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Wednesday, November 21st, Istanbul, Turkey
They say change is good
and it seems that the Zia crew has experienced a lot of
changes over the past few weeks. The problem with
change, though, is that it doesn't always feel good at
the time. The stress and anxiety of logistics
reduce your mental dexterity to a fraction of its usual
capacity, and just when you get a little break from that
tension, the emotional seesaw takes over.
Luckily, in all the rush, we haven't had too much time
to dwell on it since leaving Athens a little less than
two weeks ago. We've also managed to mix in a
little fun in the midst of all the preparations, getting
to know some of the other cruising families and couples
at Yacht Marine. Our Istanbul adventure has gotten
off to a good start, as well. Most importantly,
the goal of all this recent change is to bring us back
to our family and friends. As I always remind Joe,
"Some things are worth the effort."
Perhaps the hardest
emotional adjustment has been our separation from Hobie.
After several days worth of earnest pleas on the morning
radio net, we found a wonderful family who has agreed to
adopt Hobie just until we return to Zia in April.
Helen and Peter and their seven year old daughter,
Tiger, are long term cruisers who have resisted the
temptation to have a cat onboard, despite being cat
people in their former lives. This seemed like a
perfect compromise. Our hearts soared when they
called us on the radio. The transition is bound to
be a little rough for poor Hobie, but luckily, cats are
very adaptable and I am sure after a few days he will
feel right at home with his new foster family. Our
alternative was to send him to a cat shelter with a
wonderful British lady who looks after 200 wild cats.
Certainly that would have worked, although I'm not sure
we would recognize our cat after five months in that
crowd!
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Playing in the bag of one of Cassie's birthday presents,
Hobie will be sorely missed by the whole Zia crew.
Preparing to leave Zia
accounted for most of the logistics during our 11 day
sojourn in Marmaris. We were extremely lucky that
we stayed in the water for most of that time. Out
of the water we loose many of the systems we rely upon
repeatedly throughout the day and night, living on the
boat. We used that time to take care of the
cleaning and maintenance items that require free flowing
seawater. Joe was busy checking off the items on
the boat list while I spent much of my time cleaning and
cooking. With such little notice before leaving
the boat, we had just begun to work through our stores
of food. That extra chunk of Parmigiano I bought
in Brindisi and the Greek tomatoes, peppers, feta and
onions, the tuna we still had left in the freezer since
our last fishing success back in Italy all needed to be
eaten or given away. Suffice to say, we ate like
kings during our last week in the water, and now there
are also a few boats in Yacht Marine that won't need to
be hitting the grocery store any time soon.
The emotional backlash
of leaving our home for such a long time will sink in
slowly over the next few months. Ironically, we
are technically "going home" for the winter but nearly
two and a half years later, home is definitely on our
boat, wherever she may be. The torrential
downpours we have been enduring in Marmaris more than
half the time we've been there made it a little easier
to say goodbye to the confines of Zia but the first hint
of nice weather will undoubtedly provoke a little
homesickness.
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Hoping that we hadn't
forgotten any crucial little detail, we loaded up our
bags in the taxi at 5:30 Monday afternoon for the trip
to Dalaman Airport, an hour and a half away. A
little voice inside my head kept warning me that
something was wrong so I checked our reservations again
to make sure we were going to the right airport (Bodrum
Airport is also within 100 kilometers of Marmaris).
Much to our relief, the whole trip up to Istanbul went
smoothly. Our bags were accepted without
complaint. In addition to every stitch of winter
clothing we own, we had to pack all the school books for
the girls, so we were a little worried about our weight
restrictions. As promised, a driver was waiting
for us at Istanbul's Ataturk airport to take us to our
rented apartment in the heart of the old city.
Although we didn't arrive until 11pm, it was as smooth a
trip as I could have hoped for.
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Sultanahmet
Suites is a perfect spot for us to hang our hats for
a few weeks to explore the city. Having a couple
of rooms in which to spread out and home school the
girls, and a kitchenette to fix our own breakfast or
light meals, makes our extended stay here very
comfortable. It also happens to be located within
walking distance of many of the prime attractions in the
city. It might take another day or two to learn
our way around the narrow winding streets, but we
haven't gotten lost yet! We are five blocks
outside of the tourist zone, so we can find some
fantastic meals with real authentic character for a
pittance. Joy, the owner of the building, offers
up unerring advice on where to go and how to get a feel
for the real Istanbul when you want a break from the
typical tourist attractions.
The Turkish people are
wonderfully friendly and welcoming. It can be a
little overbearing at times, as numerous store owners
call you into their shops or restaurants as you stroll
along the street. We get a lot of extra attention
with the girls. It is a rare Turk that you pass in
the street that doesn't look at them with a smile on
their face. Many don't stop there and will speak
to them or touch their hair or cheek. The girls
are very good natured about this invasion of their
personal space. I imagine the novelty of it will
wear off at some point, but for the time being, it feels
like we are rock stars, graciously accepting the
adoration of loyal fans. I love the extra chance
it gives us to connect with the locals.
We've taken it pretty
easy in Istanbul so far as we are working through colds
that we picked up in Marmaris. School is back on
the priority list after missing six of the last 10 days.
Luckily, while Joe and I were working on the boat, the
girls hooked up with a passel of other boat kids and had
a fantastic time with little input from us. As a
matter of fact, they even expressed regret at leaving
for so long. I take this as a very good sign.
There is bound to be some turmoil when we pack up again
in the spring, but it will be a lot easier now that they
have something to look forward to upon their return.
In the end, what we
really hope all these changes will do is lengthen our
cruising life. Getting a break from home schooling
and the constant togetherness is crucial.
Barcelona worked out wonderfully last year, but the
options are much more limited here in Turkey.
Plus, we are all thrilled to have the chance to hang
with our family and friends for an extended period of
time. Two and a half years is a long time to be
away. We are looking forward to a few months of
stationary living in a familiar environment in the
company of loved ones.
Happy Thanksgiving to
all of our American friends! We have many things
to be thankful for, and our family and friends from all
around the world are chief among them.
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Many thanks to our friend Craig Homenko for his assistance in setting up the website.
We also would like
to thank our buddy Scott Brunner who has been kind
enough to host the website on his server.
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