Dalyan – 16th October

I woke up far too early on Saturday 16th October, I felt really rough and my cyst wound was painful and leaky. I’d agreed to visit the local Saturday market with ma & pa so I forced some cornflakes down me and took my day 5 medication. As I left the apartment I decided to take some photos of the pergola, the storm last night had made more horizontal beams come loose and a plastic bag that had been hanging on one of the high branches had caught the rain in it, right above the gate. I knew that King Emlak were sending someone round today to make it safe so I went over to my parents’ place and we headed off to the market.

Dalyan market sells lots of fruit and veg, spices, cheese, olives, Turkish delight, nuts, and even clothes, handbags and watches. I didn’t get too much as I wouldn’t be able to carry it and we would probably be eating out quite a bit, while my parents are here. I spent just 50 lira (£4.23) for some fruit, vegetables and olives. When I got home the spare ground next to Fire Opal was completely cleared and some bricks put on the ground at the edge of the area to denote ‘no parking’ so I took some photos. I felt really ill and thought I’d have a nannan nap but the men from King Emlak arrived to sort out the pergola.

The man in charge was reluctant to do anything as he said we would need permission from all 10 apartment owners before anything could be done and I was annoyed because anyone could see it would only take another rain storm for more pieces to fall off. The plants definitely needed cutting back so that we could take down the falling beams so I gave the go ahead without waiting for everyone’s permission. I did post on the WhatsApp group for the owners, to let them know that King Emlak workmen were going to start tackling it today. About 2.30pm I went downstairs to check on the progress and took some photos to post on the WhatsApp group, King Emlak also posted some progress pictures and it wasn’t looking promising for the pergola staying up. With hindsight both pergolas should have been replaced when Block A had needed it, but without any of the owners being here at that time it hadn’t been essential.

When I came back down at 4.30pm the communal B Block entrance looked shockingly stark and the workmen were gone, the sky was grey and more rain looked likely. I was surprised to see it cut back so much and that there were only 3 actual plants which had produced all of that foliage on top, one of which directly in front of the door to the electric meter cupboard – it clearly should have been trimmed a lot sooner.

That night my parents came over and they were also surprised at the bare entrance to B Block but we all thought I still did the right thing and those Bougainvillea grow fast so I was sure it would grow back again. I really could have done with a glass of wine but, of course, I didn’t because of the antibiotics I was taking and we went to Amy’s bar for a coke for me and beers for my parents. We chatted to Yusuf who is a really lovely bloke and the bar was so quiet compared to how it used to be.
That night we ate at a new place on our list which ma & pa fancied trying; Kebapçı Yusuf, it used to be Adılan’s, another one of our favourites when we were last here. The tables were outside but we were togged up in warm clothes and the rain had stopped, I ordered chicken shish, mom chose lamb shish and dad went for meatballs. The waitress spoke English and my parents said the wine they had was nice, I had an orange juice. We were brought a nice pomegranate salad, and bread to share and we ordered a portion of chips which were really good. For the price we all agreed the food was excellent and we said we would definitely go again.

Dalyan – 15th October

Friday 15th October started with heavy rain and colder weather than we’d had in Dalyan recently, the mountains that I could usually see from all of the windows seemed to have disappeared because of the overcast skies. It was weigh-in day so I got on the scales to find I had put 0.5kg on, hardly surprising given the recent indulgences. My measurements were more surprising though; everything measured the same except for my right thigh which was 0.5cm bigger – wonderful results! The cyst was still an issue and I was on day 4 of the medication, so over half way through the course. I had a double breakfast of cornflakes then left over afternoon tea cakes, before getting ma & pa’s leftovers out of the fridge and popping in to some tuppaware and a tin.
It stopped raining and I was on my way to my parents’ place when Ann messaged me to say that Jamie had arrived back in Dalyan, he was here on a surprise visit and they were at Lukka bar having a late breakfast. We were already destined for a Jiks lunch, it’s always been a firm favourite of my parents’ and the prices are very good value for money. The lady in the kitchen is the happiest member of staff there and she said her usual hellos as we ordered food. I had chicken shish which comes with rice, veg and chips, ma & pa both had a tuna sandwich. The food was good and I struggled to finish it all, dad had a white wine and I really fancied one but resisted. We agreed to meet back up before dinner, at mine and off we went home, my mom had decided not to bother getting a Turkish SIM card for the short time they are here, Dad had turned his phone off and they didn’t have internet at their place, so they could only check when they had WiFi in a bar or at mine.

When I got back I wasn’t sure if I had imagined it but I thought that the pergola had moved and was leaning just ever so slightly more towards the main building of Block B. I also noticed a crack in the wall which I wasn’t sure if it had got worse or not and thought I’d let Leanne at King Emlak know, so she could send someone round to make it safe – it didn’t look like it would withstand harsh winter weather, at all. On the spare piece of land between our complex and the riverside shops there was a workman and truck which looked like they were chopping down trees and scraping the ground, being a builder’s daughter I deduced that it was being prepared for building work to start. I also noticed that some children had posted a couple of homemade posters on our wall next to B gate with drawings of cats on, presumably they had lost their pet cats.
In the late afternoon the rains started again and I wondered if my parents would still want to go out, a lot of the restaurants are mainly outdoors so we would have to go somewhere suitable.

It was around 6pm when the doorbell rang, my mom came in and my dad was still at the bottom of the stairs. Having come through the gate he was inspecting the broken pergola, moving one of the beams that had fell on the floor and was blocking the path. They weren’t very impressed and said if they had come a bit earlier it might have hit them on the head. When I went to look, most of the rest of the pergola was holding up by the overgrown bougainvillea plants and it looked messy and dangerous, the piece on the floor was rotten and it should have been replaced ages ago but without any of the B Block residents being here to look at it, it had just been left to get worse. I didn’t know if it might even have been me who was the last person to have been in B Block at the beginning of January 2020. I wasn’t very happy and I know my mom was worried because it could have hit either of them so I felt responsible for not getting it looked at sooner, the rain had obviously made the planting heavier which had forced the wooden pergola to break under the weight of it. We left using the gate at the entrance to Block A and my parents had chosen a nice restaurant for dinner – we’d kind of started taking it in turns and I’d written a list of all the places we might want to visit while they are here.

After mom and I got some money out at the ATM it was a short walk back to Yener’s Place which overlooks the river where my mom chose a nice table outside for us to have a drink first, I just had diet coke but they both had a nice cold glass of Efes as we all browsed the extensive menu. Yener’s Place used to be on the main street but now it has moved locations and is nearer to where I’m staying which is handy. As the sun went in the wind picked up, it got a bit colder so we went inside, the walls are made of tents so it was still a bit windy where the door was and it blew bottles over and the table cloth almost off. Luckily we all had a jumper/top to put on and we chatted to Yener and some fellow customers. I didn’t go for a starter because I’d had a big lunch but Dad had garlic bread and mom chose the stuffed mushrooms. For mains Dad and I both had chicken casserole, mom lamb chops and all the meals were lovely.

As it was Friday, that was not the end of our evening, we headed to Lukka Bar for the weekly music bingo night which had proved to be popular and highly entertaining – although I was unsure how fun it would be completely sober. Mehmet and Katrina had reserved us a nice table for 3 inside, so that we were away from the tables with smokers on and I could stop moaning about the amount of cigarettes, for once! Ma & Pa had more Efes beers and I went wild with a mocktail (I know how to enjoy a weekend)! My Dad was not too excited about bingo but it turned out to be a good laugh, the first round was ballads, followed by 50s, 60s and 70s music for the second round. Dad was busy guessing all the songs while mom and I marked them off and he knew nearly all of them. The usual Friday night fun squad were sat at a table outside and we said hello to them, Jamie came over and shared a bit of banter with us too. Despite being completely alcohol free I managed to have a great time and even stayed later than the time to take my tablets. As we were leaving Lukka bar and saying bye to my friends the rain started and it was about to get quite stormy – it was amusing to see those of us who decided to get home before the rain got too bad and the expected few who decided another drink and a chance lock in would do! In bed the rain was so loud on the roof and it lasted for quite some time, I didn’t get much sleep at all.

Dalyan – 14th October

When I woke up on Thursday 14th October I felt very sick! The dinosaur egg of a cyst had decided it was going to hatch and I was willing myself not to faint as I took off the blister plaster and dealt with the mess while vomitting in to the toilet. It was disgusting, painful and completely nauseating and I felt so ill that I thought I’d not be able to eat or attend the special surprise I’d booked for my parents’ anniversary. So that I could take my 3rd day’s medication, I forced down bread and butter for breakfast in between puking up and did my best to make myself feel better. I met up with a friend, Diane, at 11.30am and we went to a new coffee shop in the square next to Migros, called Dal. I had a herbal tea which was a bit weird and Diane had some sort of coffee, she was off back to the UK tomorrow so she was looking forward to getting back to England. While we were there we saw a few people Diane usually goes to Zumba with, including Maria the instructor, and they said hello. Even though the weather forecast had said it would continue to rain, the weather was lovely and I went home in readiness for an afternoon with my parents, who were celebrating 49 years of marriage.
We were booked in at River Terrace for an afternoon tea with prosecco and even though I was feeling rather unwell I soldiered on knowing it would be a great afternoon and that I’d finally get to have a jam and cream scone after more than 3 years! I was obviously disappointed that I couldn’t drink the bottle of fizz but the lemon water and the tea were still very good. There were sandwiches, quiche, hummus, bread sticks, cucumber, coleslaw, pasties, cheese scones, normal scones, jam, clotted cream, shortbread, cheesecake and brownies – and it was delightful. Sara and her friend Sarah do these events around once a fortnight and do an amazing job. We could not eat it all and ended up taking some home, in my new Tupperware boxes!
Afterwards I was desperately needing a long lay down but, as it was a special occasion, we decided to have a walk through town and for a drink at Dalyano. I’m not sure if my Dad’s dodgy knee was hurting him or that he was sad to have stopped eating cake but his mood had changed as they ordered a gin and tonic, me an iced peach tea, and he seemed a bit grumpy. Because I had eaten too much gluten/dairy/egg which I’m sensitive too I started to get bloated and had a stomach ache. A year ago I would have had a far worse reaction so I had definitely got better, but I decided it would be best to go home and we walked slowly back. I’d eaten the most calories I’d had in a week, in a long time, so I knew tomorrow’s weigh-in was going to be horrendous – I also felt like my stomach was huge. We said our goodbyes and agreed I would go over to ma & pa’s apartment tomorrow around lunchtime. Before bed I had to wash and redress my cyst which made me feel ill and it was so sore. If there was no improvement tomorrow I would go back to the hospital.

Dalyan – 13th October

Wednesday 13th October was my parents’ first full day in Dalyan and my second day of taking antibiotics. We’d all stayed at Captain Caveman’s apartment last night, ma and pa wanted to nip over to their apartment to drop their bags off and get changed this morning, so we agreed to meet at Jiks for breakfast at 10am. I went to the bank and got some cash out in readiness for whatever activities we would do today, with it being my parents’ holiday I wanted them to be able to choose want they wanted to do, I know they will have missed Dalyan as they hadn’t been for nearly 2 years. When I got to Jiks pub at 10am it was still closed so I decided to pop in to Migros to pick up a bit of shopping that I couldn’t get yesterday (they had ran out of milk).

I bought the following from Migros:
Milk 5.90
Cherry juice 7.95
Cherry jam 8.76
Cornflakes 9.90
Turkey ham 12.90
Cheese 24.95

Total spent 70.61 lira (£6)

By 10.25am I was tottering on the very wet floor at Jiks as Adem, the bar man, was watering down the gardens and floors. I waited for my parents for a bit and they arrived about 11am, they were probably still on English time but I was getting peckish. Mom had a huge bacon and mushroom sandwich, Dad had a full English breakfast, and I had a full English without eggs or tomatoes. The portions at Jiks are good value and the food there was really good, as we scoffed we decided what we would do for the rest of the day and tonight. My parents would spend the day sorting stuff at their apartment, getting some shopping in and I was going to try to make myself feel better, I was in pain and the tablets made me feel so drowsy and a bit seasick. The cyst had started to get bigger and definitely more painful so I spent most of the day putting hot towels on it to try to ease it a bit. Meanwhile, in Vietnam, Captain Caveman was going to get a typhoon and everyone was prepared for floods in Phong Nha, here’s more info:
https://tuoitrenews.vn/news/society/20211012/typhoon-kompasu-heads-to-northcentral-vietnam/63546.html

Because we ate breakfast late I didn’t bother with lunch, Ma & Pa came to mine for 6pm, as agreed earlier, and we took a walk in to town to go for a drink. Before going out I decided to put a blister plaster on my infected cyst, hoping it would draw out the badness or help it to heal quicker. We had drinks (no alcohol for me) at Aşkin’s bar and Işmail, the flower seller, came by, as he does every evening to say hello, my Dad bought 2 roses, one each for us. We bumped in to a friend, Gültekin, at his barbers and he had got married and was expecting a baby, since we last saw him. For dinner Dad suggested we go to one of our favourite restaurants in Dalyan, Bistro Blue, which we were lucky enough to get the last table at. It was great to see the owners, Annie and Selahı, and the 2 waiters were still there, it was a shame I couldn’t join in on drinking wine but my parents had a bottle of red, even though mom had wanted white. I had courgette fritters to start which were more like a courgette bhaji and came with a mango chutney, mom ordered garlic prawns and dad had cheese rolls but they shared. They opted for liver mains and I ordered a pepper steak which was so delicious that I forgot to take a photo of it, which means I will have to go again.
The food was gorgeous and my water very refreshing but I didn’t feel well because of the cyst and just wanted to take my top off as it was irritating the soreness. After the food we sat out in the bar area, me with a Turkish tea, mom with a coffee and dad with a rather large brandy and Sprite – we even got posh after dinner chocolates too. We reminisced about the last time we had all been together with friends (Claire, Clare and Kelly) and had danced the night away here. Bistro Blue had made some improvements to the toilets and furniture since we were last here and, as always, it was still one of the best places to go in Dalyan – we love it there!

Dalyan – 12th October

Tuesday 12th October was the day I would get to see my parents again, after almost 2 years. The last time I had seen them was when Captain Caveman and I had said bye to them from Jiks pub, in Dalyan, on the 25th October 2019 when we thought we would see each other again in May 2020. Of course the pandemic destroyed those plans and when my parents knew I had escaped from Vietnam they were keen to be able to come to Turkey to see me. I was awake before 8am with quite a hangover (which I blamed David for), needing to have a substantial breakfast and to start the medication for the growing and infected cyst on my left shoulder. I had turkey ham, cheese and a simit and then I did some tidying for my parents’ arrival. I was a bit peeved that I wouldn’t be able to drink but we could make up for it once my cyst was removed.

By 9.30am I had been to Migros, the supermarket, for a bit of a shop but I can’t carry too much at once even though it’s not too far to walk. Here is what was in my shopping bag, with the prices in lira:

1 fresh bread 2.00
1 simit 2.25
1 pack of spaghetti 2 95
2 packs of biscuits 4.50
1 pack of razors 5.50
1 tin of chopped tomatoes 6.81
1 tub of quark 6.90
1 toast loaf 8.95
1 tin of baked beans 17.95
2 Tupperware boxes 19.90
1 jar of tahini 20.75
500g mince beef 25.90
1 box washing capsules 34.90

Total spent 159.16 lira (£13.50)

As you can see carbs and tomatoes are cheap here, tahini and meat not so much.

For lunch I had my leftover Sunday dinner, seeing as I had forgotten about it yesterday and I had one of Emma’s apple pies for afters, which I warmed in the oven. My meal was delicious and I enjoyed having a hearty lunch as I had a bit of a sickly feeling, which I thought might be the tablets. By the time my parents were due to land at Dalaman airport there was a full blown rain storm here, I quickly removed my cotton tablecloths from the tables on the balcony and replaced them with the old plastic ones.

When ma & pa arrived at just after 5.30pm, the rain had died down a bit, they had just 2 small bags of hand luggage and their masks on, of course. Once they had taken their masks off we had a big hug and I nearly cried, even though I was so happy to see them. I got ma & pa a welcome beer, they told me about their journey and I told them about my hospital visit and the bad news that I wasn’t drinking for a week. For our first night we had decided to go to one of our favourite places to eat, Pammukale restaurant. They have been going there for years and the owner is really nice, I’ve also loved it there ever since they introduced me to it. Dad ordered a special pizza, mom ordered a tuna and onion pide and I had a mixed pide. Dad had white wine, Mom an Efes beer and I had a cherry juice, we shared a side salad and some chips and everything was so delicious (I didn’t try any of the tuna and onion pide, for obvious reasons). As we were walking home we saw Sarah and Debbie (Darling) having a wine in Jiks so we sat with them for a drink.

As we were chatting we saw a regular friendly face, Işmail the flower seller, who gave my Dad a big hug! He’s such a lovely guy and from time to time my Dad has been known to purchase one or two of his fresh red roses, which keep for ages. After taking my evening tablets I was so zonked out that I could hardly keep awake and I think the dosage was quite high for me, the good news was that my ankle had stopped hurting as much as it had been. We got back home, went to bed and arranged that we would go out for breakfast in the morning.
In the Vietnam news I saw a photo of one of the cities which had been hit hard with Corona and were now offering Sinopharm vaccines, people were crowding to get a jab!

Dalyan – 11th October

At 9am on Monday 11th October, after not being able to go to sleep until after 4am, I was at the ATM getting out more money for the residency application and tax, which I was giving to Sonuç for him to go to Ortaca with today. It was already quite warm with a forecast of 32°C for this afternoon, as I walked to the King Emlak office. When I arrived both Sonuç and Leanne agreed I needed to see a doctor straight away and I went to see the local Dalyan one. Sonuç wasn’t leaving for Ortaca for another 30 minutes and would perhaps take me to hospital if needed. At the local clinic I waited to see the doctor and had to show my (expired) residency card to get past the receptionist, we all had to wear masks and wait outside until a doctor called us. When the doctor called my name we were allowed in the waiting room inside the building, where I showed her the cyst and she looked alarmed and told me I needed to go to hospital immediately, there was an ambulance outside that could take me but I messaged Sonuç to ask him to take me.
Meanwhile my parents were on their way to Manchester airport and wouldn’t have WiFi until they checked in to the Radisson Blu hotel so I was unable to let them know what was going on, or that the weather forecast looked very wet for when they arrived.
We went to the Devlet hospital in Ortaca which is the one the locals use and has a good reputation. Unfortunately my appointment wasn’t until 2.50pm and Sonuç had work to do (including my residency work) so he agreed to drop me at a nice cafe where I would spend a few hours, then he would pick me back up to go back to the hospital. He dropped me at the well-known Pier Gusto, which a lot of my friends had recommended to me before but I’d never been, and as I walked in I saw Gürkan, my taxi driver friend, sat outside having coffee.
As I was going to be here for the next 4 hours I chose a comfy seat inside and ordered the Turkish breakfast, which comes with 2 Turkish teas and I ordered extra water. I wasn’t feeling too well and, obviously, was a little worried about going to hospital for potential minor surgery – I should have washed my hair while I could still move my arm! I was also quite relieved that this wasn’t happening in Vietnam where I would have been far more concerned about a hospital visit.
The Turkish breakfast at Pier Gusto was only 55 lira (£4.66) and was full on, there was no way I could finish it and afterwards I was so tired I thought I’d fall asleep. Luckily a family with 2 small kids sat at the next table and made sure I wouldn’t nod off by having some annoying kids cartoon on loud for the daughter who was barely watching it. I spent the rest of the time writing and editing blogs as best I could concentrate on and the time went by quite quickly. At 2.30pm Sonuç picked me back up and we were on our way to the Devlet hospital once again. There is a lot of walking in the hospital from one desk to pay for the appointment, to see the doctor and I was lucky that Sonuç was able to be there as I think I’d have been there so much longer trying to figure it all out. He also managed to get me the resident price of only 55 lira (£4.66) to see the doctor, instead of 200 lira or more.
Once back upstairs the waiting room was crowded and we expected to have to wait a while, but I was called within minutes. The doctor looked at the cyst, poked it (which hurt) and then was done. He spoke only Turkish and Sonuç acted as translator to say that the cyst was infected and if he was to remove it now it could be a problem, it needed antibiotics and painkillers for 1 week and I should come back if it got any worse, or after it had gone down. He wrote out the prescription and we were done by 3pm and off back to Dalyan.
The medications I got from my favourite pharmacy in Dalyan were Stafine and Etol Fort. The Stafine 500mg tablet was to be taken every 12 hours and the English equivalent is called Fucidin which can make you drowsy and I should avoid alcohol with it. The Etol Fort 400mg is an equivalent to Diclofenac and is an anti inflammatory painkiller to be taken twice a day with food. I was of course glad to get the medication but I was gutted to have to give up alcohol for 7 days, just as my parents were due to arrive too!
When we got back Sonuç and I went to Lukka bar so we could sort out the money situation and, because I had not started the medication yet, we decided to have a beer – just the one! The night got messy as we laughed at Sonuç with his funny stories and him taking the piss out of me for having a dinosaur egg growing on my shoulder, while we had just one more beer. Jackie and David from next door came back off a boat trip and stopped for a drink and the night got messier as David added beers to the round, more banter and laughs were had and I hardly remembered having the pizza for dinner!
We turned what was initially a stressful day in to a good old impromptu drinking session with good friends and I had to message my sister to ask her to text my mom to let her know I was fine and I would be at home when ma & pa arrived tomorrow. My Turkish phone, for some strange reason, has data and calls but I cannot text anyone (Turkish or English numbers) and my mom didn’t seem to have her WiFi on yet.
Tomorrow I would see my parents again after 1 year, 11 months and 17 days and I was so excited.

Dalyan – 10th October

I woke up early on Sunday 10th October and was trying to do some blogging but the power was off. I had quark with pomegranate sauce and honey for breakfast. The cyst was very sore now and, as the doctor wasn’t open on a weekend, I walked to the only open pharmacy in Dalyan to see if I could get some antibiotics/cream or something. When I spoke to the lady behind the counter and then showed her the offending shoulder cyst, she was quite alarmed and said I needed to go to the hospital straight away. I explained I would go tomorrow but I needed to get some antibiotic cream at least as it was now getting more difficult to find clothes that didn’t irritate it and I’d stopped wearing a bra. She reluctantly sold me some cream for 23 lira (£1.95) and off I went back home to have a rather painful exchange of messages with Captain Caveman about Tupperware! I had asked him to take a photo of the locking style Tupperware that we use in Phong Nha, instead he sent me a screenshot of a photo of a generic Tupperware box from the internet, I’d already managed that myself but I needed to explain to a Turkish person exactly what I wanted to buy. For lunch I made some of the bolognese into a pasta bake, this time with non-vegan cheese which was much better. I went to the bank to get the cash I needed to give Sonuç for my health insurance renewal and I went to meet Annie. She was flying back home to England tonight and so we decided to have a drink at Dalyano’s, they do lovely cocktails but we stuck to beer. We’d not been there long when John cycled past but then stopped and did a U-turn; John is the bloke who 2 years ago I had pushed in a wheelchair so that he could still take part in the 5k Caretta ‘run’ to raise money for charity. The 3 of us had a good old laugh and I didn’t want to leave, we really should have arranged it sooner, but I was booked in for another Sunday dinner at Lukka bar where I had agreed to meet Katrina and Sarah.

Annie and I said bye to John and walked to Lukka, we sat out the front and ordered a beer, she was sad to be leaving but also looking forward to going home after 16 days holiday. My Sunday dinner was very filling and, again, I had to take half of my dinner home but of course, I managed to eat all of the delicious apple crumble with ice-cream. We said goodbye to Annie and hoped she might be able to get a reasonably priced flight out for later this year but we would see. Sarah and Katrina decided to not eat Sunday dinner and wanted to order from the main menu, Sarah had the steak and cheese baguette, Katrina the chicken schnitzel and both looked very good.
Back home I wanted to watch Netflix but, after the power cut this morning, it had stopped working. I had an early night as I knew that tomorrow I was going to see a doctor.

Photo credit – Annie and John

Dalyan – 9th October

On Saturday 9th October I decided to have an easy day at home, for a change. My parents were arriving next week so I knew we would be going out quite a bit and I also needed to get the apartment as I wanted it. In the morning I noticed the shoulder cyst was definitely getting worse, I could no longer wear a bra or strap over it without it hurting and I thought I might need to see a doctor. In the morning I made Baba Ganoush in the slow cooker which is so much easier than in a normal oven and I added tahini to my shopping list. For brunch I decided to have an old favourite from when I was last in Dalyan, potato wedges with baked beans – I loved it!! I did some writing and I finished Line of Duty on Netflix, which I thought was good. I made bolognese in the slow cooker and in the afternoon I spoke to Captain Caveman. He was doing fine, he had not started back at work yet (maybe next month) and he said he is missing me a bit now (all while he chased a fly round the bedroom with the electric tennis racket)! I set about looking for a job for 2022 and started to draft up my winter budget, at the top of my to do list was to decide whether to self publish or get an agent for my book(s). I bought some beers, from Selçuk market, for the fridge, had one before dinner, then had 2 lovely portions of pasta bolognese with the tiniest bit of parmesan for my evening meal.
I discovered a comedian I liked on Netflix, called Daniel Sloss and watched him while eating biscuits, quark and honey (the healthy eating diet was going well)! By evening my shoulder was in pain and I was using a hot towel compress to try to ease it, I was also taking paracetamol and ibuprofen to try to reduce the pain a bit. That night I had trouble getting to sleep because of how uncomfortable it was making me.

Dalyan – 8th October

I was awake at 4.15am on Friday 8th October because I couldn’t sleep, my cyst had started to become more uncomfortable. I had a message from Captain Caveman to tell me that the Vietnamese vaccines (which I’ve had 2 of) are now recognised in the UK and Turkey which was good news. The plans for Vietnam to open to tourists in June 2022 was in the news, so it must be true:
https://tuoitrenews.vn/news/ttnewsstyle/20211008/vietnam-plans-to-fully-reopen-to-intl-travelers-by-june-2022/63477.html
Sonuç was completing my online residency application and had me on standby for the OTP code and email for most of the morning. He also managed to get me an appointment for the residency in Muğla on 22nd October, 2 weeks wasn’t long to wait!
Today was my weekly weigh day and I tentatively got on the scales because I knew I had over indulged this last week. Unbelievably, I had lost 1kg and I had to attribute it to the amount of walking about I was doing compared to before. At 10am I had a delivery I’d been looking forward to; there’s a lady, called Emma, in Dalyan who makes sausage/cheese rolls and apple pies so I had ordered a few for the fridge and the freezer. Emma is a good pastry baker and I’d often seen her posts on Facebook to offer her products, the food came hand delivered by her husband, at the time arranged and wrapped in foil/greaseproof paper – I would look forward to trying those later. My next appointment was one I had looked forward to for so long; Emrah Kilis, my favourite hairdresser, was going to work magic with my hair and I absolutely love having my hair done even though I rarely got to have it done when I was in Vietnam. He did an amazing job even if I did look more like a King Charles spaniel than Eva Longoria but I guess he’s not a miracle worker.

My next mission was banking related and Murat who works upstairs in the bank got me sorted with everything I needed, in readiness for my residency appointment and proving my savings were adequate to live on, here in Turkey. The final job of the day was to get my biometric photos done for the residency application, which I had done at the small shop near to Lukka bar, they made me look like an extra from Prisoner Cell Block H but we’re very quick and only 50 lira for 4. When I got home the steps to the apartment were soaking wet so it took me a while to get up them safely, the cleaner had been and done a good job but they always soak the marble steps which is hard to walk on with a bad ankle and I was worried I would slip – I made a mental note to book her for when I’m not here next time and messaged the neighbours to let them know to be careful.

Late in the afternoon, after shoving down one of Emma’s delicious cheese rolls, I arranged to meet Ann at Lukka bar for a drink before our evening out, with my new haircut. We also met Sonuç who needed to collect my bank stuff and biometric photos for the residency application and he agreed that my photos were pretty scary. He took all the stuff he needed to copy and then brought it back, while Ann had a white wine and I had a beer. We had booked as part of a bigger group for the bingo and fish and chips night at Lukka bar and I was conscious that I was on a tight budget, hence the beer instead of wine. At our table was me, Ann, Sarah, (Nanny) Kay, Süleyman, Jackie, Roy, Sue and Pete, the last 4 I hadn’t met before but they were already friends with each other and knew Süleyman. It certainly made for an entertaining evening and poor (Nanny) Kay came late so we had all eaten our fish and chips already, then she got told that the last portions had already been taken and she was disappointed. Luckily for (Nanny) Kay she did get her fish and chips and her’s had crispier batter than our’s and came with tartar sauce, so she was delighted. The bingo night was good with lots of singing, Ann had left early to meet Debbie (Darling) so I was left surrounded by 5 smokers at our table and my newly done hair reeked of fags, which was a pain as I was hoping not to have to wash it this weekend! I left after the 2nd game of bingo and 3 beers and decided I was ready for a night in tomorrow – it was ok having all this freedom, but so did everyone else! Maybe I had started to get a bit of social fatigue, I’d been here 2 weeks now and I was very much looking forward to settling in to home life a bit more.

Dalyan – 7th October

It was a mix of a day on Thursday 7th October; news that Vietnam planned to open again in June 2022 were posted on the internet, the number of Corona cases in Vietnam had dropped considerably, the weather forecast for next week was looking cold and wet here in Turkey, and a few fully vaccinated friends in the UK were positive for the Corona virus. Before breakfast I went over to my parents’ place where I had arranged for my cleaner at Fire Opal to give their place a once over before their arrival next week. I did a small shopping trip too then Sonuç messaged to say he needed a copy of some paper work for my residency, again.

Here’s my shopping list and costs in lira:

Şok supermarket

1 plastic bag 0.25
2 lemons 0.77
Bread 2.00
3 carrots 3.28
1 packet of Turkey ham 3.50
1 packet of plain crisps 4.50
2 packet of biscuits 5.00
1 bottle of pomegranate sauce 5.50
Honey 5.90
Rock salt 12.45

Total 43.15 lira (£3.82).

I had arranged to meet Annie and Anne at Alegria for lunch, the owner of Yummy’s had taken over the old Safran restaurant and made Alegria her new eatery, right on the river, opposite the tombs. The place is lovely and they have a very large menu to choose from, which I’d not been used to having so much choice and it took me ages to decide. Eventually Annie and I ordered the steak salad, Ann had the crispy chicken and the food was absolutely lovely. I even had a pineapple and watermelon juice as I was conscious of not having eaten enough fruit of late and, although it’s not the cheapest place in town, it really is good value and the portions are large (I took home leftovers) and the location is gorgeous. In the afternoon I met Sonuç at the insurance company to ask about renewing my health insurance policy because I needed a 2 year policy for my residency application.
That night I decided to have a night in and, because I’d had a big lunch, I just had leftover steak salad and nibbles for dinner while watching a bit of Netflix. I’d had a productive and enjoyable day and I was ready for a relaxing weekend.

Photo credit – Annie

Dalyan – 6th October

After buttered toast for breakfast on Wednesday 6th October I went to meet Hüseyin, the translator, at Lukka bar at 10.30am, as organised by Sonuç yesterday. Hüseyin did all the work at the notary office in Ortaca, then we were on our way back to Dalyan. The cost of the notary was 331 lira (£28) and the cost of Hüseyin and his services was 350 lira (£30) but it was simple and fairly quick.
Back in Dalyan I had a 2nd breakfast, with Ann at Lukka bar, she had a full English, I had a breakfast wrap (without egg) for the first time and it was really good!
Back home I got an update from Captain Caveman; his foot was hurting again and Duyet had been to get him some medication because he was having trouble walking, I got him to agree to see a doctor, Max (Stu’s eldest) had delivered pork and homemade BBQ sauce to him so he was happy with that.

I’d got the rest of the Bolognese out of the freezer and was hoping to have that for dinner before going out, I still had half the bottle of wine left from yesterday too so I sat on the balcony with some nice wine and olives. Unfortunately the Bolognese didn’t defrost in time so after a nibble of cheese and toast I headed over to Heybe’s for dinner. On my way I walked past Lukka bar where I saw Sarah and Katrina and they invited me to join them for a drink so I had a quick glass of wine and a good look at their food (the BBQ chicken pizza looked great) before toddling off to meet the others – I did say I’d call in for a nightcap on my way home.

When I arrived at Heybe’s already there were Maddie, Angela and Nick and a few of their friends, and the place was quite busy. I met a nice elderly Turkish gentleman, Ibo, and I recommended the işkender to him. We all ordered and I couldn’t resist having the işkender for the 2nd time in the 2 weeks since I’d arrived – it really is so tasty.
Onur was playing and it was an open mic night so I ended up singing a few old favourites with him. He picked out Valerie by the Zutons/Amy Winehouse, I picked out What’s up by Four Non Blondes, then we managed to get away with Hey Jude by The Beatles. All of us were having a great time and I managed to persuade Nick to sing Mad World by Tears for Fears/Gary Jules with me. I didn’t realise that Donny, the owner and chef at Heybe’s, was doing a live video update to Facebook for all to see, Nick and I agreed a bit of practice wouldn’t have gone a miss but we didn’t care and we were enjoying ourselves. We met a nice couple who were here on holiday and they were singing along to all the songs. If you can bare to watch/listen, here’s Donny’s video:
https://www.facebook.com/636029992/posts/10159931815054993/
After that it was time to ‘get my coat’, walk the short journey home via Lukka to see if Sarah and Katrina were still there – they weren’t so I went straight home. Before bed I checked my shoulder and the cyst was no bother at all, which was reassuring.

Dalyan – 5th October

When the social media issue was fixed on Tuesday 5th October it was a relief and I had a message from Melissa to say she had some ice-cream left to give me, as I was sending her a message to say I had a dress which was too big for me and perhaps it would be suitable as a maternity dress for her. I went over to her place and we said goodbyes again as they headed off to see more of Turkey, it felt a little strange that almost a year ago we had spent a few days together during the floods of Phong Nha 2020, watching Harry Potter together at Elements Collection, it was also pretty cool that the first people to come to visit me in Dalyan were friends we had met in Vietnam! My next stop was the bank where I transferred quite a bit of money to Captain Caveman’s Turkish bank account to be able to pay for the bills here, I did this a bit prematurely it would turn out, as I didn’t realise there was a limit to how much I could get my hands on before my account maturity in about 3 weeks time. I finally got my internet banking set up for my Turkish accounts, which felt good and I decided to treat myself to an English breakfast at Lukka bar, I’d been here almost 2 weeks and not had one yet – I do miss a good breakfast and wouldn’t be able to resist or wait until I got to England again, after just over 3 years of being away. The breakfast consisted of bacon, sausage, beans, toast, butter, and mushrooms for me, as I don’t eat egg or tomato on my breakfast, I had 2 orange juices and 2 teas and it was really good. I met a friend of Katrina’s, who was hilarious and he gave me some good physiotherapist recommendations, he also was a fan of shockwave therapy which had cured his leg after a bad accident. Sonuç arrived for more paperwork and preparation for the forthcoming residency application and he made a phone call to Hüseyin, the translator, and the notary office. Before I knew it, we were booked to go to Ortaca notary tomorrow, which would be another step closer to the process of being able to stay here longer than 90 days, if they agree.
My lunch with Leanne and my neighbours got cancelled as Leanne wasn’t well and I decided to get some much needed products from Katrina’s shop, Maizie Moo, instead.
The shop is really lovely and the products are all made with natural ingredients where I picked out whipped body butter, a hair mask, a sponge which is like magic, mosquito spray and I also got a few more free samples of foot balm, face scrub and a shower/bath bomb type of product. All of it smells like you could eat it and the products I had already tried had really done wonders for my eczema, so much so that I had now stopped using the steroid cream from the pharmacy and was using only the Maizie Moo butter. I spent a total of 300 lira (£25) and got a handmade bag which looked like someone had bought me a gift, it felt wonderful being able to get something nice for myself as a treat.

At 2pm I went for my 60 minute full body massage at BC Spa which was so lovely, the guy who did my massage, Ramazan, was very careful around my injuries too, which I was pleased about. Interestingly, when he touched the left shoulder where the scar from my cyst was it felt sore and it was obvious that there was a bit more of a problem with the cyst regrowing than I realised.
Back home I felt very sleepy after the massage and I watched more Line of Duty, then made my leftover Sunday roast dinner and had some of the rather lovely red wine with it. I polished off the ice-cream from the Wiringi family and as I was washing up I realised that the origami bird, which Aaliyah had made for me in Hoi An, Vietnam, was on the shelf next to me. I’d had it in my purse all this time and taken it out to put on display, then forgot to let Aaliyah know it had travelled with me to Turkey. Before bed I got an invite for tomorrow night which I would find difficult to turn down and it was, quite literally, right up my street.

Dalyan – 4th October

On Monday 4th October I woke up early and Captain Caveman had sent me a photo of Eric, the bee, who had stayed over at Elements last night. I didn’t bother with any breakfast because I’d arranged to meet Melissa and her family at 11.30am for an early lunch at River Terrace. It’s a lovely location right by the river and is a family oriented place with a small playground. It was nice to see the owners, Sara and Ali, who (like many business owners in Dalyan) had experienced a very hard year or 2 because of the pandemic and lack of tourism. They were still so happy and welcoming and the restaurant has had a toilet refurb since I last went there which has definitely made a massive difference. I decided to have a cider with ice, the sun was shining and I waited for the Wiringi family to arrive. Melissa had a big surprise; she was pregnant, they are expecting their 4th child in February. They all looked well and while mom and dad ordered food the 2 older kids, Noah and Aaliyah, had smoothies. Elijah, the youngest ordered a chicken wrap and wouldn’t eat it because it had peppers in. Rimaha and I ordered chicken wraps too and they were really tasty, Melissa had the nachos and then, the highlight of the day, we ordered 6 brownies. Sara is an excellent baker and her warm brownies with ice-cream went down a treat with everyone as they were so delicious.

As the family were only staying in Dalyan for 1 night it was difficult to fit anything in for them to do, they didn’t have the time for the boat trip to the beach or lake so were happy to have a simple stroll along the river where we looked out for turtles. The plan for the Wiringi family was to go to Akyaka tomorrow, then they were off to Ephesus, Pammukale and Cappadocia, they couldn’t fit all their luggage and 3 kids in the car so they had to go back to Kaş next week to pick up a suitcase then they were leaving Turkey – their 90 day stay was almost at an end already. It was unfortunate that they didn’t have longer to explore Dalyan but it was already time to say our goodbyes, they were going to stay in tonight as they had plans to leave early the next morning.

After running a couple of errands I went to Jiks, I was thirsty and desperately needed the toilet so I got a fanta and then could smell food. My favourite chef in Dalyan, the lady at Jiks, was cooking so I was very tempted to have dinner. I ordered the shrimp skewer and a white wine and soda, the food was so delicious and for just 65 lira (£5.50) for 3 skewers with chips and salad it was a new favourite. My total bill was 105 lira, which is less than an English ten pounds and I was really full, I’d definitely be coming here again. I had completely forgot that I had leftover Sunday dinner in the fridge, it would wait until tomorrow. When I got home I noticed my internet wasn’t working but it turned out that Facebook, Messenger, WhatsApp and Instagram were all down for the next 6 hours and it was worldwide!

Dalyan – 3rd October

I was awake before 7am on Sunday 3rd October but I went back to sleep for an hour before getting up to do a few chores. I did most of the unpacking of my stuff that I left here in boxes, laundry, washing stuff in the cupboards and getting ready to welcome Melissa and her family to Dalyan later. I had fresh bread and butter for breakfast and then I decided to rearrange the furniture so that the kitchen table is up against the wall near the stairs and not so cramped in the kitchen – it would give me a better space to write from too. For lunch I had hummus with bread and olives and I decided to try something new by doing baked potatoes in the slow cooker, to see how they turned out and they were pretty good.

There was some excitement that afternoon as I had booked in to Lukka bar to have one of their Sunday dinners. I joined a table with Katrina and her friend, Tunc, and enjoyed a glass of red wine before the meal came. This was my first Sunday dinner in Dalyan, having not been in the UK for 3 years and not in Dalyan for 1 year 8 months I had missed eating proper Yorkshire puddings so I was looking forward to a nice roast dinner. I’d previously rather enjoyed the Phong Nha Farmstay Sunday dinners but due to money and then lockdown, I’d not had one of them for ages, either. When the plate was placed in front of me I was amazed at how good it looked, especially as the photos on the Lukka Facebook page didn’t show how big the portion was and a photo can never describe how good the gravy is, which there was lashings of! The cauliflower cheese was great, the beef just melted in my mouth and I had to save some of it to take home so that I could fit in my pudding, which is included in the price. The apple crumble was made to perfection with just the right ratio of apple to crumble for my liking, topped off with a blob of ice-cream. To enable me to fit in the dessert I had to have a good hour or so gap, with a couple of extra wines before I tackled it. Because I’m no longer having gluten free meals I got to enjoy the whole thing without any special dietary amendments and it was so good. The cost of it was 110 lira (£9.32) which isn’t the cheapest Sunday dinner in Dalyan but you certainly get what you pay for, the meat quality was top notch and I had enough left for a 2nd meal. I went home very full and, as I sat down to watch some more Line of Duty, I got some good news; my friends who I met in Phong Nha (Mik, Kendra & Bryan, Hamish & Ania) were coming to Dalyan later in the year for a bit of a reunion holiday – how exciting.

Dalyan – 2nd October

On Saturday 2nd October I woke up at 7.30am to photos of mushrooms from Captain Caveman in Phong Nha, he had continued to tend to the embryos and more had grown so he was looking forward to his breakfast tomorrow. He’d been to the Phong Nha Farmstay to buy eggs from Sau today but unfortunately her ducks had stopped laying so he couldn’t get any. I had cornflakes for breakfast and started watching Line of Duty on Netflix before I set off for my appointment. I had booked in at Mimi’s for my eyebrows threading, a pedicure and reflexology because my good foot had terribly dry cracked skin and my bad foot could really do with being massaged in the hope that the swelling and aching in my ankle would be better. I had the reflexology first and it was really good, just 20 minutes but it felt so much better and all my toes popped, not bad for £15. My eyebrow threading was quick and only £5 then I had a very thorough pedicure where they now use power tools to sand off the hard skin, finishing with a moisturising massage and some nice nail varnish for a total of £15.

In the square next to Mimi’s there had been some changes since I was last there and my favourite gluten free No 10 Bakery was no longer. The shop next door was now a restaurant, called 2 Charlies, that I had seen discussed on Dalyan Facebook pages and I had wanted to try their fish and chips so I decided to go there for lunch. As I didn’t get to have fish and chips last night I thought I’d splash out for lunch and I ordered a fish and chips with a large beer. The beer was 25 lira (£2.12) for 50cl, the fish and chips was 75 lira (£6.36) so on the expensive side but it was a big piece of fish. It came served on a big white plate with a fancy brush stroke of what I hoped was balsamic glaze and a portion of mushy peas which looked like the ones you would get in England (I don’t like them but they came in a separate dish and were easy to take off). The fish was cooked very nicely although the batter was a thin sort with herbs in that I didn’t think were needed as it made the fish a bit scenty. I wasn’t sure what the fish was but probably not cod or haddock, possibly Hake or even a Vietnamese Basa as it tasted more fishy. I suspect I was the first customer of the day to have something in the fryer as the batter was a bit moist on the inside and didn’t stick to the fish very well in some places. The fish comes with wedges rather than actual chips but there was a good portion of them and they soaked up the vinegar well, I’d have preferred not to have the seasoning already on them but they were still cooked really nicely and the tartar sauce was a good touch. It wasn’t a bad meal and I couldn’t manage it all as I was too full, there was a cat under my table hoping to get the leftovers. On the way home I called at the bakery to buy bread and saw a fresh tray of baklava which I just had to buy a couple of pieces of for later.

I realised that today was 14 days since I had my 2nd vaccine and so I could officially go out and about with confidence that I was fully protected and might not die should I get Corona. It said in the news that people coming to Turkey from the UK could now enter using their proof of vaccines instead of a PCR test so it looked like lots more tourists would be on their way, probably some of them unaware they were bringing the virus, which did worry me. That afternoon I spoke to Captain Caveman who was doing ok back in Phong Nha and we had a good chat before I had to go out.

Jax was flying home tonight so I’d arranged to meet her, and her mom, Ann, at Heybe’s for an early dinner and to say bye. I’d been keen to try a Turkish dish called işkender and to my delight they had it on the menu for 85 lira (£7.20) so I ordered it. I just had a couple of soda waters at first as we ate the complimentary lavaş, often described as balloon bread, olives and a yoghurt dip. We decided to pig out and order starters; Ann and I both had the stuffed mushrooms which were great, Jax had a Turkish version of a meat pastry which looked good. For mains Ann and Jax had the chicken casserole, I had my first işkender kebab and it was absolutely fantastic – not greasy and plenty of it! I ordered a red wine, Jax had a half measure of wine just to say cheers but the pair of them were still jaded after being out until 3am. I asked the waiter to box up my leftovers and we said our goodbyes, but would look forward to her next visit.
Back home it was still early so I had a marathon session of watching Line of Duty on Netflix. I got peckish after a couple of episodes and ate the left over işkender kebab.
I got confirmation from Melissa, who lived with her family in Vietnam until moving to Kaş in Turkey a couple of months ago, that they were going to come to visit me on their way to Pammukale. It was a bit strange that I’d come all this way from Vietnam to Turkey, hoping to meet up with people from the UK, only for my first visitors to be from friends who, this time last year, were living in Phong Nha.