Dalyan & Göcek – 18th July

It was Captain Caveman’s birthday on Tuesday 18th July and he was off on a bit of a holiday within Vietnam. He’d been disappointed not to be working as he’s usually down the cave on his birthday. Luckily, seeing the monkeys and pangolins at Cuc Phuong National Park animal rescue centre managed to make his birthday a little bit different. I was sad to not be there with him but I wouldn’t enjoy the humidity and we had much more exciting things planned, including a trip that Captain Caveman had helped shape a few years ago.

I worked from 10.30am until 3.45pm because we were getting picked up by Murat Deniz at 4.30pm. Gayle and I had booked for the 5 of us to go on the Galloping Seahorses trip as a private trip with Kaptan Deniz Travel and we were both terrified. Morgan loves horses so she was so up for it, April and Neil were also playing it cool and not acting scared. All the way to Göcek, my sister and I worried and discussed the feasibilities of shitting oneself on a horse. When we arrived it was a lovely place where the horses looked well cared for but Gayle and I thought the horses looked bigger than we might have anticipated. Murat did his best to put us at ease but in the end it was just a case of getting (back) on the horse. Neil was on the biggest one first, then Morgan on a horse that liked a canter (but not donkeys we found out later on), I got the new mother who was meant to be a steady bet, April’s horse was nice and well mannered while I suspected Gayle’s horse was meant to be the one that didn’t mind taking it easy. Getting on the horses was hilarious then frustrating as my leg no longer swings over and we had to push up from someone’s knee. The horse felt so high up and I realised I had not been listening to the ‘reins holding’ instructions beyond the first sentence. I asked to get back off but Murat chucked a deaf ‘un, while my sister struggled but got on. Neil was a natural, Morgan looked like a pro and April had obviously done it before but was probably embarrassed by me and her mom being such nervous Nerys’s. Gayle and I were shaking and I saw that she looked more terrified than me, there was every chance that one of us could shit our actual pants! Before we could do anything, we were off and I did all I could to keep my feet forward and hold on to the saddle I had ended up clutching, like I was on a white knuckle ride at a theme park. A few metres in, the young foals of 2 of our horses trotted by and I was more nervous.

By the time we got to the ‘putting our heads down to avoid tree branches’ bit, my feet were completely numb. After almost an hour, we got to a clearing that lead to the beach and I had never been so pleased to see the sea!
I had a mini meltdown when I had to wait to be helped to get off my horse, Apache, but once on the beach I was a lot calmer. Gayle looked very stressed but we were both pleased to have made it this far. We were just celebrating the fact we hadn’t soiled our swimmers, and saying we’d probably walk it back to the ranch, when Murat explained we would be taking one of the most experienced horses in to the sea and riding bareback! Crikey, I didn’t think I could cope with this level of adventure!

Morgan went first with her horse in to the sea. She made it look effortless and it was amazing to watch. I decided I wouldn’t be trying that, I could barely stay on a horse with a saddle, never mind without. Although I had a bikini on beneath my jeggings and T-shirt, I decided taking them off for a dip in the sea without my towel (left back at the ranch) would be foolish as I’d never get them back on. Instead, I just took off my T-shirt, trainers and socks then got in the sea with April for a calming down dip. I also needed a nervous wee and asked April to keep a look out as I know Murat loves taking photos and I didn’t want to get caught on camera with my pants down in the sea. That’s when we spotted that we had an actual photographer with us! We swam up to the horse with Morgan on and they both seemed so happy in the sea. Neil was next and we were expecting some comedy struggles we could laugh at, but alas he managed it well. Gayle, April and I said no to the getting on the horse, walking it in to the sea and along.

Murat reassured us that we would be fine and I do love water (more than horses) so I agreed. It took me ages to get on the horse but once on, the horse was more than happy to take itself back in to the water. I don’t have a ‘bucket list’ and if I did this would never have been on it, however, it definitely should be. It was just such an amazing feeling that I will never forget and, at last, my fear was fading. Both April and Gayle also had a go and we were all pleased we did as it really was such a magical thing to do, on an almost empty beach before sunset.

We went back to our respective horses, had help getting back on and, this time, I held the reins properly, instead of the saddle, after rechecking with the instructor. The ride back was much more pleasant and I even managed to stop my horse, as well as get it to go around a donkey and a passing car. I couldn’t stop her from enjoying an impromptu snack from a passing tree branch though so I wasn’t quite cut out for a life as an equestrian.
Back at the ranch, we were all feeling good, some of us more from relief than anything. I had agreed to go on this trip as I knew how much Morgan and April would love it, but I actually ended the horse ride adventure feeling amazed by it. Of course I had only been walking, returning possibly on a slight trot, on my horse so I wasn’t quite a fully fledged Galloping Seahorse member (yet)!
The ranch guy and Murat made sure we had a limonata, a biscuit, some water and that we had all enjoyed our time before transferring Morgan all of the photos (there were hundreds). I didn’t have the phone memory so Gayle would send me them another day. I think we’d all built up a bit of a thirst and were ready for our dinner at one of Murat’s favourite spots.

As Captain Caveman’s birthday was ending in Vietnam, Murat and his driver took us for dinner at a lovely restaurant. Dalya Life Göcek Hotel, where I’d last been for a breakfast with my parents and John B on a trip not long after Covid ended, was a great place. I think my sister, Gayle, was just so happy to have survived the Galloping Seahorses trip that she wanted to celebrate. The girls ordered soft drinks but Gayle, Neil, Murat and I ordered the national drink of Turkey, Rakı. I’m not a fan of aniseed flavoured anything, but when in Rome! We had a couple and ordered food then a bottle or 2 of wine. The first one, wasn’t to our liking so we ordered a different one and we paid for the remainder of the trip and the photographer. We all agreed it had been a lovely thing to all do together and I definitely would not have done it otherwise (even Captain Caveman was expecting me not to survive it unscathed). Gayle ordered fish, Morgan had pasta, April steak with samphire, Neil something meaty that I forgot to make a note of and I went for the meatballs. I tasted some of April’s samphire and that was lovely and we all had a good meal. The journey back home was hilarious, with my sister singing along to Smokey’s ‘Who the F is Alice’ and then us all having a right old laugh at her. Murat dropped us all off at Mutlu Villas and I went in for a night cap. Gayle was that trollied that we pretended to give her gin for her second drink which was really water and she didn’t notice straight away.
It had been an incredible day, one that I don’t think any of us would forget – probably not even our tour guide, Murat!
I walked home just after midnight, slightly pleased that I had some work to do tomorrow while the family did yet another trip.