When I stop and think about the technology we use to get around I sometimes find myself shaking my head in disbelief.
We know A B Sea's position in the world because triangulation of GPS data from several satellites, orbiting the earth at an altitude of approximately 20,200 km (12,550 miles), shows us our location on an electronic chart.
On land we find the shops, banks and restaurants we need by following directions from Google Maps. Our smart phones know exactly where we are again due to triangulation from several phone towers.
We use Internet to talk with family and friends worldwide. All done in an instant and with good quality video too.
Then I think back to when I was a gangly teenager of 15 years old, back in the mid seventies. How on earth did we ever organise meeting up with our friends to go on epic bike rides, to the then very prevalent and expansive local woods, to explore old ruins, to build dens and tree houses?
Add a few more years and how did we know that there'd be a disco in the local church hall in the next town over on any given Saturday night? How did we manage to meet girls and set up dates?
I can't remember how we did it back then, but we did. And I am amazed at how just a few decades further on technology has become so integral and integrated into everyday life.
It's not there
The reason I'm opening this week's blog with that retrospective comparison is because however good the technology is, the information we receive from it is only as good as the information put into it.
We begin this week's YouTube video with Aannsha standing next to a flowering bush, with vacant land behind it. The smart phone is telling us that what we should be seeing is a Migros supermarket. But it's definitely not there.
Fortunately there was another Migros supermarket in the area which was definitely where Google maps said it was. But I'm getting ahead of myself again.
Sailors Paradise
When we drop anchor we always like to give the name of the bay as it's shown on our chart, although the name can differ depending on where you look. For example Heikell's pilot guide or online apps. Sometimes they all agree on the name, sometimes the spelling differs and sometimes we get three very different names for the same spot. That's why we decided to just use the chart plotter name to keep things consistent.
There's also the colloquial name that is sometimes given to a bay based on the name of the restaurant there. For example at the beginning of this video we are at Kocabahçe Koyu otherwise known as Sailors Paradise.
We've been in and out of a few bays over our time in Turkey and I think calling it Sailors Paradise is stretching the truth somewhat. Sure it's a beautiful place with crystal clear water. The surrounding hills are pretty to look at and they offered good protection from most of the wind. The restaurant setting and food are very good, the service is attentive and the prices reasonable.
For it to fall into the category of paradise I'd like a few more boxes ticked. Certainly being able to drop our anchor in shallow water to swing freely would be one of those boxes. I guess when marketing a place, Sailors Paradise certainly goes a long way towards piquing a person's interest and drawing in the curious.
To Kuruca Bükü
After leaving the restaurant mooring at Kocabahçe Koyu our next hop to continue our northwards journey was a little over an hour away to the north west. We were headed to the eastern bay of two big bays on the southern side of the Datça peninsula called Kuruca Bükü.
As we entered the bay looking for a spot to drop the anchor we discovered that the information our technology gives us is only as good as the information put into it.
From looking at the chart plotter it appeared that there was a huge sandy area with 4 to 6 metres (13 to 19.5 feet) of depth. Positioning A B Sea right in the middle of that area our eyes told us it was a lot deeper and our depth sounder informed us that we were in 22 metres (72 feet). I noticed the colour of shallower water slightly further around the bay and was quite happy to drop the anchor in 5 metres (16.5 feet) of depth into a sandy bottom.
Once settled we went ashore in the dinghy to have a look around what we thought was a small town. It actually turned out to be a huge sprawling holiday/camp site. We easily found the first Migros supermarket. It was very small and Google Maps showed another Migros supermarket that may be a bit bigger. We had plenty of time and decided to go in search of it. All we found was a plot of vacant land and a nice flowering bush. Aww well at least we had one supermarket that could supply our basic needs for the next couple of days.
To Datça
We've been to Datça several times before and we really like the town. We generally anchor off in the south bay which provides good protection from the summer time prevailing north wind.
It also provides easy dinghy access to the town quay and all of the amenities the town has to offer.
We strolled along the north bay seafront with its eclectic mix of restaurants and bars, then turned into town and sought out the shop that sells roast chickens. They are so tasty that we bought two which would keep us nicely fed for a few days. The price of 35 Lira (AU$5.75) each is very good considering that with each large chicken you get a whole roast onion, a big jacket potato and some char-grilled peppers. Definitely worth checking out if you find yourself in Datça.
On the way back to A B Sea we got sidetracked into a bar overlooking the harbour and I won't tell you what happened as it will spoil the video. It's quite fun. Until next week stay safe and healthy.
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