We waved goodbye to Nathan as he drove off in his grandmother Janet’s car and boarded the ferry.
Various members of the crew came to see us and there were several discussions about the dogs. We wanted the dogs to stay in the van, but were told we had to take them up onto the deck with us. “Upstairs OK,” they said.
So we started the process of decamping onto the back open deck — dog beds and blankets, food and water bowls, and all our own stuff. It took several trips, then we settled down and courier M opened a bottle of wine.
But it got a bit chilly so we went on a recce and found some reclining seats in a lounge area, and moved inside with the dogs. We were all very comfortable until the ship’s purser told us the dogs had to go back outside. We stood our ground and said, either inside or in the van. In the end, he agreed to them going back to the van. (Grins all round!)
The vehicle deck was pretty full and it was quite a job squeezing between the lorries. Roxy was very nervous so, after Diana had settled her other two dogs into the van, she stayed put and called Roxy, who left courier M and and went to her.
Once we were confident the dogs were all comfortable for what was left of the night, we went back to the lounge area. By now it was about midnight. Courier M and Janet played cards, Jayne watched a movie, and everyone else read, until we all eventually fell asleep. We woke this morning to find the ferry pulling into Mersin – only two hours late!
It took us about an hour to clear customs and then Eren and his father arrived from Petical Vets. They checked the dogs’ microchips and agreed we had the right dogs.
We were about to head for the veterinary department but it had closed for lunch, so we had to wait until 2.00 pm for the doors to reopen. Now we’re going through paperwork…
Awwww it’s a lot of hanging around ..Hope you get on your way soon, you must all be kernackered xx0xx
Mollie and Alfie
Poor courier M has been on the road for rather a long time now 🙁
So far so good! Yay!
softly softly catchy Monkey… 😉
I’m glad you have the right dogs – that’s a good step in the right direction. Good Luck for the rest of your trip.
Thanks Easy – it was kind of them to confirm it 😉
Inch by inch…good work! Loved the pictures and commentary…thanks!
What impresses me is how relaxed the animals all are and how they all seem to get along with each other. I hope your through this one quickly!
They have all been so good tempered about the hanging around. They are all very socialised and a pleasure to spend time with. Thanks, we hope to be waving to you from the coast road soon (please!).
Lovely pic’s and well done so far!What’s the latest please?Nathan needs to know if Grandma (Janet) is still on for being picked up at 8am tomorrow? xx BIG hug’s to Brandy
Nathan can pick Janet up tomorrow! They all caught the ferry, some by the skin of their teeth 😉
My gosh what a journey this has been. Does it hold the record for being your most difficult one so far?
Oh yes, we’ve had some hairy times at the Turkish border before but we’re talking rather a lot of hours – not days!
I’ll second Lonely Dogs question?
This one is in a league of its own.
Happy Birthday Eren – glad he was there to help.
Courier M will deserve a medal when you get those dogs to their destination and a long shower and a good sleep 🙂
What a way to spend your birthday! We were very pleased indeed that they were there to help 😉
Oh the paper work must be a bit of a nightmare. It’s nice they allowed you to but everyone back in the van. I’m sure they’d like it there best.