Sherrie's Cruising Blog (Sailing Catamaran Element): April 2016

Saturday, April 30, 2016

Daily life in Finike and saying farewell

Deciding to winter in Finike was the best decision that our family made.

Looking back at our time there brings many happy memories. We met so many great people it was difficult to say farewell.

Throughout our eight month at Setur Marina Finike the staff were wonderful. Arifé would always have a big smile and a hug no matter what (it was a bonus that she is excellent at her job). Zia, Barbaros and Pinar were always helpful and participated in any of our holiday events to make it more exciting for the kids.

I knew the cruising community was a tight knit group but I hadn't experienced it in the Mediterranean. I chalked it up to the different languages. The group of cruisers that we met in Finike finally brought back the tight knit community feel that I had been missing and was used to. The people we met became friends/family. I am so very glad to have been a part of this community.

We shared birthdays, Halloween, Christmas, New Years Eve and Easter with them. We also got to partake in other countries special days. Most of the cruisers that wintered this year were new to Finike which made our experience that much better. No one was set in their ways and everyone was up for a new challenge. We pulled together for Wednesday coffee morning volunteering or voluntelling people to bake cakes and serve coffee. We all enjoyed the Sunday BBQ and loved hearing the radio net during the week.

Shaun and I did many boat jobs including fibreglassing, winches, engine work etc. We slowly took sticky notes off of the todo board. It seemed as though every time one was removed two more would go up. Some days we accomplished a lot and others not so much.

Paige, Jordan and I fell in love with the marina dogs Chapeau, Large (Tripod) and little. My dear friend Marita would faithfully raise money for them and make sure that they stayed healthy. Most of the cruisers would oversee their safety and wellbeing. We were sad to say goodbye but know that they would be well taken care of. As we set sail on April 30 I was told by a friend that Large was running down our pontoon barking as we left. This made my eyes leak as he was one of my favourites.

Finike will always have a very special place in my heart. The people were welcoming, the fruits and veggies were amazing and the cruisers made it awesome.

On the day we left as hard as it was to say farewell it felt really good to be back on the water. We were looking forward to making more memories, meeting new people and seeing the world.

Nikki (s/v Celtic Cream) and Barney celebrating their birthdays

one of my boat jobs was to create a template for the carpenters to cut a board for our settee

Bayram and Jordan fishing

Paige, Jordan, Ella and Iris (s/v Maple) weaving baskets

Paige weaving

Paige crocheted a Kindle cover

Sherrie the marshmallow ready for fibreglassing

Chinese New Year (so much chicken)

Chinese New Year participants

a bat chowing a date in broad daylight

the dirty winch

just call me the winch wench

Shaun at the top of the mast

our first sunset of our first overnighter

we were happy to get back sailing after 8 months in the marina

feeling chilly on our first overnighter

Follow our video adventures on our YouTube channel: Video adventures of s/v Element

Saturday, April 16, 2016

Egypt part 5 - Karnak

April 16

We decided to visit Karnak without a guide. We organised a taxi to take us and pick us up. We prepaid for both and hoped for the best (lucky for us the fellow was very honest). We hopped in and headed for the temple.

It was a short 10 minute taxi ride to our destination. We agreed that the fellow would pick us up two hours later. This would give us just enough time to marvel at the vast open air museum. There are four parts to the temple. The largest is the only one open for viewing. Here is a link to wikipedia if you are interested in details - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karnak.

We entered a main building that housed a large model of what Karnak used to look like before we headed outside to see the ruins.

a model of what Karnak used to look like

this is the model of the entrance that we went in

We left the model and walked outside to where the main entrance was located. I was speechless at how large the walls were upon entering. We walked past the row of rams, past the large wall and into a hallway that led to the first of many huge columns (134 to be exact). We also were able to view the tallest obelisk still standing in Egypt of Hatshepsut (97 feet high and 320 tons of solid Aswan granite - http://www.egyptartsite.com/karbelisk.html). It is one of two left standing.

Shaun and I wondered what it would have been like to see this temple at its height. We wandered around in awe. While Shaun walked further into the temple the girls found a lovely dog to love with some other children who spoke french. I sat next to one of the workers on a bench and got chatting with him about his family. He explained that he has one wife for now and in his broken english told me that he "has two children with one penis"....... Internally I was shocked until later in the day Shaun explained that he has twins. I was so relieved that he wasn't trying to be vulgar. As I sat chatting with him he also explained that he was hoping to have another wife later in life. I am still taken aback by this but will not judge because everyone has their own beliefs.

Shaun arrived back from his walk just in time to grab our taxi. As he was searching for our driver I spotted a lovely bright orange Egyptian top. I was able to purchase it for 40 Egyptian pounds. It was a great deal and is one of my favourite tops. After my purchase we hopped into the taxi who was waiting patiently for us and headed back to the hotel to relax and pack as we were departing the following day back to Turkey.