 Want to stay in touch with what's going on in Bodrum and Turkey in general? Here are some great resources. Bodrum Echo is a mailing list which is sent out at least weekly, and more frequently if there are a lot of contributions. The mail contains items for sale/wanted, concerts, exhibitions, and general news about what's happening in Bodrum. Membership is 35 TL annually.
The Bodrum Bulletin is an active website with local services, and they also send out a mailing on the first of every month. The service is free of charge. My Merhaba is a very useful resource covering all of Turkey, and Turkish Living Forums has user input from expats living in Turkey from all walks of life.
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Wintertime in Turkey means boatfuls of beautiful little anchovies. Our local fishmonger always has a kilo or two already cleaned and ready to go. Anchovies pickle excellently and easily: Alternate layers of salt, anchovy fillets, lemon slices, red pepper flakes in a small airtight container and drizzle with olive oil and lemon juice. Garlic can also be added. The fillets will be ready in a couple of days.  Salty, garlicky, delicious winter anchovy preserves  Crete The best boat is your friend's boat, right? Well, with Southern Cross Timer on the hard, we were landlubbers until good friends Jennifer and Mathias Dubulier invited us to stay on Phoenix, their Hans Christian 33, wintering in Réthymnon, Crete.
Even in late December, access to Crete from Bodrum could not have been easier. We caught the morning ferry to Kos and had a feast of grilled pork before catching a taxi to Kos airport and boarding Sky Express to Heraklion for only 55 Euro per person. Crete is a fascinating island full of mountains, beaches and remote villages. The weather was warm enough to wade in the sea on Christmas Day, and Réthymnon town was full of university students, cafes, chic boutiques and a vibrant energy. This large island is a great pre or post Blue Cruise destination, and we can't wait to return.  Venetian Harbor in Rethymnon, Crete Imagine dining in a medieval Venetian cavernous warehouse, which has been transported to the 21st century. Cavo Doro as a venue is a feast for the senses, and then there's the food.
We ate three times at Cavo Doro during our 7 day stay in Rethymnon, We just knew that each meal would meet expectations with the cozy stone walls as a backdrop. Some of the starters are standard Greek fare (taramasalata, tzatziki), but the bread arrives with a basted garlic topping and the cured, local sardines were very flavorful. Some of the menu is quite continental and standard, but very well presented. Other selections have a Cretan twist, especially the local shellfish, octopus and daily catch. Cavo Doro is certainly not cheap. Expect to pay international prices for entrees, but to receive added value for the hands on attention and personal service from the owners who are happy to talk about the history of the building, the business, and the setting of the Venetian harbor. House wine is very well priced and very quaff-able. The general manager with roaming hands insisted on driving us back into town in his own vehicle on our last night, undoubtedly because we overstayed.  The Hunger, Midtown (Bodrum) Turkey We recently had a business meeting at newly opened Hunger restaurant located in the Midtown shopping mall in Ortakent. Hunger has some neat, original ideas, like serving their wedge potatoes in a wire strainer, little wooden service tables, and tempting stainless steel barbeques brought directly to the table. The menu is extensive, offering everything from full breakfasts to fajitas, burgers, pasta, sandwiches and a generous wine list.
The food arrives just as described in the humorous menu and the service is adequate. There is ample reading material scattered throughout the restaurant, and one would have no hesitation about dining alone here. With two more restaurants in Istanbul, the Bodrum venue is the third Hunger. The only drawback is that one could be in any mall, anywhere in the world. We realize that new subscribers who receives our newsletter may not know who Southern Cross Blue Cruising and Bodrum Yacht Services are, so we are repostiing our brief biography to kick off the 2013 New Year.
Australian born, European bred and retired professional motorcyclist racer Dave Stanley began one of his several careers as a port emergency services diver in Melbourne. With a childhood passion for sailing, he also has been involved in building Herreschoff replicas. Dave first came to Turkey on a sailing holiday and was enamoured with the beauty of the country, friendliness of the people and the plethora of wooden boats. He eventually moved to Bodrum permanently, bought classic gulet Southern Cross Timer in 2004 and entered the gulet charter business. Dina Street moved to Bodrum in 1990 after finishing double degrees in Applied Mathematics and Near Eastern Studies from U.C. Berkeley and realized that she preferred a life in the Mediterranean over Silicon Valley. After opening Caravan Frozen Yogurt, Bodrum's first full service ice cream shop, she followed with the Turkey's first Starbucks-style internet cafe in 1996. In 2000, she authored and launched the soon to be resurrected Bodrum Gulets as an non-commercial website, and worked extensively with the charter department of Zephyria Yachting before founding Bodrum Yacht Services and Southern Cross Blue Cruising with Dave Stanley. Bodrum Yacht Services deals with gulet brokerage, new construction, post-sales support, project management, refits, winterization and charter management. Southern Cross Blue Cruising focuses upon chartering our fleet of hand selected gulets. Our companies are respectively registered in Turkey and Australia. We run an on-going, in-depth blog pertaining to gulets, Turkish cuisine, local characters and off the beaten path subjects related to life in Turkey. We always appreciate your comments on our meanderings. |
Dina StreetWelcome to the First Gulet Charter Blog. Archives
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