Dalyan & Köyceğiz – 30th December

I took the day off work on Monday 30th December as it was Captain Caveman’s last full day in Dalyan and we had exciting plans. I had booked us on to the Yellow boat with Waterlilly & Hakkan for the Köyceğiz market trip, which runs every Monday including through the winter. It had been a while since I had been on the Yellow boat trip as I had often been working or had dogs to attend to on Mondays. Captain Caveman always went to the Dog Shelter to walk dogs on Mondays and so it was never convenient, until today. With The Aussies being here, I thought it would be good to join them and also so that Captain Caveman could have his last day with his friends to say bye.
When we got on to the boat, it was all trimmed up in a Christmas fashion and had 2 Calor gas bottle heaters, on full blast to keep us warm. There was tea and coffee being served by Waterlilly and she asked after my parents. There was a nice group of 10 of us and it was good to see Adam & Kath who have become good friends of my parents and we had a little catch up. Kath asked why she’d not seen me in the bars on any day or night with all the usual Dalyan Dwellers. I explained that for health and money reasons we were not able to go out like we were on holiday (as we aren’t) and that I had cut right down on alcohol. I said I was tired of not reaching my weight target and spending too much time out in bars so I distanced myself a bit from the drinking culture in Dalyan in order to achieve what I wanted and to concentrate on my new job.

In Köyceğiz, and for the first time, the Lutra Lutra Bookshop was open while we were there so I was so happy. I wanted to show one of the other guests it so that we could perhaps get a book or two. The book shop has a small coffee shop and the owner showed us around. Karen and I both bought a couple of books and I paid 75 lira (£1.70) each for Turkish copies of Fahrenheit 451 and The Picture of Dorian Gray.

We then went to the fruit and veg market while the others went elsewhere. Here’s what we bought with the prices in lira;

Onions 10.00
Potatoes 30.00
Pumpkin 40.00
Garlic 65.00
Cauliflower 80.00
Total spent 225 lira (£5.08)

It was cheaper than the Dalyan market but we had paid 400 lira (£9.03) each for the trip, so it’s not something we could do every week just for the shopping. I wanted to get some cheese but there was a queue and we were getting peckish. We decided to walk over to the tea gardens right on the end of the promenade as they have good value, tasty Turkish food. Captain Caveman had an Efes Malt, I had a lemon soda and we mistakenly only ordered one main meal of a chicken shish and ended up sharing it. We also got loads of bread with it so there was plenty of food. Here’s what we paid, in lira;

1 Lemon soda 20.00
1 Efes Malt beer 100.00
1 Chicken kebab 180.00
Total spent 300.00 lira (£6.78)

This was really cheap for what we had, especially the beer – I wondered if the cheap chasers in Dalyan knew this!?

We were due back to the boat by 2.30pm on Captain Caveman’s last full day in Turkey. It was so beautiful that we kept stopping to take photos of the scenic lake as we went back to the boat and it was so lovely to have spent precious time together. It was also amazing that we had spent less than £35 for the whole outing so far!! Back on the boat, Waterlilly had prepared a fruit plate with nuts and more tea which was lovely and the boat was red hot from still having the heaters on. We had brought swimmers as we were told we would be calling at the Sultaniye Mud Baths but we went straight back to Dalyan. I was happy with this as I needed to get back for work.

Once off the boat, we said our goodbyes to The Aussies as they were off to Kalkan tomorrow and, of course, Captain Caveman was leaving tomorrow too. I had said I would be in touch with a Dalyan Dweller who had been referred to me from Jamie as he was wanting to discuss a trip to Vietnam and Cambodia. Unfortunately, the meeting didn’t take place as planned so I just caught up on what I’d missed coming up in the January Sales then, as it was Captain Caveman’s last night here, we decided to go out. We had a beer and a wine in Ozzy’s Bar for 230 lira (£5.19) but we didn’t stay as English customers were smoking inside and it sets off my asthma. It is illegal in Turkey to smoke in bars, but many of the smoking expats don’t abide by the rules and the bar owners don’t want to refuse for fear of losing much needed winter custom. It’s a shame but I would think twice about going back in.
Next, we decided to go to the Waterfall bar where they usually are smoke free and it was while we had our first drink, however, as we ordered a second round one of the owners lit up a cigarette. We drank up and paid our 460 lira (£10.38) bill but I was a bit disappointed that we had to leave because of indoor smoking in bars, yet again. I begrudged paying the money to stink of fags and come out with a cough – it reinforced staying at home in future.

Some extra photos from Captain Caveman

Dalyan – 29th December

Captain Caveman was really looking forward to the Sunday Walk on Sunday 29th December, and it would be his last one in Dalyan for some time. This also meant that he didn’t care if it was going to be raining or if he had to do it alone. I, on the other hand, had hoped to join but still had a bad back and was super tired so I decided the wet weather was going to put me off. I felt bad as I had said to people I was going to go, even if I had to do the adapted easier route. Captain Caveman left and I decided to clean the house and wash the sofa throws, as they still had dog hairs on from Norman and Edna’s visit. After that, I spent time in my new office, sipping sage tea and looking out at the clouds. Before midday I decided to venture out and go to the Kaunos tea garden to meet Captain Caveman and any fellow walkers. As I went to leave, the heavens opened and I had to retreat to get an umbrella. When I arrived, I met a couple of people who had also missed the walk as they mistakenly thought it had started at 10am and we had a cup of Turkish tea and ordered some lunch. I decided to have a spinach gözleme and it was really tasty. When Captain Caveman and his fellow walkers arrived they were wet and very cold looking – I was also surprised at how many people had turned up. Captain Caveman ordered a large tea and a mixed toastie and I think he was relieved that I had already had a Turkish pancake so that he didn’t have to share. I paid the bill at the tea gardens and said goodbye to the hardcore walkers. Here’s the prices in lira;

Kaunos Tea Garden
2 large Turkish teas 30.00
1 mixed toastie 100.00
1 spinach gözleme 150.00
Total spent 280.00 lira (£6.35)

Back at home, Captain Caveman had a hot shower and I had to get a spare quilt out for him to have on the sofa, as he was still shivering. It also meant that he was out of action to help with the rest of the cleaning – highly convenient when he had invited a couple of friends over to say farewell to tonight.
At 7pm our guests arrived; bringing chocolate cookies, wine, beer and nice wintery wine glasses. We did a little buffet with pastries (börek), veg, dips, crisps, nuts, olives, cheese and crackers which went down well but I got laughed at by the Turkish guests for not making my own Turkish pastries and dips. Captain Caveman was sad to be leaving, he had made some lovely friends from doing the Sunday Walks and Bridge club. It turned out to be a really nice evening, although we only just had enough chairs for everyone.

Photo Credit – Captain Caveman and some of the Sunday Walk group

Dalyan – 27th & 28th December

I had another day ‘in the office’ on Friday 27th December and Captain Caveman helped me turn our spare room in to my new office. We took a table from one of our balconies to the spare room and put it under the window. The room overlooks a new building which was still being worked on but it did have sun coming in through the windows. We used a spare wooden dining room chair but Captain Caveman thought it needed a bit more support on my back. He used a jacket he was leaving in Dalyan to cover the back of the chair and it was super comfy. I cracked on with work, while Captain Caveman went to the barbers for a haircut and shave. He looked like a new man when he got back!!
At 12.30pm we walked over to Jamie’s to say hi to Norman and Edna before Jamie, Captain Caveman and I had a trip to Fethiye and Göcek. Edna was excited to see us, as always Norman was not particularly interested. Jamie wanted to take advantage of the wine in Göcek which Janet and Ian had introduced us to, so we went there first to pick up wine. Captain Caveman decided it would be a good investment for him to buy more wine and so we also bought 12 more bottles. This time, we chose our preferred wines and bought 4 each of the Gamay, Merlot and the Cabernet Sauvignon at 150 lira (£3.40) per bottle so a total of 1,800 lira (£40.82) – an absolute bargain! We also called to collect something in Fethiye then headed back to Dalyan. That evening, Captain Caveman cooked some pasta for dinner and we had more wine!!

I had several plans for Saturday 28th December; get up early to go to the market, work until midday, go to the beach for the afternoon, clean our own house and go shopping. The weather was cold and cloudy and didn’t look like it might stay dry enough for a beach visit today. So instead, Captain Caveman went dogging and I worked, we didn’t bother with the market. As Captain Caveman was leaving in a few days he thought it was pointless to get anything from the market and we could make do this week. I worked through some travel guides for top things to do in Vietnam in Hanoi, Sapa, Ha Long Bay, Ninh Binh, Hoi An, Danang, Hue, Ho Chi Minh and Phu Quoc. I was becoming so much more aware of other Travel Agents not promoting Phong Nha in their Vietnam itineraries and trying to shove the whole country in to one short trip – which was too rushed and unreasonable. I absolutely loved my new office views and the skies were very atmospheric. The AC in that spare room certainly made the room very cosy and I thought I might move in to that bedroom when Captain Caveman left, if the nearby building work wasn’t too disruptive.
I finished work for a soup and cheese on toast lunch with Captain Caveman then suggested that we go do the shopping. Here’s what we bought, prices in lira:

BIM Supermarket
Salt 6.25
Carrots 14.75
2 Dido chocolate bars 27.00
Atom dip 29.50
Aubergine and tahini dip 29.50
Toilet rolls 39.00
Mushrooms 44.75
Fairy washing up liquid 74.75
15 eggs 75.00
Total spent 340.48 (£7.72)

Migros Supermarket
Hummus 39.75
Total spent 39.75 (90p)

After unpacking the shopping and putting it away, I suggested we check out a café/bar I had been meaning to visit. O Filo is a lovely little place with a good selection of craft beers so we decided to treat ourselves to a beer each, I also wanted to suss it out for a place to work from if I fancied ‘working from home’ somewhere in Dalyan. It was ideal for that, although I wouldn’t be splashing out on craft beers until the money was rolling in quicker. My honey and pepper beer was really good and Captain Caveman chose a nice Gara Guzu Red Ale. We paid 500 lira (£11.34) for 2 craft beers and that included a discount, but I would definitely recommend it for a really nice place to sit and enjoy a quiet drink. As we were walking back we noticed Penny & Phil were in Tez Bar and so we decided to see if we could join them for a drink. It was lovely to catch up and I got to cuddle their dog, Caramel, too. It cost us just 440 lira (£10) for our 2 drinks each and then we had to leave as we needed to get ready for tonight’s party. We had been invited to The Aussie’s for a BBQ at their villa and we decided to take a bottle of wine to drink. It was a good job I had given myself permission to eat and drink whatever I liked without taking note as I ate so much delicious food. I had lots of bread, köfte, some salad items and I even had Australian fairy bread. If you’ve not had this before it is white sliced bread with butter (in this case Lurpak) and topped with coloured sprinkles (hundreds and thousands, I think we call them?). It started raining but, in true Aussie style, that did not put anyone off and we continued as Captain Caveman went on to gin. Amanda and Greg were so kind to have also brought us some gifts; 3 lots of high factor great quality sun cream, Lurpak butter and some Shapes crackers. It was a great night and we walked home quite merry (again), despite knowing we had to be up early for the Sunday Walk tomorrow.

Dalyan – 26th December

I was straight back in to work on Thursday 26th December, as I was thinking that it could be busy with enquiries for people who were off work and were wanting to book holidays or accommodation. Quite frankly, I was hungry for the business and to get on top of the January sales – there were so many discounts available on package deals with EasyJet, Jet2, Classic Collection, TUI, Gold Medal, Intrepid and the Adventure People – all of who had sent me their promotional offers email to have a read through. Captain Caveman had brought me buttered toast and a cup of Yorkshire tea in bed. I’d already decided that I wouldn’t continue my food diary for the rest of the year and I had blocked out my calendar to get on with as much Resort Experts work as I could, while still trying to spend time with Captain Caveman in his last week. It was a bit of a balancing act but now we didn’t have dog duties, it felt like I had a little bit more time.
After work, and before it got dark, Captain Caveman and I took a walk to Kaunos Tea Gardens where Captain Caveman had an Efes Malt and I had a large tea. It came to 160 lira (£3.63) and it was quite pleasant until the sun went behind the mountains. Next, we went to the green grocers to stock up on fresh produce, where we bought carrots, garlic, red peppers, onions and tomatoes for a total of 213 lira (£4.83). I also spotted some sage which I thought was a bargain at 30 lira (68p) for quite a lot – I love a sage tea.
At the pharmacy I bought 1 month of contraceptive pills for 329.18 lira (£7.46), which I think is pricey (but cheaper than a child), then we walked round to the supermarket where we bought the following;

Şok Supermarket
Chilli Dip 27.50
Aubergine Dip 29.90
Washing powder 64.95
Cheese 72.50
Total spent 194.85 lira (£4.42)

There was just 5 nights left of Captain Caveman’s stay so we drew out 3,500 lira (£80) for going out with, during that time. It was a tight budget for the 2 of us but it would be doable if we were careful.
We had chicken casserole for dinner and Captain Caveman made some airfryer roast potatoes which were really good. We had Merlot wine and then got ready to go out to the Jiks fun quiz, which Jan was running. It started at 8pm but The Aussies are often late so I wasn’t unduly worried when we arrived and they weren’t there. A lovely lady who had joined the Sunday walk was there with her husband and they were just about to leave when we roped them in for the quiz. They were on their holidays but have been to Dalyan before and were really nice people. We joined their table to make a team of 4, figuring The Aussies, when they arrived, would already be a team of 4 too. Unfortunately, they didn’t turn up and we weren’t sure why at the time but, by this time, it was too late to call them as the quiz had commenced and I didn’t want to get disqualified for having my phone out. The next day we found out Amanda had been quite sick with a bad stomach for the last 2 days so we were grateful she’d not shared that with us.
Jan did a very thorough Boxing Day quiz at Jiks with some laughs along the way and I actually really enjoyed the night out. All 4 of us contributed and it did make a nice change, as I don’t usually like quizzes which are more Captain Caveman’s area of expertise. At half time we got served Jan’s homemade warm mince pies and gingerbread men, we had a few as they were delicious! The quiz was an all-rounder which was good and we ended up winning which all but Captain Caveman were surprised about. Our team name was conveniently Albino Buffalo which was what was on our new t-shirts. We paid cash for our drinks; Captain Caveman had Efes Malt and I had red wine, which came to 250 lira (£5.67) per round and we just had a couple as I had work in the morning.

Dalyan – 25th December

It was just a normal weekday for us in Dalyan on Wednesday 25th December, or Christmas Day to most people reading this. We had a lay in without any dogs to let out and it was nice to be able to relax and have a day off. I left Captain Caveman getting up and went to the bakery and supermarket. Here’s what I bought with prices in lira;

Parlak Bakery
1 fresh loaf 10.00
2 simit 30.00
2 açma 30.00
Total spent 70.00 lira (£1.59)

Şok Supermarket
Milk 24.00
BBQ Sauce 79.00
550g chicken breast 115.50
A 1.7kg whole chicken 160.67
Total spent 379.17 lira (£8.60)

I was the only one in the supermarket but the bakery was busy with Turks who were probably enjoying having the town to themselves for a change, while most of the Dalyan dwelling expats did Christmas. I found it very pleasant and the sun was shining at first but it started to rain while I was out and I had to shelter.
We had a Turkish style breakfast; açma, simit, kaymak and cherry jam with tea for me and coffee for Captain Caveman. We had the AC on heat mode as it was a bit chilly.
For the rest of the day, we decided to watch some TV. Our first film choice was the rather good Sleuth, with Michael Caine and Laurence Olivier. We had cheese on toast as promised to ourselves and it was just so lovely. By late afternoon we had opened a drop of red wine, the Christmas present from my parents, and had more cheese on toast, with salt and vinegar crisps.
I made popcorn when it went dark and we watched another film; The Imitation Game, starring Benedict Cumberbatch as Alan Turing about cracking the German Enigma code. It was not something I thought I would enjoy but it was really good. We finished our really relaxed non-Christmas, Christmas Day by watching a few episodes of 8 out of 10 Cats does Countdown. I had one of the best days in ages and I didn’t mind missing Christmas, I was grateful to be in a country where it didn’t matter and we could just have a day on our own. This time next week Captain Caveman would have left Dalyan for at least 3 months. We found a flight for only £27 from Gatwick back to Dalaman at the end of March so we booked it, for that price it didn’t matter if he didn’t get to use it.

Dalyan – 24th December

The weather had definitely meant that the planned Christmas Eve beach party was cancelled on Tuesday 24th December. There was an alternative which had been organised; people were invited to a bar/café over at the other side of the river to bring their own food and drinks and have the party there. For a low price, boats were being put on to take people over and back as they needed. I wasn’t going due to doggy duties and Captain Caveman decided it wasn’t for him. I started the cleaning, my back was still hurting, and had been for a month now, so I hoped Captain Caveman would be able to at least hoover the stairs to help me. He was lucky as the power cut out as I was hoovering downstairs. I had to use a sweeping brush with a broken handle and a dust pan to do the rest. I took painkillers and soldiered on to get it done. I had no time to do any work so it was a good job I had got ahead yesterday. We walked the dogs in the rain and Jamie’s garden was temporarily flooded so Norman got his little legs soaked when I found him in his usual spot, paddling about in rain water. We had Slimming World style pizza wraps for lunch and cracked open a bottle of the Levissi merlot to celebrate Jamie’s return. Edna was excited to hear that Little Daddy was on his way but Norman chucked a deaf ‘un, acting like he wasn’t bothered. We tried to take a few last selfies with the dogs but Edna just wanted to know when she could have some wine and snacks, Norman just wondered why we had started day drinking.
Jamie returned to only half of his power being back on and I thought I might have broken his hoover so I ‘fessed up. We drank the rest of the merlot with Jamie and we all agreed it was a very nice drop as we shared the source of our latest wine purchase with him.
We were back at our place by 5pm and we were glad to be home! Captain Caveman opened a bottle of the Levissi blush wine to celebrate and we had it with some cheese, crackers and olives. That was where I was more than happy for our Christmas Eve to end, I was knackered from cleaning (without electricity or hot water for most of it) and could quite easily have put my pyjamas on and gone to bed – that was not to be, though!

In the evening of Christmas Eve, despite the weather, we ventured out to meet The Aussies. Amanda, Greg, Jason & Maddie were waiting for us in Ozzy’s Bar and they were all wearing matching T-shirts. Greg and Amanda had made them with a logo we had thought of for a potential new business idea that we had discussed the last time we had met up in Dalyan. They had Captain Caveman on a buffalo and they looked great – they even chose red for his and orange for mine, which we loved. I had a couple of glasses of wine, Captain Caveman had a couple of beers but the others were enjoying hot/soft drinks and ordered some food. It was great to catch up and they did invite us to meet up with them tomorrow, Christmas Day. Captain Caveman and I had already decided we needed to spend the day together and we were going to have cheese on toast and drink wine for our Christmas at home on a comfy sofa and watch Netflix. While we were there, we bumped in to a few Dalyan Dwellers and I joined in on the karaoke with them, as you do! Our bill for 2 wines and 2 beers came to 500 lira (£11.36) including the tip and, although reasonable, made me think how careful we needed to be with going out.

We said our farewells to The Aussies with plans to reconvene for the Boxing Day Fun Quiz at Jiks. As we left Ozzy’s, the storm worsened and we didn’t even get more than 50 metres away. Captain Caveman and I sheltered in Jiks where we were pretty soaked, the fire was on and there was only us in there so it was really cosy. A wine and a beer (without a tip) came to 250 lira (£5.68) and eventually it eased off enough for us to rush home.

Dalyan – 23rd December

Monday 23rd December turned out to be quite busy for me as I had a lot to do before Jamie returned tomorrow. It was also bad news on the weather forecast for anyone who was planning on going to the beach for the annual Christmas Eve gathering. Captain Caveman and The Aussies were planning on going, however, I was going to be with Norman and Edna waiting for Jamie to get safely back. I preferred for me not to go and get stuck down at the beach, in case there were any delays. After a month away, it was important to Jamie that he was able to see his fur babies as soon as he walked in the door and he had planned a night on the sofa with wine and dog cuddles. While Captain Caveman went Dogging, and after tea and cornflakes for breakfast, I went to Captain Net to pay the next month of our internet which was 400 lira (£9.05) but would be going up in January. I went to the shops in the rain, here’s what I bought on the first trip;

Migros Supermarket

Pasta 11.75
Spaghetti 11.75
Tinned tomatoes 19.95
Cheese 89.90
Total spent 133.35 lira (£3.02)

Yaman Büfe 2
Jamie’s shopping:
1 bottle of red wine (Angora) 322.50 lira (£7.30)

Palmiye Pet Store
Dog food 495.00lira (£11.20)

Back at Jamie’s, I started to do some cleaning to minimise how much I had to get through tomorrow. I did a bit of work and messaged Jamie to discuss his plans to get back home during a predicted storm.
When Captain Caveman got back from Dogging and a shower at home, we had soup for lunch and then I needed to go over for a shower so we took some stuff back over and the dogs for a walk.
I was still concerned about money and income for both of us, so I was cautious that with our Australian friends arriving tonight, we didn’t have any spare in the budget to be able to go out. Captain Caveman seemed a bit more relaxed about it than me and he even suggested we go to the shops and get stocked up. We wrote a list and, because of our Christmas plans, we had some luxury items in the shopping, here’s what we bought with the prices in lira;

BIM Supermarket
Vermicelli 8.50
Wholemeal bread 22.50
Brown bread 24.50
Lentils 40.50
4 Dido chocolate bars 66.00
Total spent 162.00 lira (£3.67)

A101 Supermarket
Kaymak (Clotted cream) 59.00
Olives 79.50
Total spent 138.50 lira (£3.13)

Migros Supermarket
1l Tonic 45.00
Butter 99.95
1 pack of ordinary cheese 139.90
350g Strong Cheese 199.90
Total spent 484.75 lira (£10.97)

Şevikoğlu Supermarket
2 Metro chocolate bars 23.00
Cheese crackers 44.90
Total spent 67.90 lira (£1.54)

Şok Supermarket
Cheese crackers 28.00
Paprika crisps 35.00
Plain crisps 39.50
Total spent 102.50 lira (£2.32)

We had splashed out and got some nice treats for Captain Caveman’s last week in Dalyan. That evening, we had leftover bolognese on a jacket potato and we watched TV while I did a bit of social media content for over the Christmas period.

Dalyan – 22nd December

Sunday 22nd December was our anniversary and Captain Caveman had scheduled a Sunday Walk which incorporated going by the Dog Shelter to walk a dog. There was also a planned power cut which we didn’t know if it would affect either of the houses so I decided to join a small part of the walk with Norman and Edna. There was quite a few people on the walk, Norman and Edna loved it and wanted to continue on, but I turned back home before the dog shelter as we didn’t think it would be responsible to take them up there. While Captain Caveman and his fellow walkers, walked, I had cornflakes and a grapefruit for a late breakfast, with an extra cup of tea. I did some writing and a bit of work while it was quiet.

When Captain Caveman and some of the remaining walkers were on their way back, he called me to see if I wanted to re-join the walk to go back to the start point, Kaunos tea gardens. I got my shoes and coat on and went along, and I even shared a mixed toastie. Janet joined Ian and a lady on holiday met with her husband so we all sat together and had a chat.
Here’s what the group ordered, with prices in lira;

1 Tea 10.00
3 Double Teas 45.00
2 Latte Coffees 100.00
1 Mixed toastie 100.00
1 Chicken sandwich 125.00
2 Chips 180.00
3 Efes Malt beers 435.00
Total 995.00 lira (£22.51)

Captain Caveman’s and mine came to 260 lira (£5.88) which I thought was reasonable for a beer, a double tea and a mixed toastie.
On the way back, Jamie had run out of dog food almost so we walked to the pet shop to get more. Unfortunately it was closed on Sundays so we walked home and had soup for lunch.
That evening we had pasta bolognese and another bottle of our Levissi Christmas wine, this time the Makri red. It was very nice and so far the 3 bottles we had drunk were going down well. It was a nice way to celebrate 13 years of being together, even though Captain Caveman thought we had already acknowledged it on Thursday!

Photo credit – some photos by the Sunday Walkers

Dalyan – 20th & 21st December

More rain was forecast on Friday 20th December as well as a likelihood that it was going to be bad weather over the Christmas period and in time for The Aussies arriving on Monday. There was also a potential power cut due which we had been fairly lucky so far to have avoided most of them. I made Pho Ga (Chicken noodle soup) for breakfast as it had been a while since we had eaten it and we had left over chicken to use. I had a busy day working, blogging and playing with Norman and Edna while Captain Caveman went to play Bridge with Sezgin. I cracked on and made good progress, Captain Caveman brought back bread and a bottle of wine to have with our dinner and he made soup, with vermicelli in, for lunch. We had more banana bread and it was definitely better this time, with less egg. For dinner we had curry with rice and a bottle of the Petit Verdot red wine. It was easily finished but we did come to the conclusion that this bottle was a lot drier than the last bottle.

The rain came down so heavily on Saturday 21st December that Norman and Edna were even reluctant to go out under the terrace. Ordinarily we would not have gone outside at all in this weather and it was definitely the heaviest downpour I have walked through Dalyan in. Jan & David’s Christmas buffet was starting at 12.30pm and we made it on time. I wore my wellies and didn’t get dressed up as I knew we were going to get soaked. There was no way we would cancel as I knew that Jan had gone to great lengths for this day and her & David were already not having Christmas Day as planned. We were one of the first to arrive and we were welcomed in to the house and told to help ourselves to drinks. The food was amazing and plentiful, as was the wine! I started on rose and then went on to red to accompany the cheese selection and the homemade mince pies. The Slimming World plan had gone well and truly out of the window and I even got a bit drunk of the fantastic Christmas cake with royal icing and marzipan.
We had a lovely afternoon and were of the last to leave, a little bit merry but glad it had stopped raining at last. Back home, we walked Norman and Edna and it started to rain again.

Photo credit – photos from Jan & David’s party guests

Dalyan – 19th December

I had made time in my work diary to do the Quote testing on Thursday 19th December and had expected that Captain Caveman would be Bumming in the morning. I had a cup of tea but didn’t have any breakfast as I got straight on with work. At lunch time I made another banana bread and we had a slice of that for lunch.
In the afternoon I took a break from work, as we were still waiting for the Quote tool to be finalised, and I popped to the shops. Here’s what I bought in all 3 shops, with prices in lira;

BIM Supermarket
2 Dido chocolate bars 33.00
A 1.2kg whole chicken 97.32
Total spent 130.32 lira (£2.97)

A101 Supermarket
2 packs of mini wraps 30.00
1 pack normal wrap 43.50
Total spent 73.50 lira (£1.67)

Migros Supermarket
15 eggs 87.50
Frozen fruit 89.95
Total spent 177.45 lira (£4.04)

While I was out, I noticed that both Migros and A101 were selling fresh or frozen turkeys especially for Christmas and Migros even had some Christmas related tat in, which I think was the first time I had seen it in Dalyan.
That evening, despite not bringing any more wine over from our apartment, I cooked a Sunday roast dinner on a Thursday! It wasn’t that wild a notion as in Captain Caveman’s eyes, he thought today was our 13th anniversary. We met on the Thursday before Christmas so he sees this day as being our anniversary rather than the actual date.

Photo credit – some photos from the Riverbums

Dalyan – 18th December

It was definitely my own fault that I had sabotaged hitting my weight target when it came to weigh day on Wednesday 18th December, but I wasn’t impressed with myself and knew I could’ve done better this week. I took my measurements to find I had put 1cm on my bust, 1cm off my waist and my hips had stayed the same. On the home scales it read that I had stayed the same as last week which was a miracle. Carol’s scales would be the ones to tell the actual result at 3pm this afternoon, though.
There was no Turkish class today and I was meant to use the time to do my homework, instead I had cornflakes and a banana for breakfast and got on with some work. We had leek and potato soup with bread, for lunch then Captain Caveman took Norman and Edna on the postponed Sunday Walk, now a Wednesday Wander. He intended to cut it short if either dog got tired and promised not to wear them out as they only have little legs. I went to Fat Club for the full hour, with it being the first one back for Carol. She picked me up so that I didn’t have to carry the heavy bag of books and the scales. It was good to have Carol back as the pressure to be good was definitely felt. Unfortunately, this week I had put on 0.25kg (0.6lb) as I thought I might and so I still needed to lose 0.5kg (1.1lb) to hit that ever elusive target. My water and protein levels were still showing low but this week there was a change in my believed age. The app we use measures all these things through the app, somehow, and it had rated me as age 62 (11 years older) until now. I was now showing age 55 so I was pleased that it was having a good result, heading in the right direction and was determined to get to target by the end of the year.
On the way home, I called at the shop, here’s what I bought with prices in lira;

Migros Supermarket
1 packet of jellies 17.45
2 tins of tomatoes 29.90
1 tin of chickpeas 31.95
Total spent 79.30 lira (£1.80)

I did more work and made a chicken, chickpea and spinach curry for dinner. Captain Caveman returned with Norman and Edna who had done the walk and we’re fighting fit. Edna went straight over to where the treat tin is and told me she deserved a snack! I gave them both a Shmacko, which did not touch the sides. I dialled in to the Resort Experts team meeting and Captain Caveman went upstairs to play Bridge. This week there was a bit of excitement on the call as we got an update about our new quote tool which would help us with package holidays from the UK on Easyjet, TUI and Jet2 Holidays. The next roll out would be hotel only accommodation and eventually cruises. This was great news and would really free up our time on the admin part of the quoting work which we do a lot of on a daily basis. Having worked with Insurance quotes some years ago this was right up my alley and I was looking forward to doing any testing required. This was also a good time to be telling people that if they are booking a holiday, I would love them to book it with me and I started to increase my Social Media posts on Facebook. I also decided that, as I wasn’t celebrating Christmas, I would work every day in December to build up my potential client base. Captain Caveman had booked a flight back to London on New Year’s Eve, as his 90 days in Turkey would finish then. He would leave at lunch time on New Year’s Eve and go to stay with his parents initially.
We enjoyed our curry with a bottle of the Levissi Gamay and were really impressed by it. By 10.30pm, though, my evening companions were absolutely out for the count and snoring away.

Dalyan & Göcek – 17th December

There was a planned power cut due at our apartment on Tuesday 17th December but it was not going to affect our day, as we had an exciting trip out planned. I got my cup of tea in bed and then got up to have a double breakfast of buttered toast and a grapefruit. I’d already gone way over the top on syns this week so I knew I was going to have put weight on at Fat Club tomorrow. Captain Caveman had a really bad sore throat and shouldn’t have been coming on the day out but he insisted he would be fine as long as he didn’t speak. I walked the dogs and got them settled for the rest of the day as we went to meet our friends, Ian & Janet. Captain Caveman had become good friends with Ian through the Sunday Walking group and he had told us about a place in Göcek, where they used to live, that has a great wine shop with good deals on. The sun was shining and we had arranged to go along for some wine shopping, which is what I had decided I would spend my parents’ Christmas money on as a really nice treat. We arrived in Göcek just before lunch time and went straight to the Levissi Wine shop where we met Ian and Janet’s friend. The lady who ran the shop knew our fellow wine shoppers very well and was very friendly. The Levissi wine that was on offer was only 150 lira (£3.37) per bottle so was great value and also, according to Janet, really good. Ian doesn’t drink alcohol so we only had Janet’s word for it but their friend could also recommend it. Our friends had quite a few bottles but we decided we would just get 12 bottles, 2 of each of 5 reds and a 2 of the rose. They also had whites but we both prefer red in winter so I didn’t want to get something we wouldn’t drink. Here’s what we got at the wine shop;

Levissi Şarap Evi
2 bottles of Petit Verdot red wine 300
2 bottles of Gamay red wine 300
2 bottles of Merlot red wine 300
2 bottles of Cabernet Sauvignon red wine 300
2 bottles of Makri red wine 300
2 bottles of Makri blush wine 300
Total spent 1,800 lira (£40.45)

I was thrilled that we had got so much wine for such a bargain, the cheapest one I’ve enjoyed in Dalyan was 43% more. After borrowing a couple of shopping trollies from the nearby Carrefour supermarket to take all the wine to the car, we decided to have a meander round Göcek town centre. Janet and I got involved with a stray dog situation as I just couldn’t help it. A lively pup came up to us and barked until we followed him to his fat, old (dog) friend who was laying on the floor outside the back of a building. The pup was trying to tell us that the older overweight dog couldn’t get up and I thought it was sick. I did a bit of a foolish thing really, as I went to check it out and got a bit too near to the dog and it snapped at me a little. It turned out that the older dog just didn’t want to play and the pup was just trying to get his friend to get up and join in. We re-joined the men who hadn’t noticed we had been gone and then we had a really nice stroll around the town, stopping off at the pharmacy for more throat sweets for Captain Caveman, who had now started talking fine. We bought ginger throat pastilles for 49.95 lira (£1.12) at Watson’s and I noticed they had quite a good range of electric toothbrush heads at a good price.

After the wine shopping, we decided to have lunch in Göcek at a cute waterfront café, called Moc Café. It was a first for both Captain Caveman and I however our fellow wine shoppers had been a few times and liked it there. The sun was shining so we sat outside and ordered drinks then lunch. The men chose pizza or burgers, which were massive, and Janet and I ordered a chicken wrap. We all stuck to non-alcoholic drinks to be sensible and when the food came it was really nice. Janet & I got chicken shish instead of a wrap but it turned out to be a good mistake and probably better for my Slimming World plan, even though it was a little bit too late now. Captain Caveman and I paid 1,155.00 lira (£25.96) for a Turkish tea, an Americano coffee, 1 Cheeseburger and 1 Chicken shish. I really enjoyed having a rare lunch out and I thought the prices, to say we were sat on the harbour front in a stylish café, were pretty reasonable.
We drove back after lunch and on the way back, Janet and Ian invited us in to their home to try last year’s stock of the Levissi wine. Janet had a bottle of the Merlot already opened and she ended up opening another, it was very quaffable and we were pleased with our purchases if it was as good as this batch.

Ian, who doesn’t drink, drove us home and Captain Caveman went home to unpack the wine with strict instructions to take a photo of it so I could send it to my Mom to say thank you for our Christmas present. I rushed back to make sure Norman and Edna were ok as this was the first time in the 3 weeks we had left the dogs for longer than a couple of hours. When I went in to Jamie’s living room, Norman and Edna had just been snoozing away but were pleased to see me. I let them out while a grabbed the leads and poo bags for a walk. Norman was enjoying the new tiled patio area so much that he had taken to doing a poo on the same tile whenever he got the chance and he didn’t disappoint today. Captain Caveman arrived back and he was feeling a bit better so he made spaghetti with chicken, red pepper, onion and sucuk for our dinner. We didn’t have any more wine, though, as we had already had enough.

Dalyan – 16th December

Captain Caveman went Dogging, despite being sick with a cold, on Monday 16th December and the planned power cut didn’t affect me so I managed to get ahead of myself on the To Do list for a nice change. I had tea and toast for breakfast and the dogs really wanted some but I reminded them that Edna was on a diet and could not have buttered toast.
When Captain Caveman returned he was even more poorly and we had soup with bread for lunch. In the afternoon I popped out for some fresh air, to get some medicine for Captain Caveman and fetch some shopping. Here’s what I bought with the prices in lira;

Şok Supermarket
1 Caramel chocolate bar 16.50
15 eggs 87.50
712g Chicken breasts 149.52
Total spent 253.52 lira (£5.72)

Pharmacy
Strepsils 179.90
Tylol Hot 310.87
Total spent 490.77 lira (£11.08)

Stationers
A 2025 Diary 150 lira
A card 35 lira
Total spent 185 lira (£4.18)

Migros Supermarket
1 Quark 29.95
Milk 28.25
Chickpeas 31.95
1l Coca Cola 35.00
3 tinned of tomatoes 44.85
Butter 62.50
7% Fat Beef mince 209.91
Total spent 442.41 lira (£9.99)

I felt a little queasy on the way home and ate the chocolate bar to give me a bit of energy and when I got back I took the dogs out for a walk, while Captain Caveman had his hot lemon medicine. I was really pleased to have got myself a new diary and I messaged my Mom to say thanks for the Christmas money and that I now had a very much needed, and in my favourite colour, 2025 diary to get me focused on next year’s plans and goals. I also knew what I would spend the rest of the money on as a really nice treat for both Captain Caveman and I.
I did a bit more work as Captain Caveman rattled Strepsils round his teeth. Then we warmed up yesterday’s leftover Sunday dinner for our Monday evening meal.

Dalyan – 15th December

There was a bit of excitement in our day on the morning of Sunday 15th December when we decided we would take Norman and Edna on the Sunday Walk which Captain Caveman had organised. Norman had been so sprightly lately so we thought we would give it a try and if he got tired then I would go back with him, or even both, dogs. It was very cold at 7am when I woke up but it would be a whopping 9°C by 9am. I forgot to have breakfast but I had a couple of cups of tea. It had been a month since my parents had left and I hadn’t spoken to them on the phone yet. I missed them not being on the Sunday walk so that I could have an excuse to be the fat, slow one at the back. On the walk today was a nice small group and I enjoyed our very nice walk until we got to a muddy patch. I had my trainers on that are not suitable so I moaned that I would turn back around with Norman and go home. Norman joined in and decided he didn’t want to go through the big puddle either so Captain Caveman came back, carried Norman over and then offered to carry me over it. I went across and was fine after that, despite soaking socks and Norman pulling to try to get in to the front again. We even got another dog, Chezza, joining us who protected us from any of the street dogs. At the end of the walk we went to the Kaunos tea gardens for a beverage and the big dog, Chezza, got in the river while Norman and Edna had a drink of water from my bottle. We sat on the wall as dogs aren’t allowed at the tea gardens and we had 3 teas for 40 lira (less than a pound). Edna got cocky and decided to see Chezza off so he left and then we all walked back home.

We had leek & potato soup for lunch with bread and then I ate a banana as a snack. I got on with work for a bit and Captain Caveman lay on the sofa with the dogs for the rest of the day. He said he didn’t feel well and he was incredibly snotty and sneezy. I made a chicken casserole for dinner with stuffing, Yorkshire puddings, carrots, onions, green beans, cabbage and roast potatoes. This did mean that I had gone quite a bit over the syns this week and was on 299 syns. I had a really nice surprise from my parents when they sent me some Christmas money, this made me a bit emotional and I promised to spend it on something nice, rather than something essential. At first I had thought I might use it to get my hair done because I had not had it done since June but I decided it wasn’t a priority and I could always wear a hat! I worked quite late as we had received a warning that there may be a planned power outage tomorrow so I wanted to be prepared.

Dalyan – 14th December

It was the new day of the postponed Dalyan Winter/Christmas fayre on Saturday 14th December and most of Dalyan was excited that it was finally happening. There were also 2 parties happening that night to celebrate Christmas; a Zumba one and the Tapa Christmas party. We were going to neither and we only were going for a look at the Christmas market as we didn’t need to buy anything in particular. After tea and grapefruit for breakfast, Captain Caveman and I went to the ordinary weekly Saturday market, here’s what we bought with prices in lira;

Stall 1
Potatoes & onions 60 lira

Stall 2
Red & green peppers, carrots, tomatoes and red cabbage 250 lira

Stall 3
Bananas 55 lira

Stall 4
Başlamak bread 70 lira

Total spent at the market 415 lira (£9.41).

Although we had still spent less than £10, which was great, I was definitely noticing some things seemed to be getting more expensive at the Dalyan market.
After popping back to Jamie’s and Fire Opal with the various shopping and to get showered, we let Norman and Edna out before we went to the Christmas Fayre. We decided not to take them as it would be too busy and they probably wouldn’t enjoy it. The weather was good and the workers at Jamie’s were making a bit of progress.
At the Christmas Fayre we saw a few familiar faces and stopped to chat, it was a lot more Christmassy than I expected it would be. It was time to leave as Captain Caveman was off to Ortaca with Sezgin to play Bridge. I was tempted by the sight of the sausage rolls and Captain Caveman asked me if I wanted one, I did but I resisted as I was so near to reaching my target.
We walked back to Jamie’s and ate a Dido for lunch because Captain Caveman was in a rush. Norman, Edna and I went to Sezgin’s with Captain Caveman and we met his wife, Nur, who was very nice and the dogs liked to meet them both too. Back at home, I had leftover fajitas for lunch then got on with work while it was nice and quiet. I also managed to get a chapter of my book written.
Captain Caveman was back quite late so we just had leek and potato soup for dinner with some of the başlamak bread. Tomorrow’s weather was looking good so we were looking forward to a nice Sunday Walk.