When is a travel blog not a travel blog?

Answer - when you are not travelling!

We have finally arrived at our - for now - final destination.

We have now arrived at my sisters apartment near Bodrum in Turkey, where we have winter use of a really nice place in a small complex, swimming pool, balcony/verandah, and STUNNING sunsets. This is a particularly good stroke of luck, as Luda and I are both sunset people. We both switch modes at sunset, a transition made ever more pleasurable by a fabulous display of nature, themed in orange and red, with many textures of cloud and climate in between.

We have only been here a week and we have had probably 50% of sunsets worth watching in their entirety - an experience which takes on average about an hour, accompanied by maybe our first drink, and for a particularly excellent sunset....a smoke.

Tonight however was all grey, with just a passing interest in mauve, but unworthy of total commitment! So we prepared food, and I decided to blog.

So we are now temporary residents of the town of Gulluk near Bodrum, Turkey. The van is parked outside like a discarded toy. Our home and spaceship for three months.....and suddenly we are in a real building - with lashings of hot water, two bathrooms and a fully fitted kitchen. I don't know whether the van feels glad of the rest, or abandoned and forlorn. Such is the bullshit emotion that a man can feel for a vehicle!

Gradually we have moved our stuff from the van to the apartment, on a need it, go and get it basis. Including my big stereo system, that I have been lugging all over Europe in the boot.

It comprises two heavy old school 1980 Wharfedale speakers, each one so heavy I can barely lift it, and as tall as my waist, and a similar vintage Denon hi-fi amplifier. All of which I bought on Ebay for a song. But the setup in highest of the highest Fi. Both items are revered collectors items. In fact I learnt about them and acquired them thanks to a friend in Berlin who asked me to buy some in england, where they are unrecognised and ridiculously cheap, to Berlin, where they sell for hundreds of euros.

Equipment of this era is robust, and the quality sublime. I carry it because a. I can, and b. It's nice to have the means on hand for an instant party, should the opportunity present. Which it has.....perhaps three times in as many years, but all belters! I remember getting out the system at new years eve year before last, to have an impromptu party in a Moroccan petrol station down in the Sahara. And again, just for the hell of it, parked on a Portuguese Atlantic cliff top.....another fine sunset.

So to have the hi-fi system out and in its natural environment of a nice lounge is bliss. It's scratched to hell, but still sounds good, despite the Ukrainian roads.

I look forward to this interlude to further polish my DJ skills, which I have let slide this last few years travelling.

Anyway.......Gulluk! Crazy name crazy place!

My sister came out here for a holiday a few years ago, and somehow ended up buying the place, even though it hadn't been built yet - she bought it "off plan" as they say in the high pressure world of real estate.

I remember raising my eyebrows when I heard what she'd done, but it was none of my business, and although she had a fair few problems in the building, legal and administration, and in the middle of it all, the credit crunch, the reality is that she has a nice place in a nice place.

It may not turn out to be the investment originally envisioned, but it is and always will be - a nice place in a nice place!

The town is still a functioning fishing port, the scenery is lovely, and the local government, despite giving foreign holiday home owners a bit of a runaround, seem to be steering a decent middle course between obscene over-development and maintaining some local identity. I have seen many nice little coastal towns ruined by tourism, but in this one the locals and the tourists and the retired expats seem to live shoulder by shoulder with dignity, and sometimes crazy fun!

To be honest, it's not really my scene, but on the other hand, we are happy and privileged to be given the opportunity to rest here a while, and plan the next stage of our adventure.

But what I am really enjoying, is getting into Turkish culture. Ever since we arrived we have felt relaxed, even though we are both starting from scratch with Turkey.

The people are polite, authority, for tourists at least, seems to be unobtrusive. The roads are reasonable to good, and the infrastructure is pretty good. Everything works....to a point. We have been beset by occasional power cuts and internet outages, but not to the point of disappointment.

But what I really like about the place, is that it is vibrant. Businesses are open late, and are integrated with social life. People hang about, children play and everybody knows each other. So many times I have gone into a shop or business, and if they don't speak any english, they soon locate someone who will willingly translate, even if on the end of a cellphone!

It reminds me of Morocco, and they have a lot in common, but with subtle differences. Both countries are notionally Muslim, but allow and even welcome, western influence. I like moderate Muslim countries - they are a fascinating combination of alcohol and tea drinking establishments and people, many of whom cross the line according to their whim - -they have the best of both worlds!

I have had some fascinating conversations already - about the differences between Istanbul and the coast, West Turkey versus East Turkey, The Kurds, Iran...and of course the tourists!

It is truly the gateway to the east.

So here we will stay for a couple of months.

Where next? We both have 3 month visas, and when they expire at the end of December, we either need to renew and stay, or move on.

We have two or three tentative plans, of which the most likely is to go back to Morocco, where I have friends and contacts, and the smell of business opportunity. But it's a long drive to the Sahara from here. 7000km, which will take a month, assuming we can get the relevant visas.

We shall see.

So blogs will be less frequent.............maybe!

The picture is of our best sunset so far...........