Happy Holidays from E-Shoe!

How are you spending your holidays this year? For us, it's been quite the eventful year.

Over the last almost five months, we've already passed through 10 countries, most of which were totally new to us. While it's mostly been a pleasure, we've also had our share of obstacles, setbacks and lessons in travel. It may be surprising to hear, but traveling can be tiring, especially if you're working along the way.

Thus, we are currently taking a little vacation from the vacation, so to speak--after migrating south of the equator to evade the winter for the year, we're taking four days on the sunny beaches of Zanzibar to bask under the unrelenting African sun and recharge.

Quite a nontraditional Christmas for us! Here, instead of the Christmas trees and wreaths in the West, or the "illuminations" of Tokyo, they hang arches made of palm leaves with tropical flowers. In place of snow, we have white sands. The closest we've come to Santa red is the unhealthy pink glow coming from my sunburn.

We'll hopefully be back in no time to posting more of the small mountain of travel accounts and stories we've accumulated to this point, but in the meantime we'd just like to wish all our friends, family and readers a happy holiday season, wherever you're spending it.

Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year's!

Turkey: Blue Cruising on the Turkish Riviera

Turkish gulet on the Mediterranean

While Pammukale was fabulous and Fethiye was no slouch itself, one of, if not the highlight of Turkey for both of us was our four-day cruise through the Mediterranean. They sure don’t call it the Blue Cruise for nothing!

Turkey really does have a little bit of everything: friendly people, fine cuisine, a storied history, and beautiful natural features.

When we first put Turkey on our list of destinations, my expectations were to see a bunch of mosques and gorge myself on doner kebabs in Istanbul, then maybe check out some Biblical ruins spotted across vast swathes of dry land. Japanese input from Akemi added Pamukkale and Cappadocia to the list—two fine destinations in their own right, to be sure. While I was aware of Turkey’s position sandwiched between the Black Sea and Mediterranean, neither of us really had any expectations for the Turkish coastline. What a huge oversight that was!

Çalış Beach in Fethiye

The truth is, Turkey has over 8,333 kilometers of coastline in total and is a perennial beach destination for Europeans. While things certainly get warm enough to swim along the Black Sea coastline to the north, the real draw is down south.

Turkey has the Aegean Sea to the west between it and Greece and the Mediterranean to the south. Just south of Selcuk in Kuşadası is where things really start to get interesting—the area from Bodrum to Alanya draws enough European visitors to earn it the title “Turkish Riviera.” This section was the focus of our Blue Cruise: Fethiye to Demre, with stops at St. Nicholas Island, Firnaz Bay (near Kalkan), Kaş, and Kekova, to name a few.

Sunset on St. Nicholas Island

A modest crew accompanied us along with 18 other travelers of all ages and creeds on our gulet, the traditional mode of ocean transport in these parts. We were originally a little concerned about things being too crowded and getting along with everyone, but this soon proved to be no concern at all. The crew was wonderful, and everyone got along swimmingly... quite literally, in fact. There was plenty of space for everyone and then some, and they provided us with enough snorkeling equipment to get by.

While our quarters below were a little tighter than we’re accustomed—and this coming from someone who’s lived in some rather tiny Japanese apartments—they snugly provided all the necessities: a bed, just enough room for our two bags, and a fully equipped bathroom with shower.

Most of our time on the boat, however, was spent up on the deck. The hammocks were perfect for reading or just taking in the sea breezes while the boat took us from place to place.

There were also a bunch of day beds on deck which were a great alternative to the cozy rooms below, especially during the hotter summer months from what I hear. We were fine in October with a blanket or two. Imagine if you will dozing off while gazing at the stars, then waking to see the sunrise over the horizon.

Sunrise on the deck

Another highlight of the trip was the meals—the entire trip is fully catered with three meals of delightful Mediterranean cuisine a day. Being Turkey, there is of course a tea break in the mid afternoon for a light snack as well.

We spent plenty of time between meals working up an appetite hiking through the Butterfly Valley and around St. Nicholas Island, swimming and snorkeling through clear blue waters and exploring small fishing villages along the coast.

Kaş from above

Akemi takes the plunge

Ready to sign up? While our cruise left from Fethiye, other options sail from Bodrum, Marmaris, Kemer and Demre, the terminus of our voyage. The company we used has 2-day, 4-day and 8-day packages with various destinations and itineraries, so check their homepage and see what works for you!

Cruise info

V-GO Yachting and Travel: http://www.bluecruisesturkey.com/

Season: March to November (weather permitting)
Fethiye-Olympos cruise:

• Starts from: Fethiye
• Finishes at: Olympos
• Duration: 4 Days/3 Nights
• Places you will visit: Fethiye, Oludeniz(The Blue Lagoon), St.Nicholas Island, Kalkan, Kas, Kekova, Gokkaya Bay, Andriace, Myra, Demre, St.Nicholas Church, Olympos
• Official prices:  €165-209/person

Last but not least, did I mention how great the people were? I will not soon forget the great times we spent with crazy Brazilians (and one Brit) on this boat. Also, goats now hold a special place in my heart. Vai Brasil!