On the morning of Friday, 22 August 2025, we set off from Çeşme. Five hours later, we met the captain outside the customs gate in Bozburun.
Our appointment with the agent was at 2.00 pm.
The Bozburun Customs Gate, which had closed after the pandemic, reopened under pressure from the agencies. The state sends the customs officer, but the agencies pay the building expenses and the officer’s allowance. We finished in half an hour. The heat was scorching, with only a handful of people walking in the street. Our rescuer Osman ferried us back and forth in his tiny dinghy.
Beetfish set off at around 3.00 pm, first heading to Oğlanboğuldu. It is one of Bozburun’s loveliest bays: pale-blue, cool and clean water. Derin liked it too.
Then it was off to Symi, so close that we crossed in almost forty minutes. At sunset, Symi looked like a fairy-tale town.
The island spent the Second World War under Italian occupation. Although it struggled to develop and lost population afterwards, European funding in the 2000s helped turn it towards tourism. Colourful houses line the hillside.
Customs barely noticed us. After a fifteen-minute stop, we moved on to the southern bays facing Türkiye.
Our first stop was Agios Georgios Dysalonas.
We spent the night in Agios Georgios Dysalonas Bay. It is surrounded by sheer cliffs, with trees that seem to hang from the mountains. The deep navy sea hints at depths of up to one hundred metres. It is a beautiful bay, with a narrow pebble beach and a tiny church.