Bosphorus Cruise
Trip Start
Jun 20, 2008
1
5
12
Trip End
Jul 20, 2008
Istanbul, Turkey
Friday, June 27, 2008
Today we went with the Chicago team on a whole-day cruise on the Bosphorus strait, which connects the Sea of Mamara and the Black Sea, separates Europe from Asia, and divides Istanbul in half. It has a rich history of being fought over as it is very strategic in its access in and out of Asia.
(from Stephen)
One of the all-time best parts of our trip so far was when the crew hooked up the boat to a gigantic buoy in the middle of the strait and let us jump about twenty feet off of the top of the boat to the water, which was freezing cold but totally worth it. We all swam over to the buoy and jumped off of it, too. There were three Turkish men that were also on the buoy. They were really nice, laughing with us, and doing head first dives. At first we were afraid of the hundreds of jellyfish, but one of the men told us that they do not sting.
We had a lot of fun with the team from Chicago. They helped us this week in the English Club and invited us on the cruise. We are thankful for them.
(from Jeff)
We needed this day. It was relaxing and fun, the weather was cool and breezy, and Istanbul is beautiful from the water. The summer homes, palaces, ancient buildings, bridges, boats, and businesses make Istanbul a feast for the eyes. This city has miles of waterfront and most of Istanbul seems to be no more than a few miles from the water.
Comments
Brrrr...
Hello It's Emily! It sounds really cold in the strait! I would never go swimming in there with all those jellyfish. You were probably relieved to have a day off. I miss you guys!
P.S. Where's Sams glasses?
Title:
And now, from the blazing hot state of Arizona comes... Ryan!!! Well, it seems like you guys REALLY had fun today! Sounds better than cooking eggs on the sidewalk. Aaaaanyway, the mini-water-vacation you guys took must have been a major blessing. I can just imagine Silas fascinated by the jellyfish and ending up wanting to take one up onto the buoy. Twenty foot dive? YES. But, all of this just isn't amazing-ly fun enough to top... OUR POOL! See you guys later. Or I'll post a comment later.
Shameless plug: Be sure to read our Boston blog! While you're in Turkey.
See You are Working Hard
I see that you are continuing to 'work' very hard. I'm sure Silas is thinking about his lesson plan as he dives into the water! Sorry Luis isn't there as he would be doing cannon balls and throwing all the kids off of the buoy if they didn't jump fast enough. Too cold for me, I can't take water that hasn't baked in the summer AZ sun for days on end.
Luis wants to know, 'Are there sharks in the water?' 'Were there pirates there?' 'Is Turkish coffee as strong as they say it is?' 'How is the turkey and stuffing? Do they serve it with cranberry sauce as we do here?'
In the blog, you've revealed a previously unmentioned 'Chicago Team.' So do you 'delegate' planning to the Chicago team? Does the Chicago Team deal with the problem kids? Is they gooder teachers of inglish than you guys is? See if they are Sox or Cubs fans and that will tell all about them.
Holdir was mighty huffy with us today. He's hot and tired and he's had it with tipped over water containers and ants in his food. He told us to tell you that if someone doesn't open the door the the house soon, he's going to find another family to boss around. Really, he's hot, as are we all, but he looks healthy and fluffly.
I'm sure you're wondering how Rafiki and Chyna are doing. They are doing well.
It's been pleasant and cool here as long as you are inside the house standing next to the air conditioner or in front of the refrigerator with the door open. Please keep the stories and pictures coming, it's great to follow your trip. Love, Mare and Luis
@luisnmare: Thankfully no sharks you can often see pods of leaping dolphins passing through the Bosphorus strait for migration which is always exciting!