing how everybody kept in time with the music. And no sour faces to been seen anywhere!

A day full of experiences and memories for life.

4^th May 2010

We have played cards with our friends Ian and Maureen once a week. Cribbage is a fun game where you have to use your head what with all the counting. This evening turned out different when the pain hit me. It is enough to say that it was incredibly painful. In the next couple of days it didn’t disappear, so I ended up going to the doctor and also the hospital. This resulted in an operation of one leg and a diagnosis of a herniated disc in the lumbar region. I was advised to take painkillers and swim a lot.

The best part of May was spent slowly getting going again. To move in water was wonderful. No pressure anywhere – movement and relaxation in one. Slowly we started walking short distances which we extended as I felt stronger. Every now and then I had time to embroider, which I had wanted to do for a long time.

By now we had been stationary for a long time. So long that we even had a bird’s nest at the top of the mast! You could see the tail of a pigeon up there.

June 2010

The walks got longer and longer and as I like flowers and plants I had the opportunity to see many beautiful things. Below a few examples.

It was also nice to see a stork nest in the middle of town with some chicks in it.

The first picture was taken the 14^th June and the last 7^th July. They were almost ready to leave the nest. There wasn’t any room for “mum” anymore!

Along the beach promenade there is an outdoor gym. It is very popular with the locals as well as the sailors. A little demonstration…

Midsummer Eve 2010

On Midsummer we invited Ian and Mo from England and Frank and Linda from California, USA. We dressed our own little “May-poles” with bought flowers as it was quite dry outdoors now. We ate herrings with potatoes and other delicacies. The schnapps was also nice… “Look out stomach – here it comes!”  It was a pleasant evening and a new experience for our guests.

4^th July 2010

The American Independence Day was celebrated with a BBQ. But before the grilling started there was a “war” between the Brits and the Americans. The Brits were dressed in red and the Americans in other colours. The battle was bravely fought, but as in the history books the Redcoats lost and USA became independent. There weren’t any sad faces due to this. Here a few pictures. Personally I kept well away from any strenuous activity.

7^th July 2010

A couple of days later our friends Dave and Lindsay turned up with their boat Rosa di Venti. We met in Malta and spent a lot of time together in the winter of 2009. It was nice to meet up again and we visited a local fish restaurant and enjoyed a tasty meal together.

After a few days they were on their way to see more adventures. Who knows when we will meet up again.

Birds

We booked a flight for the end of the month to visit friends and family in England. But before we left we wanted to check out what was happening at the top of our mast.

 Mike went up to take a look…

There is a nice view from up there.

We hadn’t noticed a lot of movement, but seen a lot of “fall out” on the deck. To Mike’s surprise there were two little chicks in the nest!

 That was settled then. We weren’t going to do anything to the nest now anyway.

England

A part of our stay in England we stayed in the Birmingham area. Mike’s brother’s

family lives there. One day we went sight-seeing. We went to the “The Black Country Living Museum”. (Web-page: www.bclm.co.uk)

The museum consists of a large area re-creating the conditions of the 19th and early 20th centuries. You will find shops, a forge, bakeries, etc. A whole society in other words. And canal boats, of course. We can’t keep away from boats, even if we tried! We went on a tour of the tunnel where lime stone was mined. Interesting.

Canal boats are fascinating. They have been used as working boats, but are now used mainly for pleasure. They are beautiful to look at and are decorated in an original way.

Like this watering can for an example…

In the forge cable was manufactured.

A very extrovert man was showing his wares in the General Store.

One article was specially manufactured candles.

In the Community Centre we found this banner. It is very beautiful.

Buorton-on-the-Water

The Cotswold is often described in English literature and Bourton-on-the-Water is a beautiful example of a village in this area. A stream was slowly meandering through the village.

What would England be without its’ “cup of tea”. Here we enjoy a cup before the lunch arrives.

Here a picture of us.

After a wonderful week we thanked John and Joan for their hospitality and made our way down to the south coast again.

Isle of Wight

We visited our friend Mary on the Isle of Wight. On our first day the rain was hanging in the air and it was quite windy, but our walk was very invigorating all the same.

A couple of days later there were people on the beach.

The long weekend went by far too quickly and it was time to return to Southwick and the Brighton area. We thanked Mary for a peaceful time at the Amberlington House.

Children and grandchildren

It was nice to see Claire and family again and I had to bite my tongue not to exclaim in a Grandmotherly way: “Oh! You have grown, haven’t you!” But, actually, they had grown - a lot…

Not far from Mike’s mother’s house there is a small swimming complex. I walked there almost every day to swim and move in water. It was bliss for both body and soul.

Mike who is a handy man, fixed a few jobs that needed doing around the house. We also decided to clear up in the garden as well.

As usual, time passes quickly when you are visiting, but with the communications of today it is easy to keep in touch.  Most of the time anyway… We moved on.

Sweden

Easy-Jet started a new route between Gatwick and Gothenburg. We managed to get a flight for a very reasonable price. Two single one-way tickets for £69. So, the next leg was Sweden and Alingsås.

The grandchildren in Sweden had also grown… Now we were having a lot of “coffee time” with all that entailed (buns, biscuits, cakes, etc.). So, before we got back to Finike, we had “grown” as well…

The Swedish General Election was going to take place on the 19^th September and a lot revolved around this. We followed the debate carefully to be able to make our minds up and had of course also kept an eye out for important questions on the internet beforehand. After dropping our votes into the ballot box, we went for a lovely walk in Nolhaga Park and along the shores of the lake Mjörn.

The Canada Geese had gathered before their migration.

It started to be really Autumn-like with nature erupting in colour.

Along Säveån the boats were still in the water.

The steam boat “Herbert” seemed to be finished with the summer for this year.

Every year there is a festival called “Lights in Alingsås” in the Autumn. We have never had the opportunity of walking the 3km trail with all the light settings. This international event has even won prizes. On a very chilly evening we managed to capture this light setting. Beautiful.

I have always known that my brother Risto was musical, but I didn’t know he was good at playing the drums. The rest of the group called, loosely translated, “The Bundle Band”, weren’t too shabby either.

As we were listening in on a rehearsal one evening we couldn’t help exclaiming: “You should be doing this professionally!”.  “Weeell”, came the humble reply.

Here we see Peter, Leif and Anders in action.

 The group photo didn’t turn out too good, so is left out.

As we were home, we took the opportunity of having all the health checks done that you need to do regularly. I also found out that there was going to be a course on back injuries, so of course I got curious about this. It was going to be carried out after we had gone, so I contacted Martin Ryman, Ryman's Clinic. He has his consultation rooms at Hälsostudion in Alingsås and didn’t mind seeing me individually.

 After Martin had, in a very pedagogical and detailed way, explained what happens around a herniated disc, I felt a lot calmer and reassured. I understood what I had to do – and not do – to get better. I was also told that I had been swimming in the wrong way, i.e. with my head sticking out of the water when doing the breast stroke. I haven’t been doing this to save my hairdo, but because I have a bit of a phobia about dunking my face into the water! So, now it’s goggles on and down with your head!

It started to get really cold now with night frost, so it didn’t feel wrong to pack our things and fly down to Turkey and the warmth again.

It is always very emotional to say goodbye to friends and family, but we will see each other again soon! And thank you for this time!

Finike – Turkey

It was lovely and warm when we got back! The boat was very dirty and needed a good scrub.

 It was a little bit sad at the same time, as we saw two dead birds on the deck. To build a nest on top of a mast, with no shade at all, is perhaps not such a good idea after all.

Well, we were back with all our bits and pieces and started to settle in again. We have both decided to seriously do something about our weight! Buns and cakes, nice as they may be, can’t be good for the body in the long run.

How we will get on, the future will tell. We will endeavour to update the web-page more often.

Take care and keep smiling!