We are learning about traveling via wheelchair. We are also learning how inhospitable some places are to people with mobility issues. I never knew how much we would appreciate smooth surfaces and curb cuts!! We are also noticing things that could be done to make places more wheelchair accessible without a whole lot of effort. And, we continue to encounter generous souls to offer to help us. It is all a learning experience and we continue to appreciate the good things.

Let’s recap. We stayed in Bedri Rahmi Bay until May 15th. We needed to give Michael’s leg time enough to heal until he was in a more manageable amount of pain. Luckily, we were “stuck” in about the best possible location! We ordered food from the restaurant every other day to show our appreciation to them for allowing us to stay beyond the typical two-day maximum. They brought the food to our boat, which was ideal since Michael has to crawl off and on the boat.

We moved from Bedri Rahmi to Göcek because we had to check out of Türkiye in Göcek. Here are a few more pictures of the bay and surrounding sea and on our way to Göcek.

I am sharing the following because it again shows how the broken leg added complexity to an otherwise non complex process.

We contacted our agent early on Monday (May 15th) morning and asked if we could check out of Türkiye that night at about 10:00 or 11:00 p.m. He said that was fine. He asked if Michael could leave the boat by dinghy to go to the port police. I told him it wasn’t possible. He arranged to have the port police come to our boat provided I pick them up in the dinghy and return them to shore. So that was the plan.

We elected to get a berth in D-Marin marina because it would be easier for me to run the errands I needed to run. Also, we mistakenly thought that the port police could come to Seahike more easily if we were in a berth (and I wouldn’t have to pick them up at night – assuming we would have to anchor out quite far – and I wasn’t looking forward to a long dinghy ride in the dark). But when we told the agent that we were in a berth, he told me that I still needed to pick them up by dinghy because the boat had to be at anchor when we checked out. The good news was that he told us we could anchor temporarily right near the shore.

So, we had a plan. I needed to give our agent the boat documents, then get them back and take the documents to the marina office, then provision and find navigation lights for the dinghy. No problem! I had several hours.

I actually enjoyed my time ashore. Here are just a few pictures of the beautiful sights.

We left the marina at 8:00 p.m. and anchored near the shore. I need to tell you how we left the berth because it was new to us. First, you need to know that we were sandwiched between two other cats:

Since we got into that position by backing in the starboard side first then bringing the bow in, we assumed we would do the reverse to leave. But no! A dockhand in a dinghy (a.k.a. tender) tied a line from our port mid-ship cleat to his dinghy and threw his engine in reverse. He pulled us out of the berth like you’d pull a block from the tower in Jenga. It was pretty cool!

At promptly 9:50 p.m., I took the dinghy to shore. Turns out the port policeman did not need to come to the boat. Rather, the agent came with me to the boat and called the port police on videophone and pointed his phone at Michael. I guess that was all the police needed! Anywho, I took the agent back and we pulled up the anchor.

We had decided to leave as soon as we checked out then motor to Rhodes overnight. The winds were pretty much nonexistent so it would be a smooth ride, even though it meant motoring. The sunrise shows how calm the waters were.

We arrived at about 7:30 a.m. This is Mandraki Harbor:

We stayed in the New Rhodes Marina. They follow the same protocol many marinas do: they sent a dockhand out in a dinghy to lead us in. But this time, the dockhand saw that Michael had a broken leg and told us to sit tight while he picked up another dockhand. The second guy came on the boat when we got near the dock and worked with the guys on the dock to get us tied up nice and good. And they allowed us to dock side-to rather than Med moor because it would be easier for Michael to get on and off the boat. They also placed a set of stairs by our boat (which Michael doesn’t use, but I do). So nice!!!!

If you want to find our boat at the New Rhodes marina, just look for the cat with a wheelchair next to it:

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In case you need to catch up, Michael broke his left fibula on a hike on April 26th. After getting a ride to a nearby hospital, getting an x-ray and a cast, we came back to the boat, where we have been ever since.

The doc didn’t prescribe painkillers for Michael because he said it would slow down the healing. Instead, Michael was instructed to complain and whine to his wife. 🙂 🙂 🙂 (Hence, the title of this post.)

Actually, we took a second trip to the hospital with the same driver two days ago to get another x-ray. The bone is still in place, so no surgery will be needed. Whew! The doc asked us to come back again in two weeks for a third (and final) x-ray if we are still in the area. We spoke to the folks here at Bedri Rahmi Bay (a beautiful bay you must visit if you vacation in Türkiye!) and asked if we could stay two more weeks. They said that they have a couple of flotillas coming into the bay over the next two weeks but they could help us anchor out for a day or two each time and then come back to the dock. (The maximum stay here is typically two days, so they are being very kind and generous to us.)

Fingers crossed, we will leave here in about two weeks. It all depends on how Michael is feeling. He is still in quite a bit of pain, but, oddly enough, he keeps forgetting to whine. Maybe I am just such a gosh darn good nurse/wife that I anticipate his every need to keep him from whining. Ha ha ha!!! Oh, and we bought a wheelchair. We think/hope it will make our sightseeing easier. The crutches are good for a very short distance, but not much beyond that.

We eat at the restaurant here every other day to show our appreciation. The food is good but pricey. The staff (both the dock staff and the restaurant staff) are all simply wonderful. We couldn’t have had this happen in a better place, really (well, unless the hospital was right at the shore). More of the bad luck/good luck thing going on in our lives these days.

Speaking of the restaurant, that sneaky husband of mine wanted to “get some air” sitting at the stern of the boat the day after we returned from the hospital (April 27th). I paid no attention to him since: 1) he wasn’t whining, and 2) I was working on a crossword at the time. The next day, April 28th (my 65th birthday – where does the time go?!), the manager from the restaurant walked by on the dock. He asked how Michael was doing. I told him he was resting but doing well. Then Michael told me he wanted to sit outside again and that I should join him. I did. A few minutes later, two gentlemen from the restaurant delivered a cake to our boat. They lit three candles and sang the “Happy Birthday” song. Awwww. So nice! I am not gonna lie: I was 100 percent surprised. More so, I was touched that Michael thought to do that when he was in pain from his broken leg. He is a keeper!! Later that night, we got food from the restaurant and I treated myself with a shot of tequila. They served it with an orange wedge. It worked!

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