Day Boat Trip from Turgutreis Part 2:
In my first post in this Day Boat trip from Turgutreis series, I mentioned that there were 4 points of negotiation for our trip:- Direction, Noise, Cuisine and Cost. Cost had been achieved, so we only had 3 more to go.
Off to meet our Destiny
We headed to Turgutreis in plenty of time to secure a good spot on the good ship Destiny, but although we arrived 1/2 hour early – there was already a large contingent of 20, waiting to board. We managed to find an area where the 4 of us could sit together, at the bow of the boat. I patted myself on the back for nabbing such a prime location; and sat smugly on my lounge cushion like the sultan who’d got the cream. Bag, snorkel, towel and reading material strategically arranged around me.
My tranquility was shattered when we prepared to pull away from the dock. I hadn’t taken into account my close proximity to the anchor. I had to move swifty out of the way, as a nimble crew member vaulted me and my belonging to retrieve the anchor.
I scanned the boat for another location, but the die was cast. I quickly came to terms with the realization that each time the anchor was thrown or retrieved – I’d have to uncurl myself, and move out of the way. Strike 1.
North Island Tour, or South Beach Tour?
The boat nosed it’s way out of the harbour and started to head North. We were hedging our bets on whether the boat would actually change direction, and take the South Tour instead of the scheduled one North. It wasn’t looking good. The owner who sold us the tickets the day before, wasn’t on-board.
As we headed into open sea, the waves became choppy and rough, and the bow of the boat dipped and rose like a roller coast. Each time wood met water, it created a thunderous belly-flop “SLAP!”, and we were in prime position to get covered in spray.
Huddled under towels, whispering like conspirators, we ruminated on whether the water really this rough, or if the boat captain was playing his part in the “change of direction” scam to the T.
Just then the tinny speakers burped into life, and music spewed out. The cocophany of sound joined forces with the ocean spray and rained down on us. So much for a “Quiet” boat. I think we’ve just hitStrike 2!
One thing you quickly learn in Turkey, is that things don’t always turn out as planned, so you have to roll with the punches, or you’ll spend your entire time in the country with a continual scowl and petulant attitude. It wasn’t the first time we’d raised our eyebrows, slipped into a grin, and muttered “Welcome to Turkey!”, with a tilt of the head and a shrug of acceptance.
It could be worse. Although we were riding a roller coaster, getting wet and auditorily assaulted on our quiet boat – It was a glorious sunny day, and we were on heading out of the harbour and into the Aegean for a day of R&R. Life ain’t all bad.
Just then our optimism paid dividends. The music was silenced, and the captain announced that the water was too rough to take us on the North Island tour, and instead we’d be going on the South Beach tour. We suppressed a knowing grin, and things went from better — to even better.
When the music reappeared it was as a lower volume, and because there were no speakers at the bow of the boat, the music receded into the distance and became less intrusive. We breathed a sigh of relief – we’d got the direction we requested, and with a little bit of imagination, you could class the music as “background”.
So a win for Direction, and a partial win on Noise — at least it wasn’t a party boat.
Just one more negotiation point to go – Cuisine.
