The Turkish Mediterranean coast is chock-a-block with offers of gulet (wooden-hulled boat) sea cruises. We book ours last-minute at the very end of the season in early November. Our cruise, which finds us traveling alone with a full crew at our service, takes us from Fethiye to Olympos with port stops at Kalkan and Kas in between. Though the tourist season is essentially over, we enjoy three days of sunning and swimming in crisp, but clear-blue waters. When we aren't busy relaxing, the captain’s brother and first mate engage us with ad hoc Turkish lessons (point and shoot method using a quill and English-Turkish dictionary), card playing and copious backgammon defeats. For us, the sites, food, people, and gaming captures the Turkish spirit and proves one of the many highlights of our three weeks in Turkey. © www.uncorneredmarket.com
As its name implies, Porto is the home of port, the fortified wine first classified as such in the 18th century. The city’s chief port producers are located along the river. In addition to taking advantage of a few port tastings, we also enjoy navigating Porto’s narrow streets, admiring the colorful tiled houses, and drinking potent coffee in the local cafes. As happens from time to time in Europe, a railroad strike complicates our stay in Porto. Alternative modes of transportation book quickly – buses and trains east are virtually full and rental cars unavailable. With a return flight scheduled to the U.S. a few days later from Madrid, we begin to sweat. Lady luck finally smiles upon us as the Portuguese ticket agent offers us the last two places on an overnight train to Salamanca with a connection to Madrid. We make it home for Christmas after all. © www.uncorneredmarket.com
Jungfraujoch has the highest railway station in the world, at 3,471 meters (11,400 feet). © www.uncorneredmarket.com
