London – 12th April

Saturday 12th April was full of surprises and so much laughter. Captain Caveman brought me tea and toast for breakfast in bed then I did a little bit of work. There was a promotion on the Mitsis hotels with Classic Collection which I’d previously attended a training session on so I got busy with that. I’ve often been in countries with a Mitsis but not had the good fortune to stay in one, they looked great and the food choices looked fab.
Uncle Paul arrived as he was having a brief visit for a birthday celebration and Captain Caveman was so excited that he had brought fresh eggs from home.
Captain Caveman suggested we get the train in to London and we were just wondering what we might do there when I spotted a Facebook status update of a good friend. Becca and Steve were in the rooftop swimming pool of their rather swish hotel near Battersea Power Station. Captain Caveman had worked out we could be there with them within the hour (37 minutes to be precise) so I messaged Becca. Of course, she invited us over and to bring our swimmers. I hadn’t brought any back from Turkey and it wasn’t that warm so we decided to meet up in that area after they had eaten lunch.
I wanted to go to the Barnes Farmers market this morning to see if we could get some nice food for tomorrow.
We bought a ham hock, black pudding, a sausage roll and a piece of cooked belly pork with crackling, for around £10-£15. The vegetables looked fantastic but were so expensive at £6.50 for a cauliflower (we didn’t buy it). We also resisted all the lovely cakes, cheeses and chocolate which looked amazing, too.
I thought we were going back home to eat our sausage roll and belly pork but Captain Caveman had other ideas and wanted us to walk down the street with it to get the train. I had a bite of the sausage roll and realised it might be prudent to avoid so that I didn’t get a poorly tum. Instead, I was trying to break off bits of pork from the crispy crackling in the brown paper bag without being wrist deep in grease! By the time I got on the train we’d managed to eat our very unhealthy lunch and I needed hosing down. I then had to walk past Battersea dog shelter and not go in, which was hard.

Becca and Steve were with her brother, Leon, too so we headed through the amazing shopping precinct at Battersea Power Station. Captain Caveman found them straight away and the 5 of us had hugs all round. I got something in my eye as I’d not seen Becca for some time and there was so much to catch up on. She was in the process of waiting for a kidney transplant and I learned so much in our short walk. The process for not only going through the ordeal of getting a new kidney, but getting people to be tested has its obstacles. It’s not just as simple as shouting out to all and sundry to please give me your kidney – there are rules in place to prevent coercion in to doing that. A couple of her friends had put ourselves up for getting tested but I was not aware of the process particularly. I just knew that it would be good to know if there was even a possibility of helping my friend have a better (longer) life, I couldn’t not at least get the test. We laughed and joked about what is actually such a serious subject but we’ve always been the type of friends who can laugh at anything. As we learned Steve was a match and was going to give a kidney – it was the first time I’d heard of a real life miracle. I’m not good with anything to do with blood so I had to really concentrate on not fainting when Becca got me to put my hand on her dialysis fistula (Google that – it is very interesting). It vibrates and made me feel a bit funny, while Captain Caveman loved it and was now getting in to finding out more.
We said our farewells to Leon and decided to take a walk along the river, through the very lovely park. It was a beautiful day and so good to see Becca and Steve.

Of course we had to call for a drink in a couple of pubs where I took no notice of the name of them or how much the rounds cost! I was too busy catching up and enjoying my day off. In one place it was so crowded that we found it difficult to find anywhere to sit. This did not put Captain Caveman off vetting which reserved guests were already 20 minutes late. Sarah at 2pm was still not there so Captain Caveman had turned in to a member of the Punctuality Police and insisted we take the table – we did.
It was a brilliant day and I was sad to say goodbye at the end of it. We decided that on our way back up North we would go visit Becca and Steve and they invited us to stay with them, which was lovely.

Back home, Uncle Paul had left a note to say he’d already driven home and wouldn’t be staying after all. Captain Caveman knocked up a sausage casserole for dinner and I fell asleep on the sofa as soon as he put the TV on.

Gratitude List
1. Barnes Farmers market
2. A fantastic and impromptu day with friends in Battersea
3. Knowing that Becca and Steve were a match for the kidney transplant.

Photo credit – Some photos by Captain Caveman and Becca

Barnes – 10th & 11th April

When Captain Caveman’s alarm went off early on Thursday 10th April, neither of us had slept for long enough. There was washing to do, breakfast to be had and then lots of work/meetings for both of us. I had another Planner Ideation session with the wonderful Claire Clarke and I was really enjoying getting shit done today – the tiredness was not going to get the better of me. I joined a webinar about the Land of Legends in Antalya, Turkey, which looked amazing for families. It was the type of place you could take kids (or adults) who didn’t want to leave the room as it had an iconic Star Trek suite. There was also Paw Patrol, Dora and Ninja Turtles themed rooms for the younger children. It looked amazing and wasn’t that expensive for their All Inclusive packages which I was finding more and more potential customers preferred.
I liked my desk in Captain Caveman’s old bedroom and the house was lovely and quiet, ideal to work from. The weather had turned cold though and, because all my clothes were in the wash, I had to wear Captain Caveman’s jacket.
At 12.30pm, Captain Caveman took himself off to the shops for a breath of fresh air and to get some provisions. I had a meeting booked in. Here’s what he got, prices in pounds;

Sainsbury’s Supermarket
3 bananas 0.81
Milk 0.85
Sausages 1.79
250g Butter 1.99
Bacon 2.50
Total spent £7.94

It was also the Resort Experts team meeting today and it was great. News of more tech to help us and we had a bit of a mission on social media posts. Captain Caveman and I were so busy that I don’t think we ate lunch, but for dinner Captain Caveman made us a chicken pasta which was very good. We had cheese and crackers for afters but no wine as we were tired and begging for mercy.

Gratitude List
1. Coping with little sleep after getting back from Sheffield very late
2. Getting through all of the important appointments in my diary today
3. Cheese.

On Friday 11th April I started to wonder about booking my flight back to Turkey.
Jamie was flying back on the 23rd so we might end up on the same flight, but I got a call for work and we got distracted. I didn’t eat breakfast until 11am as I got busy but then I had to have muesli as we were out of bread.
We went for a walk to the shop at lunchtime and I had a bonus £50 in my account from the Nationwide. Captain Caveman and I called at Sainsbury’s to get some ingredients for a Friday night in. Here’s what we bought and the prices in pounds;

Sainsbury’s Supermarket

3 onions 0.60
Wholemeal loaf 1.39
Toothpaste 1.75
6 apples 1.80
Tomatoes 1.95
Butter 1.99
Potatoes 2.00
Coffee 3.65
2 bottles of red wine 14.50
Total spent £29.63

At first I told Captain Caveman to put the small pack of tomatoes back, for 2 quid as I was so shocked, they are so cheap in Dalyan. The wine was the £2 cheaper than last week so we got 2 bottles, it was also cheaper for a whole bottle than a glass down the pub. We both went back to work after a quick sandwich and at 5pm Captain Caveman said we should finish work. I wasn’t used to these ‘early finishes’ but it was nice to have a wander to the Brown Dog and then to the Coach & Horses. We tried to brave sitting in the beer garden, which was rammed but I was too cold, even with a coat on and we had to retreat inside.
We had left over chicken with pasta again for dinner and a drop of red wine before bed. Tomorrow I was meant to have been up in Sheffield for a birthday celebration but it clashed with one of the most important events of the year.

Gratitude List
1. My new trainers being super comfy
2. Going to the Brown Dog
3. Captain Caveman planning a great London weekend.

Barnes to Sheffield – 6th April

Sunday 6th April would turn out to be quite an expensive day. The Flixbus I had booked for £35 was leaving London Victoria at 1.30pm. Captain Caveman had worked out when we needed to get the bus from Barnes to get there on time. I suggested that, because I walk slower and had my wheelie case with me, we could go earlier ‘just in case’. Captain Caveman wasn’t bothered about getting there too early and we stuck to his original plan. The bus came but we didn’t go the whole distance on it due to a traffic jam and us being stuck not moving for about 20 minutes. We were likely to miss the bus if we didn’t get off and walk but, of course, bus drivers these days will only let you get off at an actual bus stop. When we did eventually get off we had to run through Putney and over the bridge, full of tourists. It was hard work and we made it to a train station just as a football match was starting so it was busy. On the tube we went slightly wrong and had to backtrack but eventually got to Victoria station and ran to the bus station. It was a good job I was a stone or two lighter than I used to be as I would never have managed the run otherwise but I was quite pleased to even keep up. We had a feeling we were going to have missed the bus but still ran in to the Victoria Bus Station where I shouted that I was ‘coming through’ as I ran to the departure lane. There was no Flixbus to be seen so we assumed we had missed it, as we were 5 minutes after the departure time. I went for a pee while Captain Caveman went online to buy new tickets for the next bus. He couldn’t get it to work so he walked off to the ticket office when I returned. I checked my phone and had a text from Flixbus saying it was delayed by 15 minutes so it hadn’t arrived yet!!!
I called, text and messaged Captain Caveman but he didn’t answer and came back with 2 National Express tickets for £54, leaving from the opposite end of the station at 2pm. I was a bit peeved we had wasted more money on this but we didn’t see the Flixbus and might have been stuck in London until the evening if we didn’t get the 2pm bus, which we decided to do. The journey went well and we got off in the Sheffield bus station to then have to walk to the Hampton by Hilton at West Bar. It was £59.85 for the 2 of us including breakfast and was very comfortable.
Captain Caveman had already set his mind on going to a restaurant in Kelham Island which sold burgers. I’m not a burger fan really so asked if they did anything else. I also pointed out that it might be a bit of a waste of a hotel bed for me to eat a burger as, if I did, there was probably little chance of any romance – for me, burgers are the worst thing to eat on a date night! Captain Caveman was still adamant that he wanted the burger and said I could have cheesy chips, instead. On the way Captain Caveman bought us a pint each and some pork scratchings (back in Yorkshire!) in The Shakespeare. Next, we went to Saw Grinders Union and ordered a pint each and the bacon cheeseburger with fries. I had high hopes for it at £15.50 each, after all we were no longer in London. When it came it looked like a better version of a Big Mac and it tasted pretty good. I don’t understand the need to cover fries in red powdery dust, though. Captain Caveman had another pint and our whole meal came to a whopping £48.50. My stomach issues started before we even left the building and I made full use of the bathroom facilities back at the hotel. I knew I shouldn’t have eaten it – it was a bit of a waste of money too.

Gratitude List
1. Still getting to Sheffield from Barnes
2. The Hampton by Hilton Hotel being very nice
3. Still smiling despite today being a bit of a to-do, costing us £200 and ending on a belly ache!

Barnes – 4th & 5th April

Both Captain Caveman and I continued to have a busy working day on Friday 4th April. The difference being that I’d got used to working the evenings and weekends so I wasn’t used to logging off at 5pm on a Friday night. Captain Caveman had plans for us and we had also toyed with the idea of catching up with friends in London. I had 2 friends cancel so we decided we would have a night in Barnes rather than heading in to the Big Smoke. My friend and Resort Experts colleague in Majorca, Dagne, had finished my book and sent me a review which I was really pleased with. While Captain Caveman was in his morning meeting, I had my breakfast of beans on wholemeal toast, which I loved! At lunch we both ate at the table together and had sandwiches; mine was cheese and rocket (pickled onions on the side!), his was peanut butter and marmite. We both had meetings or training sessions in the afternoon and I was making progress on my Planner Ideation course.

After work, we walked along the river again and I got a text from one of my old school friends, Joanne, who had bought my book and I was so happy to hear from her. She sent me a fab selfie with the book and it made my day.
Captain Caveman took us for a drink in a pub which could have been the White Hart, where he had beer and I had cider for £15.
Our next pub was a visit to the really lovely Brown Dog. It was easily my favourite on account of it having several dogs in. I also ended up having a pint of rather strong rhubarb flavoured beer and being a bit tipsy on the walk home. It was £16.50 for 2 pints in there and a bag of crisps were £1.50!!
We walked home and, while Captain Caveman made us a chicken pasta dinner, I went back out to the shop to buy bread and wine. It all got a bit complicated at the self scanner when the assistant had to put in a code for me buying alcohol and then didn’t give me the wine back. He had taken the anti-stealing device off but left the wine by the door. I had to check with the Sainsbury’s security guard if it was my wine, he didn’t know, but said to take it. I paid £1.39 for a loaf and £9.50 for the wine.
Our dinner was really tasty and we tried to watch Celebrity Big Brother. Unfortunately, even after googling the contestants we only knew a couple of them and thought it was a bit boring.

Gratitude List
1. More great feedback for my book
2. English food
3. Going down the pub on a Friday night.

We had ideas on Saturday 5th April to either go to see a friend presenting at the Ideal Home Exhibition, do a trip to MI5, or spend some time at Richmond park. It was cold and I ended up doing some work, eating beans on toast again and then we didn’t go to any of our ideas. Instead, we decided to visit Marc Bolan’s memorial at the tree where he died in Putney. We decided to have a walk around the area and the sun did come out so it got warmer. We stopped at a cafe in a park for a hot beverage. Loo Loo’s cafe in Putney had homemade sausage rolls which we shared one of, with mint tea for me and a double espresso for Captain Caveman. It came to £10.50 and we sat outside the cafe looking at all the dogs that came in. So many more people in the UK seemed to have dogs than I remembered.

After the park, we walked towards Fulham football ground and, of course, my stomach had started to react badly to the sausage roll. We had to motor on until we found a pub so I could go to the toilet. The Crabtree in Fulham was the busiest pub I’d seen in a long time and there were 3 deep at the bar and queuing in the toilets. I almost shit myself outside a disabled toilet but I managed to make it to the normal toilet. When I got back, Captain Caveman was only just being served and when we found somewhere to sit we realised why it was so busy.

We watched the Grand National where Nick Rocket won and no horses died. We also did some banking while waiting to see if my sausage roll situation was over. It was, so we continued walking along the river and nearly got involved in learning how to argue better. I had a laugh at the Learn to Row poster which I’d pronounced as in arguement, as we didn’t need any help in that area. We saw Hammersmith bridge and then had another drink in the George & Devonshire in Chiswick. Compared to the last pub, it was so quiet but was a lovely pub with comfy seating.
We decided to splash out for dinner tonight and get the Indian Dine in deal from Marks & Spencer where we got the following;

M&S Food
Starter – Baji, pakora and samosa
Chicken Tikka Masala
Lamb Rogan Josh
Pilau Rice
£15 for the Indian meal deal
Carton of mixed Crackers £2.90
Brie £2.10
Total spent £20.00

It was a bargain and tasted amazing. I’d not had Indian food for quite a while and I guessed it wouldn’t be my first while in the UK. Captain Caveman drank Guinness with his and I just had tap water. Tonight was our last night in Barnes as we were heading north tomorrow for just a few days.

Gratitude List
1. Having a day off with Captain Caveman
2. Going for a walk around the area
3. Curry for dinner.

If you would like to read my handy travel tips book, you can do so here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/You-Cant-Shit-Yourself-Bicycle/dp/B0DWWTBVCL

Barnes – 2nd & 3rd April

Wednesday 2nd April would usually have been weigh day but I was away from Dalyan, and in Barnes. I got weighed on Captain Caveman’s parents’ scales, I weighed 0.7kg (1.5lb) under target and was 1kg (2.2lb) less than last week. I actually didn’t think it would be accurate that I’d lost weight this week but it was good to check. My measurements showed that I had put 1cm on my bust and hips but I had lost 1cm from my waist (all were still under target).

It was a normal working day for both of us, so Captain Caveman went to his parents’ office upstairs and I set up at the desk in Captain Caveman’s old bedroom. We met up for breakfast at 10.30am and had my warmed up pizza from last night. Captain Caveman had lots of meetings while I cracked on with attracting new customers. We had a late lunch where Captain Caveman cooked us a brunch style meal. I had beans on toast with proper butter and 2 pork sausages – it was so good!!! He had egg and tomatoes with his. We both worked the rest of the day, me until 6.30pm. Captain Caveman suggested a walk with a trip to the pub and the supermarket and I was up for that. It was great to see and smell the freshness of Barnes, it was chilly but not raining. There were lots of fancy charity shops, dock leaves in the park and the cinema was finished. I had it on my list to go but at £20 a ticket I decided to leave it. I got a bit of a shock in the Red Lion when I paid for our round of 1 red wine and 1 pint of beer at £18.15. Our next drinks were in the Sun Inn and the same round came to ‘just’ £15.20. On the way home we popped to the shop again to get something for dinner. Here’s what we bought and the prices in pounds;

Sainsbury’s Supermarket
500g Carrots 0.49
3 onions 0.60
6 Crumpets 0.79
3 Peppers 1.95
500g 5% fat beef mince 3.99
Cheese 4.30
Red wine 9.50
Total spent £21.62

I was surprised to see that fag shelters had got fancier but the shops didn’t trust us not to steal mince! Captain Caveman knocked up a superb pasta bolognese and we shared a bottle of Primitivo red wine. I fell asleep on the sofa before I’d finished my wine as I was still a bit tired.

Gratitude List
1. A nice desk to work from with views of the garden
2. Going for an after work drink with Captain Caveman.
3. Great food, cooked by Captain Caveman.

Thursday 3rd April was another busy day in our world, we both had a lot on at work so we had arranged to squeeze in a 1 hour lunch date at noon. Cote restaurant was an Ask pizza place the last time I had been in Barnes so it was nice to try out this new place which had a lunch special on. Captain Caveman had a Crab Croque Madame and I had a steak baguette with fries, we both drank tap water and I really enjoyed it. It was quite fancy for a Thursday lunch and we had to rush as we both had meetings and calls from 1pm. The total bill, because of the offer, was only £18.65 for the 2 of us. We discussed plans for the weekend and decided we would travel up to Sheffield, my home town, on Sunday. My afternoon job was to book the bus tickets and find us a hotel to stay in on Sunday night as well as a hotel at Manchester airport for when Captain Caveman flew over to İzmir. I had a bit of time back as my Team Meeting had been postponed. Working for Resort Experts means that we get great prices on hotels so I booked both, including breakfasts, for less than £60 per night. The Flixbus for the 2 of us from Victoria to Meadowhall was a total of £34.98. At 6pm, as agreed, Captain Caveman and I finished work and decided to have a long walk along the River Thames, calling at the Ship Inn. He had a pint of IPA and I had a pint of Aspall’s cider for a total of £13. I was keen to find Pork Scratchings but I had a feeling that Barnes was a bit posh for that kind of snack, and never did. The next pub was the cheapest in the area I’d been in so far. The Hare & Hounds in East Sheen was just £13 for a pint of ale and a large red win.
On our way home we called in to Waitrose (it was a sign we were both working now!) and bought provisions;

Waitrose Supermarket
Baby potatoes 0.61
1 orange pepper 0.65
Penne pasta 0.75
1 Garlic Baguette 1.25
Wild Rocket 1.49
Pack of pears 2.00
Chicken fillets 3.49
Total spent £10.24

I also bought a folder from a newsagents and it cost a whopping £2.99 but I needed it for the next part of my Planner Ideation course. For dinner, Captain Caveman made a lovely chicken pasta with salad and we finished off the wine from yesterday with it.

Gratitude List
1. A fab lunch date with Captain Caveman
2. An after work walk and a drink along the Thames
3. Great food for dinner.

Dalyan to Barnes – 1st April

Where was the time going!? I was finding it hard to believe that it was already Tuesday 1st April and I had so much to do. All with a hangover, too!!!!
I still needed to calculate my budget v actual spending at the end of March, I was behind on my blog posts and I hadn’t even checked how many books I had sold in my first full month of trading! All this and we were off to the prison restaurant for a hello/farewell lunch with Jamie and then to the airport for our 2.30pm flight to Gatwick! I’d had a wonderful message from my friend and colleague, Dagne, yesterday but had not had chance to post it on social media. She had finally got her copy of ‘You Can’t Shit Yourself on a Bicycle’ and was on the beach in Majorca, reading my book. The photo was perfect! I wondered if the British humour would still translate well enough. I needn’t have worried as she was already enjoying it and said she felt like she was getting friendly travel advice from a friend over a glass of wine! Amazing, and that is all I could have wished for! Dagne was also the first person to send me a photo where it was the new version of the book! It was also the first one to be bought in Spain! I think this was the 5th country to have someone reading my book in, and that felt good!
When I checked how many books I had sold it wasn’t as many as I had hoped for but it averaged at over 1 per day. Apparently, that is good for a self published one with zero marketing budget/adverts. Still, it meant I had earned less than £150 for the month, which I would not get until the end of May. I needed to sell more and I needed a smarter way to do that. I was grateful for everyone who had bought it already and I needed a way to get it out to more people, particularly who would benefit from the travel advice. I think using Amazon puts some people off, and I’m not a massive fan of it either, but it’s the biggest seller of books in the world. If I couldn’t cut it using Amazon as a free platform, then it wasn’t wise to pay for a different platform. I was also surprised at how few ebook/kindle versions I had sold as I thought that was a popular way to read books these days. I would persevere and hope more people would buy it in the coming weeks and months. I’d already started a list of chapter titles for the next one.
My next task was to check the money situation; unsurprisingly I had gone over my £300 budget. In March I had spent a grand total of £370 including bills (but not rent or council tax). I was a bit disappointed at going over by 23% but I had splashed out on my hair this month plus some extra treats.
April was going to be tough to set a budget for as I was off to the UK for at least a week and we had a holiday in the İzmir area planned. Captain Caveman was also planning to move out of Sheffield as his 3 months renting in a shared place was up and he had decided to rent a house to himself in a more convenient location for work.
I didn’t eat any breakfast on account of feeling sickly from too much booze last night. I’d had a whole bottle of red wine and one whisky and I really felt it!!! I was doing all I could to not be sick by the time Jamie picked us up. Unfortunately, the storm last night had blown the adjacent new build’s roof off, some of it was on our balcony and some in the garden. We drove to the prison and we ordered food, I just copied what Captain Caveman had, köfte, hoping he’d eat some of mine anyway. As Jamie was kind enough to drive us to the airport I bought the lunch which only came to 985 lira (£20) for 3 meals and 3 soft drinks – impressive.

We drove to the airport and said our farewells to Jamie, it felt weird that I was going back to the UK after almost 9 months and I wasn’t sure when I would be back exactly. At the airport they let us go through to the lounge with our water and Captain Caveman went off to do a reccy in the Duty Free. It works out cheaper to get the small wines or spirit miniatures at the Duty Free shop, than buying in the bar but I had no plans on drinking or eating anything. On the easyJet plane, I had a whole row to myself, Captain Caveman was sat in front of me with just 2 of them in a row of 3. We took off on time and then Captain Caveman came and sat in my row, taking the window seat and I had the aisle. Luckily, I had brought chocolate Dido bars for a snack but we didn’t bother buying any food or drink on the entire journey. We were due to land about 5pm and Captain Caveman managed to get quite a bit of sleep.

We landed in to Gatwick airport on time on and got the train to Barnes. Captain Caveman and I were staying at his parents while they were away. We were walking in to the house just before 6pm, having cost £15.60 using my Wise card to get from Gatwick. I was really excited as I had a package, it was 3 copies of my book. It was the first time I’d touched or seen a copy of it and I was actually quite happy with it. It was small enough to fit in to a handbag which was a good selling point. I took a couple of photos and then we unpacked.

Captain Caveman suggested we have a walk around Barnes, get some dinner and do some shoping ready for us both being back to work tomorrow. Barnes was really beautiful and it wasn’t as cold as I thought it was going to be. Captain Caveman treated us to dinner at Base Face Pizza which was just amazing. I wasn’t going to be drinking but I ended up with a red wine and a pizza with ham and pineapple on. Captain Caveman had beer and a spicy pizza. He paid the bill so I wasn’t sure of the exact total but it came to about £50 for the 2 of us, including a drink each. Tap water was free and I just couldn’t get enough of it – it’s one of the things I miss when I’m not in England. Our food was so delicious, the waitress was really good and I took half of my pizza home as I was trying to be good. We saw the sunset over the river Thames and it was so nice to be in London together.
Our next stop off was at Sainsbury’s where I was gobsmacked at how much chocolate they had. Cadbury’s Cream Eggs were in abundance at 85p each or 5 for £3 but I resisted the urge to buy any chocolate. Here’s what was in our shopping basket (prices in pounds) and doing the self scan, which Captain Caveman was really good at;

Sainsbury’s Supermarket
2 tins Baked Beans 0.80
1 wholemeal loaf 1.39
6 eggs 1.75
Pork sausages 1.79
Fresh tomatoes 2.00
Total spent £7.73

I was shocked at the price of tomatoes and bread but pleased with the baked beans and sausages. We didn’t even watch any TV as we were both tired so we had an early night.

Gratitude List
1. Jamie taking us to the airport
2. Being able to go back to the UK with Captain Caveman
3. A night out with pizza in Barnes.

Dalyan – 31st March

Captain Caveman arrived at his Dalyan apartment at about 1.30am on Monday 31st March. His flight had been delayed by 4.5hours and they had to change on to a different plane. There was a quick welcome kiss but we had more pressing things to attend to. Captain Caveman emptied the case of the frozen and chilled products which had been wrapped in the Metro newspaper. We needed to get the bacon and sausage in the freezer, the cheese and chorizo in the fridge. The rest of the stuff could wait until morning! He had brought so much stuff and the only things he couldn’t get from my list was bouillon and a particular coconut powder. After the coldest wares had been attended to, we ate cheese pasties and finished off the wine before finally going to bed at stupid o’clock! Miraculously, we slept in until about 8.30am!!! Captain Caveman had taken the day off work, as well as tomorrow, but had decided to check if he could log in to do work while in Turkey. Unfortunately, he couldn’t join the morning team meeting but he did have access to files so he would need to get that fixed if he wanted to be able to do work while visiting me. By 10.20am, Captain Caveman had unpacked the rest of the goodies and we had a full kitchen table of them. My old stick blender had broken so I was so excited to get a new one, plus a silicon liner for the air fryer.
Captain Caveman had also brought out my freebie copy of a book, from Charlie Day of The Sales Agency. I’d been following her and had helped with some lead generation work. It was about making sales without being aggressively salesy and was right up my street. I couldn’t wait to read it but I wasn’t about to take it back to London with me. Captain Caveman was meant to have brought a couple of copies of my book out for Sezgin and Debbie but he couldn’t get them in time so I had ordered them to come to London.
Captain Caveman made himself some breakfast with eggs and I had overnight oats with a cup of tea. It was raining and the wind was getting up a bit so Captain Caveman had resigned himself to the fact that we were going nowhere. For lunch we had homemade soup with cheese pasties and bread. We also marked the occasion with a beer each, mine a gluten free one as normal Efes no longer sits right with me. While Captain Caveman opened boxes from storage and rearranged all his belongings, I attended the next session of Claire Clarke’s Planner Ideation course. This is where I decided I needed a white board, some marker pens and highlighters adding to my office. I had another project on the go and was excited to see where that would lead. Captain Caveman also managed to squeeze in a trip to the barbers.
It was my Dad’s birthday and they were enjoying their last day away so we had a video call and said Happy Birthday. Dad seemed to be enjoying himself and was impressed by the dessert selection on offer.

At 5.30pm, despite the grey skies and threatening rain, I suggested to Captain Caveman that we go for a walk. I knew we needed to be at Sezgin and Nur’s house for 6.30pm for the surprise dinner and drinks. Somehow I needed to get the chocolate, rakı and wine round there too so I said I needed to drop something off along the way. I tried to be a bit vague as I shoved it all in a rucksack while Captain Caveman wasn’t looking. Once on the walk, which Captain Caveman decided we were going by the river for but we needed to be heading to Gülpınar, he wanted to carry the bag! I think he could tell something was up as he suggested we go to Heybe for a drink and to say hi to Donny. I knew we were going to be late but I had to make it look casual, so we stopped off. We noticed that Retro bar was close to being reopened for the start of the season and now had a massive statue – it was certainly going to stand out and be a bit different to how it looked before. We carried on walking as I pretended we were just passing near where Debbie & Mike lived and I said we could perhaps stop by and say hello, knowing they were already at Sezgin’s for the surprise party. We ended up getting a bit lost (on purpose) and were late so I had to say we would just say hello to Sezgin and Nur, as we just happened to be passing! Everyone was so glad to see Captain Caveman and I think he realised what was going on but didn’t say anything. Nur had cooked an amazing meal with börek, salad and Baba ghanoush for starters. Then for main we had liver with rice which was delicious – Captain Caveman ate two lots. For dessert we had creme caramel which was delicious too. There was lots of wine for me, I’d taken red, white for Nur, plus the big bottle of rakı for Captain Caveman to share. We had a great night with lots of laughter and music. I think it was about 1am when we finally went home, having danced and drank whisky. Why do I do this on the night before a flight!?
It was the last day of the month and I’d been too busy today to see how I’d done against my monthly budget of £300 – I suspected I had gone over, though!

Gratitude List
1. Captain Caveman finally making it to Dalyan for 34 hours!
2. Being brought lots of goodies from the UK
3. A great ‘surprise’ party for Captain Caveman at Sezgin and Nur’s place.

Dalyan – 30th March

Sunday 30th March was the day that Captain Caveman would be flying from Gatwick to Dalaman just to see me for a couple of days. When we initially booked the flight for £27, we had booked it without hold luggage. Since then, Captain Caveman had added on a case so that he could bring me some items that were cheaper or only available in the UK. He’d started buying the items before we decided that I would also fly back with him on Tuesday. I was up and about early as I was excited for his arrival, even though his flight didn’t leave London until 13:40 UK time. He was due to arrive in to Dalaman at 19:50 and our friend, Debbie, had volunteered to pick him up, taking me with her! The weather wasn’t fit for a Sunday stroll as it was raining and the skies were grey.

I’d arranged to meet my friends at Kefal tea garden at 10.30am as we wanted to discuss arrangements with Sezgin about our surprise BBQ (no longer a BBQ) tomorrow and our trip to İzmir at the end of next month. We were looking to do a cheese and wine trip for a couple of nights and Captain Caveman would fly directly to İzmir to join us. Tomorrow we had decided that Nur would cook a Turkish meal at their home and I just had to get Captain Caveman there as a surprise. Debbie and I agreed I would be at her house for 7.15pm tonight to go to the airport. No one had any breakfast at the tea gardens so I stuck to my 2 hot beverages. It’s still so cheap at the tea gardens, tea is often half the price of a tea elsewhere in Dalyan.

Kefal tea gardens
2 Turkish teas 40.00 lira (81p)

Back home, I ate overnight oats with berries for a late breakfast and decided to ask the AI tool, Chat GPT, about my book. It was hilariously inaccurate and read like it had made it up just from the title. I decided to reply to let ChatGPT know it had got ‘You Can’t Shit Yourself on a Bicycle’ wrong but I didn’t expect an apology. I was impressed with that and decided to use it for marketing purposes in the future.

After doing a bit of work and making cheese pasties for lunch, I popped to the shops. I needed to buy booze to take tomorrow, as well as get some beer for Captain Caveman’s arrival tonight. I already had treats at the ready. Here’s what I bought with the prices in lira;

Yaman Büfe 2
2 Salt & Vinegar crisps 120.00
1 bottle of white wine 229.00
1 bottle of Rakı 1095.00
Total spent 1444.00 lira (£29.41)

Migros Supermarket
Mints 18.45
2 Quark 70.00
2 Efes Malt 134.00
1 Gluten Free Efes 105.00
Total spent 327.45 lira (£6.67)

Parlak bakery
Bread 15.00 lira (31p)

About an hour after returning home, Captain Caveman messaged to say they hadn’t took off yet. They should have left at 3.40pm (Turkish time) and I was tracking the flight. It said it had taken off at 3.53pm (Turkish time) but would land earlier than scheduled so all was still good, according to the internet. Unfortunately, Captain Caveman reported back that an engineer was coming to fix something and it looked like it could be delayed an hour or 2. Interestingly, the flight tracker showed it had departed on time and was flying over Serbia as Captain Caveman told me they were all getting off the plane and on to a new one. We cancelled the lift to and from the airport as we didn’t know what time Captain Caveman would depart, if at all, and he was still not on a new plane by the time 3 hours had passed. This meant he would now get compensation but wouldn’t land until after midnight. I was more concerned about all the goodies that might be getting a bit warm in that suitcase! I thought about asking someone else or a taxi to pick him up but as it was Bayram that proved tricky. Captain Caveman said he would just get a taxi at the airport. They finally took off on the new plane just before 8pm, Turkish time, I decided to make more cheese pasties so that he had something to eat when he arrived.
At 10pm I sat down with a glass of wine and watched something on Netflix while I waited for Captain Caveman to arrive, which would be around 1am!

Gratitude List
1. Having a Plan B for tomorrow’s cancelled BBQ
2. Slimming World style Cheese pasties
3. Knowing Captain Caveman was finally on his way but could claim £350 compensation for his flight delay.

Dalyan – 14th March

It was a very busy day on Friday 14th March and I didn’t really know if I was coming or going for most of the day. It started with tea and toast before 7.30am then I got on with sorting out my health insurance which I had decided to go with Aytaç Saraymine for. He had quoted me for a 2 year policy, starting from mid-April for 4,372.50 lira (£92.25) and covered mainly in-patient use. Aytaç used to work in the bank and now has an office within Hey Dalyan, he was very nice and efficient, given that I needed the proof of insurance for my residency appointment. I would be paying 6,125 lira (£129.22) for the residency application and new card fees. A total expected pay out of £230 for a 2 year residency with the essential costs. I was glad I had been frugal in the last couple of months to be able to do this. Then there were the agent fees on top of that, if you didn’t do the application yourself, which varied depending on who you went with and could cost up to £300 so it definitely was a good idea to shop around.
The first issue of the day was that Gurkan, in Fethiye, had checked my bank documents and said that the amount deposited in March was short by a few lira. I checked my bank statements, I didn’t think it was but I had an amount of 2,172 lira (£45.82) gone in to my Turkish bank that morning. It would be easier to get the bank statements printed again than challenge this. The next issue was that Aytaç needed me to come to pay and sign for the insurance papers NOW so I had to do that. I got the insurance paper copies, email copies and Aytaç said he would get the official stamped ones sent over for tomorrow morning. I questioned this, with it being a weekend, but he was confident all would be fine. I stopped by Maizie Moo where I had a Coke with Jan & Katrina – it was nice to sit down and rest.
I rushed back to Jamie’s to take the dogs for a walk and, as I was walking them, I got a call with my next issue, the Residency application system was down so it was proving tricky to get an appointment for next week. I was asked that I keep my Turkish phone on so that the OTP code could be sent through and they would keep trying, in the meantime I needed to get those bank statements reprinted at the bank, urgently. I parked the dogs at Fire Opal, they were quite happy on the sofa, while I went to the bank. While in the long queue, I got a call from Aytaç who needed Captain Caveman’s Turkish tax number and, of course, I had no idea where I would find it. This was for the renewal of the earthquake (Dask) insurance. I messaged Captain Caveman to ask where it would be and then got served at the bank. Time was cracking on and the bank was about to close so I was pleased when the bank employee started the transaction. He then asked me for my passport, which has never happened, and I didn’t have it. It was at Jamie’s so he promised to stay late after closing and told me to go and get my passport, he wouldn’t take any other ID or a picture of my passport.

I walked quickly back home, found Captain Caveman’s tax card, walked the dogs back to Jamie’s and picked up my passport. As I turned round to leave again, Norman was having what I thought was a funny turn and his back leg wouldn’t work. I got him up off the floor and he looked fine but he couldn’t stand and Edna was licking his eyes. I got the lid off the treat tin and, miraculously, Norman’s legs were back to normal. I waited a few minutes, snaffled down a chicken wrap, then put him on the sofa and left. I almost ran back to the bank and was in there way after 5pm. I was hot and red from rushing so the young girl brought me water and offered me her last Toffifee, which I politely declined. They printed everything out, and updated my Turkish phone number. Aytaç then phoned to say he wouldn’t have my insurance documents ready as it was a Saturday and I was fine with that as it was unlikely I would need them until Monday. I was meant to be meeting friends for a drink at 5pm and had already let them know I was going to be late. I had not had an OTP code on my phone so I had assumed I wouldn’t be getting an appointment date today, but then I got a call to tell me my appointment was for first thing on Monday morning. I said I only had copies of the new insurance policies and we could take them as my originals would arrive too late.
I arrived at Ren Garden to meet friends after 5.30pm, a hot sweaty mess but in need of a cold beverage. I love Ren Garden, which is the bar at the Grandma’s Garden hotel. The mother and son who run the place are really nice and always friendly. I ordered a rosé wine with soda and the others had beers. We had a good catch up and a bit of a laugh before Debbie and Mike went home. I tried vegetarian çiğ köfte which The owner and her friend were eating, it was very nice. The remaining three of us decided it would be a good idea to head back to Sezgin and Nur’s house for a bit of tongue and cheese!!! We called at Yaman Büfe for drinks along the way and I took a photo of the rakı which Sezgin recommended for when Captain Caveman arrived. I went to check on the dogs and let them out for a wee. Norman was his usual sprightly self so I was pleased he was ok. When I arrived, Nur was cooking up a bit of tongue for us to eat with Tulum cheese. I had more wine, they had raki and the food was great. We listened to music and had great fun but Nur got upset when we called Captain Caveman and she saw he was in the Broady with 2 gorgeous women! She was jealous on my behalf which was funny and I had to explain he was with Caz and Lucy plus a whole group of men and women who were celebrating Leroy’s birthday. I got home late and wondered if I would get up early enough for a market visit tomorrow.

Gratitude List
1. Being able to afford the Residency Renewal application and all the costs associated with it
2. Having drinks with friends at Ren Garden
3. Hilarity at Sezgin & Nur’s place and a video call to the UK.

Photo credit – various

Dalyan & Köyceğiz – 30th December

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Some extra photos from Captain Caveman

Dalyan – 29th December

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

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

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

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

Dalyan – 27th & 28th December

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

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

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

Migros Supermarket
Hummus 39.75
Total spent 39.75 (90p)

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

Dalyan – 26th December

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

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

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

Dalyan – 24th December

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

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

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

Dalyan – 22nd December

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

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

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

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