Lardos – 14th October

Not only was Saturday 14th October the last full day and night of our Rhodes holiday, but it was also Ma & Pa’s wedding anniversary. We’d not been able to celebrate it properly for one reason or another these last few years so I’d decided it would be lovely to do something special. Nothing gets past my Mom, though, so I had to hatch a plan that everyone but my parents were in on. Yara Yachting were booked for a day’s private boat trip and I’d invited Steve and Michelle to join my parents, Captain Caveman and I.
I told my parents that we were going to meet Steve and Michelle at Cuckoo’s Nest for coffee at 9.30am, which was quite early. I pretended it was the only time Steve and Michelle could fit us in with work so we could all go to the beach. Everyone had a coffee and some had pastries (bought from the bakery) at Cuckoo’s Nest, I didn’t as I knew I’d be sailing. When the Yara Yachting car came to pick us up in Lardos Square I lied and said it must be a friend of Steve and Michelle’s, giving us a lift in the hot sun to save us walking. Even when we got to Kiotari Beach they were none the wiser and my Mom started looking for which sunbeds we might want to sit on. I went to pay for the trip while Captain Caveman kept my parents from rolling out a towel, then I told them. My Mom was so surprised that she hugged and thanked everyone for their anniversary surprise.
We had to get a small tender to the yacht in 2 trips, Captain Caveman escorted my parents so they could safely be first on to the yacht. I followed with Steve and Michelle and, once on board, the 2 captains gave us a bit of information while we got seated. My parents were given 3 choices of where they wanted to sail to and they chose Hawaii Beach, aka Pink Floyd beach. By 10am we were on our way for a private all day tour with just the 6 of us and the 2 captains – how exciting. The trip ran from 10am to 4pm with all food and drink (alcohol) included. I’m surprised we lasted until gone 11am before I asked if we could pop some fizz. The crew were lovely, amusing and one was a great story teller. We were also asked if we wanted to sail the boat, so my Mom had a go and was quite good. Captain Caveman, who has experience, followed with a go and really loved it so we left him to it. I was glad that he’d worn his Masto Designs stork patterned shirt too as he looked the part and I got lots of photos of him, posing. Even though I once sailed a speed boat down the Saigon river, after a gin tasting event, I decided I wouldn’t do that again and risk an incident. I was quite happy to indulge in some sparkling Greek Cair wine with my parents, who were still a bit in shock at the surprise.
When we stopped for a swim near to Hawaii beach, Steve went off snorkelling while Dad and I braved the cold water. It was rather chilly and my legs were going a bit numb but I knew we might not get another chance to say we’d swam in Pink Floyd’s bay. Ma, Michelle and Captain Caveman were happy to sit on board sipping their drinks while Dad and I attempted to swim round the (fairly big) yacht. Realising we were missing out on the all inclusive drinks was enough of an excuse for us to get out and join the others. Steve returned having seen lots of sea life and even he hadn’t explored this area before, so he was pleased.

Our lunch was amazing, I’d been a little worried that Mom and I wouldn’t enjoy it as we are quite fussy eaters but we both loved it. At one point people went on to beer but I carried on with the fizz mostly and we were all quite merry by the time our day trip came to an end. As us ladies still had full glasses, we sent the 3 men in the first tender while we carried on drinking and laughing. Michelle didn’t seem as drunk as us as I concentrated on getting off the yacht in to the dinghy. I’d been concerned about my parents being able to get off and on but they were better than I was. The boatman on the tender dropped us off on the beach where the guys were waiting for us.

Photo credit – some taken by Mom and Captain Caveman

After a wonderful day of sailing for my parents’ anniversary, the Yara Yachting pick-up service took us back to Lardos Square. I’d envisaged we might go straight back home for showers and to get changed for dinner but Steve suggested a beer in Memories bar and we all sat down. At one point I went off to get a cardigan and put our wet swimmers and towels in the washer to get them done for us leaving tomorrow. We decided we would go for a meal at Savas Restaurant round the corner which started well. We ordered carafes of wine, I don’t remember what Captain Caveman and I ate as Steve had started cutting off bits of his pork and was trying to feed it to my mom and I. Dad’s poor eyesight benefitted him as he was at the other end of the table eating his Pastitsio. I don’t think the restaurant owner and staff were too impressed with the loudness from our table and then, the card machine wasn’t working for any of us to pay.
We should all have gone home at that point but a rather merry Steve was insistant on more drinks as I escorted him back over to Memories. Ironically, we would all have some rather hilarious memories of today as we tried our best to keep Steve from getting shots. As things got rather messy it was up to mom to give her excuses to leave. Steve wanted us to stay for more drinking but Mom was having none of it, she wanted to enjoy what was left of their anniversary with Dad. Captain Caveman and I had also had quite our full and wanted to escort my parents back to make sure they didn’t get lost. We all had such a great time for our last day and night in Rhodes but tomorrow we were off back to Turkey!

Lardos – 13th October

Captain Caveman, my parents and I were moving locations on Friday 13th October. We had breakfast at London’s Athena hotel and then decided to go for the earlier bus as I had a work meeting with Steve and Michelle back in Lardos. I took half of my sausage sandwich with me as I couldn’t finish it all. Captain Caveman had booked us a traditional greek house for the 4 of us to stay in, not far from Steve and Michelle’s house. The bus from Lindos to Lardos was just €1.80 (£1.54) and took about 20 minutes, as it went via Pefkos. When we got to Lardos, Steve told me to take the afternoon off to enjoy being with my parents, which was really nice of him. We checked in to Animone and it was rather lovely. In the afternoon we had a little walk to Alapou wine store for a quick wine tasting and I bought a bottle of rosé wine, one I’d had before. The wine store is amazing and has so much choice, they even sell beers and spirits for the non-wine drinkers. I paid €36 (£30.87) for the 6 wine tasting glasses of wine and €7.30 (£6.26) for the bottle of wine, before saying our goodbyes. We could quite easily have stayed longer but we had to get back to get ready for tonight’s Greek night in Lardos square. Back at our traditional Greek house, we got ready then shared the rosé wine I bought, it was very nice and refreshing, we also drank all the water from the fridge.

That evening, my parents, Captain Caveman, Steve, Michelle and I were booked in at Valantina’s restaurant in Lardos. It’s one of my favourite places to eat in Rhodes and I wanted my parents to experience it. We all had the sharing starter then all but my parents ordered pork dishes, my Mom had seafood and Dad had a chicken shish. Our pork dishes were fantastic, Mom loved the seafood and the carafes of wine went down well too. The dinner cost €55 (£47.17) per couple, including starters and wine and I really enjoyed it. We also managed a couple of drinks in Cuckoo’s Nest, where we were able to watch the Greek night while clapping along to the dancing and music.
Back ‘home’ my parents had the bedroom with the 2 double beds in and we slept up some steps opposite the bathroom and washing machine. Captain Caveman had decided to put the laundry on so it was a bit noisy and I couldn’t sleep through the spin cycle.

Lindos – 12th October

The breakfast at Lindos Athena on Thursday 12th October was pretty good and I enjoyed it. My parents sunbathed by the pool, Captain Caveman kept covered up and out of the pool due to his rash. I did a bit of work and organised for Steve and Michelle to come over later on.

When Steve and Michelle arrived they gave my parents a lift down Cardiac Hill, in to Lindos town, while Captain Caveman and I walked. My parents had a look over the edge to the sea, next to the bust of Ionnais Zigdis, a Greek politician. We walked to Mario’s as we were off to introduce my parents to the curry sauce. It was very busy, we ordered drinks and food. Dad had pork with curry sauce which was a normal size but Mom had a huge pork chop. It was so good and we got given free shots from the owner at the end of our meal. After our meal we had a walk through the streets of Lindos, calling at Pals for a drink. We bumped in to an old friend and ex-colleague of mine, Elaine. She was in Rhodes, staying in Pefkos, with her hubby and friends and we had been trying to meet up for a few days. Steve and Michelle had work the next day so couldn’t stay out out but they kindly dropped my parents back off and picked up some luggage to take back with them to Lardos, where we would be going tomorrow. We had a couple of drinks at the bar before going back to our rooms for the last sleep at Lindos Athena. It was a lovely hotel but not one of us had been in the pool which was a shame. We managed to pay our bills for drinks and breakfasts, which came to €135 (£115.81) for Captain Caveman and I on our room for the 2 nights (not including the accommodation). Our last round of drinks for the evening was €36.50 (£31.31). Tomorrow we would be up early and off to Lardos but at least we didn’t have to carry as many bags on the bus.

Rhodes Town & Lindos – 11th October

On Wednesday 11th October Captain Caveman was up and about before me, unpacking his bag. I got so excited when he gave me my 2024 Diary as I’d been wanting (needing) one for ages. As it was a Wednesday it was weigh day but I had no scales, probably a good job considering how many syns I must have had this week! I did do my measurements though and they were as follows:
Bust -2cm,
Waist +2cm,
Hips +1cm.

We checked out of the Kahlua Apartments and made our way to the bus station as we were off to stay in Lindos for a couple of nights. Michelle had recommended the Lindos Athena hotel where my Mom had booked the last two rooms for us. On the way to the bus station we stopped off at a cafe for breakfast. My parents and Captain Caveman ordered omelettes which were lovely but I made the mistake of ordering a cheese and bacon pancake. It came smothered in mayonnaise both inside and on the top and I couldn’t eat it. My parents paid for breakfast, and we walked to the bus station where Captain Caveman had already bought our bus tickets. It was only €5.50 (£4.72) each and took about an hour and 20 minutes. My parents had a big case and a couple of bags between them but it wasn’t too cumbersome to get it on the bus. Captain Caveman and I had 3 bags between us so we all filled the bag area with our luggage.

The journey went well and we got off at Lindos bus station for the short walk to the hotel. When we arrived, we insisted Ma & Pa have the best corner room, with (distant) views of the Acropolis and we took the smaller, but perfectly adequate, double room. Lindos Athena was very nice and, while my parents and Captain Caveman went down to the pool and bar area, I did a bit of work. The internet was good, I used the chest of drawers as a desk but I didn’t work for too long.

We met for a drink at the bar then walked in to Lindos for our evening meal. We called at Lindian House for a pre dinner drink so that my Mom could see the Acropolis lit up from their roof terrace area.

Captain Caveman had chosen a nice rooftop restaurant called Kamariko for dinner and it didn’t disappoint. Dad and I had pork, Captain Caveman had lamb and my Mom had a seafood dish which was massive. We all enjoyed our dinner, Dad particularly enjoyed the complimentary dessert. The cost per couple for the meal was €51.65 (£44.29) including wine. Back at the hotel, we had a nightcap at the bar before bed, where our bed was super comfy.

Rhodes Town – 10th October

After an ok sleep we were all up and about early on Tuesday 10th October, ready for the delights of Rhodes Town.
Captain Caveman and I had already decided we would take my parents to Dali for breakfast and he’d checked on the internet that it was open. Off we all toddled with a short stroll along the seafront to one of our favourite Rhodes cafés. Unfortunately, when we got there it was closed and there were decorators at work. I checked if they were likely to open any time soon and they weren’t so that was our first plan scuppered. Almost an hour later, we were having a breakfast drink in a cafe because we were thirsty and/or needing the toilet. Captain Caveman paid for our coffees and juices and we decided to head nearer to the port to find somewhere open for breakfast. By 9.40am we had found Trianon Cafe that was open and serving breakfast. We all ordered a full english which included an orange juice for €13 (£11.13), I had an earl grey tea, Mom a cappuccino, Captain Caveman a double espresso and we all shared water. It wasn’t the best breakfast I’d ever had but, considering we were in Rhodes, it would do. I was surprised to see my mom drink her orange juice as it doesn’t agree with her but it was fresh and tasted good. The total bill came to €62.70 (£53.69) but we were all full and probably wouldn’t need any lunch.

We had a wander through the old town and Captain Caveman took up his role of tour guide as we weaved through the cobbled streets and away from the crowds. Just before midday mom felt a bit unwell (it was probably that orange juice) and we found a lovely little bar to have a rest up in. Baluse had a lady owner who was friendly, the big Alpha beers were €4.50 (£3.85) and a sprite (for Ma) was €4 (£3.43) – we did all comment the beers were much better value. By 1pm we were back off on our walking tour of the old town where we managed to wear out my parents. We had an afternoon rest and a freshen up at the apartments before heading back out for a night out.

We started with the short walk to Malt pub where we saw the sunset and had some beers, a round of 4 came to €20.50 (£17.55) so we had a couple in there before walking back to the restaurant, Rodos Blue, where we went last time with Jamie, Drew and Nanny kay. Between us we ordered a moussaka, grilled pork, 2 beef stifado, a small carafe of white wine and a large carafe of red wine and it came to €68 (£58.23). Wine is good and reasonably priced in Rhodes so we were quite happy to indulge. I also knew I wouldn’t be getting weighed tomorrow so I was being a bit naughty with the syns and had stopped counting.
On our way back to the apartments we had a nightcap at a nearby bar and my Mom found that the shop below where we were staying, sold sherry!

Lardos & Rhodes Town – 9th October

On Monday 9th October I worked a full day at Steve and Michelle’s. When we finished work, Michelle decided she would drive me to Rhodes Town, instead of me getting the bus. We went to Gyro and Burger in Afandou on our way, where the food is always great. This time both Steve and I had the burgers and Michelle had the Gyros, all of which were very tasty and big portions. I was conscious we still had a car journey to go so I took the rest of my burger with me. For 3 soft drinks and the 3 meals it came to €23.90 (£20.90).

I said bye to Michelle and Steve who dropped me right across the road from Kahlua Apartments – it was raining. Our holiday plans included coming back to Lardos so we would meet up again very soon. I went upstairs to the reception area only to realise I needed to check-in at the shop downstairs. Back down in the very well stocked shop I got given the keys to both rooms and a nice gentleman showed me round one of them. I decided Captain Caveman and I would take the one with the single beds on the top floor, giving my parents the room nearer to reception, with a double bed. I ate the rest of my cheese burger and had a brief lay down.

When everyone arrived, it was almost 10pm so we decided to go to the Mexican place round the corner for beers and snacks. I was that excited to see everyone that I forgot to take any photos. We all had a big Alpha beer each then ordered some food, I had a fish taco without chillies and it was great. Mom said her burrito was excellent too. We had more big Alpha beers before paying our bill, which came to €70.50 (£60.41), beers were €5 (£4.28) each. We had a walk to a bar not far from where we were staying and called for a nightcap; red wine for Captain Caveman and I, gin & tonic for Ma and brandy and lemonade for Dad. We chose Koykos bar as we had been there before with Jamie, Drew & Nanny Kay and it was nice but it was quite dimly lit and already after midnight. We paid €27 (£23.14) for our 4 drinks and walked back to the hotel for some sleep.
Captain Caveman slept in the furthest away bed from me so I wouldn’t touch him and his shingles. He was feeling better but still had a scabby rash so we didn’t want to chance me catching it.

Lardos – 7th & 8th October

I had a bit of a sleep in on Saturday 7th October and did a bit of work in the afternoon from Steve and Michelle’s. They were working for some of the weekend too but had some people to see in Afandou. I got dropped off at a bar where I caught up on some blog editing while drinking peach iced tea and eating a bacon sandwich – I couldn’t remember when I last had one!

That evening we went to Lindos to meet a friend of Steve and Michelle’s and they introduced me to one of their favourite eateries, Mario’s. They were so enthusiastic about the Thai style curry sauce that all 3 of them ordered it with their pork or chicken. Being a bit fussy with my food, I couldn’t bring myself round to ordering the two together so I settled for just a pork chop with chips and salad. When the food came I had a dip of the sauce and it was incredible. I then had to order an extra portion of curry sauce as it was just so good.

Back in Lardos, to say it got a bit messy was probably an understatement. We ended up meeting Mark, Maria, Lu, Az, Hannah and some other friends of their’s. We drank in the bars around Lardos square and Steve decided it would be a good idea to drink shots (it wasn’t). We spent a small fortune that night and it got a bit out of hand, Steve borrowed a pineapple off the bar and we didn’t get home until around 4.45am.

As you can probably imagine, Sunday 8th October was pretty uneventful for me!
I spent most of the day feeling very ‘tired’ while Steve and Michelle went visiting friends and work contacts. I was happy for a day off and was looking forward to seeing Captain Caveman and my parents tomorrow night. Captain Caveman had booked us 2 rooms at Kahlua Apartments in Rhodes Town and he sent me screen shots so I could work out how to get there from the bus station. Michelle had offered to drive me, after work, but it seemed easier to get the bus as I’d done it before. I fed the animals while Steve and Michelle were out but had gone to bed before they returned home. Meanwhile, my parents were getting ready to fly from Manchester to Rhodes and Captain Caveman was enjoying his last night in Naples.

Dalyan to Lardos – 6th October

I was awoken on Friday 6th October by my phone. It was 5.50am and it was Fikri calling to say he was outside. He had also seen me last night, several times, as guests booked him to go home. He knew I was one of the last to leave and was concerned I might overlay. How kind is that! He got me to Ortaca bus station early enough for me to buy a bottle of water at the small shop before getting on the first bus to Fethiye. I was surprised to see it so busy and hoped I would get to the ferry port in time, which was a good 10 minutes drive from the bus station after this bus journey. The taxi from Dalyan to Fethiye was too expensive for me so I chanced the bus and it paid off. It was a bit of a rush really, especially with my wheelie case and the extra taxi to the port. I got on the ferry without taking my seasick pills and was feeling somewhat fragile as I joined Rachel, her mom and 2 little kids. They were off for a short break in Haraki, Rhodes, and I know Rachel from my Turkish classes. I could have done without having to be sociable and even a Turkish tea didn’t sort me out but having friends to chat to kept my mind off feeling rather fragile.
By 1pm I was sat waiting in the Rhodes Town MacDonald’s for Steve and Michelle. They were coming to pick me up to go back to Lardos, where I was staying with them for the weekend. I had a cheeseburger and a coke which cost €5.20 (£4.46) so it wasn’t cheap but seemed to be a good enough hangover cure.
When we arrived, I logged on to the internet on Matt’s laptop and said hello to Bob, the cat, and Xena, the dog. It looked to be quite a lively weekend as tonight we were off to Flyer’s, in Pefkos, for one of their Greek Nights.

Having been before with Captain Caveman, I was ready to do it all again and this time we were taking it steady as I was still flagging from last night’s shenanigans. I had Milokleftis cider and we tucked it to a delicious feast of pitta, tsatziki, feta salad, lamb, pork, chicken and french fries. There was live music, singing and the Rhodian ballet with dancing, which we were encouraged to join in on.

Michelle and I took to the floor for a bit of dancing, as you do, but the real stars of the show were the male volunteers. It was a fantastic night and we really enjoyed one of the last Greek Nights of the season.
Back in Lardos, we called for a nightcap in Cuckoo’s Nest where we bumped in to Bob, the cat! I’d survived until midnight but I really was begging for mercy and needed my bed.

Rhodian Ballet

The audience participation was great

Dalyan – 5th October

Captain Caveman and I had both been invited to a wedding on Thursday 5th October. Of course, Captain Caveman was in Italy and couldn’t make it, but he’d also got shingles and wouldn’t have been there anyway. I had accepted the invite and needed to take it steady as I had a ferry to catch to Rhodes early the next day. Our initial plan for my parents and I to meet Captain Caveman in Naples had been scrapped, not just because of the shingles. Dad was waiting for an eye appointment and didn’t want to be in Italy when it came. Instead, we had agreed to meet in Rhodes Town on Monday (9th), where we would all spend 6 nights in Rhodes together.
I worked for a couple of hours in the morning, packed for my Rhodes trip and then had some leftover food with rice.

The wedding of Bill and Jaxx took place on a boat so we met at Paradise Hotel to get on the boats, where there were some familiar friendly faces. When Bill arrived he was having the 2 dogs, Big Boy and Lucy, with him for the ceremony. He’d also supplied some punch for us to have on the journey to pick up his beautiful bride.

Jaxx looked like a beautiful little doll in her wedding dress and the 2 boats sailed together to a spot for the ceremony. I had a couple of the punch drinks which I was convinced was made from cherry and vodka but my fellow guests said they didn’t think it was alcoholic and had quite a few.
There was a female celebrant who did a rather unique service and speech which everyone enjoyed.

The sun was shining and it was a beautiful wedding, followed by a dinner and party back at Bill and Jaxx’s lovely villa, with the bar and garden kitted out for the wedding party. We had a great time and my plans to not drink too much went out of the window as the champagne was poured. Dinner was served quite late so I was rather trollied as we enjoyed the steak dinner followed by some gorgeous cheese. One of the wedding party even shared her port with us and I, of course, made some new friends who were absolutely lovely.
I vaguely recall getting in, after a lift in to town with my new mates, setting the alarm for 5.30am and hoping I didn’t sleep through it. Fikri’s taxi was booked to pick me up at 6am and take me to Ortaca so that I could get the first bus to Fethiye.

Dalyan – 1st to 4th October

Sunday 1st October had some of my favourite things; dogs and curry! I had to wake the dogs up at 8.10am as I needed a wee. We went for a little walk and they shared water when they got back as both were thirsty. I had left over chicken tenders for breakfast and then had a bad stomach! By 11.20am I was feeling a bit better and had started catching up on my blogging; Edna was helping, while Norman snored away from his bed. Edna soon got bored as there was no juicy gossip and had a snooze. It was raining before 2pm and both dogs were snoring away as I typed.
That afternoon I got some bad news from the computer repair man. My laptop was going to cost too much to fix and would be better to buy a new one. I took the dogs on a reluctant but short walk in the rain and then gave them their dinner – they love meal times.
I couldn’t be bothered to cook and I’d not been to the market so I decided to order a curry from Spice Garden, as a treat. I decided to go for the chicken set menu which was 445 lira (£13.28) and included the following; Chicken Tikka starter, Chicken Masala main, Saag Aloo side. For a bit extra I also added in a garlic and cheese naan bread and then would split the whole lot over 2 meals. The food is obviously not prepared or cooked by Indian chefs but it’s as near as I was going to get in Turkey and it tasted great. At bed time Norman and Edna were the first to go to bed, not leaving me much room on the bed!

I had another day off on Monday 2nd October so that I could go back to the Fethiye office to complete my residency renewal by taking a copy of my water bill, in my name. I was still looking after Norman and Edna but Jamie had said they would be ok left after their morning walkies and breakfast, as he was due back around 1pm. I decided that it would be a bit irresponsible, should he get delayed for any reason and I’d be all the way in Fethiye on a bus so I arranged with Vanessa to get the 2pm bus.
I also got a message from the computer repair man to say he had found me a potential new laptop; a Toshiba i5 cpu 8GB RAM 240GB SSD with an English keyboard. I know nothing about laptops so I sent it on to Captain Caveman to check out and see if it was worth the 7,500 lira (£220) it was priced at.
At 3pm we were in the Fethiye office, where I saw the same lady. It turned out she spoke English and didn’t remember my application. I helped her find it on the pile, gave her my paperwork, which she copied. She then passed me the paper to say I had renewed residency for just under a year. My card would be posted within the next month and I’d been in there less than 3 minutes. I was so relieved but couldn’t help thinking that all this extra expense and stress could’ve been avoided!
Just 14 minutes later, Vanessa and I were about to tuck in to a Big Mac meal each in MacDonald’s. By 4.15pm we had decided to walk it back to the bus station as it was glorious weather. It was great to have had Vanessa there with me and it made a nice afternoon. It was late by the time we got in to Ortaca, where we decided to have an ice-cream as we were peckish and thirsty. Michelle messaged to ask if I would buy her some vitamins which are expensive in Rhodes, but we had already left Fethiye by the time I got the info. We walked out of the bus station in Ortaca to find a Gratis pharmacy, and they had 3 bottles left. I bought 2 at 99 lira (£2.91) each and with discount. We were late getting back to Dalyan so I warmed up some curry for dinner about 9pm at home. I lit some candles and relaxed – my residency renewal was finally done and I could relax until August next year!

On Tuesday 3rd October I had 3 days left in Dalyan before I went back to Rhodes. The plans to join Captain Caveman in Italy had changed as it turned out his rash was shingles! Instead, he and my parents would meet me in Rhodes in 6 days time.
I had fresh figs, peach and strawberries for breakfast then got on with work. For lunch I had cheese on toast, done in the Airfryer. It was a lovely, sunny day but I was indoors working, after being off yesterday. Steve sent me through my ferry ticket which was only €25 (£21.60), with discount. It did mean getting up at 5.30am on Friday morning though. For dinner I put the leftover chicken tikka starter in to the saag aloo and had that, very nice it was too. Fat Club was probably not going to see a loss from me tomorrow, but I had definitely drank less alcohol as I couldn’t afford to go out now!

It was weigh-in day on Wednesday 4th October and I wasn’t optimistic. I took my measurements to find I had put on 4cm on my bust but lost 4cm from my hips and 2cm from my waist. I worked for a couple of hours in the morning and I was quite enjoying the red keyboard of Matt’s laptop.
At Fat Club, Carol’s scales showed that I had put on 0.3kg (0.7lb), which wasn’t ideal.
I decided to make a stir-fry for dinner which I ate with steamed rice and it was delicious. I worked a few more hours later on then, around 9.30pm I spoke to Captain Caveman who was now in Turin but suffering with Shingles. I had an early night as tomorrow I had something exciting planned for my last day in Dalyan.

Dalyan – 30th September

I packed my bag on Saturday 30th September for a 3 day dog sit at Jamie’s, as he and Drew were off on a romantic break away. I got there about 9.30am, Norman & Edna were pleased to see me and Edna was hoping we would be going down the pub to see Skippy. We had some cuddles and some fun outside in the sun before an afternoon walk. I was tempted to take them to Rehab bar to see the pool gang but decided it might be better for them to stay home, as Norman loves an afternoon/early evening nap.

I walked in the sun to Rehab bar where I met up with a few of the regular attendees, most had already gone home as the pool match was coming to an end. Someone left their sunglasses on the table so we all tried them on and I posted on Facebook so the owner might notice.

It was getting a bit chilly and almost time for me to get back to feed the pooches so we had a quick refreshment in Aşkın’s bar on the way home. Vanessa was still out, Matt had gone home earlier so she was going to Fry Box to take him back some dinner. I’d never tried it but a few people had said how good it was so I decided to go along and get some too. It was certainly not Slimming World friendly and I knew I’d regret having it. I took it back to Jamie’s and fed Norman and Edna before I ate my KFC style chicken strips and chips with BBQ sauce. It was very nice but as I was eating it, I did wonder if my stomach would be able to tolerate the fried food. That night the dogs insisted that they come to bed with me and we were all settled down before 11pm.
September had been a busy month, however, October wasn’t about to get any quieter.

Dalyan – 29th September

Unfortunately I couldn’t work on the morning of Friday 29th September, as planned, because I had to go to the water company to try to put a bill in my name. This was going to be more stressful than it should have been because of a couple of reasons, the main one being that Captain Caveman wasn’t here. Sonuç’s wife, Leanne, who works at King Emlak seemed to think we could use her boss’s Power of Attorney from buying the apartment to get it sorted but her boss, Sezgin, would have to come with us. She was meant to pick me up at 9.30am and Sezgin would meet us at the water company. That didn’t happen and at 11am I was pacing up and down wondering when they would show up. Plan B was that Leanne was sending the guy from the office who used to go to school and play football with a member of staff at the water place and we were going to do our best to ‘sort’ it. I popped on a nice dress and took all my ID and a copy of an old bill.
When we arrived the two Turkish fellas were like long lost brothers, stroking and rubbing each other’s tummies and laughing a lot. At one point I thought I should get ready for a tummy tickle but, for a fee of 900 lira (£26.87), I was now the proud owner of a water bill. My next bill would be in November for 59 lira (£1.76) for the previous month and they had cancelled Captain Caveman’s direct debit. Another expense I wasn’t expecting and now I had to go straight to the bank to get the direct debit set up so that I could take the paper back to the Fethiye office for my residency approval.
Leanne had managed to sort this out and I bet she knew I was not happy with the situation, having predicted this would happen. Luckily she had saved the day and I was very grateful. The King Emlak bloke drove me back to the office so I took the opportunity to pop to the supermarket for some essentials and a thank you gift for Leanne and her colleague. I had to be careful what I spent as my laptop had started running slow and it looked like I needed to buy a new one for work – more expense I could have done without. Here’s what I spent and the prices in lira:
Migros Supermarket
Plastic bag 0.50
2 packets of biscuits 20.00
2 tins of chopped tomatoes 40.00
3 bottles of Angora white wine 470.22
Total spent 530.72 lira (£17.02)
The Angora wine was on offer which was a real bonus so I got a couple of bottles for home. I dropped a bottle of wine and some biscuits off with Leanne to show my appreciation and called into A101 shop on my way home. I bought some fresh figs for 19.90 lira (59p) as I love them.
Vanessa popped over in the afternoon and she brought me Matt’s old laptop to use, which was a real help! She also offered to come with me, back to Fethiye, to take the water bill and see if I would get my residency renewal. Sonuç probably couldn’t make it until later in the week so we decided we would go on Monday – what a good friend she is! For dinner I had another mystery meal from the freezer which I thought was going to be a casserole but it was actually a beef curry which was really good and went well with steamed rice.

Dalyan & Fethiye – 28th September

I’d took the day off work as I was off to my residency renewal appointment in Fethiye at 11.30am on Thursday 28th September. Sonuç picked me up at 9.30am and his first question was did I have a copy of my insurance document to put in the evidence pack, I didn’t. The insurance clerk had emailed it straight to Sonuç at the time of me going in to pay it as I don’t have a printer. We drove to the insurance office, which wasn’t open yet, and he called the clerk who had to come and open up to print us off a copy of the document. We arrived early in Fethiye and Sonuç did all the talking. The lady at the desk opened my file and looked through it for less than 2 minutes before she asked Sonuç for a copy of a bill in my name. I understood what she said and I could feel myself getting annoyed, but I tried to remain calm. Sonuç explained to the staff member that I didn’t need a bill in my name as I was living at my partner’s apartment and, as my landlord, he was paying for all my bills. She was having none of it and put my file in a pile and said to go get a bill in my name. I was given no paperwork or anything in writing, just told to return when I had the bill sorted.
We got to the car, I was so mad and I was trying very hard not to cry. Sonuç suggested that I message Captain Caveman (currently in Majorca) to ask him to get involved in us changing the electric bill in to my name. I had known this would happen as everyone else I knew who had gone for their renewal had been asked to do this, but I was told I would not need a bill in my name.
As we were driving, Captain Caveman messaged me to say he was at a pharmacy in Majorca and he seemed to have caught a rash that was like my eczema and wanted a photo of the packet of pills I had bought in Rhodes. The pharmacist had not been able to identify the drug or give him anything without a prescription so Captain Caveman was quite demanding that I needed to find it as soon as possible. He never asked how I got on at my appointment, he didn’t seem to care and had probably forgotten. Even when I explained I was in the car with Sonuç coming back from Fethiye, he still didn’t ask and I was even more cheesed off.
Sonuç dropped me off at home and said to let him know when Captain Caveman and I had got a utility bill in my name and if he was available he would come with me, back to Fethiye. He assured me that my residency had been renewed on condition that I provide the bill but I didn’t have the paperwork to say this and I was leaving the country in 8 days. I said bye, knowing that it would be another 2-3 weeks until it was possible for Captain Caveman to change the bill and my residency expired the week after that so it would be pushing it a bit, especially taking weekends in to account.
I got home, went through the bin to find the medication packet for Captain Caveman, took a photo and sent it to him for him to say he didn’t need it now!!!!
I made myself some prawn and egg fried rice for lunch and then went back to bed, hoping that things might feel better after a sleep!
I was still feeling out of sorts and cheesed off when I woke up but a bit of sausage casserole for dinner made me feel a little better. When I spoke to Captain Caveman on a video chat I told him I wasn’t happy, he wasn’t either. He was feeling ill but was on his way to Madrid. I made overnight oats before bed so that I could try to stick to my Slimming World plan this week. Having paid a lot out for my residency I also needed to be on a tighter budget – I wouldn’t be going out for drinks and meals for a couple of weeks by the looks of it.

Dalyan – 27th September

Wednesday 27th September started with my weekly measurements; I’d lost 1cm from my bust but increased both waist and hips by 1cm. On my home scales I was the same as when I got weighed in Lardos so it would be down to Carol’s scales to decide what I really weighed this afternoon. The maximum temperature today was only 29⁰C but it felt cooler as it was cloudy today. After popping to the corner shop, I caught up with some work and I had fruit and quark for lunch (I’d missed breakfast).
It was good to be back at Fat Club as I had missed Carol and the ladies, unfortunately I had put on 0.2kg (less than 0.5lb) which wasn’t too bad but I needed to get on it in the short time I would be back here.
By 5pm the weather was quite humid and over 30⁰C. I didn’t eat dinner until almost 8pm; a chicken and prawn stir fry with veg and steamed rice – it was delicious.
I had an early night as tomorrow I had the all-important Residency Renewal appointment that I had been preparing for (and harping on about) since the last week of August. I was a little apprehensive as I had no idea how it would go and it had cost me quite a bit of money.

Dalyan – 23rd & 24th September

When I woke up on Saturday 23rd September the weather forecast said it was 23⁰C but it was already looking likely to be much warmer. There was a post from the Cat Paws charity in Dalyan on Facebook saying they had been to Fire Opal complex to check out an injured cat, which turned out to be Kitler. He had a head wound which they thought had been from being hit by a vehicle and they had taken him to the vet.
I had a plum, peanut butter on toast and a Yorkshire tea for breakfast then I got ready to go to the weekly market. I was there around 10.30am so there were a few familiar faces but it wasn’t mega busy. Here’s what I bought and the prices in lira:

Peaches, grapes and apples 62.00
Red & Green Peppers and mushrooms 66.00
Strawberries 70.00
Total spent 198 lira (£5.82)

It felt quite expensive for what I bought but was probably cheaper than in Rhodes.
I met the Dalyan Dweller needing migraine medication, at Lukka Bar, and gave her the 2 boxes of tablets for the 150 lira (£4.41) I paid for them. I didn’t think that was a bad price, especially as she couldn’t get it at any of the pharmacies in Dalyan.
For lunch I had a random meal from the freezer which looked like it could be half an ottoman kebab mixed with rice – whatever it was, I enjoyed my meal before I had to nip back out on an errand to pay more fees for my residency renewal.
For dinner I was a bit naughty and had a bit of Toblerone, some Turkish Delight and an extra Yorkshire tea! I had cream crackers with cheese spread on too so I was now on 162 syns so far this week.

It was very warm on Sunday 24th September. I made air fryer skin on chips for lunch and had Toblerone with strawberries as a dessert – a great combo if you’ve never tried it.
That night I had arranged to do something with a friend (who can’t be mentioned for legal reasons) and I was having a break for 2 days. My blog would resume on Wednesday the 27th.

joloyolo

The ramblings and observations of a fortysomething lady of leisure

Author: joloyolo