There’d been 2 events that I’d contemplated doing on Monday 22nd December, my last full day and night in Dalyan this year. It was a friend’s birthday party at 4pm and I’d thought of a trip to Köyceğiz on the yellow boat had I been in a position to take the day off. However, it was the launch of The Handy Travel Planner and I was too anxious to sit and wait to see how it went. Because I would be travelling tomorrow and that I would be taking some time off to see Captain Caveman, I wanted to get my scheduled social media content done for the next week or so. I spoke to Captain Caveman on video call who was already in London where I would join him at his parents’ home. We were both looking forward to seeing each other, even though it had only been 3 weeks since we’d last seen each other. Today was our 14 year anniversary too but we had already celebrated it while we’d been together in Dalyan last month. I forgot to eat all day but by 4.30pm I was hungry and decided to warm up yesterday’s Christmas dinner. I spent the evening working and packing – I was really looking forward to my trip!
Gratitude List 1. The Handy Travel Planner was launched and ready to buy in paperback and hardback on Amazon 2. Seeing Captain Caveman was looking forward to seeing me again 3. Leftover Christmas dinner!
My weekend continued to be eventful and Saturday 20th December was another busy one. I had quotes to do for work, last minute Christmas markets were looking popular this year and luckily, even though I don’t particularly celebrate Christmas, I had been to a few of the European Christmas markets in the past. It was cold, grey and wintery with rain forecast over the next couple of days in Dalyan. Nanny Kay had kindly given me a couple of black tops, one of which was a jumper and would come in handy for my trip to England. She had also been throwing out her plate collection so I had inherited lots of spare plates. I had to put the weekly market on hold a while because I had been invited for a tea and mince pie with Debbie & Mike. Debbie had also invited Ghislaine and had very kindly baked for us. I had 3 cups of tea while we chatted and caught up on what had been happening. I still needed to go to the market so Ghislaine offered to drop me on her way home. I didn’t end up buying anything at the market as I started to feel unwell. I called in to the Şevikoğlu Supermarket and bought more Turkish Delight for Captain Caveman’s mom and my mom as they are both partial to it. They serve it fresh at the counter and I just spent the equivalent of a few pounds on 2 different flavours, to complement what I’d already bought yesterday in the fancy shop. On the way home, I walked past the white dogs and said hello to them, they were very pleased to see me and one got belly rubs. My next friend meet up was with Penny & Phil (I had to pop home to pick up the Forerro Rocher first) and I was still feeling a little unwell. When I got to Ren Garden it was busy with other friends as well and we decided hot drinks and cake would be a good idea. I had a delicious brownie and a hot chocolate for 400 lira (£7.14) and we chatted to the waitress who is very nice. I had to leave after that to go meet another friend at the Kaunos tea gardens where I had 2 large Turkish teas for 30 lira (54p). I spent most of our 2 hours there going back and forth to the toilet. It just shows that when I decide to break the Slimming World plan, my stomach does not react well to it. Back home I got messages from family and friends who had been on my mailing list to get ‘The Handy Travel Planner’ first. Their copies had arrived and they were delighted. I’d obviously not seen the actual book yet so I was really happy to get photos – they looked good! My first actual sales has started and I really hoped it would do well as I’d put a lot of thought in to how to help people have better holidays by planning. I just had soup for dinner and went to bed early as I had another busy day coming up tomorrow!
Gratitude List 1. New tops and plates from Nanny Kay 2. Catching up with friends before I flew to England. 3. The first book sales of my new planner.
Friday 19th December was a great day, in fact my last weekend in Dalyan this year was about to be rather eventful. I made a decision to take some time back to spend it with friends! After a walk to the bank to get cash out, I had a phone call with one of my UK friends. It was good to talk about general stuff as usual but this time it was a chance to arrange to meet up while I was in Sheffield. My next excitement came in the form of a long awaited hairdresser appointment which Captain Caveman was treating me to. I’d arranged to go with Debbie (Darling) who I hadn’t seen for ages and we joked it was our work Christmas party. She met me at 1pm after having to rescue a cat out of her pool and we went to get the bus to Ortaca. We share the same hairdresser, Emrah, and we’d decided to make an afternoon of it. Luckily that we did, as Captain Caveman had asked if I could get Christmas gifts for his brother and his family of 5 while I was there. Debbie (Darling) and I chatted so much and had a really fun shopping trip. We bought gifts for people and I managed to get woolly hats for all the Spillane family plus plenty of Turkish Delight.
At the hairdresser’s we had Emra to ourselves and we opened up the chilled prosecco (which we’d had in the fridge) while we waited for our dye to take. I loved it and we both ended up with a change of colour. It cost me a total of 2,500 lira (£44.64) and I felt so much better for having it done. As I’d bought the fizz, Debbie paid for a taxi back to Dalyan and we popped in to Ren Garden for a quick wine to round off our wonderful afternoon.
I took my shopping home and picked up a coat as it had got chilly once it was going dark. I grabbed a bite to eat at home and then went back out. I met Nanny Kay in Ren Garden too and we had a nice little mulled wine and a good chat. I’d really enjoyed switching off and relaxing as it’s not often I do, fully.
Gratitude List
Spending valuable time with friends
A trip out to Ortaca with Debbie (Darling)
Getting my hair done, drinking fizz and buying the Christmas Gifts for less than £120.
I had to have a bit of a word with myself on Thursday 18th December. I was not getting enough rest, I wasn’t making and eating healthy meals and I wasn’t making time to see friends. So, I agreed to meet a friend at Ren Garden at 4.30pm so that no matter how my day went, I had to put down my laptop and go out. I had a friend in the UK who was having surgery today and I was thinking about how that would go, feeling sorry I wouldn’t be nearby to see them. On going to open the fixed curtains it turned out one of them wasn’t fixed. I let the fixer know and I got told how to move the string to sort it out myself. It stil cost 1500 (£27), which I thought was amusing but what I was told to do, did work and they looked good. I spent most of the day really trying to get my head around Canva and produce enough promo content for the next few days, ready for my new book launch day on Monday. It was hard, I didn’t like it, I wanted to quit but I kept going. I made myself do a walk round the block and call at the bank for the curtain cash, before lunch. I was missing walking Norman and needed to stretch a bit. I called at the shop and bought the following, prices in lira:
I had a cheese sandwich for lunch and carried on with the promo designs. My eyes were tired and I was getting a bit tetchy with it, so at 3pm I went to the bank to buy my travel insurance for the UK and Morocco. It cost 1,001.67 lira (£17.89) for my 3 week trip, in 3 separate policies, which wasn’t bad. On the way back home I popped to the off licence and bought a couple of bottles of fizz for something I had arranged for tomorrow. It was 565 lira (£10) per bottle and was one I’d had before. Prosecco is really hard to get decent stuff in Dalyan. At 4.15pm, as promised, I hurried over to Ren Garden with some of the chocolate for my friend. She had chosen the Forerro Rocher and I obliged, after all I was meant to be on a diet! When I arrived, she wasn’t there so I messaged her to see if she was on her way and I ordered a hot chocolate. They had no idea we had arranged to meet and apologised. I didn’t mind as it meant that I could get back to my Canva and I ended up eating some of the chocolate I was going to give her. It was almost midnight when I finished but it meant I was up to date with my marketing schedule and I could take some time off this weekend.
Gratitude List 1. Getting out and running errands 2. Being on track with my marketing schedule 3. Mastering Canva enough to get some marketing material done.
Just as I was starting to get a bit stressed on Wednesday 17th December, things started to take a turn for the better. I had less than a week before I flew back to the UK and I just had so much to do. I was still concerned about having less money than I had hoped for, so when friends and family were inviting me to do things in the UK with them, I knew I didn’t have the budget. I got my 2026 diary out and started to plan a bit better. I got weighed at home and took my measurements and of course it wasn’t going well. Being back at anywhere near my target weight by Christmas was not going to happen. I had put on 0.35kg (0.8lb) this week and still had to face Carol’s scales this afternoon. My measurements were; Bust +1cm Waist +7cm Hips +1cm Yes, 7 centimetres on my waist – unusual and I think I’d eaten something that didn’t agree with me. I also had the curtain man turn up to fix our curtains and he was the same guy who had fitted them years ago, before we lived there. I had a call from Jamie who had a Resort Experts related query that we worked on together so I didn’t check the curtain man’s work before he left. I didn’t have time to eat any breakfast or lunch, because I then got a message from Amazon to say they had approved my updated internal pages for ‘The Handy Travel Planner’ and I was ecstatic!!! This meant I could now start my marketing plan and all the self promoting that I needed to do on social media to get my book sold. Amazon do take quite a cut and, ideally, I needed to sell 3 per day but I wanted to aim for 1 copy per day for now. I’d planned badly and most people had probably done their Christmas shopping by now, which could have had an advantage for me. It also wasn’t just about me making loads of money on book sales (although that would be amazing), I knew the planner could really help people have better holidays. It was also designed to provide opportunities for me to book holidays for more people in 2026 and beyond. I used Canva and some templates from the course I had done with Claire Clarke to produce some promo posts. I’m not good with Canva and it took me a long time, in between holiday related queries and nipping to Fat Club. Carol’s scales were saying similar so I hadn’t been lucky there. My next Zoom meeting was with Claire Clarke and the Create Publish Grow group – I was excited to report that my planner was finally ready. At 6.15pm I nipped to the shop, here’s what I bought with prices in lira;
I cooked a ready made pizza for dinner, which was probably not a good idea, really, given how massive my stomach had been. I then finished my first promo poster on Canva and it was almost midnight – I thought it looked good, but I would see how my followers (and you) viewed it. I had a link at the ready for people to buy it once it went live (it is now): https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0G7S5VX47/
Gratitude List 1. My new planner ‘The Handy Travel Planner’ was ready and I could start to let people know it was coming soon. 2. Getting the Canva promo stuff done without giving up or crying 3. Managing to go outside and to the shop.
I was up at 6am on Thursday 11th December, half expecting to come down to Norman having had an accident. He was fast asleep still and only woke up once I’d got comfy under the Christmas blanket on the sofa. Outside, Norman was still not out of the woods so I made him some egg to mix in with his breakfast. The weather was fine and looked to be good all weekend. It was just 2 weeks until Christmas Day and only 12 days until I saw Captain Caveman again. I worked all day from the dining room table, including a Resort Experts team meeting. Norman let me know at lunch time that he needed to be sat in the chair nearest to me. He could see what was going on but then was snoring super loudly within minutes. I didn’t eat much during the day as I was busy so, at 5.30pm, I downed tools for the dog walk before dinner. I warmed up a chicken dinner and saved Norman a little bit of chicken, which he loved. It had been another zero spend and no alcohol day so I was pleased with that. I sat down on the sofa to watch something on Netflix but started to fall asleep. I managed about one episode of Drive to Survive, about Formula 1, before I drifted off.
Gratitude List 1. No accidents from Norman 2. Less than 12 days until I arrived in London 3. Chicken dinner.
By 7.15am on Friday 12th December, Norman and I had been out and we were having some sofa snuggles. Usually when Edna had been with us, she had taken the priority spot for morning strokes but now Norman quietly put himself against my leg and instantly fell asleep. After working in the morning, I decided to pop to the pharmacy to see if they had any Covid and Flu jabs. I hoped to visit people in the UK over Christmas who had compromised immune systems so I wanted to try to prevent spreading anything. Interestingly, there were no Covid vaccines available but the flu jab was out of the packet and in the back of my left arm before I could say anything else. After, I asked the reason for the lack of Covid jabs and they said they no longer stock them. I asked if I could go to the nearest hospital to get one and they said not and that Turkey didn’t have them. This was my first flu jab so I wasn’t sure what to expect, I was surprised at the price as I had no idea what they cost;
Balcı Pharmacy Flu jab 568.99 lira (£10.16)
Next, I went to the bank to ask about insurance for my forthcoming trip to Morocco but by the time I got upstairs I felt faint. I learned that the bank couldn’t do travel insurance until next week, as it needed to be nearer the date of travel. I had a quick trip to the supermarket which resulted in me buying some new drinking glasses to have water in, prices in lira for what I bought;
Migros Supermarket Onions 7.16 Chocolate bar 19.95 Biscuits 37.75 Chickpea rice 37.76 Marshmallow 39.95 Dark chocolate 49.95 Cereal bars 60.90 2 drinking glasses 84.94 Dates 89.95 Total 428.31 lira (£7.65)
I called at the bakery to get a simit but also ended up with a cheese börek (pastry) for a total of 45 lira (80p) I had to walk all the way back to Jamie’s without passing out as I had started to feel weak so ate the börek outside with Norman. Unexpectedly, Norman had a bit of an incident where he was looking at me eating, he fell backwards down 2 steps then toddled towards the pool, almost falling in! A proof copy of my new book ‘The Handy Travel Planner’ was meant to be being delivered today to Captain Caveman so that he could proof read and check it for me, but it didn’t arrive. I went for a walk with Norman after work and, as it was Friday, we went to the pub for a drink. I had a couple of rosé wines and soda at Ren Garden and Norman behaved really well. The total cost for 2 wines and 1 soda was 330 lira (£5.89) but I rounded it up to include a tip so spent 400 lira (£7.14) in total – not bad for a Friday treat. Back home, I made a pasta dish for my dinner and we saw that Jamie had indeed made his way on to the Maldives flight – he was not going to have to slum it in Benidorm, after all. I let Norman know but he was more concerned as to if he was getting egg in his dinner or not. After dinner, I had loaded the dishwasher and put the tablet in, Norman was inquisitive and wanted to see what it was all about. I explained to him that dishwasher tablets are not snacks, despite Jamie storing them in the fridge!
Gratitude List 1. Being able to get a flu jab 2. Norman 3. Knowing a proof copy of my book was due to arrive in Pontefract, probably tomorrow.
There was a lack of photos and blog type updates on Tuesday 2nd December as it was a bit of a sad day. I’d fed my friend’s cat, seen the white dogs and watched Captain Caveman pack before midday. At noon I said farewell to Captain Caveman. He was joining Ma, Pa, Julie and Gareth plus a few other Dalyan Dwellers on the flight back to the UK. I was going to miss him – I was looking forward to seeing him later this month and for our trip to Morocco for the first week of January, to celebrate my birthday. At 1pm I attended more training with Anex Tours and found out that from July 2026 they would be doing flights to Antalya from Teeside airport. I popped over to Jamie’s to let Norman out and then went to a funeral. It was my first funeral in Dalyan and I was there to support a friend, who’s lovely mother had died unexpectedly. It was upsetting, of course, although it was good to see so many people attend the send off. I was in two minds as to whether to go to the wake afterwards, but decided to pay my respects. It was actually really nice to share some memories of such a lovely woman, even though we weren’t close I’d been to a few social events and a couple of boat trips here and there. I went home feeling sad for my friend and her family. I didn’t eat dinner that night and had an early night, going to bed being so much more grateful than I usually am.
Gratitude List 1. Having enjoyed 11 days with Captain Caveman 2. Having a holiday booked 3. Knowing my parents had enjoyed their 3 months in Dalyan.
After feeding my friend’s cat on Wednesday 3rd December I said hello to the white dogs and popped to the chemist. I bought 2 months’ worth of pills for 660 lira (£11.79). Back home, as it was weigh day, I got on the scales to find I was the same weight as last week. I got a phone call and forgot to take my measurements though. I got busy in the office until lunch time when I had beans on toast and a green tea. At 3pm I walked along the river to Fat Club, where I had lost just 0.1kg (0.2lb). I swapped my existing magazine for another to inspire me with some recipes and walked home via the shop. Here’s what I bought with prices in lira;
Migros Supermarket Nut Dido chocolate bar 30.00 Halloumi 96.50 2 Quark 99.90 Meatballs 199.95 Mini Magnums 250.00 Total spent 675.36 lira (£12.06)
I fed the cat and then, for dinner, I made a chickpea and spinach stew which I had with couscous. It was quite tasty and healthy, until I followed it with a mini Magnum.
Gratitude List 1. Animals 2. Not putting weight on 3. Good food.
Thursday 4th December was hardly worthy of a blog post, aside from my interaction with the white dogs on the way from cat feeding. Massive storms with heavy rain were forecast any time from 5pm tonight. I had beans on toast for brunch. I worked, I did the evening cat feed early and warmed up the chickpea stew with couscous for dinner.
Gratitude List 1. Knowing rain was coming but I was prepared 2. The white dogs 3. Good healthy food.
For Captain Caveman’s last day in Dalyan on Monday 1st December, I decided we should go on the Yellow Boat to Köyceğiz. I’d booked the 2 of us on at 400 lira (£7.27) each, leaving at 10.30am and returning by 5pm. I was mainly looking forward to buying some fruit and vegetables at the market as we hadn’t been to the Dalyan one. My first job was to feed my friend’s cat, get cash out of the bank and then grab us a couple of croissants from the bakery for breakfast. It cost 180 lira (£3.21) for 2 and they were really good and fresh. I checked the stats for my JOLOYOLO.COM blog and was pleased to see I had 6% more views in November than October. The top 3 nationalities were listed as the UK, Turkey, then the USA. Unfortunately, Vietnam was down in 15th place – beaten easily by Australia, Thailand and the Netherlands! It was quite chilly out but dry, so we were optimistic for the boat trip today. When we got on, there was just us, Brigette and her hubby, Jim, plus a Turkish lady who was the mother of a walking friend of Captain Caveman’s. Usually there are about 16 onboard so this felt like our own private trip!! We sipped our hot drinks and nibbles on simit, as we sailed along the river and towards Köyceğiz Lake. The water and scenery was so beautiful and my phone camera didn’t even do it justice.
When we arrived it was around midday so Captain Caveman and I headed to the market. Here’s what we bought with prices in lira;
Potatoes, onions & garlic 45 Peppers & courgettes 45 Black Olives 50 2 pairs of Slippers 100 Total spent 240 lira (£4.29)
For lunch we decided to try Kebapçı Antepden 1999 where I had a lentil soup and Captain Caveman ordered a chicken wrap. The waiter also brought us some free starters, lots of bread and it was all very nice for 480 lira (£8.57). Our next stop was to call for a drink by the lake at one of our favourite places, Avantgart, where we spent 700 lira (£12.50) on a glass of red wine and a rakı.
Back on the boat we had some fruit and snacks then I had a wine and Captain Caveman had a beer. We all watched a bird eat a snake, which was a little grim, but interesting! It was a really good boat trip and we even tried dried persimmon with pecan nuts with the Turkish lady – they were delicious.
After dropping the shopping back in Dalyan, I went to feed my friend’s cat and we had sausage casserole for dinner again. This time Captain Caveman had the leftover lamb added to his. Later, we headed to Ozzy’s bar to meet my parents for a farewell drink. Here’s what we had with prices in lira;
2 Efes Malt 300 2 red wines 320 Total 620 lira with 60 lira discount Total spent 560 lira (£10)
My parents and Captain Caveman were on the same flight back to Manchester tomorrow, as well as Julie & Gareth, so they were all going to the airport together. As I wouldn’t get to to say bye to Ma & Pa tomorrow, I said my goodbyes that night.
Gratitude List 1. A great day out in Köyceğiz on the Yellow Boat 2. Tasty food 3. Leaving drinks with my parents and Captain Caveman.
The day of Captain Caveman’s arrival was finally here on Saturday 22nd November – I was super excited and quite hungover! Having consumed wine with dinner, 5 mulled wines and a further 250ml of red wine as a nightcap, I had totally overdone it with Jamie and Drew last night! It had been good to let my hair down but now, as I went to feed the cat at sunrise, I desperately wanted to be having a lay in, keeping warm under the duvet. I was back home by 8am, with no wandering round Dalyan unnecessarily this morning. I was going to go back to bed but instead I had a Yorkshire tea and a litre of water before deciding to move my office back upstairs in to the spare room. I moved the spare table first and it wasn’t that difficult, but my beloved red office chair was a little more cumbersome. I had to have a sit down when I got them in place but I was pleased as I was hoping to have a reduced work schedule this coming week so wouldn’t need our dining table as a desk. That morning, I finished my internal pages of ‘The Handy Travel Planner’, uploaded that and my book cover by Nicole at I Am Claire Clarke on to Amazon and hoped they would vet it and agree to publish it quickly! They said it could take up to 10 days, which was a bit long but there was nothing I could do and I just had to wait now! Overall, I was very pleased and excited with it but I was still annoyed with myself for not having got it done sooner so that Captain Caveman could bring me a copy to see!! For lunch I had beans on toast and got a message from Captain Caveman who was getting the train to Manchester airport ready for his 13.45 flight. He was due to land at Dalaman at 21.00 so I still had all day to wait. After doing some last minute work, I decided to pop out to the shops, help my Mom by getting her the stationer’s email address and feed the cat again. Here’s what I bought from the various shops with prices in lira;
Şarküteri 1 Chicken Tikka sauce 190 lira (£3.45)
I rarely buy the ready made sauces from the import shop as they are pricey but I decided I’d left it too late to make a curry for dinner.
Migros Supermarket Mentos 20.95 Marshmallows 39.95 2 Nut Dido chocolate bars 60.00 3 tins of chopped tomatoes 149.85 1kg chicken breasts 172.09 Total spent 442.84 lira (£8.05)
I was so excited to get the tinned tomatoes, finally!
Yaman Büfe 2 2 Efes Malt beers 170 1 bottle of Red Rituel wine 288 Total spent 458.00 lira (£8.33)
After buying some booze to have with dinner, I went home to chill out, finish some blogging and await Captain Caveman’s arrival!
I managed to finish a few blog posts, check the coming week’s weather forecast, start my marketing plan for ‘The Handy Travel Planner’ and schedule a week’s worth of Resort Experts posts before I got a text to say Captain Caveman was on his way. Luckily, the curry was done and simmering away, the beers were cold and the apartment was nice and tidy. It was gone 10pm when he arrived, hand luggage only but with half of his bag full of treats for me! He’d got a transfer from Sonuç at Dalyan Transfers. By 11pm Captain Caveman had unpacked his wares which included; 2 bottles of Kahlua from Duty Free for £31 A 2026 Diary A power bank 5 cheeses 2 butters Steradent tablets An Advent Calendar for Nanny Kay
I was so pleased that Captain Caveman had managed to bring so much in his hand luggage this time. We cracked open the beers and I dished up the chicken curry with steamed rice. It was almost midnight by the time we had finished eating, which was extremely late for me but Captain Caveman was 3 hours behind, on UK time. I set my alarm for in 6 hours time as I needed to make sure I was up for the cat feeding. Captain Caveman had also organised a Sunday Walk for tomorrow. There was so much to go on my Gratitude List today that I had trouble narrowing it down to just the 3!
Gratitude List 1. Finally submitting ‘The Handy Travel Planner’ to Amazon to be published 2. Captain Caveman arriving in Dalyan 3. Getting some treats from Captain Caveman.
All plans went out of the window on Saturday 1st November as I had a few Resort Experts quotes to do. I didn’t bother going to the market and went back to bed with a cup of Yorkshire tea, for the first time in quite a while! I faced the income versus expenditure spreadsheet with a little trepidation as I knew I’d spent too much this month. My budget for October was set at £500, which included Captain Caveman giving me some cash. Unfortunately, I ended up spending just short of £900 including all bills, the course for making my new planner and a flight to the UK with luggage. It meant that I really needed to be extra careful in November and that I was starting the new month on a minus figure of £106. It was going to be a tough month and Captain Caveman was coming to visit at the end of the month which means we always spend more then. Captain Caveman had already been in touch as he had decided he wanted to go to a music event in Plovdiv, Bulgaria, for his birthday next year. He’d bought 2 tickets for the 3 day Phillgood gig which had bands such as The Cure, Gorillaz, and Moby headlining. So, I spent some time looking at flights and hotels for Plovdiv and Sofia in Bulgaria for the 2 of us. I had to cancel going round to Kate’s to meet the new kittens as I was too busy faffing around. I managed to get to the bakery where I bought a croissant and a fresh loaf for 105 lira (£1.91) so had lunch while still working, but then had a belly ache. For dinner I made a chickpea and spinach curry with steamed rice and booked the Old Legends hotel in Plovdiv for Captain Caveman and I. Surprisingly, I got a better rate than Booking .com on a hotel in Sofia so I booked that for 2 nights prior to the gig, so that we could have a look around the capital. Neither of us have been to Bulgaria before and it was on our list of places to visit. I was excited as I miss going to concerts and hearing good live music. I then decided to look at holidays for January as Captain Caveman really wanted us to go away, despite me saying I couldn’t afford to spend money on holidays while I was still building my empire.
Gratitude List 1. Dealing with budget issues instead of ignoring them 2. Captain Caveman insisting on a trip to Bulgaria in 2026 3. Getting some good deals with Resort Experts for our own holidays.
On Sunday 2nd November there was a bit of excitement in the air. I booked our own holiday to Morocco, through Resort Experts of course. We decided we would be staying in Marrakech for a week on a Bed & Breakfast basis, in a cute little riad for around £900 for the both of us. We were both excited and thought that was quite a bargain. Nanny Kay popped round with some gifts; spare plates which she was getting rid of and I never have enough if I invite people over for dinner. She also gave me 3 black tops which were ideal for winter. Later I met Vanessa and another friend in Ozzy’s as Vanessa had just arrived back in Dalyan for a few weeks. I had a strawberry milkshake and a soda water for 210 lira (£3.82). For dinner, I just ate chicken nuggets for my one meal that day as I’d not had time to make what I had planned.
Gratitude List 1. Booking a holiday to Marrakech with Captain Caveman 2. New plates and tops from Nanny Kay 3. Out with friends for an entertaining catch up.
I had a busy Monday morning on Monday 3rd November; mostly content writing and scheduling. I also had several interactions with Captain Caveman, including messages before his 9am start. He got me researching the flight times and prices for our trip to Bulgaria. We finally plumped for the ones with BA and they were cheaper to book direct so Captain Caveman booked those and he paid for Morocco and the Bulgaria hotels. He’d also booked us tickets for Faithless, with cousin Anna, and a Metallica weekend ticket in July – both of which we were really looking forward to. I didn’t have lunch until 2.30pm and just had soup with pasta in. When I finished working for the day, I popped out for a walk and to get some shopping. Here’s what I got with prices in lira;
Migros Supermarket Green peppers 10.49 Red onion 14.49 Milk 21.80 Red peppers 26.99 6 eggs 49.50 Wholemeal sliced loaf 84.95 Bitter chocolate 87.50 2 Quark 91.90 Total spent 387.62 lira (£6.96)
There were still no tinned tomatoes so I went to the next shop;
Şok Supermarket 1 Dido chocolate bar 46.50 775g chicken 189.63 Total spent 236.13 lira (£4.29)
No tomatoes still! I wasn’t hungry, so for dinner I just had chestnuts and had an early night.
Gratitude List 1. Booking our own holidays 2. Shopping 3. Having an early night.
It was the calm before the storm on Tuesday 4th November. I split my day between Resort Experts and designing my new planner. I was getting rather impatient with Canva as I was half teaching myself and half following instructions from Claire Clarke from her videos. I had never realised it, but I’m not good at following spoken instruction and would much rather read the instructions. It was 4pm when I finally got some lunch which was a warmed up chickpea and spinach curry. Captain Caveman had booked his trip to Vietnam without me for March as I was already busy then. We had discussed me getting a flight to London on the Easter weekend to meet him on his return but they were £74 one way, without luggage. Also, I had a couple of work related events/more Fam trips which may be happening in April and I didn’t want to miss out on those. I worked hard that day and didn’t realise until 10.30pm that I had not moved from my desk! At 11pm I just had chestnuts for dinner (again).
Gratitude List 1. Curry for lunch 2. Captain Caveman finally getting a trip to Vietnam booked in 3. Chestnuts.
I worked all day at the dining room table on Thursday 2nd October. There was a Resort Experts team meeting and I also received a delivery for Jamie. Captain Caveman got in touch to say we would no longer be going to Vietnam for Christmas as he had been offered work in the UK over the Christmas period. I didn’t mind so much as I couldn’t justify the cost of the flight and didn’t really want Captain Caveman to have to pay for me. It was also cold in December and January where we wanted to visit. He was going to go in March instead, but I was already booked for dog sitting until the 31st March. Captain Caveman suggested I could fly out to join him in Vietnam for Easter instead, so there was still a possibility that I would get back there. It was disappointing but made sense and it wasn’t really my decision to make. We don’t celebrate Christmas as such so it made no difference to me. Captain Caveman suggested that I might be able to come over to London to see him, rather than stay in Dalyan on my own. The flights from Dalaman to the UK in winter, only fly on Tuesdays and Saturdays so we said we would have a think about it. It meant that our 14 year anniversary would probably be spent apart too. Captain Caveman also said he would take a look at coming to Dalyan at the end of November if he could. I made a leek and potato soup and it looked like a storm was due so I walked Norman early. I saw my parents at their gate – they had not gone to Göcek today, after all, and had just been at home chilling. They were off out with their friends so they had to rush off to get ready and I said I might see them at the weekend. I let Ma know the storm would start just after midnight and returned back to Jamie’s to feed Norman. Norman and I had a cosy night in, and I enjoyed my homemade soup with fresh bread that I had managed to fetch for myself. It got quite chilly and as the storm loomed. I knew I wouldn’t be able to move the sunbeds and mattresses because of my bad leg but I decided to move the cushions. I had to carry them one by one due to using the crutch and hobbling so it took me 25 mins. It felt like a massive achievement, though. I closed the windows, moved the loose stuff in the outdoor areas and got ready for the bad weather to come. I even had to put a duvet on as I was very cold when I went to bed.
Gratitude List 1. Planning to still see Captain Caveman before the end of the year 2. Homemade soup 3. Norman being so cute.
The storm started about 1am on Friday 3rd October but luckily Norman, the dog, slept through until 7.15am when I woke him up. Jamie had told me he won’t go out in the rain but off he trotted for a pee, getting absolutely soaked. After drying Norman off and feeding him, we got ready to stay indoors today. I moved the farewell drinks with the Aussies to tomorrow as it looked like nobody in Dalyan was going anywhere in this weather today. I pre-recorded a message for a friend I was due to have a call with today as the power kept cutting out and I didn’t want to not be able to speak to her. Norman got a dry, a brush, a few spritzes of doggy cologne and lots of attention in-between work stuff. I had more homemade leek and potato soup for lunch then a chickpea curry with a wrap, for dinner. It was another evening on the sofa as the rain continued all day and in to the night – we couldn’t even go for a walk. It was now a month since I broke my 4th & 5th metatarsals and I was still on the painkillers which prohibited me from drinking alcohol. I took the last tablet this evening and wondered if the pain would be bearable tomorrow without them. Oddly, I’d not really missed the drinking alcohol and with the state of the uneven paths and roads in Dalyan had not wanted to be trying to walk a bit fiddly anyway. I got some excellent news before bedtime; Captain Caveman booked his flights and was coming to Dalyan in 7 weeks time. It will have meant we hadn’t seen each other for about 11 weeks!
Gratitude List 1. Spending time with Norman 2. Eating well 3. Captain Caveman coming to Dalyan at the end of November.
Captain Caveman and I were having breakfast at home on Saturday 6th September. He was contemplating going to the dog shelter to walk some dogs. I was going to do a few bits of content editing for next week, being back at work, so that my 2 weeks off went smoothly. I also had loads of stuff to share from this holiday, with Captain Caveman, and couldn’t wait to get it on my business page. Our friends Josh & Martha had arrived in Dalyan to join their family and they had booked the Princess of Ekincik boat for a private day trip, after I had recommended it. There had been a group chat to discuss requirements for the wheelchair user on board so I hoped it would be suitable and comfortable for all of them. For those who might need to know, a wheelchair up to 60cm wide will fit! Martha got in touch to say that her and Josh had been delayed on their flight, after another passenger had a medical emergency, so they were super tired. She wanted us to join the trip so that we could catch up and help keep everyone lively. I was on the strong medication and lidocaine based sprays, so I was away with the fairies and said yes. I hadn’t accounted for the fact that I needed to walk all the way to the boat which took me absolutely ages. When I got there, Ismail mentioned that they do have a mobility scooter that they can collect disabled guests on, should I have needed it. I got a hot drink and sat myself down with my leg propped up until the others arrived. When everyone got on board; Martha, her parents, brother and Josh, it was really nice to see them all and we got on great straight away. The wheelchair went on and off fine and was parked up so that Zac could see the amazing scenery as we sailed down the river to the sea. The crew, the boat, the food, the drinks and the company were absolutely perfect and to see Zac be able to enjoy a boat trip in Dalyan was just fantastic. We had a couple of swim spots and even a visit to the back of the beach, Little Dalyan, where I kept Martha’s mom company on the boat while the others went off for a bit of adventure. I even had a cherry juice in a wine glass so that Trish wouldn’t feel alone in her red wine enjoyment – it was a real pleasure to see her have a bit of time to herself and not worry about Zac, who was in very capable hands. When the family got back, they had enjoyed a jaunt over the beach to the sea and Captain Caveman didn’t fall for the joke of me having red wine in my glass – he knew I wouldn’t be drinking against Doctor’s orders. We then decided to go to the boat end of the beach so that we could see the tourist part and it was very busy. We saw turtles which was great as some of the guests on board hadn’t seen them before in Dalyan. We all enjoyed a really lovely lunch on board which, given that Captain Caveman and I had decided to join only this morning, was plentiful. After spending the rest of the afternoon on the boat and enjoying ice creams, then some cake with fruit, we returned to Dalyan at gone 5pm. I’m not mentioning any names but I think more than 1 of us had a power nap, as we were just so relaxed.
That evening, after resting my foot, Captain Caveman took me for a slap up dinner at White House. We both had my favourite meal, the beef wellington, which is just so good. Captain Caveman had wine and cocktails but I had water and a friend booked our table while waiting to chat to her boyfriend. Our bill was 4,000 lira (£72.73) which I thought was reasonable. Because of having eaten so much, though, I had to take half of mine home. Tomorrow was Captain Caveman’s last day in Dalyan and I wasn’t looking forward to him leaving.
Gratitude List 1. Having such an amazing day that it was difficult to pinpoint just 3 things to be grateful for! 2. The Princess of Ekincik boat trip, being so good. 3. Beef Wellington Dinner with Captain Caveman at the White House.
Photo credit – some photos by Martha and her family
Weigh day certainly seems to come round a bit too quickly; Wednesday 20th August was meant to be my last good weight loss before Captain Caveman arrived for our 2 week holiday. I’d definitely cut down on the alcohol and only had 5 glasses of wine all week but I had been round to a friend’s for dinner and been on a boat trip this week, so I hadn’t avoided 2 lots of desserts. At home I’d lost 0.45kg (1lb) but we would see if Carol’s scales differed later. My measurements were good and I’d put 1cm on my bust but lost 2cm from my waist and 1cm off my hips. I got on the bandwagon with the water bottle to make sure I drink more water. I always drink at least 2 litres per day but, as it was hot, I was aiming for 3! I popped over to Jamie’s for a quick Resort Experts conflab and I intended to pick up his loppers and pruners but forgot them – we were too busy chatting about holiday destinations. On the way back, I remembered as I went in the Block A entrance rather than Block B, that side looked much better, as if the gardener only does that side of the complex then gets bored. At Fat Club I was pleased to find I’d lost 0.6kg (1.3lb) although I was still 4.35kg (almost 10lb) over my target now. It just goes to show how much crap I was having in the UK, how quickly I was putting weight back on when I went there and wasn’t following the plan. It would be interesting to see how much I put on when on a 2 week Turkey holiday with Captain Caveman in just 3 days time! I missed a Zoom call about my forthcoming travel planner which happened to clash with Fat Club and then I also had to get back for a client call. This one was the start of a special enquiry as it was with a friend’s husband who was wanting to organise a surprise trip for a specific birthday next year. I can’t say too much on here as she will probably be reading it and it’s going to be one of the best kept secrets! The call went so well and I actually couldn’t wait to see what I could find on this one. We had quite a long discussion and there were lots or requirements and a specific budget but it was a good ‘un! Jamie popped his gardening tools over to mine so that we had them ready for Captain Caveman. For dinner, I had a mystery meal from the freezer with mushrooms in (forgot the photo as I was hungry) then decided I needed to go shopping at 9.30pm. I had hoped the supermarket would be less busy at that time but it wasn’t. Here’s what I bought with prices in lira;
It was certainly a sign things were better than at the start of the year as I would have thought twice about buying nuts as they were a treat. I was still concerned at the sharp rise in Quark prices, though.
Gratitude List 1. Losing weight this week (even if it wasn’t much) 2. More new enquiries for my travel business 3. Being able to rely on Jamie for gardening tools.
There was a bit of excitement on Thursday 21st August as I had been invited round to a friend’s after work. I was really apprehensive about taking time off when Captain Caveman arrived but I knew how much he needed a holiday, and I probably did too. I didn’t want to be spending the money we were getting in just yet, as I really wanted to build back up some emergency funds and rainy day money. I was also a little worried that I might miss some precious holiday bookings and book sales. I was still at the stage that each opportunity was important and every bit of commission counted. I was keen not to be ‘unavailable’ should a potential customer want to book. Captain Caveman wanted to travel around Turkey and some of the journey by train, which meant I probably shouldn’t take my laptop with me. It’s a fine line but I would see how the first week went, I was already pre scheduling all my social media posts up to the end of the first week of September, just in case. I had quark with berries (no oats) for breakfast then I worked all day. In the morning I had a catch up with my friend and colleague, Dagne, in Majorca. There was a Resort Experts team meeting too at lunch time, so I ate beans on toast around 2.15pm. In the afternoon I played telephone tennis with one of the suppliers I had asked to price me up a bespoke trip. I switched the laptop off at bang on 5pm and walked over to Janet and Ian’s villa. It was precisely 24 minutes but would have been 25 had Ian not come to meet me at the shortcut through some bushes. I met their friends, Sam & Lucy, who had a lovely daughter and they seemed somewhat familiar. We hit it off right away and we all had a lovely afternoon. I joined Janet with a glass of wine or two and it was very relaxing just sat by their pool. On the drive back to take me home, Janet, Ian and I decided to nip to Mono and More for a bite to eat. Janet had been telling me about the scampi she had tried so I was keen to eat that. We both ordered the same with a glass of wine while Ian had soup and fish and chips. All the food was very lovely and at a reasonable price for non-Turkish meals. The scampi was whole-tail, not the reformed stuff, and I really enjoyed it. I did see one of the owners eating a Chinese dish which looked amazing. Funnily enough I only ever eat a Chinese meal when I’m in the UK and even then, not very often but the portion size and the food looked impressive. I was even invited to try a mouthful, on account of my eyeing up of her food, but of course I politely declined. I’d had a really lovely evening and we made plans for when Captain Caveman arrived too. Ian offered to drive me home but I decided it would be a good idea to walk off my meal. Recently, I had seen various Facebook posts and news articles saying how quiet Dalyan was. If the streets by the mosque were anything to go by, that wasn’t true. It was 11.20pm as I walked past lots of tourists either on their way to a bar or doing some browsing in the shops.
Gratitude List 1. Being able to have a holiday with Captain Caveman 2. Eating great food 3. Having a wonderful time with friends.
It was only 23°C when I awoke on Friday 22nd August but, looking at the forecast for today and the week, the weather was looking great for Captain Caveman’s visit. I was super excited and his flight was tonight at 9.50pm from Gatwick. We both still had our last day at work to go but I had already put on my out of office and had a to do list longer than my arm. In my lunch hour I nipped to buy eggs from Şok and ended up getting 15 eggs and some jellies for 104.95 lira (£1.93). I also bought a Turkish loaf and a simit for just 30 lira (55p) from the bakery. I ate the simit for lunch and got straight back on to the to do list for another hour. Captain Caveman called me while he tucked in to a more substantial lunch (I think a fish finger buttie) and he was really looking forward to getting back to Dalyan. I tidied up, changed the bedding, did the laundry and ran out of time to do more cleaning up before dinner. I ate a chicken and mushroom Slimming World concoction for dinner at 10.15pm, but didn’t particularly enjoy it. I went to bed, knackered and thinking I’d probably forgot to do something important.
Gratitude List 1. Sunny weather in Dalyan 2. Captain Caveman coming to Dalyan in just hours 3. Getting a lot done, even if I still didn’t finish everything.
I had a busy morning with holiday enquiries with Resort Experts on Friday 15th August, a few friends had asked me to do them some quotes for winter sun holidays. I’d suggested Turkey to a few of them as it tends to stay nice weather until the end of October, and they can see me if they want to, too. I didn’t eat lunch until 2.50pm, fried rice, as time was running away with me. I was acutely aware that while I’d been in the UK I had eaten much less fruit, so I took a walk to the shop after lunch to get some fruit. Here’s what I got from the shop, with prices in lira; 3 onions 4.10 4 nectarines 69.30 4 bananas 101.46 Total spent 174.86 lira (£3.21)
The bananas were more pricey as it’s not the season but still I needed fruit! I’d had a request from my friend, Sausage Dick, to meet up with his daughter who was in Dalyan. He had bought a copy of my handy travel tips book, ‘You Can’t Shit Yourself on a Bicycle’ and wanted me to sign it for him. Georgina was staying at Central Park, a lovely small hotel in the Gülpınar area with a really nice pool. I agreed to arrive at 6.30pm and I was about 5 minutes late. When I went in, there was no one around and Kudret the owner wanted to check who I was and what I was doing before letting me in (a safe hotel). I sat in the bar area outside and the only 2 people I could see were snoozing face down on sun loungers. Kudret told them I was here and Georgina joined me first. Shortly after, Tom grabbed a beer at the bar then came to say hello. We exchanged stories of Sausage Dick and I gave her the signed book, which was in a bag. She didn’t look at it but promised she would take it back home. I was only there an hour tops and then walked back home to start dinner. I made a meatball and mushroom pasta which I portioned up for the freezer too. It was 9.20pm by the time I ate dinner and then I was back booking hotels until 11pm, including one for myself.
Gratitude List 1. Getting some fruit 2. Sausage Dick buying a signed copy of my book 3. A delicious dinner at home.
My last day in the UK had arrived and I was sad to be leaving London on Monday 11th August. I could easily have stayed longer if it wasn’t for Nanny Kay’s 80th birthday celebrations tomorrow and the fact that it was so much more expensive being in England than Dalyan. Captain Caveman and I started work early but did break for an early lunch together and to get some shopping for dinner. Here’s what we bought with the cost in pounds;
The rice noodles were for me to take back to Turkey, the salads for our lunch, which we ate on Barnes Green. We went to pick a seat near the tree (which Captain Caveman climbed on my previous visit) but were met with a huge disappointment. ‘Our tree’ had been recently cut down and we were both quite perturbed about it. I tucked in to my favourite Marks and Spencer’s salad, the one with nuts and edamame beans in. Captain Caveman was met with more disappointment as he tried to snaffle his salad which smelled and tasted like freshly mowed lawn! He wouldn’t be having that one again.
Back at the house, Captain Caveman found me a water bottle so that I could take it on my journey and we both had calls and meetings to get on with. At 3.15pm I shut down my laptop and decided I had done for today, I packed my hand luggage only but had to leave a few items of clothing and some food weighing scales behind. I decided to go to the shop to see if I could get some nice travel sweets but I ended up buying myself a bar of chocolate and some Mentos for £2.05 in Tesco. I enjoyed my last walk through Barnes and pondered when I might next come back to England – probably 2026. My flight wasn’t until 9.45pm and I was meeting Drew at Gatwick to fly back to Dalaman together. My train tickets allowed any-time travel so we decided I needed to leave Barnes station at 6.30pm. Captain Caveman finished work just after 5pm and came in to the room with quite an urgent sounding question; he asked if I fancied a quick…(Now, at this point I honestly thought he might be about to ask if I fancied a ‘quickie’ but I had unnecessarily thought wrong)….game of Scrabble. He’d obviously been thinking that he would like to even up the score from yesterday as it was the first time I’d beaten him. We quickly got the Scrabble board out and were up against the clock as we still had to cook and eat dinner. Of course, I let Captain Caveman win at Scrabble just so that we could eat without me missing my train or flight. We had the pasta with dough balls of which Captain Caveman had 9 to my 3!!! Then it was a bit of a rush to get out of the door for the short walk to Barnes Station. I was sad saying goodbye to Captain Caveman but I would see him again in 11 day’s time, when he arrived in Dalyan.
My train arrived in to Gatwick at 7.40pm where I met Drew in the Whetherspoons for a quick drink. I also bought 1 litre of Bombay Sapphire gin for £13.76 in the Duty Free. On the easyJet flight I was in row 2 and Drew in row 3 but there was a bit of jigging around and people in wrong seats so we both ended up in row 3 with our preferred window and aisle seats. I spent a small fortune on pink prosecco, water and pringles while on the plane, had a laugh with Drew, watched some rubbish I downloaded on Netflix and fell asleep. We were due to land at 3.45am tomorrow.
Gratitude List 1. Being able to have a last lunch in the park with Captain Caveman 2. A quick game of Scrabble before I left 3. Having Drew as my travel partner for the first time.
joloyolo 