Second Helpings of Turkish Delight

It’s hard to believe that this is the second time I’ve sat at this very coffee bar, in Turkey. I never thought I’d go to Turkey once, let alone twice, let alone twice within about 6 months. This time a few years before now I was probably…somewhere very different. Still looking at the world through the lens of a National Geographic magazine. Turkey was something you ate at Christmas, and only vaguely registered as somewhere you could actually go.

I wasn’t a fan of Turkey when I came here on my last ship. The country very aggressive male culture, and as many of you who count themselves among my original readers can attest, I’m not a very big girl; for the most part aggression hasn’t been my strong point. The first time I went out into a Turkish marketplace (and there isn’t much choice, as you must go through one to get off the pier into town), I turned tail and almost ran back to my cabin. To this day I’m not sure why it frightened me so much, I suppose, looking back, that there were simply things I hadn’t learned to understand.

It’s amazing though what can change in a few short months. Turkey no longer intimidates me, and as such I’m able to look at its beauty more easily.

Most people who come to Kusadasi do so to visit Ephesus, in fact that’s why the ship ports here (just like Petra is the reason we port in Jordon), but I was fortunate enough to see Ephesus on my last journey here – and that was not so long ago that I felt the urge to wander its crags and ruins so soon.

Instead I allowed myself a rare morning to sleep in, followed by a stroll along the bright sunlit causeway to the small fortress island/park that stands no more than a mile from where my ship docks. I had explored the park before as well, but it’s a peaceful place, and I’ve found myself in need of some peace as of late. Those who know me well often realize I’m never one to do the easy thing or the typical thing these days. So, in search of something else to do, I took off my shoes, shouldered my bag, and proceeded to clamber over the rocks at the island’s base, finally finding a perfect perch where I could sit in the sun and dip my feet up to the ankles in the chilled turquoise – if slightly chilly - beauty of the Mediterranean, which was exactly what I needed at the time.

It’s hard to believe that in less than a few weeks the World Cruise I am currently stationed on will be over. The crew will face a massive turnover in Fort Lauderdale and only a few of us will stay on for the relocation to Seattle in preparation for the ship’s summer Alaska run. That Alaska run will be incredibly different from the world I’m living in right now.

When that time comes, these pages will fall silent again until such time as I find out where I’m going next…but in truth, we’re all trying not to think about it at the same time that we’re deeply looking forward to it. Ending a contract is always a bit bittersweet, your mind and body welcome the rest, you yearn for the chance to sleep in your own bed…you crave the privacy and normality that shore-side life temporarily provides…

Some things change. Some things stay the same. But some things simply never change.

A gypsy I am, and a gypsy I shall always be.