1WWe have been in Turkey since the end of May and have gotten quite a bit done on the boat that needed to be done with the help of some great technicians. We knew some of the projects as we had lined them up before when we were here last Fall, but more kept popping up such as losing water pressure and still working out the software and settings for the controls for the batteries and solar system.
We had been warned about the heat here in the summer months of July and August, but it seems that everyone is telling us that it has started to get hot earlier this year as we have been having temperatures in the already. As a result, the best time to do any work is in the early morning or late evening which definitely does have an impact on how much you get done each day.
One thing we definitely want to do while here in Turkey is to do more traveling around the country as it is a beautiful one with lots of history to learn. I started to plan out some land trips, but then something would
pop up on the boat that needed to be dealt with before leaving such as the controls for the electrical system as couldnt leave it without having this working properly. We were getting closer to figuring out a month or two long trip around the country when Bob decided to try out our to find out that he couldnt even turn it on! He checked out the power to it and it was getting 12+V of power so that wasnt the problem. Now to figure out what to do about this! Digital Yacht is a for customer support so Bob sent off an email and was told we could send it to their support facility in the UK so they could check it out. That would be possible, but we have heard horror stories of trying to send any electronics/equipment into Turkey due to the customs issues. A new plan was now hatched – lets take it to the UK ourselves which will help in many ways. We now could visit many of the friends we have made over the years, we could bring with us for repair/assessment and it would help with extending
We are legally able to stay in Turkey for 90 days within a period. If we wish to stay longer, we would have to apply for a temporary residency here in Turkey. We decided we would check into it and talk to an agent to find out more of the details as we do know others that have done this without too much of a problem. Many do this to stay in country for a year, but we were thinking of doing this just so we could stay until the end of October or middle of November. In discussions with the agent, he said we could do this of course, but he also mentioned that if we decided to travel to another country for a while that could help out. Now with deciding to go to the UK to see friends as well as try to get our fixed, this time away from Turkey will help. We werent sure how long we would go for, but the longer we stayed away, the longer we would have later to stay in Turkey to sail during the cooler months. Now we at least have
Once that decision was made, I started to contact a few friends back in the UK. One in particular we knew lived quite close to where we had to send so started with them. In doing so, found out that John was turning 80 and they were having a surprise birthday party for him and wondered if we could make it for that celebration. Once we heard that, we quickly made plans for a flight that would get us there in time. What perfect timing as we hadnt seen them since 2012 when we came across to Portugal where they were living at the time. We first met Sandra and John in Botswana so this has been a friendship that has lasted many years. Their son connected with us in Turkey last year on Bobs birthday so we were able to reconnect with him and his wife as well. A great way to start a holiday!
With having to still pay for the marina for the boat while in Turkey, we also were hoping somehow to cut
down on some expenses while traveling through the UK as we knew that the dollar did not go as far there.
