Triumph in Mersin, Turkey

Friday, May 25, 2007

We have been pleasantly surprised at the good sailing conditions on this rally. Again, we sailed most of the way overnight to Mersin. The Milky Way was clearly visible, along with a million stars. Our welcome reception dinner the next evening was another lovely outdoor affair, this time with excellent traditional Turkish dancers. After dinner there was another great band for dancing.

Our bus tour of the region included twin castles, the Maiden's Castle and Korkyos Castle at Kizkalesi. We also visited Heaven and Hell, two large abysses hidden in a valley with a stream, which the ancients believed was the River Styx, the river surrounding Hades. We then stopped at the ruins of a Roman city, Elaeussa-Sebasten, four Byzantine basilicas and necropolises. After our day long tour, we dressed up for another formal dinner dance. Seems the only rest we get is on overnight passages!

So far we've had wonderful weather...warm, breezy days and cool nights. We've heard to expect 100+ temperatures in June, so we are enjoying this while it lasts.