Dalyan – 22nd October

Kate had arranged what we thought might be the last boat trip of the season, on Saturday 22nd October. Kaan’s Tequila Boat was once again the chosen one for today and he had agreed a good price. The plan was to go out to sea and find a tranquil spot at Devil’s Bay.
Captain Caveman got up super early to go to the weekly market before the trip and ended up there before it was opened. Luckily he got himself a savory pancake for 25 lira (£1.20) while he waited for the stall holders to finish setting up. Once ready, he bought a variety of fruit, vegetables and olives for a total of 146 lira (£7), which would easily last us the week.
At 10am we were on the boat waiting for 1 person who hadn’t seen the message that we were leaving 30 minutes earlier than first planned.
Joining Kate, Mark, my parents, Captain Caveman and I on board were;
Matt & Vanessa, Adam & Kath, Trish & Steve, Linda, Shiela, Gay Gaz and his mate Kelly. At least 2 of those people were half cut when they got on board so it looked like we were in for a lively day. This was the first time, since Captain Caveman arrived, that we had seen Kaan and he had a present from Vietnam. Kaan was so pleased with his Easy Tiger T-Shirt that he put it on straight away and showed it off to everyone.

Steve was the first in the water then lots of paddle board action ensued. Captain Caveman, Dad and I stuck to old fashioned swimming in the sea which wasn’t too cold ‘once you were in’. Poor Trish had been under the weather so wasn’t her usual chatty self, joining Kate in the not drinking alcohol camp. Kaan’s fridge soon got emptied though and Kelly was the first to declare the bar was open. Captain Caveman wasn’t too far behind Gaz and Mark but Dad and I waited until midday at least.

Steve like to be the first in the water

Captain Caveman testing out if it is warm enough

Kaan getting the equipment ready

Even though Mom didn’t risk going in the water, on account of her possibly not being able to get back out again, we still all had a good time. The BBQ lunch was good, as always, with plenty of it and some of the party sorts were proper hammering the booze. Gay Gaz’s friend Kelly was a force to be reckoned with and couldn’t half knock back the beers and raki. She did a couple of impressive dives from the roof of the boat, on the first occasion her boobs were out, we were spared Gay Gaz’s testicle appearance this time, though! It was a really great day out and with lots of swimming, eating and drinking. Kate and Kaan felt sure we could maybe squeeze in a repeat performance before the end of the season and the feelers were put out for another Miss Guided Tour next week.

When we got back to town it was dark so, after dropping Mark and Kate off at their jetty, and saying bye to the sensible friends, the remainder of us popped to Rum bar for a cocktail – they do one of the best Pina Coladas in Dalyan.
My parents, Captain Caveman and I were a bit peckish by 8pm so we took ourselves off to Pizza 48 for our dinner. Dad had Hawaiian, Mom had tuna and onion, Captain Caveman had a mixed with extra onion rings and I had salami and mushroom. It was all very nice and the prices reasonable. The most expensive pizza was only 80 lira (£3.80), an Efes 55 lira (£2.62), Coke 15 lira (70p) and red wine 50 lira (£2.38) – we paid 515 lira (£24.52) for the 4 of us and we were all very full.

Photo credit – a couple from Adam Newton

Dalyan – 19th to 21st October

Captain Caveman was not too clever on Wednesday 19th October when he got up to go Dogging. He was very sneezy, as if he was still near cats but he hadn’t been. His mood was also a bit iffy and he seemed to have a bit of an issue with me having my things around the home. While he was gone I decided to do a clear out of some of my clothes, as I had 3 boxes of them in a cupboard which would not fit in the shared wardrobe.
The Wednesday Fun Quiz at Retro bar had been moved to Thursday for this week so my parents, Captain Caveman and I had a spare evening to spend at home. When Captain Caveman got back he hardly spoke, was very sneezy. We had diet pizzas for tea, watched some Netflix then went to bed.

***Captain Caveman’s photos of the dogs being walked at the shelter.***

Captain Caveman went Bumming on Thursday 20th October while I sorted through my winter clothes. Captain Caveman was still under the weather and I had started to feel a headache coming on.
For lunch Captain Caveman made halloumi salad, he put some shelves in a cupboard in the afternoon. We decided not to go to the Retro bar fun quiz tonight, my parents went to Firat’s for dinner but we stayed in again.

Disappointingly, the training workshop I was due to be part of today had been moved on a month. On Friday 21st October Captain Caveman was very productive, he’d been to the shops and he was cooking a full English breakfast. In Migros he spent 165.60 lira (£7.88) on a toastie loaf, eggs, cereal and chicken. Before breakfast I did my weekly weigh and measurements only to be a little disappointed. My weight was 0.3kg lighter but my measurements were showing I’d increased by 1 or 2cm.
We’d eaten the delicious breakfast and washed up before 9.30am so we could waste more time on the communal electricity issue. I had read every meter in the B Block cabinet but none of them seemed to correlate with the communal electric. I decided to have a look if there was a specific meter for this in A Block and we found it had been cut off, with cutters and a tag had been put on by the electric company, we presumed. This was very strange and I could not understand why they would do that, especially when Captain Caveman had just paid almost 2500 lira (£120) about 10 days ago. The last time I had spoken to Aydem about this they said they couldn’t do anything without me having a paper bill or the correct meter number. We still had no paper bill but maybe the tag number would help? I planned to ask my Turkish teacher to help me on Tuesday as we were getting nowhere.
I did some Turkish practice and homework, we had curry for dinner and then we joined my parents for Lukka Music Bingo. Adam & Kath were on the next table with Sue, Nigel and Amanda so everyone got introduced and the Bingo was good fun. Our table of 4 had said we weren’t eating at Lukka because we had all eaten dinner at home. For some reason Captain Caveman ordered an halloumi starter at a cost of 65 lira (£3.10) – my homemade curry obviously hadn’t filled him up enough. The men had 3 beers but the ladies only had 2 as we didn’t want to be hungover for tomorrow’s outing.
As usual the Music Bingo was great, we didn’t win but we had a fun night – this time not a wild or late one.

Dalyan – 18th October

We were woken with a bit of a jolt on Tuesday 18th October as Captain Caveman’s side of the bed collapsed. Captain Caveman got his tools out and got on with fixing it while I was supposed to be at Turkish class but the class had been cancelled. I made halloumi salad for lunch and then gave Captain Caveman a hand turning the sofa upside down so he could fix that too. At 2pm I went to singing group where Kate and my mom also joined. We sang most of the favourites from last week but we added a couple that we really liked; ‘Bad Moon Rising’ by Creedence Clearwater Revival and ‘Top of the World’ by The Carpenters.
Mark & Kate had arranged to meet Matt & Vanessa, who had arrived in Dalyan late last night, at Tez bar so Kate invited us 4 along too. Sheila also joined us and a random couple got stuck with our group when there were no more seats. After one drink and a quick change, Captain Caveman and I had to leave as we were off to Katrina & Mehmet’s wedding reception at Hotel Dalyance.

The wedding party was really lovely and we were honoured to be invited as they had kept it just to close friends and family. Louize had made the cake which looked amazing, all the wedding party looked great especially Katrina, who was looking so beautiful and happy in her gorgeous wedding dress. I was rather too busy mingling and reminding Captain Caveman of names of people he might have forgotten, after being away for 3 years, to take as many photos as I should have. There was a free bar which we were conscious not to abuse the generosity of and we chatted to some lovely people. We got home after midnight having had a fab time.

Photo credit – Tez and Captain Caveman

Dalyan – 16th & 17th October

We woke up on Sunday 16th October after a cracking storm and were looking forward to an easy day. Captain Caveman went to the bakery for a fresh loaf and a simit, which we had for breakfast with cheese and jams. I popped a sausage casserole in to the slow cooker and checked we had enough potatoes and flour to do roast potatoes and Yorkshire puddings with it.
A lady who was interested in Amanda and Greg’s table, but had not showed up last night because she had mistakenly gone to Ruby rooms during the storm, was going to try again and come today.
When she arrived with her Turkish boyfriend, who still had his pyjamas on (which were inside out) she had a broken arm and the table was too big. They ended up stood in our kitchen for ages chatting and it transpired that Greg had not put the measurements of the table on the advertising post. Captain Caveman measured it and sent him the details to amend his post to include measurements which should have been included.
During all this, my parents had woken up with no power and were trying to get sorted out. It had turned out that their power supply had been struck by lightning in last night’s storm and they may be without electricity for some time. My mom said they would manage without but I was having none of it and insisted they pack some things and come to stay with us. Luckily the spare room was prepared for guests and they like sausage casserole.
It turned out to be another good night with rather too much wine and they brought rum too. My Yorkshire puddings didn’t rise as much as I wanted them too so I was disappointed but we ate them all. I even saved some mixture in the fridge for tomorrow. As we were in bed, about to go to sleep, I got a message asking about the table and could we sell it for less, I said no and went to sleep.

On Monday 17th October Captain Caveman was pleased as we got to have pancakes for breakfast. My parents were going to go home but they wouldn’t even be able to have a cup of tea with their electric being off. Dad had plain pancakes with honey, the rest of us had savoury pancakes with mushroom, spinach and cheese.
After breakfast, we got all the washing done and pottered about a bit while my parents went home to check what was happening with the power. Someone was coming to replace the transformer today, which was rather prompt and they would have power back on today. For lunch we had dips and veggies with olives in an effort to be a bit healthier.
While I got involved with another potential table buyer, Captain Caveman booked a flight back to the UK for 12th November. I got a message from a random man to tell me he was at Lukka bar, sent by the woman who wanted the table for less money, and was trying to find our apartments. I went to Lukka bar and he wasn’t there but I also got calls from a Turkish man saying he was there too. Appo, at Lukka bar, said no one had been and they definitely weren’t there but when I finally worked it out they were in Çalış, not Dalyan. Really?!!!
Captain Caveman made pasta for dinner and we had a night in front of the TV for the first time since Captain Caveman had got to Dalyan. We started to watcher ‘Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story’.

Datça to Dalyan – 15th October

Captain Caveman was awake early on Saturday 15th October, checking the updates on the miners rescue mission. It was fortunate that Captain Caveman wouldn’t need to join the rescue efforts so we went to meet my parents for breakfast. It was our last feast at Datça Vineyard and, this morning, it was even better because we were the only guests. The lady had already set us up two tables, one per couple, overlooking the vineyards. Each table had a feast of all the breakfast items except for cereals and eggs. I helped myself to cereal, the lady brought the rest of the family their choice of eggs and some çay. We filled up our water bottles then went back to the room to pack before the noon checkout. We were sad to be leaving but there were a couple of things to help soften the blow; while we had been gone we had arranged for cleaners to clean our apartments and we were about to treat ourselves to some takeaway wine from the vineyard.

Captain Caveman had the idea that we might want to stop off at the massive Migros supermarket in Marmaris before heading to Dalyan. The weather had turned a bit and updates from Dalyan told us it was raining there. While we had the car it would be helpful to my parents to stock up on anything hard to carry so we did just that. Captain Caveman and I also got a trolley full and we ended up filling the car up between us with lots of essentials. By late afternoon it was rainy so we only just made it back in time to unload the car and get it back for 5pm.

Here’s what Captain Caveman and I bought at Migros and the prices in lira:

Apples 7.21
Envelopes 7.90
Mouthwash 7.95
Bin liners 10.74
Red peppers 12.97
Schweppes bitter lemon 16.00
Schweppes tonic 16.00
Tomatoes 18.32
Turkish salami 21.90
Gherkins 22.05
Spinach 22.92
2 x salt & vinegar crisps 24.50
Blu-tac 24.50
Yoghurt 26.50
3 x pasta 28.50
Washing up sponges 30.45
3 x passata 39.60
Corn on the cob 44.92
Cheese balls 47.95
2 x Cherry & apple juice 48.00
2 x orange juice 52.00

Total spent 562.78 lira (£26.80)

We decided to brave the rain and reconvene in Lukka bar for a beer, seeing as that was where the car was being collected from. We contemplated eating there but, instead, we booked a table at Duble, a nearby Turkish restaurant which had been getting good reviews recently. It was only in the old market square so if it carried on raining we all weren’t too far from home. Mom had a glass of white wine which was only 50 lira (£2.38) but the rest of us shared a bottle of red. The bottle was 250 lira (£11.90) but, as it happened, would have been cheaper by the glass. For starters Dad and I had chicken soup which could be the best I’ve had in Dalyan. Mom and Captain Caveman had liver plus we had about 3 lots of warm bread. Dad and I both had the beef casserole for mains, Mom had lamb chops and Captain Caveman ordered something none of us knew what it was. It was a shepherd’s casserole and we all loved our food, I couldn’t finish all of mine, as usual, so Captain Caveman popped home to get my tupperware. The whole bill came to 1,180 lira (£56) which wasn’t bad for what we had.
As the rain started to get heavier there were a couple of blips in the power so it was home time. We got back to a lovely, clean apartment just as a storm started.

Datça Vineyard – 14th October

I got up to watch the sunrise at 7am, on Friday 14th October, which was very pretty. Unusually, I was out of bed before Captain Caveman so he missed what I saw.
Today was my parents’ Golden wedding anniversary, I went down to the car to collect a gift for my parents; a snazzy bottle of champagne in a gold bottle. Captain Caveman had managed to locate this in Dalyan, which was fortunate as it’s not easy to get decent champagne here.
I took a few photos of Datça Vineyard and it really is very beautiful, I loved the tunnel from reception to the rooms.

Once I could tell my parents were up, we went next door to their room to wish them a happy anniversary and give them their card and present. There’s also less choice on greetings cards in Dalyan so I had bought a handmade card from a lady called Faye, who lives in Dalyan. She sells her cards in Maisie Moo and Books & Cookies and they are very nicely made. I chose one with owls on as I know they like owls and my mom once rescued one in Dalyan. The 4 of us went downstairs for breakfast in the lovely dining area with views over the vineyard. A Turkish lady serving the eggs was very friendly and the choice of food was excellent. I really enjoyed my breakfast and there was so much of it, too.

After breakfast, I went to reception where we booked a wine tasting in for 12.30pm. We had a bit of a rest but by 11.30am Dad was in their whirlpool telling mom it was ‘fine once you’re in’ and to get her swimmers on! It took Mom 15 minutes to investigate and then get in the whirlpool where I took some photos of them. Captain Caveman and I came to the conclusion that the water was freezing so we didn’t go in.

We got ready for wine tasting and went down to the main garden, it seemed chilly because of the wind so we sat at a table with a perspex windshield – a real sun trap. We sampled a white, a blush and 2 reds in the warm sun, Ma and I were getting quite hot. I wasn’t expecting the wine to be up to much as the prices were not expensive so we were all quite impressed.
We went inside when the wind got up and I thought we might order some nibbles but no one was hungry after so much breakfast. Instead, we decided to wait until dinner and take a walk through the vineyard.

Back up the stairs, it was very sunny outside of our rooms and we were hot after our walk. By 2pm Captain Caveman had his swimmers on and was testing our whirlpool out, Ma & Pa were in their’s shortly after. I joined Captain Caveman and it was freezing so I didn’t stay in long. I got us all a gin and tonic (bitter lemon for me as I don’t like tonic) and we chilled out before dinner. Captain Caveman and I shared the remaining pizza from yesterday’s lunch and we got the remaining nibbles out of the fridge.

I thought I’d make an effort that evening, with it being a special celebration, so I wore a black dress with my gorgeous silk scarf. Chung and Uy, in Vietnam, had bought me the scarf as a gift and I was wanting somewhere nice to wear it to. We were the only ones in the dining room and ordered a bottle of red and a bottle of white wine with a cheese and meat platter to share for starter. For mains we ordered a selection and shared between each couple; pizzas, pasta, salad, and steak. We had a lovely meal, Datça Vineyard is very simple and has a small menu to go with the wine but we all found something we liked. After dinner, we retired to the bar to taste more wine and we were chilled out when we got a message from our friend, Julio. There had been an explosion in a northern Turkish mine where quite a few miners were dead and lots more were trapped underground. Captain Caveman and Julio’s help and expertise may be called upon, as part of the rescue volunteers, so they took some time to get the necessary people on standby. I, selfishly, was concerned this may put a bit of a dampener on the celebrations but there was further concerning news. The bar was closing at 9.30pm – crikey!
Back in our room, Captain Caveman went in to the bedroom to liaise with Julio and other potential volunteers so that details could be prepared for if they were needed.
Once that was sorted my Mom insisted we open their champagne and share it. I’d tried to object, to say they should keep it for themselves to drink. It turned in to quite a boozy day and night and, as we were safely tucked up in bed that night, 300 miners had started to be rescued.

Photo credit – some by Captain Caveman

Dalyan to Datça – 13th October

To celebrate my parents’ 50th wedding anniversary, the four of us had booked a couple of days away. On Thursday 13th October Captain Caveman had loaded the car up with plenty of goodies and was ready to pick my parents up at 9.30am. We drove to Akyaka for breakfast at Orfoz restaurant, on our way to Datça. Captain Caveman ordered menemen, my parents ordered an omelette each and some tomatoes, cucumber & rocket. I just ordered some cheese and jam as I don’t like to eat eggs and a bigger breakfast would be too much while travelling.

Our next stop was at Datça Vineyard, where we were booked in to stay at. We had arrived early and decided to check out the town. We drove around Old Datça, got lost a bit and then made our way towards the sea.
We parked up and walked past a place my parents had been to years ago then stopped for a drink at Gocadam Pub for a cold drink. We had lunch at a nice cafe overlooking the sea, Mom had a seafood spaghetti dish with a soft drink and the rest of us had pizza and beer. It was very nice and I had a bit left over as the portions were big.

On arrival at Datça Vineyard we walked up the steep slope to the reception to check in. It took a while as my Turkish is limited and so was their English and it seemed very laid back. We had booked 2 of the nicer rooms and they were lovely, they even had a whirlpool outside and a complimentary minibar. Dad did get in the whirlpool but it was very cold. The sunset and views from our rooms were charming and we really loved the place. The place had been recommended to me by Andy & Julie last year and I had been going for my birthday in January (this year) but we had to cancel. I was glad to finally get to visit and we were pleased to be staying 2 nights.
That night we were supposed to be taking it easy but we all managed to drink lots of wine in our room. Captain Caveman and I had also brought lots of cheese and nibbles to go with the wine. We even brought our own supply of Tılsım red wine, just in case the vineyard stuff wasn’t what we liked.

Dalyan – 12th October

I woke up on Wednesday 12th October with a bit of a woolly head from trying to keep up drinking with the boys last night. I don’t know why we didn’t just get a taxi home and me come back for my bicycle this morning, but it seemed like a good idea at the time. Kate was already up tending to the cats when we saw the news of how bad the floods were in Vietnam. Hoi An was looking particularly bad this year but lots of central areas were affected. We were loaded up with produce from England for the house and cat sitting. Kate had brought us back some treats such as cheese, crumpets, malt loaf and bacon which Captain Caveman and I were very grateful for. I rode my bicycle back while Captain Caveman was going to get a lift on the double seated mobility scooter with Mark. I said bye, Mark and Kate said thank you and off I cycled with my rucksack. At the turtle roundabout, outside the bank, I was overtaken by Mark, Kate and Captain Caveman on the disability scooter and given some abuse for being a ‘slowy’!
At home we had diet pizzas for lunch and then I popped to Maisie Moo. Captain Caveman and I met my parents for a drink at Lukka bar as Captain Caveman had ordered a hire car from Dalaman, which was coming at 5pm. As a treat we had decided to dine a little out of town, in nearby Gokbel. This is where Tay and Angelique’s house was and she had recommended a small cafe called Olabilir. They couldn’t join us as they were busy so the 4 of us decided to try it. The views over the hills and a mosque there were lovely and the menu was definitely interesting. We ordered drinks first and, because they don’t sell alcohol, Mom and I ordered the surprise juice, Dad had a Coke and Captain Caveman a Turkish coffee. We loved the juice which I think contained fresh mulberries and Captain Caveman said the coffee was good. For dinner my parents’ first choice wasn’t available so they had a pasta arrabbiata. Captain Caveman and I chose Mantı, which is a kind of Turkish ravioli. This was the first time Captain Caveman had tried it and he enjoyed it, as did I. The place is really nice and we had a nice time, it was good to try somewhere different and out of town. It was also super cheap as our mantı dish was only 65 lira (£3.10). Unfortunately during our dinner Captain Caveman was involved in the WhatsApp group chat for our apartment complex where the pool and maintenance contact was calling me a liar and saying he hadn’t been able to do the garden because there was no electricity. It had been working in June, July, August and September so I wondered what the excuse was then. I was glad I wasn’t on WhatsApp and wished Captain Caveman could leave his phone alone while we were trying to have a nice meal out.
Out next stop, after Captain Caveman dropped the car back in Dalyan, was Retro bar for Quiz night. We had a good time and, although we didn’t win, we did win the draw for the round of free drinks. How that works is that you get the same as your last round again for up to 4 people for free. How fortuitous of us that Captain Caveman and I had ordered a bottle of red wine plus my parents had an Efes Malt beer each. That made our night and was funny because we had said we were having an easy one tonight. We had to be up bright-eyed and bushy tailed tomorrow, ready for a road trip.

Dalyan – 11th October

Kate and Mark were due back later on Tuesday 11th October, I was up early and feeding the cats, watering the plants and generally tidying up ready for their return. I even gave the kitchen cupboard doors a clean, up to where I could reach, as the sun shining on them highlighted some smears. The weather forecast was looking good for my parents’ first day in Dalyan and Ma had messaged me late last night to say they had arrived safely. Captain Caveman and I cycled home for me to pick up my Turkish workbooks and had some breakfast there. We had fresh figs, plums, yoghurt and I had a drizzle of honey on mine. Turkish class at Casablanca hotel went well but it was definitely starting to get harder.
After class I took photos of the electric meters through the overgrown bougainvillea, meaning some photos were tricky to read, to try to sort out the communal electric situation for Captain Caveman.

Next, we met my parents at Okyanus as I had to be at another appointment at 2pm. It was great to see Ma & Pa, they were looking well and pleased to be back in Dalyan. Captain Caveman gave Ma her new phone from Vietnam and she was very giddy, especially with the face recognition unlock function. We had a beer, some lunch and a great laugh before Captain Caveman spotted Ramazan, the owner, had some secateurs. During our meal Captain Caveman had been getting messages on the communal WhatsApp group to ask what was happening with the electric, which was still off. We needed to be able to get in the electric meter cabinet a bit better, so Captain Caveman borrowed Ramazan’s cutters, hurried home to cut the overgrown bougainvillea so we could open the cupboard wider, then returned them.

I had to leave my parents and Captain Caveman at Okyanus while I went to Merhaba Cafe. The weekly singing group at the café in the Mico hotel was starting again for winter. I think I’m one of the youngest there which often means the song choices are ones I don’t know. A book is passed round for each person to write their requests in (from an already established list), most attendees pick their same favourites each week but I didn’t pick any this time. This week we sang quite a collection but there was a definite theme running through most of the lyrics. Here’s a list of the songs we sang today:

The Skye Boat Song
Swinging on a Star
Always on my Mind
Four Strong Winds
The Rose
Only Sixteen
I don’t know why I love you (but I do)
Meet Me on the Corner
You don’t know
Hallelujah
Halfway to Paradise
Annie’s Song
Blanket on the Ground
Wonderful Tonight
The Galway Shawl
Let it be Me
All Alone am I
Twighlight Time

Shiela, the accordion player, introduced us to a new song which we were given the lyrics to ready to give it a go next week. The group members are rather amusing and can say “it’s not a choir” or “it’s not karaoke” and, if you pick a song they don’t like, someone will let you know. Overall though, they are a nice group and I do enjoy a good warble.

After singing, Captain Caveman and I met at Rehab bar for a cheeky beer and then my parents came to join us. We ordered pizzas and a pide from Sosyete, next door, and had a good laugh until we had to get back to Mark and Kate’s for our last cat feed of our stay. The pizzas were lovely and we got a free salad with 2 dips which was appreciated.
Back at the house, all the cats were fed and waiting for their owners to return. We had packed up ready to leave and stay at our apartment tonight but we ended up staying one more night. We had a few welcome back drinks with Mark, Kate hadn’t been too well and was drinking water. Mark got us a cheese board with various nibbles out and we had a good time. We had quite a late night and I hoped Captain Caveman would be ok for tomorrow’s planned excitement.

Dalyan – 9th & 10th October

I was up and feeding the cats around 7am on Sunday 9th October, the mornings were starting to get a little chilly now. Captain Caveman was still a sneezy mess despite 180mg of fexofenadine each day. The internet was still patchy too so we decided to cycle over to our apartment for breakfast. We left the cats out playing and had a lovely leisurely journey back in to town. We ate fresh bread, various spreads and I had yoghurt with jam.
The issue of the pool and garden maintenance raised it’s head again when we were told of complaints from some neighbour’s guests. The pool and garden was unkempt, the communal electric was off and the rentals in 2 apartments had complained to their Estate Agent. They had asked for a full refund and moved out, we couldn’t understand the issue with the electric though. Captain Caveman took over the communal payment of the electric for our complex, of 10 apartments several years ago. He had also had a notification from the bank that the payment would be taken tomorrow. As far as we were concerned there shouldn’t have been a problem but it was about to turn in to one.
We stayed home for lunch and had the Slimming World style pizzas with a glass of wine. When we got back to Mark and Kate’s house the sun was almost setting and the cats arrived early for feeding.
We had dinner of the leftover chicken and salad picnic, I had a glass or 2 of wine and Captain Caveman had a beer or 2 while stroking JC, the cat!

By 7.30am on Monday 10th October all the cats had been fed and were playing outside. Bebek and Bubble liked to pretend they were modelling for a photo shoot on top of the sex swing. By 9am Captain Caveman (still a sneezy mess) and I were at Migros picking up some breakfast and provisions. We bought 3 croissants and 1400g of chicken for 123.39 lira (£5.74). I took a photo of the prices of taxis in Dalyan and was getting excited at the arrival of my parents later tonight. They were due to land at 10.30pm at Dalaman airport and we were looking forward to spending lots of time with them.
Back home we shared the croissants and Captain Caveman went Dogging at the shelter. I got involved in pool and garden maintenance issues over messages about the contractor and the communal electric. There were complaints via our Aussie friends about the garden not being tended too and questions asked about if anyone had seen a gardener. I’m no Miss Marple but, by my account, no workman had been since about the end of May. My photo of my bicycle this morning showed the hose pipe and Rosemary bush had not been touched since I left for Vietnam on 3rd June. More back and forth comments went on with some owners about the state of the overhanging bushes and trees (including the ones I had cut down a year or so ago and had resulted in Bougainvillea-gate). I got annoyed, took the scissors down to the garden and started snipping away – I knew that failed hairdressing course would come in handy one day!
Once I’d done as much as I could reach, I sent photos to the affected neighbours, informed them it only took me 10 minutes and messaged Captain Caveman to tell him to pick up the spiky cuttings and bin them when he got back. I was getting a bit peeved with the whole situation! When Captain Caveman returned I made suggestions to get another maintenance company lined up for 2023. If he waited much longer to get someone to price for the job we would miss out as all the good ones get snapped up. My thumb remained numb for the rest of the day, from trimming a hedge with kitchen scissors.

I took a photo of the spare bedroom which now had a new bedside table. I’d bought it last year at IKEA and not put it up, so Captain Caveman had done it. We were ready for having guests now and there were a few due.
News of flash flood warnings in central Vietnam came and we were glad that we weren’t there at the moment. Our friends there were preparing for power outages and severe floods. Meanwhile my parents were at Manchester airport ready to come to Dalyan, after 3 months back in Sheffield. When Captain Caveman returned from Dogging he picked up all the sharp cuttings from the pathway, surveyed my handiwork, got annoyed at the garden situation and didn’t even thank me for trying to help.
That evening, after watering the plants, playing and feeding with the cats I got ready for a night out. Jamie came to pick up Captain Caveman and I at 7pm and we went to his villa. Drew had cooked us a lovely lasagne and we had quite a bit of red wine with it. We got to meet (again) Edna and Norman, Jamie’s dogs, who we would be looking after soon.
It was a lovely meal, Jamie dropped us back off and went to pick up his friend from the airport. Tomorrow was going to be a busy day!

Dalyan – 8th October

While I cleaned and hoovered the lounge, kitchen, dining area and our bedroom on Saturday 8th October, Captain Caveman went to the market. I thought the idea of him getting up early and leaving was so that he could buy provisions and prepare us a nice brunch. There wasn’t any bread or milk in at Mark and Kate’s so by the time I had finished cleaning I was very hungry. Captain Caveman eventually rocked up at 2pm with a picnic lunch and a cooked chicken from the butcher’s. He wasn’t hungry as he’d had a gözleme at the market (because he was there too early). Captain Caveman had also taken himself off supermarket shopping so that’s why he’d been a while. Here’s what he bought, prices in lira;

Migros supermarket

Cherry jam 22.00
Salted nuts 25.90
Stringy cheese 33.50
Wraps 37.50
Eggs 37.90
Mozzarella cheese balls 47.95
Halloumi cheese 52.95
Turkish salami 54.90

Total spent 312.60 lira (£14.53).
That wasn’t a bad price to say there were 3 lots of cheese, which is can be expensive.

After eating our lunch in the (almost) fur free dining area we sat outside and Captain Caveman had a beer. I watered the plants, fed the cats early and we had a walk to the Kingfisher restaurant for dinner. We shared some mezes as a main course, I had a glass of wine and Captain Caveman had a beer. The setting is rustic but beautiful and there are lots of turtles swimming in the surrounding water. The service was excellent and we really enjoyed our evening before walking back after sunset. Unfortunately, for some unknown reason, Captain Caveman started an argument when I pointed out how nice the orange sky looked, reflected in the water. He disappeared to take photos and I walked home by myself and had another early night.

Dalyan – 7th October

There had been a massive storm during the night so I woke up quite tired on Friday 7th October. There had been 4 out of 6 cats in the house during the early hours. Bubble, Squeak, JC and Bebek had come home to shelter because they were scared. It was only at breakfast feeding that the other 2, Casha and Kylie, showed up looking a tad hungry. We cycled back over to our apartment because I needed to use the internet and the one at Mark and Kate’s wasn’t working very well. I did my weekly weigh in only to find I had lost 0.35kg but my measurements weren’t great;
Bust +1.5cm, Waist +2cm, Hips +2cm, no changes to any leg measurements.
We had pasta for lunch at home and then made our way over to Rehab bar for a quick draft beer in the sun. We had a chat with Angelique and Tay, Angelique invited me over to take a look at their new home in Gokbel. The place was impressive, in a gorgeous spot and I helped her measure up for a fence. She dropped me back at Mark and Kate’s, where Captain Caveman had already arrived, and we played with the cats for a bit. Captain Caveman was so sneezy that he wasn’t going to stay over but in the end he did. I promised to hoover and clean everywhere tomorrow to try to get rid of some of the cat fur, in the hope he would be less affected. It might have been a good idea for him not to pet the cute kitties too!

For sunset we walked down to the jetty with an alcoholic beverage and I took lots of photos of the beautiful scenery.
We had the rest of our Sosyete takeaway from last night, for our dinner, and it was still delicious. Captain Caveman was very sneezy, there was no TV and the internet was still not working so we were in bed at just after 9pm.

Dalyan – 5th & 6th October

On Wednesday 5th October Captain Caveman went to help out at the Dog Shelter, we affectionately call this Dogging. The Dalyan doctor called to let me know I could get my booster tomorrow at 10am and I did a bit of stuff on my laptop while the house was quiet. In the local news a paraglider had died at Babadağ so we thought this might put Gay Gaz off doing a jump, but it didn’t.
I made a chicken and veg fried rice for a late lunch which was very tasty.
We went out to look for a new cheese grater, as ours was broken, but we didn’t find a decent one. Instead, we popped for a beer in the sun outside Sofra bar where we happened to bump in to a couple of reprobates. We didn’t stay too long as I’d decided to cook my own version of a Hunter’s Chicken with wedges and carrots that evening. This meant we didn’t eat until 9.45pm but it was quite tasty.

Captain Caveman went Bumming on Thursday 6th October, our name for helping out with the Riverbums. I went to get my 6th booster vaccine at the local doctors where I saw local expats, Judy and Eddie, there and said hello. The jab itself was so quick that they were done before I noticed. As soon as I got home the app had been updated.
We packed our overnight bags and decided to head over to Mark and Kate’s early as we were taking over the cat and house sitting duties from tonight. Captain Caveman is allergic to cats so he was in a bad way quite quickly. We hadn’t brought any food with us as usually Kate has very little room in the fridge and no free freezer space so we ordered food from Sosyete and washed it down with a glass of red wine. There was a power cut which was fairly lengthy but this didn’t affect our dinner delivery. We went to bed early, a storm was starting but the power had returned.

Photo credit – the Riverbums for the ones of Captain Caveman

Dalyan – 4th October

On Tuesday 4th October I went to the local doctors to see if I could get my Corona vaccine booster because my ‘Life Fits in to Home’ app had told me I was due one. This would be my 4th Turkish Pfizer jab, in addition to the 2 Astra Zeneca jabs in Vietnam prior. At the doctor’s they said they needed 6 people so they took my phone number to let me know when they had enough takers. I tootled off to Turkish class next and I really enjoyed my lesson.
At midday I made a halloumi salad for lunch which was very nice then we waited for the temperature to drop a bit. It was still 30°C when Captain Caveman and I went out for a spot of shopping. Here’s what we got and the price in Lira;

Turkcell phone top up for the month
88.00 lira (£4.12)

Migros supermarket

Onions 3.92
Vine ripened tomatoes 13.31
1 litre Tonic 16.00
1 litre Bitter lemon 16.00
Red peppers 16.05
Batteries 19.20
Orange juice 23.25
Barbecue sauce 34.95
Turkey 51.90
Toothpaste 65.00
Slippers (men’s) 89.90

Total spent 299.48 lira (£14)

By 5pm we were back home, on the balcony, sipping beer and nibbling on cheese while contemplating what to have for dinner. I cooked rice and a kind of chicken fajita dish which Captain Caveman had in a wrap but I just had rice with it. It was very tasty and set us up for the evening.
By 9pm we were back at River Terrace where we joined some friends of Kate’s plus Gay Gaz who was a bit excitable. He had completed a microlight flight this morning and was now thinking he was immortal – he had booked to go to Babadağ to do the paragliding next! We limited our drinks to just 2 beers each and Debbie (Darling) came to join us for the second half of the live music. After, there was talk of more drinking in Sofra bar but we declined as I had a busy day tomorrow and we were trying to stick to a budget.

Dalyan – 3rd October

Monday 3rd October was a bit of shocker! We were both quite hungover and I can’t quite remember the specific time when I realised my wedding faux pas yesterday. I had only been invited to the evening party of Victoria Louise Scott and Bünyamin’s wedding but we had attended the whole thing. I wasn’t even sure I was meant to have taken Captain Caveman as a plus one! I didn’t know what the etiquette was, on realising this mistake, so I decided doing nothing for now would be the best idea.
Feeling a bit delicate, Captain Caveman and I took ourselves out for breakfast. It was our first visit to Ela’s Bar & Kitchen and probably Captain Caveman’s first English breakfast in quite some time. It was already busy with customers when we arrived and there were no tables available in the shade so we waited at the bar, while chatting to Nicola, one of the owners. Once seated, we ordered the large breakfast which was 145 lira (£6.88) and included a hot drink. We were a bit thirsty and also ordered freshly squeezed orange juice which was so good.
The breakfast was amazing and a definite contender for the best in Dalyan, I’d say. Captain Caveman helped the owners by adding the place to Google maps and then we walked home.

Even though it was sunny and hot there were signs of the end of season approaching. Leaves were in the pool now, the pump was off, the garden was even more overgrown and we still hadn’t seen the pool or garden man.
That afternoon it was playing on my mind that we may have accidentally attended too much of the wedding yesterday so I sent a message to Victoria, not expecting an answer but more to apologise for my error. We didn’t need a lunch but we did eat dinner at home before our next adventure. I made us chicken and veg wraps with rice and salad, it tasted very nice. Victoria responded to say not to worry, she saw the funny side and reassuringly let me know all was good – I was relieved and happy about this.

Because I had a bicycle, I rode Daisy while Captain Caveman walked to Mark & Kate’s house. We arrived in time to say bye to them, before their airport taxi arrived. Captain Caveman took a beer from Mark and went to sit in the sex swing outside by the pool. Due to a technical hitch we weren’t staying over at Mark and Kate’s that night, after all, which meant we could go out out. We would be cat sitting while they were in England though.
Gay Gaz messaged to say he was in Jiks so we went to meet him for him to tell us he had a microlight flight booked for tomorrow morning. Since the cable car trip, he was wanting to face his fears and we jokingly said we would look out for him going over our apartment tomorrow morning. He was laughing a lot, coughing a lot and putting the customers on the next table off their food.

joloyolo

The ramblings and observations of a fortysomething lady of leisure

Month: Nov 2022