Wednesday 6th September was a much less hectic day. Captain Caveman and I started the day with a short walk round the block with Xena, the dog. We did 4km and were back home before 8am, for me to get ready for work and to feed the cats. As it was Fat Club day back in Dalyan, I got weighed on Steve and Michelle’s scales to find I was 1.3kg lighter than when I was last here, a month ago. Captain Caveman was 1.5kg more than last time. My measurements weren’t so good though, as I had lost 2cm from my bust but put on 4cm on my waist and 1cm on my hips. For breakfast we were rather naughty and had croissants from the Lardos bakery on the way back from ABC Supermarket. Here’s what we bought at the supermarket and the prices in Euros: Bag 0.15 Tomatoes 0.62 Pasta 0.79 Potatoes 0.89 Red Onions 1.03 Peaches 1.85 Hummus 2.37 Baba Ghanoush 2.50 Yoghurt 3.54 Gluten Free Sausages 4.58 Coffee 5.31 Total Spent €23.63 (£20.53)
As expected, the shopping basket in Rhodes is more expensive than what I’m used to in Turkey, but it wasn’t ridiculous. After working for a couple of hours, I had a break for lunch with Captain Caveman, we had salad with the hummus and Baba Ghanoush and some lovely sourdough, also from the bakery. I went back to work until 6.15pm then had a break and another walk. On the way back home we called at a different supermarket to buy the following: Washing Powder and Fabric Softener €9.79 3 boxes of passata €1.78 Toothpaste €1.35 Total Spent €15.55 (£13.51)
Toothpaste is more expensive in Dalyan but washing powder is almost half the price and it’s always interesting shopping in foreign supermarkets you’re not familiar with, while trying to pick out some bargains. For dinner, Captain Caveman made sausage and veg pasta in a tomato based sauce, which was really delicious and had some leftovers for tomorrow.
On Tuesday 5th September Captain Caveman was up and about at 7.30am packing his bag ready for the next part of our holiday. I really fancied more sleep but that wasn’t to be as bags were rustled and coat hangers rattled! This afternoon Jamie, Drew and Nanny Kay were getting the ferry back to Fethiye to return to Dalyan after their mini break. Captain Caveman and I were off for a spot of house and pet sitting in Lardos for Steve and Michelle’s dog and several cats. Nanny Kay, Captain Caveman and I started our day with another visit to Dali for a pancake breakfast. I decided to be more adventurous and have the cheese and spinach added to my bacon pancake while the other two had the same as yesterday. It was so good and we popped it on the list to visit again when my parents came.
By 11.30am Jamie and Drew had joined us and we had all walked our luggage round for a pit stop at The Saloon, a pub on our way to the bus stop/ferry port. At the bus stop, Captain Caveman and I said our goodbyes and got on the Lardos bus, while the remaining 3 walked down hill to wait at the ferry terminal. The bus left at 1pm and by 1.30pm I was feeling incredibly ill. A smell of sulphur was bringing on another asthma situation and I felt so sickly. Captain Caveman had his headphones on and there was nothing we could do until we got to Lardos. The bus went the long way round, via Pefkos, and it was pretty hot despite sitting on the shaded side. We arrived in Lardos, just after 3pm and the bus dropped us a short walk from the town and bus stop. I needed to get off quickly and find a toilet so we ended up calling in to Blue Bar, the nearest place to where the bus stopped. By 4.30pm I was feeling better but I decided I needed to buy an inhaler for incidents like this happening again. Our next stop was Yamas bar, where I had a soda water, Captain Caveman had a beer and we were greeted with a nice welcome from the owners. I ordered some sweet potato wedges and Captain Caveman had a toasty, while we waited for Steve and Michelle to join us after work. They arrived shortly after we did and we had another drink before dropping our bags off at their house, where I would be staying for 2 weeks and Captain Caveman would stay until the 15th.
At 6pm, Michelle drove the 4 of us up to Pefkos for a drink at Flyers restaurant. Michelle and Captain Caveman had the Espresso Martini, Steve and I had a pint of lager. The views were lovely and we had a chat with the owner. Captain Caveman and I were booked in for the Greek Night on Friday and we were looking forward to it. Back in Lardos, we dropped the car off, then wandered round to GyroSquare The Grill Stories where we ate our dinner, accompanied with some chocolate birthday cake for one of the staff. The food was very tasty and I enjoyed it but I struggled to finish it all. That night, Steve and Michelle gave up their bedroom for Captain Caveman and I, they slept on their sofa bed so that they could leave for their flight that evening. They were off on holiday and would be back on the evening of the 17th.
At gone 2am on Monday 4th September I was up needing a wee and to put the AC on, it was over 30⁰C and rather sweaty in our room. I’d also got a message from my friend about dates for a holiday in Rhodes next year so I was mulling over how I was going to be able to plan ahead, knowing I still didn’t have my residency renewal appointment date for this year and wouldn’t know until Sonuç could confirm on the system. Now that I was out of the country I couldn’t access the system for an appointment so would have to wait until I got back to Turkey to find out more. For breakfast Captain Caveman had found us a nearby café called Dali Extraordinary Art Bistro, it had fancy tea and pancakes with some interesting combinations. Nanny Kay ordered pancakes with ice-cream, caramel and biscuits on, Captain Caveman had bacon, cheese, spinach and egg, smothered in a mayo sauce. I had plain pancakes with bacon on and they were very nice.
We went to Marks & Spencer’s and I was so disappointed to find they did not have a food section or sell booze. They had a few snacky things and some Percy Pig sweets but nothing that I wanted, even the clothes and underwear were not my style. I wanted to get a bottle of sherry for a friend as a thank you for all the bags of nice clothes she’d given me recently. All 5 of us had a wander round the shops and through the old town, stopping at a place called Streat for lunch, where Captain Caveman and I shared a pork gyros plate which was rather tasty. That night we had plans to celebrate Jamie’s birthday at a rather lovely restaurant Captain Caveman and I had been to before and we’d really enjoyed it.
We had arranged to meet at the Mexican place at 7pm, before dinner, as the restaurant we were going to was opposite it. Captain Caveman had his new shirt on which he’d had made in Vietnam, I had on a nice dress and Nanny Kay had wore her lovely dress from when it was her birthday. We looked the part and were excited for our night out to celebrate Jamie’s birthday. When we arrived at the bar, it was evident that Jamie had been celebrating his birthday already and was quite tipsy. Drew was definitely a little merry too but we all had some drinks and we hoped some food would sort Jamie out a bit. At Piatakia we were seated in the small restaurant upstairs and given our menus. Captain Caveman and I had already mentioned to our friends that the last time we came we had really enjoyed the tasting menu, despite me being rather fussy and having allergies. The tasting menu had 7 courses for €30 (£26.22) which was very reasonable so Captain Caveman and I were going to do that again. Nanny Kay was up for it too and we looked over to see if the boys were in agreement. They weren’t, as Jamie said there were too many foods he didn’t like, he wasn’t that hungry and didn’t want it to be a waste. They decided to just have a main course of the beef stifado, one of the dishes on the tasting menu, which none of us took note of the price of at the time. As luck would have it they also offered wine flights which was €27 (£23.60) for 4 different wines or €23 (£20.10) for 3 which Captain Caveman and I chose the 4 wines flight, obviously. I also made sure to tell the waiter about my allergies, especially molluscs in case they happened to be used in the prawn risotto. Unfortunately, Jamie and Drew were not impressed with their meal as it was the same size as our taster plate. At €21 (£18.35) just for that course, it wasn’t good value for the size of it. It didn’t help that a storm had started, the restaurant was full but some of it was open to the elements as the rain got heavier and started to come in through the ceiling and the large windows. Our table was getting very wet and we had to move to the bar to finish our last 2 courses but, to placate customers, the waiter served everyone that wanted one a glass of champagne. Then the power went off and the chef continued cooking in the dark on a gas stove. We were assured our risotto would be served soon and given top ups of fizz while Jamie started making his point about his stifado portion being on the small size. The waiter told Jamie he didn’t have to pay their bill, which also included their drinks. Jamie insisted he would pay all or some of the bill (I wasn’t following exactly by this point) and put forward his card. As the storm had affected power, the machine wouldn’t work so he ended up not being able to pay at all. The waiter said it was on him, as they weren’t happy and he probably had a lot of other issues to sort as diners started to leave. Jamie and Drew left just as our risotto came and another top up of the sparkling stuff, which was moreish. While we ate the delicious prawn risotto, we were asked if we still wanted to continue with dessert and our wine flight. We did, even though the storm was definitely getting worse. Nanny Kay ended up having my pana cotta dessert as I started to feel a bit unwell, all of a sudden I couldn’t breathe and I thought my throat was closing up. Captain Caveman thought I was having a panic attack after the stifado fiasco but I knew I wasn’t. Luckily, Nanny Kay used to be a nurse and had an inhaler with her. She made me use the Ventolin and I instantly started to feel better, I coughed and drank warm tap water but I was ok. Nanny Kay said it had been an asthma attack, which was really weird. When we went to pay, Nanny Kay had to lend us cash as, like Jamie, we only had cards. We were only charged €133 (£116.23) between the 3 of us as we only had 3 wines in the end and it was still pouring rain in. The 3 of us didn’t really mind the rain and sploshed back the short distance to the hotel where we shared a cheeky bottle of red wine and had a bit of a laugh about the whole Jamie’s birthday celebration debacle. Nanny Kay, Captain Caveman and I had thoroughly enjoyed ours and we all agreed the taster menu was the only way to go. Nanny Kay had probably saved my life with that inhaler too and we realised that maybe there was clam juice in the risotto but in the chaos, the chef had probably forgot about my allergy requirements.
Photo credit – some photos taken by Jamie & Captain Caveman
The alarm was set for 5am on Sunday 3rd September and Jamie was coming to pick us up at 5.30am. Of course, there’s sometimes a bit of a drama when we go anywhere with Nanny Kay and today was no different! We had been good for once and gone to bed early, set 2 alarms on 2 different phones and were sat in the back of Jamie’s car as he knocked on Nanny Kay’s door. It was still dark so we couldn’t see anything until Drew went to check what was taking so long and found that Nanny Kay wasn’t answering the door. To be honest all of our first thoughts were ‘what if she’s dead?’ she is getting on a bit! Luckily, she had done her usual trick and overlaid so she eventually came to the car in a panic and slightly dishevelled. We still arrived at the ferry terminal in good time to pick up our boarding cards. Jamie, Drew and Nanny Kay were on the faster ferry, Captain Caveman and I were on the other one. The ferry crossing was fine and of course Captain Caveman played Bridge on his phone the whole way there and I don’t think we spoke once. We were right at the back of the immigration queue when we got there so the others had to wait for us. As there were 5 of us plus luggage a taxi wouldn’t have been much use so we all followed Captain Caveman, through the streets of the old town, towards the hotels. Nanny Kay had managed to get the same hotel as us and it was meant to be just 11 minutes’ walk from Marks & Spencer’s. Jamie & Drew were in a hotel with a pool not too far away from us.
We checked in at Mascot Boutique Hotel and had a quick shower/change. It was a hot day and we all needed a beverage so we didn’t waste much time. Our room was lovely with a loft style bed and ladder, we had a bottle of wine left out for us too. Nanny Kay had the largest room in the hotel and was rather nice to say it was the last one left. We reconvened as a group at a Mexican bar/restaurant just round the corner from our hotel. Nanny Kay had a sangria but the rest of us had an Alpha beer, which were about €4/5 each for a big one.
We decided to eat at Rhodes Blue for lunch and what a lovely place I thought it was. Drew had beer, Nanny Kay had a coke and the rest of us shared white wine. For starters we all shared pitta bread with hummus and tzatziki and we had quite an eclectic mix of main meals; Pepperoni pizza for Drew, Beef Stifado for Jamie, Moussaka for Nanny Kay, Pork Souvlaki for Captain Caveman and Spare ribs for me. There were extra french fries ordered too. The total bill came to €107 (£93.46) with the cheapest thing on the menu being a can of coke at €3, the most expensive being the wine at €13.50, meals were between €10.50 and €12.50 so not bad and the portions were good.
We nipped back to the hotel after lunch but then met up again at a bar called Ottima. We were meeting Steve and Michelle to go to a festival that was on at Therme Park in Rhodes Town, nearer to Marks & Spencer’s. Steve and Michelle were really busy with work so they couldn’t stop long, just long enough to meet everyone and have a pint of ale from The Mule’s Brew pop up bar. After they left, the 5 of us stayed to listen to the singers, had another drink from the cocktail bar and it was a nice little event. We walked back to our hotels and called in to a lovely bar called Koykos on the way back, we sat outside and ordered wine and a sharing platter which was lovely and not expensive. Our night finished at Felini, an ice-cream place where Captain Caveman had his favourite, pistachio. I had a mixture of mango and raspberry sorbet – the diet was once again on hold!
Photo credit – some photos by Captain Caveman and Jamie
We had an exciting last day (for a while) in Dalyan planned on Saturday 2nd September. I had booked Captain Caveman and I on Captain Boris’s Cheese and Wine boat trip. I’ve been on it before but Captain Caveman is not usually in Turkey early enough in the year for him to be able to go on one. Rebecca and Boris are such good hosts and we had joined a group of people we didn’t know, which was nice. Anıl, their captain, also has skills I’ve never seen before; he can steer a boat while opening a bottle of wine with one hand.
The photos obviously speak for themselves with all the amazing food that is offered. We sailed to the lake for swimming and to enjoy the massive spread, we were all wowed by the presentation, quality and amount of food – the wine flowed well too. I particularly like the Isabella rose wine and had bought a box from Boris last time I did this trip.
By 6pm we had moored up at Little Dalyan, behind Iztuzu beach, to enjoy the sunset. We got off for a stroll and a paddle along the beach while the boat moved up to the other end of the beach to await us there. It was just after 7.30pm when we got back, a little squiffy and full of cheese! It cost £40 each plus extra for the drinks, where the wine was a generous serving. It was definitely a great way for Captain Caveman to spend his last day in Dalyan, until next month.
Photo credit – some photos by Captain Caveman & Rebecca Uğur
August had been a great month in Dalyan, September would see me spending time between Dalyan and Rhodes with maybe a quick trip to somewhere in Europe thrown in for good measure! Kelly had been fortunate, or unlucky, to get stuck in Dalyan for a bit longer but her flight had gone ahead this morning and she was on her way back home. On Friday 1st September the ferry tickets to Rhodes for Captain Caveman and me were sent through from Steve. We were getting the same time ferry as Jamie & Drew and, as luck would have it, Nanny Kay had decided to join us too. We were going early on Sunday morning and Jamie had kindly offered to drive all of us to Fethiye, where the port is. The 3 of them were just having a couple of nights in Rhodes but Captain Caveman and I were staying on for a bit longer. At lunch time we popped over to Jamie’s Villa to check on the dogs, Norman and Edna, for him while he was out for the day. Neither of the pooches were even bothered I was there and Norman had to be woken up to go pay a visit in the garden. I stayed for a bit to give them some love and check they didn’t need letting out again. Captain Caveman doesn’t waste an opportunity and, when the wind blew a toy water gun in to the pool, he was in having a quick dip. Back at home, I made airfryer Slimming World style pizzas using small wraps. They were very nice and meant we were using up fridge items.
For dinner Captain Caveman and I joined our friends, Rach & Nuri, at Balıkçım for a night out. A bottle of rakı was purchased, mezes decided on and ordered before we got chatting about each other’s forthcoming travel plans. When Captain Caveman tasted the octopus he was very impressed, so much so that the 3 of them ordered another portion of it to share. As Balıkçım is a fish and seafood restaurant and I tend not to eat fish, I was able to order the Beef Shashlik from Meet Meat. It was absolutely gorgeous so we all had one of the best meals out with plenty of rakı to wash it down with. Our share of the bill came to just 1,850 lira (£54.24) which was reasonable considering what we had. By 10.40pm we were in the Rock Bar with more raki, and a fruit and cheese plate, courtesy of Nuri. We had a lovely evening, pleased to have managed to spend time with Rach and Nuri at one of the best eateries in town too.
On the morning of Wednesday 30th August I got weighed at home to find I had put on 0.25kg (half a pound). Although this was a bit of a step backwards, I was grateful it wasn’t more as I’d been eating and drinking my way round Dalyan without a care in the world – and there was still Carol’s official scales this afternoon at Fat Club. I’d also lost 3cm from my bust but put 1cm on my waist and 3cm on my hips. Captain Caveman and I popped to pay the council tax but the nice man in the office explained that it can’t be paid after the 28th of the month so we would have to come back on the 1st! He told us it would be 1219.35 lira (£35.75) for the year, which included a late payment fee – what a bargain. I popped to BC Spa Hotel to see Kelly who had booked in some more spa treatments to alleviate her ‘being stuck in Dalyan’ stresses – there was definitely worse places to be stuck! A cat there took a shine to my porter sandals so I had a lay on a sun lounger, in another one of my new dresses, by the pool. I left to walk over to Fat Club and the sun was shining so I was a bit warm and sweaty when I arrived. Amazingly I had only put on 0.1kg on Carol’s scales! It was Janice’s 70th birthday so we celebrated after Fat Club with a trip to Kefal tea gardens where I’m advised they sell a decent measure of gin for a reasonable price. I had a burger and a glass of wine to help celebrate with Janice, Tina and Brigette – they had G&Ts and shared some nuts as they were being good. After, I walked up to Rehab bar where all the pool players but Mark and Tayfur had already left. Captain Caveman, Kelly and Linda joined and Kelly ordered a few different dishes from Sosyete next door including salad items in sauce I didn’t recognise, a wrap and some onion rings. They went well with one of Tay’s cocktails too. I’d had the sense to sling a Mediterranean chicken in the slow cooker for our late dinner when we got home. It was diet friendly and very tasty.
Thursday 31st August was Kelly’s actual last day, seeing as her original return flight had been cancelled. While she had a morning of relaxing and packing, Captain Caveman and I had a morning appointment booked to go with Sonuç and Hüseyin, the translator, to the notary in Ortaca. We were officially changing my address and I was ‘moving in’ with Captain Caveman on a rental agreement. The process was straight forward but costly; Hüseyin’s fee 2,000 lira (£58.84) Sonuç’s fee 1,000 lira (£29.42) Notary fee 400 lira (£11.77) I paid the total of 3,400 lira (£100) out and asked Sonuç if it would be a good idea, while we were in Ortaca, to get the electric bill put in to my name. I’d heard from a few friends, who were doing residency renewals recently, and had been asked for this so I didn’t want to risk me being declined my renewal. I was conscious that we only had 1 more working day with Captain Caveman being in Turkey for signing anything so it might be a good idea. Sonuç firmly told me that we did not need to do that, I had a rental agreement now, Captain Caveman was my official landlord and therefore the bills should (quite rightly) remain in his name. Captain Caveman was happy with this too, I was still dubious, so we left it and returned back to Dalyan. When we got home, I was hungry so we had the leftover Mediterranean Chicken for lunch then I sat out on the balcony. In the late afternoon, we decided to call for a drink at Tez bar and I wore my new red dress and had my hair down. When I went round the corner, I saw a waiter I knew at Taste of Heaven bar. He’d been drinking and came out to give me a hug and invited me to join him for a drink. I said no and waved over to where Captain Caveman was sat to say I was meeting my husband. We sat with Penny & Phil and a few others but then the drunk guy sent over a red rose with Ismail, the flower seller. As we were leaving Tez bar, I gave my rose to Kelly and the guy shouted me back to say he had bought it for me, not her. It was all a bit odd. We decided to eat at Eylül restaurant which always gets good reviews. We arrived early as we were thinking Kelly might be better to eat dinner then get a bit of sleep before her 2.15am departure tomorrow. I ordered a glass of white wine, Captain Caveman had a beer and Kelly had a beer and a Sprite to make a shandy. We shared a mixed meze and lavaş (balloon bread) starter which was really nice. For mains, Captain Caveman and I ordered traditional Turkish dishes while Kelly surprised us by ordering Bombay Chicken. My ottoman kebab was a large portion so I took half home but Kelly’s was a dish I’d never heard of or tasted before – it had banana in and looked awful. Captain Caveman ate most of his Hünkar Beğendi (a beef and aubergine dish) but Kelly couldn’t manage much of her’s. It wasn’t as cheap as I thought it would be either.
Here’s what we paid at Eylül: 1 Efes Malt 100 1 Efes normal 100 1 white wine 100 1 Sprite 50 1 Shared meze plate with lavaş 220 1 Bombay Chicken 240 1 Hünkar Beğendi 350 1 Ottoman Kebab 350 Total spent 1510 lira (£44.23)
By 8.15pm we were in Bistro Blue having our last night drinks for Kelly, with me trying to get Captain Caveman to put his phone down, join in the conversation and have a photo. Our goodbye was emotional, it had been so lovely having the girls over to Dalyan but it had definitely made me miss them, and my other friends back in England, more.
Kelly’s flight in the early hours of Tuesday 29th August did not go ahead, due to the Air Traffic Control System being down. Instead, she remained at the BC Spa Hotel and spent all of her morning trying to fathom out if/when another flight would be available. Of course, it was the end of the school holidays and so many holiday makers were also trying to get their cancelled flights rebooked – it was not looking very promising that she would be on the next flight. In all the goings on yesterday, I’d not had chance to look at another delivery of clothes which a friend had dropped off yesterday. I decided to try them all on and take photos, Captain Caveman took one where I’m wearing the dress he liked the best.
After my mini fashion show, I popped to see how Kelly was getting on as she was still on hold to easyJet trying to get some help with getting back home. She was fortunate to have got a couple of days holiday booked for after she was due back from Dalyan but she really needed to get back for work and family commitments. I sauntered along the river, wearing one of my new dresses, and got to quite a frustrated Kelly. Unsurprisingly, easyJet had not been able to offer Kelly a suitable new flight, their ‘manage my booking app’ had the next available flight to book as 5th September. Skyscanner had a flight available on the 3rd and people had started posting all over Facebook how they were having their flights rebooked for over a week later. In the end, Kelly booked a brand new flight with TUI for the 1st September, landing at Bournemouth, which was the soonest date she could get with any airline, but it was also at great expense to herself. I told her to get packed and bring her stuff to Captain Caveman’s apartment but she was having none of it. The hotel was busy with people who couldn’t go home but the new lot of UK holiday makers hadn’t been able to arrive so they were able to extend her stay. As Captain Caveman was expecting us back home, I headed over there for some lunch, leaving Kelly to sort stuff out with work and home. I warmed up bit of meat and veg, using some of my Sunday dinner leftovers before we popped to the bank. While Kelly and Clare were here on holiday I’d also been doing the tourist eating and drinking so it was time to get back on to my Turkish budget. I also needed to get all of my bank books up to date in readiness for my residency renewal appointment. On the way back, Captain Caveman and I called in to La Sorrella for a hot beverage; a double espresso was 60 lira (£1.77) for Captain Caveman and a green tea for me was only 15 lira (44p). I think it might have all been a bit tiring for Kelly as that night she had a quiet one at the hotel while Captain Caveman and I went for his first Hatay Kebab, which he loved!
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