David's Diary: Sunday, July 13, 2003

Nabiha Leaves Dragonsinger

It is a bittersweet day. It will be nice to have the family unit back together for the last month of our two-year adventure, but we all like Nabiha and are sad to see her leaving. None of us can believe that two weeks have gone by since we picked up Nabiha in Istanbul. Nabiha has spent a lot of time visiting with Jocelyn, but she has also spent a lot of time with Kevin and Allen. As we get ready to leave the boat, Nabiha gives Kevin a big hug.

Final Dinghy Ride

Karalee, Jocelyn, Nabiha, and I jump in the dinghy. We ride along the waterfront and past all of the moored Gulets. The setting sun highlights Nabiha's and Jocelyn's hair as I sit in the back of the dinghy steering us to the main road that leads to the bus offices.

Saying Goodbye

We arrive at the bus offices about fifteen minutes before the bus was scheduled to leave, yet there was no bus. We stepped into the bus office and discovered that we should have either shown up earlier to catch a Dolmus or gone straight to the bus station, which is on the edge of Marmaris. We hail a taxi, the four of us jump in, and we tell the driver to get us to the bus station in time for the 7:00 PM bus to Istanbul. We arrive with two minutes to spare.

Arriving with little time somehow makes it easier, since there was no time for long goodbyes. Karalee and I give Nabiha a hug -- we've both enjoyed having her onboard Dragonsinger. Then it's time for Jocelyn and Nabiha to say goodbye. Between the hugs there are lots of tears before Nabiha boards her bus. It seems like seconds, but was probably a minute, before the bus left and the three of us waved goodbye to Nabiha.