Feodosia, Ukraine :: No Shore Leave For Me

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Feodosia (also known as Theodosia), Ukraine was a pretty quick stop.  I spent most of my time on the bridge while in port prepping for the next leg of our voyage.  I'm not complaining.  It felt good to get some work done.  I always work really well with a deadline - and a port stay has a built in deadline - so it works perfectly for me!  The highlight of the trip for me was getting a bar of dark chocolate when we were leaving port.  (I mentioned in my most recent Nautie Tidbits post that the Pilot gave me the chocolate in celebration of Womans Day.)

On a more academic note - it was an incredibly neat mooring evolution.  We backed into an offshore mooring station using our anchors.  We sent our lines out to four mooring buoys.  Attached to each mooring buoy was a metal thimble, our lines passed through the metal thimble (all three stern lines on one side of the vessel went through the same thimble).  While these lines were being tended the anchors were being adjusted - both of them at the same time.  Tres cool.

We left Theodosia and headed to Russian waters....where we wait....I'm not going to lie....I'm getting a little antsy.  Our next port will be my discharge port.  Woot woot.  (I'll probably talk more about this later....what it feels like to go home....it can be quite strange really....)

Catch ya later Nautie Friends!!!!

 

 

 

Since everyone knows I didn't only take four photos.....enjoy this gallery with more of the same!

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Mersin, Turkey :: Rain, Tea and Meat

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Here it is:  Mersin, Turkey - Finally! 
 
Mersin was okay.  Yes, just okay.  It rained, rained, rained....all day long....there was even lightning and thunder.  No bueno.

There were however some good parts.  The meat market was really neat - there was a lot of fresh fish....and goats and cows.  The meat was literally all hanging ready to take home fully skinned - or if you like you can just take home a giant piece of intenstinal lining.  Up to you.  (This is the part where I warn you that there are some sort of nasty photos in the gallery....but I just couldn't help myself.) 

We (Travel Buddy and I) basically hopped from place to place doing our best to stay dry. 

One of my favorite things of the day was the fresh pressed carrot juice.   For some reason carrot juice rejuvinates me like nothing else.  If I'm feeling melancholy a little carrot juice can potentially bring me out of the dumps.  It's actually quite impressive.

Hands down though, the best part of the day was having a bit of tea in a little tea shop.  The room was tiny, tiny, tiny.  One young fellow stands behind the counter brewing tea.  He has a walkie talkie and is receiving orders from all over the area - he breezes in quickly and will take a whole tray of tea in dainty cups through the neighborhood.  You'll see little platters with empty cups sitting on the sidewalk and you just have to assume that a runner will be by soon to pick up the tea cups.  The tea was good and on a rainy day was exactly what the doctor ordered.

All in all, I wouldn't couldn't Mersin as a future travel destination but, I will say that Turkey is great.  The people have an easy laid back way about them, good food and fresh produce and meat abounds....and there is always a warm cup of tea nearby!  What else could you want or need?!

 

 

 

 

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Rota, Spain :: Sun, Sand, and Shrimp.

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I got ashore in Spain after all!  It wasn't the port I was hoping for but it was sweet none-the-less. I had no idea but Rota, Spain sits on an absolutely lovely beach.  Apparently, when you are at the oil terminal you can't see the perfectly white sand!  Who knew?!  Well, I know now and I think I'll make sure I take my bathing suit with me the next time I hit town...more importantly I'll take some slippers so I don't end up on the beach in my Uggs!  These Uggs are getting a workout this trip!

After some shell hunting I hit town with Travel Buddy.  The town was much cuter than I expected.  Lots of small shops and cafes.  I had some cheese - apparently spain is known for its cheese.  When they serve cheese that's it.  You get cheese.  Works for me.  (I may or may not have washed it down with a brewed beverage.)  Then there were shrimp.  Two HUGE shrimp on a plate.  One for me and one for Travel Buddy.  I wasn't too into removing its shell - but oh was it worth it.  Freakin' delicious.

We hit a small leather shop.  It was great!  Everything in the shop was handmade.  Fabulous purses, belts and jewelry.  I got a belt and a purse - I know, I know....I needed a purse like I needed a hole in the head however; this one was handmade in Spain!  Win!  (Also, Travel Buddy is a terrible influence when shopping!)

The afternoon was wrapped up at the base shopping in the exchange.  It is amazing how exciting it is to see 'stuff from home' even after only 2 months!  I got some L'Occitane hand cream....daily air conditioning (and a little dose of petroleum products now and then) have really wreaked havoc on my hands!  I also bought the nail polish featured a few days ago.  Hells yeah.

Highlight of the day:  Shell hunting with Travel Buddy.  Fo Sho.

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I See At Sea :: Sunrises and Clear Horizons

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I've been finding less and less time for photos at sea.  We've been in and out of port quite a bit.  Cargo ops + tank washing = 6 and 6  also  6 and 6 = Bummer Dude.  A few mornings ago I found myself on the bridge for a sunrise!  Yippee!  It felt like I hadn't seen the sun rise in weeks!

It was so calm.  Traffic was a little heavy but none was a concern.  The golden glow started quite sometime before the sun actually peeked out.  There wasn't a cloud in the sky.  The visibility was excellent.  It was damn near perfect.