The ramblings and observations of a fortysomething lady of leisure
Author: joloyolo
Originally from Sheffield, England. Can be found mostly in Phong Nha, Vietnam, or Dalyan, Turkey. Likes travelling, eating and drinking. Lives with Captain Caveman.
On Thursday 24th March I still had no Corona symptoms but another friend had messaged to say she’d been feeling a bit under the weather this last couple of days. She had started with swollen glands on Tuesday and yesterday had been resting a lot, feeling tired. I resigned myself to the fact that I would probably get the virus but I just hoped I wouldn’t be one of the ones who would still test positive for ages after it, I needed to be negative to get in to Vietnam! I had a croissant for breakfast but was still peckish so had bread, olives and Baba Ghanoush too. I read in the news that Singapore was to reopen to fully vaccinated international tourists, more here: https://www.channelnewsasia.com/singapore/singapore-reopen-borders-all-fully-vaccinated-travellers-apr-1-existing-vtls-will-be-retired-2582986 I masked up to meet the blind man at my parents’ apartment (there’s a joke in there somewhere) at 9.30am. He came to measure up and I had the unenviable task of picking out some bedroom blinds. I’m a fan of boring/plain interior furnishings and think a room can always be brightened up with removable patterns and colour. There wasn’t an awful lot to choose from that didn’t have a Turkish feel so I went with a plain creamy beige, hoping it wouldn’t be too vanilla for Ma & Pa. I paid a 500 lira deposit and the blind man said it would take a week or two for the blinds to be made, but he would message me. I had another go at putting up the curtains, I didn’t want to fall doing it so I made a mental note to ask someone taller than me to help before my parents arrived. I had a bit of a cycle on Bluey2 around the local area but it was incredibly windy. For lunch I had some Saag Aloo and decided to stay away from Zumba in case I developed any Corona symptoms. I did the decent thing and asked the organisers of a trip I was going on tomorrow if I should stay away, or if a negative LFT result tomorrow morning would be sufficient. Unfortunately, when all the attendees were asked, there were 4 people who were due to go back to England soon so they asked that I didn’t join the trip, in case I was a symptomless spreader. I’d been looking forward to joining Vanessa and Matt on the trip to Akyaka but I was also happy to be cautious for the sake of others, given how many people in my circle of friends were positive at the moment – there would be other times. I didn’t go to darts at Rehab for the same reason but instead I had another one of Emma’s pies for dinner. The steak and onion pie with carrots, broccoli, gravy and Henderson’s relish went down lovely with 3 glasses of red wine. I even treated myself to cheese and crackers for afters, I could taste and smell everything perfectly well and still had no Corona symptoms. Debbie (Darling), on the other hand, was quite unwell. In the evening I managed to be able to video call my sister’s phone so that I could wish my Mom a happy birthday, and I was sad that I wasn’t there. It looked like they were having a wonderful time and I was glad to see everyone was a bit merry and having fun. I decided we would celebrate again in a month’s time when my parents would be here in Dalyan.
I woke up with 4 out of 5 cats in, or on, my bed on Wednesday 23rd March. I was hungover and vaguely remembered last night agreeing to leave my door open so the cats could get used to me, ready for the cat sitting next week. Kate brought me in a cup of Yorkshire tea in an appropriate mug and then got herself ready for art class. I went back to sleep for a bit and really did not want to get out of bed at all. I didn’t relish the thought of walking home so I was pleasantly surprised to find that Mark was still home and was happy to give me a lift in the buggy, he was going in to town anyway. I had a pain au chocolat for breakfast at home before Turkish class, then put all my cat hair covered clothes in the wash and had a shower. Turkish class was really good today and I felt like I was learning more hearty sentences that I would be able to use. The staff at Lukka are very good too at encouraging us to practice our Turkish skills. For lunch Vanessa and I went to Rehab bar where Tayfur ordered us a chicken wrap with chips from Cafe Dalyan. It was only 30 lira and was tasty so we ordered one for Kate for after her Turkish class. Penny and Phil arrived next and decided another chicken wrap was in order and I bet the delivery guy thought we were odd, as he came over for the 3rd time. Jo arrived next with her cute little dog, Charlie, and we all had a good old natter. I’d had an update that the embassy would no longer be able to process a visa for me and was waiting to speak to Captain Caveman. He called as soon as I had finished eating and I went outside to speak to him. As is often the case, Captain Caveman had a Plan B for me coming to visit. He told me to look for a flight and apply for just a 30 day e-Visa. We would then fly out of Vietnam and back after getting a 2nd e-Visa for another 30 days, if I could. This all seemed straight forward but given that I would need a negative PCR test to enter Vietnam I had to be careful I didn’t pick a flight with a long lay over. We agreed a Turkish Airlines direct flight from Istanbul would be better but they had no flights on as yet. I would continue to wait but it was going to happen, I would go to Vietnam. I also had a date in the diary to be in Saigon on the 10th June for an important event which Captain Caveman had already committed to. I went back in to the bar, a little giddy that there was an alternative plan, but then there was some bad news. Debbie (Darling), Roy and Sue were all positive for Corona and had aborted their trip to Pamukkale. They had got a taxi back to Dalyan and Debbie (Darling) was quite poorly. She asked me to let everyone know, who had been in contact with them, that we needed to do another test. I had been in close contact with all 3 of them on Monday so it was probably only a matter of time until I caught it now. I went home, via the ongoing roadworks and scenic route, and had red wine, bread, cheese and olives but didn’t do a test as I’d had alcohol. A massive thunderstorm and heavy rain was due which also meant the WiFi went off for quite a few hours.
It was still cold when I woke up on Tuesday 22nd March. I ate cornflakes for breakfast then started to cook. I had a bit of excitement planned for tonight as Vanessa had invited me to a curry night at Turgay’s. I had promised to make some Baba Ghanoush for Kate so I started with roasting garlic and aubergines. My next dish was making Saag Aloo to take with us to Turgay’s and I made a big batch so I could save some. It was Zumba Gold class at noon and it was really good, I was getting the hang of it now a bit more. I went shopping in Migros and bought the following:
I went to the off-licence and bought 2 more bottles of wine (a red and a white) but had to get Buzdağ because there was no Tılsım anymore. The manufacturer had been taken over so all supplies in Dalyan had been exhausted, or other expats had already bought it all! The 2 bottles cost me 135 lira which is about £7 at the current exchange rate. Before curry night, Mark & Kate came for a glass of wine (or 2) at mine. After packing up the Saag Aloo, wine and Baba Ghanoush we walked over to Turgay’s where Matt, Vanessa and Figan were already there. Turgay and Figan had prepared chicken curry, rice, roast potatoes and bread for us all and we sat at the dining table to enjoy it. The food was lovely and the drink and conversation flowed. Luckily, my spinach and potatoes went down well, Kate’s homemade onion bhajis were very tasty, plus Vanessa had taken doughnuts for dessert but I was too full for sweet stuff by then. When we left I walked to the main street with Mark and Kate to wait for their taxi. They invited me for more wine at their’s and I accepted. Mark went to bed and I sat up chatting and drinking wine with Kate until about 2am.
As I didn’t go to bed until the early hours of the morning on Sunday 20th March, I was extremely tired and decided a day of doing as little as possible was on the cards. I felt a few tremors of an earthquake but couldn’t work out if I was just feeling hungover and tired. Mark had left to join in the sweeping of the new road, which Alp had organised, from Sofra bar. The intentions were to sweep sand in to the cracks to help the workmen, Sarah had been busy making sandwiches for the volunteers. I ate strawberries for breakfast and went back to bed for a bit then I watched Netflix, did some Turkish practice and relaxed. For lunch I only just managed some red pesto mushroom pasta then had a nannan nap. When dinner time came round I couldn’t be bothered to cook so I just had cheese on Jacob’s crackers and thoroughly enjoyed it.
When I woke up on Monday 21st March I was really missing Captain Caveman. I saw a photo of his (our) home in Phong Nha on Facebook and wished it was easier to get over there. There were more complications about the visa situation, where people trying to apply via the embassy were in a backlog of processing. In Phong Nha temperatures had reached 33°C and I missed that too.
In Dalyan it was 4°C and news of more earthquakes off Crete which I’d felt yesterday. I had grapefruit and strawberries for breakfast, before opening up the laptop at the kitchen table. For lunch I had some Quinoa crackers with brie and olives but I should have eaten more. Inevitably, it would be one of those Mondays and I should have known. John had messaged me that the Rum bar was having an opening party today, to which we were all invited, so I cracked on with some work in order to finish early and attend. I also sent a message to Sarah, Debbie (Darling) and Ann to ask if they were going and to say I’d see them there from 4.30pm. In the afternoon I had a wander to Migros supermarket and bought the following essentials:
After dropping my shopping home I went to join Andy, Kaye, Mark, Kate, Chris and Jackie at Okyanus for Kaye’s farewell drinks. The sun was shining and the Efes was cold, after 2 beers the sun was going in so we wandered up to Tez bar to catch the last of the sunshine. It was past 4.30pm when we arrived and Debbie (Darling) had already made her way to Rum bar to meet me. There was no word from Ann but Sarah was running late, as she was still working. Sue was at Tez bar and had recently had her cataract operation so she looked like a pirate. We just had the one beer but had a few laughs while we waited for Sarah to come. I temporarily forgot about Kate’s peanut allergy as I shelled and ate the complimentary ones, then tried to get her to eat some. Debbie (Darling) returned to Tez, having not found me at Rum bar and she pretended to be cross, Ann had decided not to join us.
Sarah arrived, after a busy working day, and we all went to Rum bar which had some gorgeous cocktails. I started with a Pina Colada then discovered they had a Ron Zacapa rum which is one of my favourites. I finally got to meet Cameron and Betty who were in Dalyan on holiday after not being able to visit due to the pandemic. Unfortunately they were only here for a short holiday but it was good to get to meet them in person at last. The atmosphere at Rum bar was good and a fire kept the chills off as the temperature dropped.
We all said our farewells to Kaye then Sarah and I walked back along the river towards home. On the way we decided we were hungry so would go for a Chinese at China Town. It was my first visit to ‘eat-in’ since the renovations and reopening – it looked good. I ordered chicken in black bean sauce, egg fried rice and prawn toast while Sarah opted for a half portion of sweet and sour chicken. It was unfortunate for Sarah that she had to have a work related telephone conversation on loud speaker throughout the duration of our meal. Luckily, there were only a couple of other customers in at this late hour on a Monday evening. I took a small amount of left over chicken home and felt exhausted when I got in.
Photo credit – Alp Aslan, street sweeping. Phong Nha Farmstay, Elements Collection.
I didn’t sleep until 3am and was awake at 7am again on Friday 18th March, I’m not sure why. I went back to sleep then didn’t wake up until 10.30am. I lost 0.5kg on the scales this week and the cycling, Zumba, and walking were definitely helping with my leg muscles – I’d put 1-2cm on thighs and calves. I had cornflakes for breakfast then I went over to my parents’ place to put the curtains back up. I found I was an inch too short while precariously standing on the step ladder and had to abandon it. I booked in a cleaner, found a yoga class that I inquired about and did a few other jobs. Ann messaged to ask if she could come to mine to do an LFT to check if she had Corona as she had felt like she had swollen glands, unfortunately I was out so we arranged for her to come tomorrow morning. A few more people that we knew in Dalyan were testing positive recently so we wanted to double check. Captain Caveman was at Karst Villas, in Phong Nha, with Caroline, her dog V and Hung and it looked really hot there. I had a delivery from Emma Cevik of some pies, of which I had a mince and onion one for lunch with mushrooms, broccoli and gravy. I snacked on dates for afters and stayed home in case I had caught Corona but didn’t have any symptoms yet. That evening I ate the last of the (never-ending) teriyaki chicken with pasta, had cheese and pickled onions then did some writing.
Saturday 19th March was a busy and challenging day for me! I had booked the cleaner in because the apartment was full of dust and the floors were still dirty from the workmen. Ann came round at 9.30am so she could do a Lateral Flow Test. I’d already done my test and was negative, then we waited for her result which was also negative. We called for Vanessa before 10am and walked to the market. I bought potatoes and onions from the first stall for 24 lira, then peppers, carrots, mushrooms and aubergines from the next stall for 60 lira. I couldn’t resist getting another punnet of strawberries for 40 lira but 124 lira (£6.39) was the most I’ve spent at the market so far. Our bags were heavy as we walked back to town with the intention of all 3 of us going to Sofra bar for a bacon sandwich. Vanessa realised she had to get back and decided not to join Ann and I but when we got to Sofra the electric was off. It was a day for rugby but the England match wasn’t on until 11pm so I wasn’t sure if I would make it. After dropping off the market produce at home, I decided to go to Star Gurme to stock up on some non-Turkish food supplies. I bought the following: 1 Pesto sauce 15.00 2 baked beans 30.00 1 box cream crackers 30.00 1 brie 45.00 1 Curry paste 60.00 2 Coconut milk 70.00 1 Lurpak butter 80.00 3 cheddar 150.00
Total spent 480 lira (£25)
I managed to do all the talking in Turkish and the lady gave me a free box of Quinoa crackers. I popped in to Rehab bar but there were only the pool fellas in, no women as yet, so I met Sarah, Rach and Ann at Jiks for a beer. Vanessa joined us and then we went back up to Rehab bar to rejoin the pool lads, meet Kate and watch the rugby. I spoke to Captain Caveman about plans for a visit to Vietnam and we concluded that I needed to send my passport to the consulate in Ankara to get the 90 day visa and that I should do this as soon as possible. Unfortunately this would mean I wouldn’t be able to go back to the UK in a couple of days time. Matt and Mark were very practical and helpful with offers of us hiring a car for a road trip to Ankara and I messaged Sonuç to get a price for if we hired a driver. Kate and Vanessa were also on board with the idea and I was super excited to be able to have a way to get a visa. Finally we had a loose plan, as long as the embassy were able to grant me a visa. After pool, most people went home, they were the sensible ones. John and Andrea decided to go to Sofra for dinner so Mark, Kate, Ann and I decided to join them. I’d only had 3 beers by this time and I was purposely trying to pace myself as Kate had already asked if I minded keeping an eye on Mark, watching the rugby and him staying at mine. She hadn’t been feeling too good and fancied a night at home so I accepted the challenge. I was extra careful on the roadworks this time and was looking forward to some food as I’d not eaten since breakfast. I ordered a chicken stir fry and a glass of red wine for my dinner and in fact all of us, except Mark, ordered a chicken stir fry which came out at various times with it being so busy. I really enjoyed my food which was fresh and piping hot but I felt bad that Ann and Kate had to wait a bit longer for their’s when they were hungrier than me. Mark’s burger seemed to take ages and had still not arrived when I took an extra stir fry to Tayfur at Rehab, as he had a foot injury and was on crutches. When I got back the mood had changed somewhat because Mark had decided he no longer wanted to wait for his food, which was taking longer than expected. Kate had phoned a taxi to go home as planned, John and Andrea were also going home but Ann and I had ordered another wine. Unfortunately due to too much wine things didn’t quite work out as I’d imagined. Ann went home while Mark and I left Sofra to go back to Rehab bar, as arranged, to watch the rugby with Tayfur. We had some red wine, a disappointing result for England and a pretty late night. It was my turn to navigate us through the roadworks this time, we got back to mine without any injuries and, for some reason, thought it would be a good idea to stay up ridiculously late.
I woke up later than intended on Wednesday 16th March, in the spare room at Mark and Kate’s house. I checked my phone and there was some good news in the Vietnamese news today; there was no longer a requirement to quarantine on entry into Vietnam, more here: https://vietnamnews.vn/society/1165267/viet-nam-drops-covid-19-vaccine-certificates-quarantine-requirements-for-foreign-arrivals.html Kate had already left for her art class before her Turkish lesson. I’d brought some cooked rice and teriyaki chicken with me last night, which we didn’t eat, so I made egg fried rice for breakfast and Mark made strawberry and oat smoothies. I needed to be at Turkish class by 12 so Mark gave me a lift back on his motorbike. I went home to have a wash and clean my teeth but the water was off. I think I may have still been a bit drunk as the Turkish class felt like the longest ever, usually the time flies by. I’d said I wasn’t going to bother with going out that afternoon but I was peckish again. Vanessa and I wandered to Wonky’s for a chicken wrap for lunch even though I was feeling delicate. The food was lovely and only 35 lira (£1.80) for the wrap and chips but I started to feel unwell after, when my hangover kicked in. The pool lads had decided on Wonkys for their games today and there were the usual reprobates plus the darts people. Penny, Phil and Ann arrived so I soldiered on, then Madge arrived and had a cold. Later Kate joined us and when Phil told us a story of him vomitting in his face mask, I had to run to the loo to be sick. I took some sickness medicine which Ann had to pick me up from the pharmacy and I managed to walk home with Vanessa and Matt. That evening I was feeling much better so I had teriyaki chicken with steamed rice for dinner and then an early night. Tomorrow I would be inspecting my parents’ decorating which was coming to an end.
Having been awake until the early hours I was surprised to be up by 7am on Thursday 17th March. I’d been eagerly awaiting news of the visa situation in Vietnam and was pleased to discover that, as well as an online 30 day visa process, 90 day visas for certain people were being considered via the embassies/consulate. I sent an email to them to ask for a 90 day visa, even though I would not be going to Vietnam for that long, because I did want to be there for longer than 30 days. I checked out the flights and, unsurprisingly, there were still no direct flights from Turkey. The ones that were showing were around £800 return, which was too much to pay – I would wait. I was still holding out hope of going back to England for a week to celebrate my mom’s 70th birthday and the flights there were cheap, coming back were a bit more expensive though. I went to meet Mehmet at Lukka bar so we could go to check on the work at my parents’ place and had a cup of tea while I waited. At Ma & Pa’s I was happy to see it looked good and they had even done a better job at cleaning up than the workmen at my place. Next, I met Ann at Hotel Dalyance for a Turkish breakfast. I always love a Turkish breakfast but I have generally had to avoid them due to most of the ingredients giving me a dodgy stomach. I had no plans for the rest of the day so thought I’d chance it. The breakfast was lovely and I really enjoyed it but I did suffer when I got home. For a late lunch I had teriyaki chicken with egg fried rice then had some homemade Baba Ghanoush on bread. In the afternoon we got some bad news; Madge, who had joined us at Wonky’s yesterday, had tested positive for Corona. Penny messaged to let me know I needed to do a test, so I did and I was negative. Penny and Phil were negative, Ann didn’t have any tests so was going to stay home for a couple of days and see if she got any symptoms. We were lucky that none of us had any symptoms but it was possible we would test positive in the next couple of days, I messaged all the people we were with to let them know. I decided to cancel my plans to go to Rehab bar later for darts and my seat at Lukka music bingo tomorrow – just to be on the safe side. It was a shame that it would be my first St Patrick’s day in Dalyan but I wouldn’t get to celebrate it. For dinner I had grapefruit, from Mark & Kate’s trees, with cheese and egg fried rice and it was delicious.
There was no madness on Monday 14th March, which made a nice change. I got a message from Captain Caveman and some photos as he, and his colleague, had been on a bike ride in Phong Nha. They were both keen to find out what would happen tomorrow, the official day that Vietnam would open to international tourism. I was still sceptical that it would happen but they were more optimistic. I read an interesting article from Vietnam, just as I was missing pork: https://tuoitrenews.vn/news/society/20220311/ho-chi-minh-city-police-seize-nearly-16-tonnes-of-rotten-pigs/66118.html I decided to make a teriyaki chicken in the slow cooker, didn’t eat breakfast but made wedges with cheese for lunch. It hurt when I ate or spoke still but my chin was scabbing over now. The bruises on my legs were coming on nicely too. In the afternoon I firmed up a couple of plans for tomorrow; Mark and Kate invited me to their’s and I was going on a bicycle ride with Vanessa and Matt in the morning. We had also been invited to Andy and Julie’s for a get together. Both of these invitations clashed with the singing group but I intended to go to all of them. For dinner that night I had some of the teriyaki chicken with steamed rice and a chilled glass of rosé wine. It tasted great and I was glad I had made enough to save some for the rest of the week.
Tuesday 15th March was meant to be the day that Vietnam reopened the country to international tourists after 2 years of the pandemic. As can be the case, these things don’t always go exactly as one would expect and I was glad I hadn’t booked on one of the first flights. Despite the country being open, the visa process was still not ideal, with many nationalities still not able to get a visa, and most people struggling to get more than the 2 week exemption for certain nationalities. There was still no official announcement made as to if a 30 day visa on arrival could be obtained and various sources seemed to think we needed to wait a few more days for further updates. There was concern that tourists to Vietnam would book elsewhere and I read this news article: https://vietnaminsider.vn/complicated-visa-requirements-may-discourage-foreign-tourists-to-vietnam-heres-why/ It was hot in Phong Nha today and Dalyan also had some sunny weather as I got ready for my day out with Vanessa, Matt and Bluey2. I was about to cycle the furthest I’d been, so far in Dalyan, as we set off to Andy and Julie’s house. I met Vanessa at Migros and we stocked up on goodies and wine to take with us, then we went to pick up Matt. At first I had my coat on but it soon got warm and I had to stop along the way to take it off. The route was easy and flat so we got there in about 20 minutes, greeted by Andy, Julie and the 2 cute dogs. We had a cup of tea and an array of pastries, biscuits and cakes which I indulged in. I was meant to be leaving in time for the singing group gathering at 2pm but after mention of a potential positive case and the mention of wine I decided not to go. Instead we proceeded to sit in the sun, by the pool chatting, drinking and generally having a good old laugh with fellow northerners! We cycled home rather merry that afternoon and I was meant to be at Mark and Kate’s already. I grabbed a few things, including potatoes and wine then got a taxi from mine to their’s. I met the cats; Casha, Kylie, JC, Bubble & Squeak and was pleasantly surprised at how well behaved they were. Especially as I had agreed to house and cat sit Mark and Kate next go back to England. While Mark made sure I had red wine, Kate was keen to feed me a baked potato with various homemade toppings. I’d also taken over some popcorn and we had a great, but drunken night. As it was so late I stayed over, the temperature had really dropped and Mark had to put hot water bottles in the beds. Once in bed, I stayed awake a while, checking for updates on the Vietnam visa situation and hoping for good news.
Friday 11th March started with the obligatory weigh-in and measurement taking. My weight had stayed the same this week, my thighs were now both the same size and were the biggest they had been in almost 2 years but my calves were still 1cm different in size. I was having buttered toast for breakfast when the workmen turned up, earlier than expected, to continue with the ceilings. I read in the news that China was having a lot of Corona cases again, more here: https://tuoitrenews.vn/news/international/20220311/china-daily-local-covid-infections-exceed-1000-as-symptomless-cases-spike/66124.html I decided to go out on a bicycle ride to keep out of the way of the workmen who were making a right old mess. Bluey2 was super whizzy today, I enjoyed a little jaunt around all the back streets and a couple of the more main roads before getting peckish. For a late lunch I had chicken and spinach curry from out of the freezer, with steamed rice before getting ready to go out. I’d been invited to John’s surprise birthday party, by his wife Andrea. I arrived at Bambi’s around 7.30pm and the place was pretty busy already. I sat with Penny and Phil who were just finishing off their jacket potatoes and I ordered a glass of red wine. There was a lovely buffet on and I wished I’d not already eaten curry but I had a couple of mezes with bread. It was a lovely night with lots of familiar faces in the warmth of the soba. Outside the temperature was very cold and I didn’t relish the walk home so when Penny and Phil were leaving, I felt like getting a lift home would be a good idea. I paid for my 2 wines, which this time were only 40 lira each, instead of 50, and left with Penny. Back home it was very cold as I watched a bit of TV and I had to put the heater on.
On Saturday 12th March I woke up to news that Quang Binh, the province where Captain Caveman lives, had 3271 new positive Corona cases yesterday. This could mean that the proposed resumption of international travel in 3 days time could be in danger of not happening. Obviously, I knew when I left Vietnam in September that it could be a year until I saw Captain Caveman but I hoped it wouldn’t be that long. If Vietnam reopens it could mean I would get a trip to see him, possibly in a couple of months or so. I ate my breakfast of buttered toast before getting ready for something new. I had organised to attend a Yoga dance event to commemorate international Women’s Day at a place called Spectrum. The location is a stunning retreat almost on the beach road with lovely views. I’d not been before but it’s not far from our friend, Janet’s, house so Vanessa and I arranged to call for her on our way. I called for Vanessa and we cycled about 15 minutes to Janet’s and then on another 5 minutes on to Spectrum. This was the furthest Bluey2 had gone so far and she managed it easily. We were welcomed by Jo, and we waited awhile for everyone else to turn up while admiring the views. Once we got going the yoga dance class was nice, fairly easy to follow, and in Turkish, but the wind was blowing so we all felt cold. We did have some photos taken afterwards as a group and we even asked about some future classes as we were all interested in going along. On the way back Vanessa and I called in to see Penny and Phil but only Phil was home as we were later than we thought we would be. We dropped our bikes off after that and arranged to meet back up for an afternoon shandy. At home I had some Turkish sausage with cheese rolls for lunch to line my stomach. Captain Caveman was out of the cave and on his way to the Chay Lap gala dinner as I walked round to meet Debbie (Darling), Sarah, Ann, Vanessa, and Rach at Jiks. We had a couple of drinks there, some people had food. I wasn’t going to go to Rehab bar with Vanessa but decided I would, Ann decided to join us and we met Matt, Mark and Kate up there. We had a couple of drinks and I wasn’t really in the mood for stopping out. I’d been chatting to Captain Caveman and his colleague’s wife (Emma) about applying for a visa to go to Vietnam. The idea was to go in the summer but to enter Vietnam you must have had a vaccine within the last 6 months. Emma couldn’t get another booster in England and so asked if I wanted to go earlier. Captain Caveman didn’t have any time off until 20th May so that would be my earliest, which I mentioned to the girls at Rehab. I decided to leave, Ann came with me as she had only been coming for 1 drink and had her bicycle. She pushed her bike over the rubble and holes of bar street and I suggested we go to the safer path of the river route. I was talking about how a few of us had fallen over recently because of the road works when all of a sudden I tripped over some raised cobbles and hit the floor, really hard. Luckily, I put my hands down but I cut my chin and I was quite shook up. I wasn’t drunk as I’d only had a couple of wine and sodas, we weren’t far from Sofra bar so we went in there to wash my face and get tissues for the blood. While I was in the bathroom Ann ordered more wine. My chin wouldn’t stop bleeding so we got a couple of plasters from a friend of a friend and Ann slapped them on my chin. Needless to say, we ended up staying out out and consumed too many wines before getting a taxi back to Ann’s.
I didn’t get up until 11.20am on Sunday 13th March and my double plastered chin really hurt. Ann was already up, had brought me some water and seemed surprisingly spritely, considering. It had been a late and messy night – I felt like crap. I walked down to Heybe’s before Ann and waited for her to arrive. We both ordered a fry up (mine without eggs or tomatoes). It seemed to take forever but Roy was already in having a beer so we chatted to him. When the food came I found it hard to eat because my chin and jaw were a bit swollen. I went home after breakfast and took the plasters off for a look, my chin wasn’t too bad compared to how bloody it had seemed at the time. I did have bruises on my legs and a cut on my hand but I was lucky it wasn’t any worse. After a nice hot shower, I got back in bed and alternated between watching Netflix and snoozing. China was in the Vietnamese news again, as Corona cases over there were increasing rapidly, more here: https://tuoitrenews.vn/news/international/20220313/china-daily-local-symptomatic-covid-cases-more-than-triple/66147.html Later, I got back up for beef stew with potato wedges for my Sunday dinner at home. The light swung and my water cooler sloshed about as I definitely felt a ripple or two from a small earthquake. I messaged family and found out that there was a weekend away for my mom’s 70th birthday coming up, which I decided to invite myself to and started looking for a flight. As long as the decorations at my parents’ place in Dalyan were finished before I went, I would be able to fit it in. Flights to the UK via Istanbul or Antalya were cheap at the moment. My sister sent me the location and it looked good but it only slept 6 so maybe I’d have to take the couch!
On the morning of Wednesday 9th March, after a turkey ham sandwich for breakfast, I went round to my parents’ place to check on it. There was a leak above the neighbour’s fuse box which needed looking at and one in the upstairs bedroom. It was difficult to see why, without climbing out of the window and on to the roof, so I asked Mark if he would help me. He said I shouldn’t get on the roof as it wasn’t really safe but he managed to hang out of the window and get a zoomed in photo of the chimney stack wall which looked to be the issue. The photos and leak information collected, we decided to call to see Debbie (Darling) next door. The door was open so we sat on the couch and waited for her to come downstairs to surprise her. She had some workmen round so, while they sorted out a door, we had a beverage and chatted. Mark left to go to Rehab bar, as Wednesdays is pool afternoon, but I stayed with Deb and had a beer. After a while, we decided to go meet Vanessa and Kate at Rehab bar and I experienced another first in Dalyan. I had a ride on the back of Debbie (Darling)’s quad bike and I was a little bit apprehensive. It was pretty whizzy and she likes to go fast so we were at the bar in no time. Tayfur, the owner, poured us all white wines and some of us had soda with it. I only had a couple and then walked home with Vanessa and Matt. Bar street was still a mess as the road works progressed and we had to watch our step as we navigated our way. Back home, I made veggie egg fried rice for my dinner, ate strawberries for dessert and then watched something on Netflix. I had a video call with my parents to discuss their apartment and the leak, which didn’t look as bad as I thought it would.
I woke up on Thursday 10th March to a message from Leanne, at King Emlak, to say that the workmen were on their way to our place. They were coming to plaster and paint the cracks in the ceilings from when I had leaks during the heavy storms some weeks ago. I quickly showered and tidied up a little, trying to move things before the men started plastering. I had buttered toast for breakfast while noticing on Facebook that Dong Hoi, in Vietnam, had an increase in positive cases and they had started to shut down lots of establishments. At lunchtime I went to Zumba with Vanessa and really enjoyed it, afterwards we went to Jiks and had a bite to eat. I chose the white pizza and she had a tuna sandwich, I couldn’t manage all of my pizza so I took some away. In the afternoon I went to the bank, the stationers and the chemist. I noticed the exchange rate had now gone up to 19.5 lira to the pound. Back home the workmen were still there, the place was a mess and I couldn’t take a post-zumba shower until pretty late in the day. That night I arranged to join Vanessa at Rehab bar, as Matt was joining the darts night. It was also Matt’s birthday and Vanessa and I inadvertently got put down to play darts. There were just a few others taking their chances on the dartboard; Alison, Paul, Terry, Ausaf and Mark. I was next to useless for the first half of mine and Vanessa’s game, even the cat was worried about getting hit by a stray dart. By some fluke I won our game, then partnered up with Paul for the doubles game, which we won. As it was Matt’s birthday we had the obligatory tequila shots then we played pool. It was a good night and I was pleased to see friends we hadn’t seen in a while. The night ended with me snaffling the remaining pizza when I got home and I hoped for a lazy morning tomorrow.
Having not gone to bed until 2am on Tuesday 8th March, I was tired when I woke up at 8am. Strangely, I also found myself fully clothed, including 2 scarves, in the spare room. It had been so cold out last night that my reasoning for being in the spare room was because it’s warmer. Today was international Women’s Day, I was looking forward to attending the Zumba Gold class at midday and was pleased to manage a sandwich beforehand. Captain Caveman was already on his way to The Villas in Phong Nha to meet our friend, Valerie, before heading to his briefing. He would be back in the cave tomorrow for another 4 days. Zumba was full of energy and I really enjoyed it but I was then in a bit of a rush to have a shower and get changed before cycling to my next appointment. The singing group is held at the Merhaba cafe, by the Mijo hotel, and this was my first cycle in Dalyan traffic. I manoeuvred chasing stray dogs, overtook a tractor and a mobility cart as well as avoiding 2 lorries, all on the short route. At singing, Sheila was on accordian and Richard on guitar, both were excellent musicians too. I sat between Peter and Nanny Kay and shared Nanny Kay’s book of over 200 songs. Kate was sat on the other end as we were both initiated in to the group. For the first half of the session I knew very few songs and, as no sheet music is used, I wasn’t able to sight read as I’d expected. A book was passed around to write song choices in but I didn’t choose any this time round, I preferred to go with the flow for my first time. Kate chose a couple of songs including ‘Top of the World’ which was a good one to join in on. Regardless of the song choices, I really enjoyed the experience, it was friendly and easy going so I was definitely up for going again. We said our goodbyes and Kate and I set off back towards town on our bicycles. The sun had gone in and it was pretty chilly so, as we got near to mine, she asked me to pick her up a jumper and meet her at Okyanus. I took a back road detour and when I got in to mine I had a message from Mark asking if I had his phone because he had lost it last night at the Wonky’s quiz. I grabbed my Christmas jumper and a Vietnamese scarf for Kate, popped my coat on and walked over to Okyanus. When I joined Mark, Andy, Kaye and another lady, called Jo, things got a bit confusing. Kate wasn’t with the others at Okyanus, as I’d expected. She had decided that a jumper wouldn’t be warm enough and had cycled home to get her big coat. I also found that I had Mark’s phone in my bag which I must have picked up when he left it in the bar last night. I forced a beer down but didn’t drink all of it, I shared some with Kate when she arrived. It was getting chilly and looked like it might rain so we drank up then went to nearby Lukka bar. While we were there, the rain came down heavily and a sodden Debbie (Darling) had a bit of a to-do when Socks chased a neighbour’s chicken and killed it. She now had to pay the owner for the dead chicken and was at her wits end with her street dogs. I had planned on going to get changed for tonight’s event at Dalyance but I no longer had time and it was raining heavily again, anyway. I chatted to Jo, who was really lovely with a cute dog called Charlie. I even invited her to join us on a boat trip which Vanessa was organising for when our friends and family arrived. The new menus at Lukka bar were out and the prices had gone up again, Mehmet was telling us to stock up on meat as the prices in the supermarket and butchers were set to rise further this week. I took a photo of the menu as the Sunday dinner had gone up by 50 lira to 210 lira. At the exchange rate today this was only around £11 however, for people who are living here and using Turkish money they deposited at 7 lira to the pound, it felt more like £30! Kate and I left the rest of the gang in Lukka and headed up to Dalyance in the rain. When I arrived almost everyone was already there as I picked up my vodka based complimentary welcome cocktail. Sonuç had set us up a table for 20 ladies and the place looked lovely. I managed to say hello to most people before I sat down on the end next to Ann and Nanny Kay. I’d assumed that Debbie (Darling) wouldn’t make it but she surprised us all by turning up with a bag of chocolate, one for everyone. We all ordered food and a few of the remaining ladies joined us about 8pm. The Pad Thai was a popular meal choice, I had the steak fajitas and they were delicious. The chicken quesadillas which Nanny Kay ordered looked great too and I thoroughly enjoyed our meal and chat. I met new ladies in Dalyan which was lovely, especially another couple of fellow Sheffielders, as well as getting to chat with some of the oldies. After the meal, some of us left to go to Lukka for a nightcap. Kate and I got chatting to Richard from the singing group about song favourites but we just had the one drink before calling it a night. It had been a long day, so by 11pm I was on my way home. Rach was so surprised that I wasn’t the last to leave that she took a photo for proof!
Rain stopped the work on my parents’ apartment on Monday 7th March and the pool at Captain Caveman’s Turkish apartment overflowed. I struggled to guess my wordle games this morning but eventually managed it. I tried a new one called Nerdle, which Kate had recommended to me, then I suggested it to Captain Caveman. He was now on his way back to Phong Nha, having been to visit Raj at Curry King in Tam Coc.
After being on my laptop until lunch time, I popped to Migros supermarket for some shopping, here’s what was in my basket:
Back home I had a simit with cheese spread and crisps for lunch, then strawberries with yoghurt and honey for afters.
As I had leftover Sunday dinner, I ate that and really enjoyed it for my evening meal, with a bit of broccoli from the freezer. Before I went out that night, I called to check my parents’ place was locked and I noticed that the gardener had been round. This was unusual as the weather had been awful and they don’t usual start cutting the grass until April. I took some photos so I could let Ma & Pa know about it and went to join Penny, Phil, John, Mark and Kate for more Monday Mayhem.
The specialist section of the Wonky’s quiz this week was James Bond, of which I knew very little about. Lucky for Penny and I, Kate had taken control of the whole thing. While Phil and John got bossed about, I just drank my wine and let them get on with it, until it got to the music round. By the end of the night, though, some of our team was a little inebriated and I had to resort to some cheering up tactics. I had to pull out the only thing I knew couldn’t fail to take one’s mind away from one’s problems! My secret skill is I can flip a considerable amount of beer mats with one hand. Mark didn’t believe I could do it, so I told him to video it! It had been a while, but my Dad had taught me well and, after steadily building them up one or two at a time, and numerous failed attempts, I managed it. By this time Mark had got bored of filming and, if I remember correctly, Kate was having a Bailey’s. As soon as filming stopped, the pressure was off and I managed to flip the 20 beer mats – Dad would have been proud! Mark and Kate left by taxi, instead of cycling, and Penny kindly gave me a lift home. I had arranged to meet Kate at 2pm tomorrow as we were off to try something new.
1st attempt of the beer mat trick – video by Mark4th attempt at the beer mat trick, 12 beer mats – video by Mark7th attempt at the beer mat trick, 20 beer mats – video by Mark
I was not happy with the scales on the weekly weigh-in on Friday 4th March! I’d put 1Kg on. It was also disappointing that my legs had got slimmer, but not my waist! After a bit of laptop time, I had a little cycle around the block and still didn’t know that Bluey2 had gears. Mark had agreed to help me move a chair at my parents’ place so he came over to meet me. I asked him about Bluey2 being sluggish and he showed me where the gears were and told me I need to pedal to change them. We cycled round the block to my parents’ apartment and I got the gears freed up a bit but still couldn’t work out what gear I’m in and there is no way of knowing. The chair legs had to come off and it be lifted above the bannister but we managed it. We tried to call in to visit Debbie (Darling) but she was either out or still in bed. She messaged once I’d got back home to say she was home so l cycled round for a visit before Zumba. The street dogs were causing a nuisance as their dad, Roy, was away and I saw the damage they had done from chewing anything useful. I really enjoyed the Zumba class today and then had to rush off to a meeting. I had arranged to meet Sonuç at Hotel Dalyance because I had decided to organise an event to celebrate international Women’s Day next week. I cycled there and we discussed a good deal to help us celebrate the evening with various women in Dalyan. I finally ate something in the late afternoon, just an old favourite of beans on toast which I enjoyed. Quite a few of us decided we would book a table at Lukka bar for the music bingo night so I met Penny & Phil there earlier than the rest. I bought a bottle of wine and we had a nice chat before the others arrived (Vanessa & Matt, Kev & Janet, Mark & Kate, Sarah, Rachel). It was a great night with lots of laughs, fun music and plenty of dancing. There was even tequila shots involved and Penny bought sambuca shots too! Matt really gave the ball a right kick and ended the night dancing in the street, much to Vanessa’s amazement. When I got home I was hungry so I made mushroom and pesto pasta and then had an apple pie for dessert.
There is a weekly market in Dalyan so Vanessa and I had arranged to go together on Saturday 5th March. I called round to my parents’ apartment first to check that the painters were working as planned and that they had the keys for the patio doors if required. I messaged Dad with an update then went over to Vanessa’s. At the market I bought 6 potatoes and 4 onions for 12 lira (65p) from the first stall. At the next stall I bought 1 green pepper, 3 red peppers, 4 aubergines and a bag of mushrooms for 27.50 lira (£1.50). I needed some fruit so I splashed out and bought a punnet of strawberries for 40 lira (£2.16). With a full bag of fresh produce we wandered back to town and decided that a breakfast sandwich at Jiks would be a good idea. Vanessa and I had worked up quite a thirst but Jiks was the fullest I’d seen it this year. We bumped in to a few familiar faces and I got introduced to a lady from the singing group, who I had briefly met before. I had a bacon and mushroom sandwich with brown sauce and a couple of orange juices. In the afternoon a few mates went to play pool and have a natter down the pub but today I decided to give it a miss. The slow cooker came out and I put a bolognese in to cook for dinner. I decided to do some pickling as I had a lot of red cabbage in the fridge. I ate strawberries with natural yoghurt and honey for lunch. I had messages from Captain Caveman who had been to the Ukrainian embassy in Hanoi today. He’d gone with some Czech friends for a charity event to raise money for medical supplies in the Ukraine. He also sent me the recent electricity bill for here in Dalyan, it was 5 times that of the previous month and I’d hardly been in the apartment. I ended up having an extra meal of Turkish cheese rolls, sausage, pickled cabbage, beetroot and gherkins. I had one chocolate spoon left from my birthday which I ate with strawberries. My intention with the bolognese was to make a lasagne but I changed my mind and had some with a cheesy jacket potato instead. The rest I batched up for the fridge and freezer then tried to have an early night. Unfortunately living near to the Jazz bar the inevitable weekend music noise prevented me from nodding off until the early hours.
I spent some time on Sunday 6th March organising the forthcoming International Women’s Day event. My original idea had been to do something during the day, as that is what we may have done when I was in Vietnam. Here in Dalyan it was a normal day so only the retirees and holiday makers would be available. I’d considered doing an afternoon at BC Spa but there were not many who could make it. I’d had quite a lot of input and some valuable suggestions on how to make the event more inclusive to all women in Dalyan too. Unfortunately, my lack of experience of celebrating this type of thing in Turkey along with the sensible approach made me decide a meal out and drinks with expat women would be about my limit. In the Vietnamese news there was an update that China had their highest Corona cases in 2 years, more here: https://tuoitrenews.vn/news/international/20220307/mainland-china-daily-local-covid-cases-at-2year-high/66051.html At 2pm I had booked for me, Ann, Nanny Kay and Vanessa to have Sunday dinner at Lukka bar. We all had a soft drink to start with and I chose the beef dinner but with gravy on the side and no mashed potatoes. I really enjoyed mine and even took a tuppaware to put my leftovers in this week. At a cost of 160 lira (£8.60), not including a coke and a glass of red wine, it was a nice treat. The apple crumble with ice-cream for dessert is also good and none of that made it to a takeaway box. Vanessa went home for an important family call but then came back over to mine. We managed to polish off a bottle of rosé wine while doing our Turkish homework, we are convinced our Turkish is much better when we have had a couple of wines! Later I decided to have more food and had pasta bolognese and then more strawberries.
I’d successfully survived 5 months of being in Turkey without Captain Caveman and my first month of working online. Tuesday 1st March started with the realisation that my internet was off. It needed renewing on the 28th February but I’d overlooked this so I trotted off to the Captain Net office to sort it out. I walked through the roadworks and noticed there was progress but it was still moving slowly. The lady at Captain Net saw I had some English money in my purse and asked if she could buy a £20 and a £10 from me for ‘her piggy bank’ and I agreed. The rate was 18.5 lira to the pound now and looking likely to go up again. Back home, with the internet back on, I read an amusing article on Facebook from Vietnam about having sex during Corona. I hadn’t eaten breakfast so I had beans on toast for lunch while pondering my choices for dinner. That’s when I got the bad news; today was actually Pancake Day! I was confused, I had no idea why I had thought it was last week but felt pp certain I had read it somewhere. Never one to pass by an opportunity to eat pancakes, I whisked up a mixture and popped it in the fridge. I decided beef stew would go with it for dinner but I just had the one then decided to join friends for a cheeky vino. I met Mark, Kate, Andy and Kaye at Lukka bar for a drink and Kate had brought me some Thai curry paste from her trip back to England. She worked out it would be easy enough to make here and set about sourcing some of the ingredients, such as lemongrass, from an App called Trendyol which a lot of people use over here. Kate, Kaye and I chatted while Mark and Andy played pool. The consensus with everyone, but Mark, was that it wouldn’t be a late one however, as can often be the case, that didn’t quite pan out. Kaye and Kate decided they were going home, I’d ordered a 2nd glass of wine, the blokes were playing pool and arm wrestling with Appo, the waiter. Mark insisted on Kate staying for another drink as he didn’t want to go home yet. I could see he was being daft so I offered to drink some of the bottle of wine he’d just ordered so they could leave sooner – I’m kind like that! It didn’t work and everyone went home, leaving Mark playing pool with the staff. It was after midnight when I failed to force-feed pancakes to my impromptu house guest, despite my best efforts to help sober him up.
On Wednesday 2nd March I woke up late and got ready for my Turkish class. I met Kate at Lukka, she had brought her blanket to crochet while I had my lesson then I stayed and had lunch while she had her lesson. I tried the chicken and mushroom penne and it was a really tasty and healthy sized portion. I chatted with Katrina and Abi who were having sweet and sour chicken, another dish I needed to try. When Kate finished her class she was heading up to Rehab bar and asked me to join her. The cleaner was at mine so I agreed, despite the heavy rain, the new road was starting to flood and by the time we got there we were soaking wet. I had a Turkish cider while we took off our layers and arranged wet belongings in front of the heater. The blokes were playing pool, as they do on a Saturday afternoon, and there was some banter going on. One bloke was in trouble with his wife because he’d bought cucumbers instead of courgettes and had to traipse back out in the pouring rain to get the right vegetables. My Sheffield friends, Vanessa and Matt, had flown from England to Antalya and were currently on a coach to Ortaca. We were all looking forward to them being back in Dalyan about 5.30pm so, after pool, we hung about in Rehab bar for them to arrive. When they arrived we all had hugs (get the LFTs at the ready) and it was great to see them. More drinks followed but I still limited it to just the 3 ciders as I didn’t want to go mad. Unfortunately, we experienced a new first in Dalyan and had a bad meal. We ordered a takeaway, to eat in Rehab bar, which was pretty terrible but we were all hungry. Vanessa ordered a pide which looked like burnt cheese on toast, Matt and Mark ate their’s without complaint, Kate and I had a chicken burger each and shared chips – the chicken burgers were grey inside. We still ate it all though, but made a note not to have another takeaway from the burger place next door to Rodrigo’s bar. It was definitely the worst meal I’ve had since I’ve been here. I walked home with Vanessa and Matt and was home by 9pm to a newly cleaned apartment and an early night.
I had cornflakes for breakfast on Thursday 3rd March then did a bit of work before going to meet Ann at Porta Dalya. As I was leaving the house, Penny called but I didn’t answer it because I didn’t want to be late. When I arrived, Ann had already got a coffee and I ordered a diet coke. When our lunch arrived Ann had underestimated the spicy arrabbiata sauce on her pasta and had to get some yoghurt. I stuck with the chicken and mushroom Alfredo which is always a winner. We had 1 glass of wine each and then we were sensible and went home. I called Penny back and she was at Lukka bar, my loaned bicycle was ready to pick up, so I went to meet her. When I arrived there was quite a crowd sat drinking in the sun. I ordered a cider but then my phone rang, it was Captain Caveman so I went back to the apartment so we could chat. He had an invitation for me! Vietnam had been promising to open to international arrivals and the date was set for 15th March. He wanted to know if I wanted to come to visit sometime in May or June for a few weeks and, of course, I said yes! His colleague has a wife who was keen to visit too, so Captain Caveman put us in touch to discuss travelling out there together. He sent me his schedule up to July and he’d got some tours back-to-back to accommodate gaps in which I would be able to visit. I went back to the bar feeling delighted that I would be getting to see my other half within the next 3 months. I drank my cider with a big smile on my face, then Penny drove me to her villa to pick up the bicycle. I cycled it back to Lukka not knowing it had gears so found it was like peddling through treacle. It certainly warmed me up and I was once again, mobile! Having got a bit of a sweat on from cycling, I ordered another cider, not realising I had missed an upsetting incident. Debbie (Darling)’s street dogs, Socks and Brin, had gone on a cat chase with a terrible result, Socks was in the dog house and tied up at the bar, Debbie was upset. Sheila arrived next and we got chatting about music and her accordian playing. She is part of a singing group in Dalyan, which Kate and I got invited to and we agreed to give it a try next week. I didn’t stay much longer and went home for a good home cooked dinner of stew, Yorkshire pudding and broccoli. Before bed, I checked the cost of flights to Vietnam, there were no direct ones as yet but the ones via Singapore Airlines were £581 return. I was so excited to perhaps be able to plan to see Captain Caveman, that it took me a long time to get to sleep!
So much for getting lots of sleep! I finally got to sleep at 2am on Monday 28th February and woke up quite early. I had cornflakes for breakfast and spent the morning on my laptop. Captain Caveman had gone in to the cave today so was due out on Thursday afternoon, he would be getting the overnight train to Hanoi that night. Unfortunately Tatas had to work and wouldn’t be joining the trip, afterall, which was a shame. In the afternoon I popped to Migros supermarket and bought the following:
A couple of mates were in Jiks as I came out of the supermarket so I went over to join them. I had a drink with them and then we decided we would go to Heybe’s for another drink. We bumped in to Gaz who gave us a lift round with all our shopping. Obviously, it then turned in to a Mental Monday again for several reasons. It was my first time of dancing to ‘Build me up Buttercup’ by the Foundations at 5pm on a Monday. We all went home after that but had forgotten about Sarah, who was on her way to meet us all at Jiks. I did the decent thing and popped my shopping home before going to meet her and Rachel. I’d just finished a wine and was about to go home when I got a message from Penny asking where I was. Apparently, Mark and I had promised to attend the Wonky’s Monday night quiz but we had forgotten. I tootled over to Wonky’s in time to join Penny, Phil and John who had already started the quiz. Tom Cree is the quiz master and he’s very good, each week one of the rounds has a specialist subject. This week the specialist topic was the Titanic of which I didn’t know too many and I was better at the music questions. It ended up a late and boozy one but I was astonished to find that we came 2nd, which was a great result! When I got home I had a sandwich and couldn’t work out why there was no Internet.
I was feeling slightly delicate when I woke up rather early on Saturday 26th February. I came downstairs and realised I had eaten burnt sausage casserole last night and it accounted for why my stomach was a bit off. The slow cooker was certainly going to need a good scrubbing and I may even need a chisel. I couldn’t face tackling it so I filled it with hot water and went out. Kitler, the cat, was waiting for me and wanted to follow me everywhere. Leanne picked me up at noon and we went to Ortaca, with her daughter, to try a new eatery. Next door to Pier Gusto is a kumpir potato place which Leanne had recommended. It has a play area too so the small child was kept entertained. Leanne and I ordered slightly different fillings on our baked potatoes, both of which were really good and a reasonable cost too. I really enjoyed the food then, as the weather was nice, we had a walk to the park which was busy with locals. My stomach was still dodgy for the first time in ages, just typical when I have a car journey. Leanne’s daughter really enjoyed the park and even mastered walking up the big slide without going up the steps, which made me nervous and her laugh! After fun at the park we headed to Külah for ice creams, although my stomach isn’t usually a fan of ice-cream. When we arrived, and I saw all the flavours, I had to have a scoop of ‘çarkıfelek’ – I love passion fruit and it was a new Turkish word I had learned. I also got to taste the caramel, which is blue, as well as Leanne’s choice of lemon – they were all excellent. When I got home I made mushroom and pesto pasta for dinner and I decided I would also make chicken fajitas. I had leftover yoghurt and chicken that needed using so I had 2 meals because I felt I needed the carbs. I watched TV in the evening and planned to have a rest day tomorrow.
My first job on Sunday 27th February was to tackle the burnt slow cooker! I made a note to self never to leave it on low for 9 hours again, after it took me ages to get it clean. It was raining so I didn’t go out and had decided to have a relaxing day at home I had already decided against Sunday dinner this week as I’d got pasta and fajitas to eat up. I restarted doing the word game Quordle, as I had not done it for a few days, and I did some writing then watched Netflix. I tried Worldle, country names, for the first time and got it in 1 because it was Ukraine. I had a video call with Captain Caveman then made pizza, Slimming World style. It had BBQ sauce, chicken, cheese, peppers and mushroom on it and it was nice. I finished off my evening with a much needed early night. This coming week was set to be a busy one and I was looking forward to one of my very good friends returning to Dalyan!
joloyolo 