Goodbye Turkey, Hello Greece

[Petronella]

So, after two great years along the Turkish coast and a long hard motorsailing slog from near ancient Knidos we are now back in Greece on Leros island. And the contrasts are even greater than when we last left Greece.

Whereas Turkey feels like a place on the up, Greece is a sad and confused place. Mainstream tourism seems to be well down on the usual although there are still plenty of boats here sitting out an early meltemi. The people are great though, eager to help and happy their football team has progressed in the Euros. Gone are the regular wailings from the muezzin in Turkey to be replaced by the softer sound of Greek Orthodox bells. Gone too the amazingly long working hours of the Turks. Instead everything is shut from 2.30-5.00.

Bread here in Greece is harder and the vegetable selection not as good but diesel and booze are cheaper. Overall we are paying the same number of euros as we paid in Turkish lira for things (but as there are 2TL to the euro that means staple groceries for example are generally twice the price).

It's nice to get away from all the gulets and those visa, residency and blue card discussions and to return to island life for a few months but we'll miss our community in Kas and the fabulous sailing grounds around Fethiye and Kekova.

We'll see what happens here after the elections today but for now the islands seem to be managing better than the mainland. There is certainly no sign of unrest here though one of the shopkeepers yesterday said things will be very different in the winter when the tourism income stream dries up. "People will be hungry this winter" she said. How sad.

It feels as though we are living through history in the making here at present and maybe we'll all be using drachma in a couple of weeks time. But whatever happens we are so lucky to be able to live this life (although since starting to type this posting the toilet has overflowed and Gill is busy mopping things up)!

 

[vyv_cox]

Can't speak for choice of vegetables in Turkey but the veg shop in the big square in Lakki, about three streets back, has one of the best selections we have ever seen in Greece.

The other shop, used to be Atlantik, forget its current name, also has quite good veg but we go there especially for their bread, which seems better than you can buy at the bakery! Don't understand why, presumably it comes from elsewhere. Next door to that is an excellent butcher, run by an Australian-Greek family, so you can ask, and receive, in English.

 

[Appleyard]

Turkey and Greece

We arrived home this morning after 6 weeks around Turkey and the Cyclades,and are feeling the cold just a bit!
We spent the first few days in Turkey,and had our first experience of the "blue card" system.What a farce!
I went along to the office in Datca ,handed over the card and was asked how much I wanted to discharge. I told him 50 Litres,he entered it into the system and handed me back the card. "so where do I pump out?" I asked..he shrugged his shoulders and said to go well out to sea and empty the tank. They had no facilities to do the pump out,this was 6 weeks ago,perhaps the situation has altered by now.
As our Transit log was nearing the end we checked out in Boz and headed for Symi,then on to Kalymnos,Levithia,Amorgos Paros,Ios, Santorini and small islands in between,expecting to find a country in the grip of austerity,but it doesn't seem to be much changed from previous years. The cost of food in the shops has certainly risen,but eating out is still much the same as before.
I spoke to quite a few local taverna owners,and the like about the situation,and they all were fairly confident about the coming season,expecting there to be slightly fewer tourists but still having good advance bookings.As Petronella says,things seem be different on the islands.

What a fabulous cruising area this is!

On the advice of a charming couple we met in Ios,we anchored in a fantastic small bay in the Caldera in Santorini for one night and sailed round to the Marina in Vlychada (sp?) next day.The approach was OK,but the sounder was bleeping on the way in. The so called marina is not an attractive place but was well sheltered and served its purpose.

Santorini however was a real turn off. Totally ruined by mass tourism (Yes I know that we are tourists as well) there were four large cruise ships in the harbour with thousands of passengers being shuttled back and forth and making their way up to the town. The "donkey track" is an utter disgrace there seemed to be about around a hundred animals top and bottom waiting for business and the place stank,it was deep in dung.
The town on the rim (Thira) is nothing more than a glorified shopping mall,very crowded and obviously business was doing well.
It was interesting to sail around the caldera but I don't think we will be back.
We checked out of Greece in Kos four days ago,again there did not seem to be a shortage of tourists,the tripper boats were all packing them in,though I think that many of the all-inclusive hotels offer a boat trip as part of the deal.
We headed over to Bodrum and got a new transit log there...

 

[vyv_cox]

I agree about the eating out. Ever since we first entered Greece we have used the cost of Greek Salad as a guide to the likely cost band of the taverna. This season we have seen quite a few at €4.50, lowest for three years. Amstel still common at €2.50 in tavernas.

In supermarkets Amstel and Mythos 500ml tins are mostly well over €1 each but other beers are more often seen, e.g. Fix, at lower prices.

 

[little_roundtop]

I agree about the eating out. Ever since we first entered Greece we have used the cost of Greek Salad as a guide to the likely cost band of the taverna. This season we have seen quite a few at €4.50, lowest for three years. Amstel still common at €2.50 in tavernas.

In supermarkets Amstel and Mythos 500ml tins are mostly well over €1 each but other beers are more often seen, e.g. Fix, at lower prices.

It's a similar story on Crete. Lots of tourists about here, though perhaps less than previous years. It's still early days of course.

Plenty of boats coming into the marina here, in fact I think it's busier here at this time of year than in some previous years.

Prices in the tavernas here are also pretty stable and plenty of people in most of them too. It looks like what it is; hard times, but far from catastrophic. Yet.

 

[Chuteman]

Rolling the Dice

Was very lucky to meet & spend time w/jamesmar in Turkey this May after his wonderful online help last fall as I approached Turkey. Great to meet a YBW member in person.
May 16th, Leaving my boat in Turkey on the hard, I jumped over to Athens to host a charter with a friend/crew member from the states. My airport cab driver(young) launched into a financial crisis discussion (mostly one way) before he put the car in gear & it lasted all the way to Alimos. He had some interesting views & ideas on how to dig out of the mess but there was also some lack of accepting 100% responsibility for the troubles. So I asked - if I offered you candy, you ate it all and got sick, would that be my fault? - He laughed, acknowledged my point but continued on with various ideas.
Saw lots of empty buildings/store fronts + graffiti during the drive.

The islands = Agree 100% with jamesmar on Santorini. It was our main goal during the charter but I was completely turned off with all the tourists, large buses, ATVs and 100% of all the businesses turned into "modern" tourist nets which you can find in any place i.e.; Florida. I was there many years ago & the charm is gone as far as I'm concerned. My crew(female) did not have the same reaction so it must be me.

Other islands (Hydra, Serifos, Sifnos, Milos, Naxos, Paros, Kithnos = Depending on the island, the tourist crowds had not reached there 100% yet (luckily) so there were many empty tavernas. Fruits & veggies, did not notice a shortage and considering they are islands compared to mainland Turkey - seemed more than adequate. Bakeries which are my favorite still produce great stuff and I sampled my share.
Taverna prices - I did not find them cheap but some offered more value & better fare than others.

The crisis was on the mind of everyone, a few were very outspoken but most others were just hard at work to make whatever money they can while they can. 100% of the votes seem to be in favor of staying in the EU with the euro.
I still enjoy the charm of the Greek people who are kind & patient with visitors. But I also have come to enjoy interacting with the Turkish people if you do not count the officials handling the administrative hurdles.

I donated my share of euros to Greece, now it is up to them