Favorite Sunsets of 2011

As I searched through last year's photos, I realized how many I had intended to but haven't shared here on the blog.

So even though, I may be a tad late in doing a roundup of 2011, I wanted to share my favorite sunset photos taken mainly in Turkey and on a few other trips. I was surprised I didn't have any sunset photos from Alaçatı or Bodrum, but I think I must have taken a nap before dinner and missed out.

Hope you enjoy this photo essay!

§  In April, we drove to Edirne, about two hours from Istanbul. We paused on the Meriç Köprüsü to take this photo before we found nearby Emirgan Aile Çay Bahçesi and stopped for an Efes beer.

§  In May, while we celebrated my birthday dinner at Club Arma Restoran in Antalya, hubby took some photos here. I can't forget the sublime dinner we feasted on of levrek carpaccio and ahtapot izgara and the excellent service we received - including a special birthday dessert!

Even though the sun set behind us in Antalya, we enjoyed the sea view.

§  In July, we took our American friends on a 6-hour road trip to Bozcaada - a lovely island in the Aegean Sea along Turkey's western coast. Do as the locals do - bring a blanket and a bottle of wine to the far western edge of the island. Soon, you'll be sipping wine along the legendary Polente Feneri and watching the sunset behind the windmill farm here.

Perfect timing as a large ship passed by in the distance.

A view of the wind farm on Bozcaada, Turkey.

§  During Ramazan in the sweltering month of August, Jason and I took another Turkish road trip, which included stops in Cunda Adası, Foça, Bergama, Ephesus and Kusadası.

(Taken with my cell phone.) Day 1 on Cunda Adası.

Day 2: on the outskirts of  Foça - a small town about 130 km south of  Cunda Adası.

§  In September, I traveled with a girlfriend to Patmos and nearly got stranded on the island of Samos because of the Greek strikes. Please read: Strangers, Stranded in Samos for the harrowing tale.

Our boat was just coming into shore as the sun set by Patmos, Greece.

§  In October, we celebrated hubby's birthday in Fethiye where we had a fun, but short weekend jaunt. We walked down to the marina with a brown bag of Efes beer bottles and our camera. Drinking a beer in public while sitting on the boardwalk and watching the sunset is probably easier to do in off-peak season.

Seems like there are hundreds of sailboats in the Fethiye Marina.

§  For the Kurban Bayramı in November, we enjoyed watching the sun set over the Indian Ocean in Bali for the first time. This was an amazing trip!

Relaxing at the Nammos Beach club in Bali.

§  After I taught my baking classes in Bodrum at the Erenler Sofrasi, we stopped in the quaint, fishing village of Güvercinlik before heading back to Istanbul. Per Asli's recommendation, we ordered a levrek and çupra dinner with our Efes beer and then watched the fishing boats head to shore as the sun set.

The water was so clear and calm here in  Güvercinlik, Turkey.

Which sunset photo is your favorite? 

If you want to see more sunsets in Turkey, please check out Turkish Travel Blog and Turkey's For Life.

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Exploring Patmos: Petra Beach

When it’s the end of summer and the tourists have left, you can enjoy walking along a deserted beach on a Greek island.

The waves of the Aegean Sea gently lap along the shoreline.

That’s about the only sound you hear, except for a few birds and maybe the motor of a boat in the distance.

On our second night on the island of Patmos, my friend and I grabbed our cameras and walked over to Petra Beach to explore the sites through our camera lenses. The beach is made up of large pebbles and stones, running toward the southern end of the island, near the quiet fishing village of Grikos, where our hotel was located.

Solitude on Petra Beach on the Greek island of Patmos.

Petra Beach once was known as Kalikatsou, or jackdaw, a type of a small crow. There is a large rock, pictured above on the left, with the same namesake. We didn’t see any of these crows, maybe because it was getting dark, but they call this rock home supposedly.

During the winter months, Petra also is home to a small marsh with several migratory birds, such as several flocks of swans, herons, and wild ducks.

But during late September, just empty boats call Petra Beach home.

Two by two - docked together along Petra Beach.

This fancy yacht was facing towards Grikos Bay.

Suddenly, our silence was disturbed. Sheryl and I thought we heard bells off in the distance. We looked at each other quizzically. We looked around us to see where the noise could be coming from, and then I looked through the zoom lens on my camera.

A herd of goats were grazing on the other side of the beach.

I guess you never know what you’ll discover or see once you set out exploring like we did.

An abandoned red van near an olive tree along Petra Beach.

Wildflowers along Petra Beach.

You can read about the island’s other beaches here.

Iyi yolculuklar!

Patmos Aktis Suites & Spa Hotel in Grikos Bay, Patmos, Greece. This hotel looked spectacular!

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καλημέρα from Patmos, Greece!

The alarm buzzed at 6:45 a.m. I did not want to get out of bed just yet, but I got up anyway and peaked outside our hotel room’s window.

Perfect! Just a few minutes left to capture the sunrise in Patmos.

I tried to get the best picture just off of our balcony at the gorgeous Petra Hotel & Suites.

I’m surprised by how fast the light changes. Dark pinks, pale purples and oranges soon fade. And then, look what popped into my view.

A large cruise shipping heading into the port.

And then the cruise ship turned around the corner. I’m sure it’s getting to dock at Skala so the tourists can visit Patmos for the day. Patmos is a popular destination for tourists because of the Monastery of St. John, the UNESCO village of Hora and its idyllic beaches.

I still have so much to learn about using the correct f-stops and ISOs to capture the best picture.

Enjoying the sunrise on Patmos was a wonderful way to start the day!

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Pursuing Patmos

After five hours on two ferry boats, one bus ride, one taxi fare and running to catch the last boat, we finally arrived on the Greek island of Patmos just as the fiery-orange sun was setting.

Beautiful sunset as we were getting ready to dock at Patmos, Greece.

My first impression of this difficult-to-reach island in the Aegean Sea is tranquil. In fact, last night, the sound of chirping crickets, a lone barking dog and the rustling sea breeze were the only sounds I heard. 

No honking horns. 

No shouting people. 

No mosque calls (which I don’t generally mind but sometimes do wake me up.) You could even see the stars up in the night sky.

Skala, is the main village on Patmos, where the port is located.

One of the northernmost islands of the Dodecanese complex, Patmos has a population of 2,984 and an area of 34.05 km² (13 square miles).

I am traveling with a fellow American friend Sheryl, of The Altered Passport, whom also lives in Istanbul. She has long been interested in coming here because Patmos is mentioned in the Christian scriptural Book of Revelation.

Two sites on today’s agenda:  the monastery of St. John and the Grotto of St. John, whom was exiled to Patmos from Ephesus, Turkey, in 95 A.D. St. John the Theologian lived in this cave on Patmos, where he reporedly recorded his divine visions in the Book of Revelations in the Bible.

I’m sure we’ll see some amazing sites today, and I’ll write about them soon.

Iyi yolculuklar!

How to reach Patmos from Turkey:
A ferry from Kuşadası to Samos runs daily departing at 8:30 a.m., until Oct. 31, this year. The daily ferries resume again in April, from what I understand.

From Samos, you must take a second ferry boat, running regularly on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays only through Oct. 1, to reach Patmos. For more information, click here.

This is the ferry boat we ran to catch at Samos. We were nearby, but it
looked like the boat was pulling away. Nope, the crew just had some
issues with trying to dock the boat. =)

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