Dalyan – 10th July

I was awake early on Monday 10th July and I was excited to be spending my first day back in Dalyan on a boat trip with my family. Ma, Pa, Gayle (sister), Neil (brother-in-law), Morgan (eldest niece) and April (youngest niece) and I had booked to join the Duran Duran boat trip to Köyceğiz market from 10am this morning. I’d already been to the bank then to get phone credit and had packed my swimmers, factor 50 and travel towel ready to take advantage of the sunny day. The weather forecast said 36°C for this afternoon and I wasn’t working today.
Ma and Pa called on for me while Neil went to find a sun hat and I faffed about putting money for the market separate to my money for the boat trip.

We joined a group trip, but a private trip, and were sat having a hot beverage and a biscuit before 10am ready for our day out.
The leisurely sail towards Köyceğiz and through the lake was lovely and calm, but we were all too busy talking and laughing to really enjoy the scenery. Once at Köyceğiz, the ladies headed for the market while Dad and Neil popped along to a lakeside cafe for a light beverage and to wait for us. I’d took my rucksack to stock up on fresh fruit and vegetables but when I went to get my money out, it wasn’t there. Neither was my boat trip money so I assumed I’d left it at home and had to borrow 300 lira from mom. I didn’t buy an awful lot but I did get 2 blocks of cheese, cherries and strawberries to keep me going.
We rejoined the men and had a cold beverage with them, the beers were a reasonable 85 lira (£2.58) and soft drinks were 35 lira (£1.06). We were back on the boat for 1pm so that Captain Unal could take us for a swim stop, then get ready for our BBQ lunch.

The food was delicious and catered for all of our fussy and Coeliac requirements without any bother at all. Gayle and Mom had fish and Halloumi, I had chicken and halloumi and others had chicken and meatballs. There was lots of mezes and pasta for us all to have a big portion. It was so good that I didn’t even take any photos of the food as I was too busy eating it.
Around 4pm we headed to the mud baths where everyone on the boat except for April and I went in. It’s optional and we were happy to admire the view and look at some goats instead. I may have had a cheeky wine while we chatted. Once everyone was back on board, Unal served fruit and cake, Sioned (Unal’s wife) had made Gayle 2 gluten free desserts which were really good.
We were back to Dalyan just before 6pm and we settled up our bills. I had to pay by bank transfer on account of ‘losing/forgetting’ my cash. My boat trip plus my drinks came to 1,075 lira (£32 approx) which was a bargain for such a lovely day out.

We stopped off at Tapa, formerly River Terrace, for a drink and got chatting to the staff there. I popped home to check I had left my money there and it was on the table, which was a relief. After a couple of drinks at Tapa, we decided to chance a table for the 7 of us at My Arancia restaurant, part of the Doğa hotel. The owner rearranged the tables and chairs to get us in at a nice table by the pool and we ordered food. We all shared a mixed meze plate for starter which was very good. April and I both had chicken shish for main, which was nice but a lot more oil than I’m used to. It cost about 300 lira (£9) for the shish and came with chips, rice and salad. Gayle had a mixed grill without the rice which is naturally gluten free. I couldn’t manage all my dinner so I took some leftovers home for another day. Our first family day had gone very well and we were looking forward to more Dalyan excitement tomorrow and for the rest of the week.