Captains Log
Star date 5th May 2010
38.4N 26.38E
On passage from Cesme to Kusadasi
 
We slipped early this morning from Cesme marina all the crew present this time and are at the moment motoring on a completely flat sea towards Kusadasi marina.
It seems the gremlins have been inhabiting my computer again and about a third of my last report went missing somewhere in the great cyber space. It was mostly about Cesme and the surrounding areas so I will incorporate it into these notes.
As I said Cesme is a holiday town as well as a ferry port regular departures go across to the Greek Island of Chios and also depart for the Italian ports of Brindisi and Ancona.
It is only about 85km’s from Izmir and can become very busy at the weekend especially in summer when the inhabitants flee the summer heat for the beaches of Cesme.
The town is dominated by the Genoese fortress built in the 16c and repaired by the Sultan Beyazit to defend the coast from the attack of pirates. There is a particularly fine example of a caravanasi which is being restored unfortunately it was not open but I managed to sneak in and have a quick look around. They are converting it into a very much upmarket hotel, very well done I look forward to seeing the completed project.
The peninsular is noted for its numerous hot springs unfortunately most of these have been incorporated into hotel spa’s but you can still find hot pools along the quay side in Ilica. A number of the rally participants took advantage of these while the unadventurous used the Radisson hotel.
Nearby ,well just a dolmus ride is the village of Alacati originally populated by the Ottoman Greeks a century ago, it has still retained its architecture and character it is a joy to wander through the cobbled streets and have a coffee and a Kumru in its many lokantas and bars.
You may wonder what a Kumru is. It is a sandwich only found in Cesme it uses special local bread and can be filled with a variety of fillings. I highly recommend it very tasty.
Alaciti’s beach is some 4kms from the village and is famous through the world for its wind and kite surfing the wind tends to blow at a steady 17knts  although it can go up to 28-30and always from the north giving a steady 17 deg angle on a mainly flat sea.
Our last night in Cesme we were entertained at a cocktail party by the marina. When I spoke to Can earlier in the day he didn’t mention that it would be attended by the who’s who of Cesme as well as a hoard of photographers and press. IC holdings are the constructors of the marina and they were also our hosts.
A little finger food Can said, we had a very good spread Can thank you very very much, especially from Kath who had a night off from the galley.
The mayor, tourism chief IC holdings and Can all gave a short speech welcoming the rally and thanking us for our visit to Cesme.
Rodger and Sasa, S/Y Edinbal and Rob and Cathy Cat Twikter made presentations and thanked the respective persons for our stay.
The marina is set to open in June and we wish Can his staff and of course IC holding much success in the future.
As I said we are now on passage to Kusadasi were we will enjoy a visit to Ephesus and the town, but more about that next time.