Dalyan – 9th & 10th September

On Tuesday 9th September I was eating breakfast and looking at flights to go to the UK in November when I saw a message from Jamie on the work group chat. He had won a free trip to Antalya for 5 days in October. It was the day after his holiday with Drew to Kos where I was already looking after Norman, the dog, so I replied to say Congratulations and that I could extend the dog sit by 5 days if he needed me. He didn’t have time to respond before I had checked my emails to see I had also won a place on the same Fam trip with Anex Tours. Sod Norman, the dog, I was going. It was the best thing that had happened in my 11 months as a Resort Expert. Jamie and I had a quick call, got very excited and he had arranged for Drew to do the dog sitting. Next month we would be at a 5 Star All Inclusive resort in Antalya and we were super excited.
I worked extra hard that day with a rest for a cup of tea in the afternoon as my foot was throbbing.
In the evening, I got some bad news; the Turkish classes that were due to be starting back this week were no longer going ahead. Our teacher, Sioned, had decided she needed to focus on her family and could no longer commit to them. I was disappointed as I really enjoy them but I understood her reasoning.

Gratitude List
1. Winning a work trip
2. Getting to go to Antalya for work with Jamie
3. Having a zero spend day.

It was Weigh day on Wednesday 10th September and I was keen to know just how much damage my 16 days of holidaying with Captain Caveman had done. However, I was groggy, in pain and too busy to get to Fat Club, even if I could walk there a bit quicker. I also had a visitor; Jamie had to go to Fethiye and had dropped Norman, the dog, off for me to look after at 8am. I wasn’t quite sure how taking him for a walk would pan out but he seemed quite happy on the sofa while I worked. He had clapped the weight on too so I was in good company. I think Jamie had been giving him Edna’s share of the snacks since she’d passed away.
At 12.30pm, I decided Norman might need a tinkle and I attempted to get him out for a walk. He wouldn’t go down stairs and just stood at the top watching me! I’d been down and back up for no reason while Norman thought it amusing.
For lunch I had cheese, olives and nuts followed by fruit and quark. Captain Caveman asked me to look at flights for him to visit in October but they weren’t cheap. We might need a Plan B.
Jamie came back for Norman and we said farewell, he wasn’t impressed we were leaving him to go off on a jolly next month, but we thought it was funny. Carol from Fat Club popped by with her scales so I could see how fat I was. I had put on 2.2kg (5lb) in the last few weeks – I’m surprised it wasn’t more but I was now back to the weight I was at the end of September 2024!!!
For dinner, I made myself some veggie noodles which tasted ok, I was determined to lose the weight despite not being able to walk much. I continued working until I started to fall asleep and then went to bed. I’d got a day off tomorrow.

Gratitude List
1. Having Norman, the dog, come over to see me
2. Nice healthy homemade food
3. Not putting even more weight on.

Dalyan & Fethiye -17th March

My Residency Renewal agent, Dale, had told me to be ready for pick up at 7am on Monday 17th March. The appointment was in Fethiye at 9am and he wanted to get there early to meet Gürkan, the translator, who had set up the appointment for me. I got a message at 6.50am that the pick up would be 7.30am and I think we even set off later than that. I had already let the dogs out at Jamie’s and fed them early so Edna knew something was going on. I’d allowed for the fact that we would probably spend time in Fethiye, after the appointment. Gürkan had already paid the application and card fees so we didn’t need to go to the separate office to do that, like last time, and no one had mentioned about the Council Tax needing paying. I still didn’t have the earthquake insurance document either but that was being prepared for later today.
I sat outside the GOC office to wait my turn. It was a lot quieter than when I was last there and even seemed to be a bit more organised. I met Gürkan and we handed my documents in. After waiting just a few minutes, I got called in to the office where the lady had already printed off my residency renewal confirmation paper and simply asked me to sign the application form. There were no questions and I was out in less than 30 seconds of sitting down to sign. I had been granted the 2 years residency and I was really pleased. I thanked Gürkan and Dale and we left. My new residency permit (ikamet) would be issued from Ankara in a month’s time when the existing one expired and would probably arrive in the first week of May.

Back at the car, I suggested we go to get a hot drink somewhere and we were thinking of MacDonald’s but it wasn’t open yet – we’d been so efficient. Dale suggested a place he’d been before which was a bit nicer and I was happy to try it.
Big Chefs seemed like an appropriate place to go for a bit of a treat to celebrate the successful renewal. Dale ordered a protein shake while I ordered sage tea and a cheese and sucuk toastie for my breakfast. The views were great and the place very clean and relaxing. Here’s the prices, in lira, for our fancy breakfast;

Big Chefs
Sage tea 173.00
Protein shake 235.00
Toastie 390.00
Total spent 798.00 (£16.84)

I gave a cash tip and we made our way back to Dalyan as Dale had to get back for another appointment. Upon return, Edna was super excited and tried to insist on opening some wine but I said no. It was far too early in the day for celebrations and I had work to catch up on, but I did invite a few friends out later to mark the occasion.

After sorting out the dogs and cracking on with some work, I let people know I had got my 2 year residency renewal. As per usual, I hadn’t spoken to Captain Caveman, he hadn’t wished me luck for it and he didn’t respond to my update that I was successful as he was probably busy at work. I had a cheese sandwich for lunch and overnight oats as a pudding. Aytaç, the insurance man, called and had my earthquake insurance documents ready for me. It had cost 1,501.14 lira (£31.67) for the year. I nipped out to collect the document and decided to ask him to quote for our contents insurance as he had done such a good job.
That evening, I arranged to meet friends at Ren Garden for a drink to celebrate Residency Renewal success and St Patrick’s Day. I had a good evening despite the rather eclectic mix of people. I managed to drink 3 cans of Guinness but then I was getting peckish and I needed dinner. We paid the bill at Ren Garden, my 3 drinks were 600 lira (£12.63) which I was more than happy to splash out on as a treat.
One of the friends and I decided to eat at Çağrı restaurant where she just had a lentil soup with bread. I had the soup and a mushroom pide and took half of it home. I paid the bill which came to a total of 530 lira (£11.16) including a tip. When I got home, Norman had already took himself off to bed and was snoring. I’d also got a photo from one of my friends who had bought a copy of my book and it had arrived today. I spent the rest of the evening on the sofa having cuddles with the dogs and feeling relieved about my 2 year residency.

Gratitude List
1. Getting my 2 year residency renewal.
2. Having a bit of a celebration for my renewal and for St Patrick’s Day
3. Soup and pide for dinner.

Dalyan – 24th January

There was another breakthrough with Lady C on the morning of Friday 24th January, she actually came to the bin with me and walked the opposite direction to what she would usually want to go. The big cockerel wasn’t there so she wasn’t scared. I decided to attempt to list my book on Amazon again and reset my password but then it sent me a code again to a phone number I didn’t have. I decided I would look in to other options as I wasn’t an Amazon fan anyway. After my new breakfast option, which was just as good cold, I cracked on with work so that I could perhaps finish early. I was pleased for Captain Caveman that he was going to the cinema and London today, and I wished I was joining him. The last time I went to the cinema was probably to see the Barbie film in Fethiye ages ago.
At home, I noticed that the building next door, which had been demolished and rebuilt, had a concrete roof on but no metal reinforcement in. This either meant that they were not replacing the second floor or that the next floor they added would not be earthquake proof. It was apparent from speaking to some locals that the authorities were cracking down on illegal builds and structures that didn’t comply with the rules. For dinner I had made a lentil bolognese in the slow cooker which I had with some of my recently purchased Gamay wine after a nice dog walk.

Gratitude List
1. Lady C coming to the bin with me
2. Finishing work early on a Friday
3. Slow cookers and wine.

Dalyan – 18th October

Captain Caveman was at Bridge Club on the morning of Friday 18th October while I worked some more on my book. I’d had more positive feedback about all of my titles and I started to think I could perhaps put out a series of 3 (or more). I also signed my new contract and had now committed fully to being a Travel Advisor for Resort Experts. I started some lists so that I was getting organised for my new role and wrote down ideas and training requirements.
A friend who lives in Hisaranou, Steff, was also on her way to Dalyan and had messaged to say she was leaving Fethiye bus station. I’d got a Book Blueprint Masterclass with Abigail Horne, owner of Authors & Co, at 2pm so we didn’t have long until I needed to go back home for that. Captain Caveman had agreed to entertain Steff and I had drafted in my parents to help out. The idea was that they would go to the beach, I would have my one hour of online course, and then get the next bus down to join them at the beach. We all went to Kaunos tea gardens where I had just a large tea. I rushed back home and the one hour course was very good. I learned about the importance of a blueprint, talked about the difference between expository and narrative non-fiction and I realised my book(s) was going to be a mixture of both styles. I found out about the 10 step structure which was invaluable to me, and I’d already written my introduction, 13 chapter titles and had ideas for my afterward before the masterclass had ended.

On finishing the course, I messaged Steff to check she was ok and if they had got the 3pm bus to the beach, which I would miss but I could get the next one. She replied that they were still at the tea gardens and so I said I would come to them. Captain Caveman told Steff to say to stay where I was and they would come home but it was a lovely sunny day and I didn’t want to be stuck inside. Here’s what we had with prices in lira:
1 Turkish tea 15
1 coffee 50
1 cheese gözleme 150
3 Efes Malt beers at 435
2 white wine & orange juice 450
1 white wine 225
Total spent 1,325 lira (£29.64)

Instead of going to the beach, we said farewell to my parents and the 3 of us decided to go to Retro bar for some wine and cheese. We saw Nusret and Gonca while we were there and it turned out that Steff and her husband knew the new bar man there. The drinks were much more reasonably priced here and we had the following;
4 glasses of wine (with cheese) 400.00
1 Efes Malt 90.00
Total spent 490.00 lira (£10.96)

Conveniently, Captain Caveman had gone home to start making our dinner so I paid the bill then we walked round, feeling a bit chilly. Back home, Captain Caveman was making the 3 of us some pasta with meatballs and we had some drinks in the fridge.
After dinner, and a cheeky Malibu and diet coke, Steff and I went to the shop. Captain Caveman also thought it was probably unwise for her to get the bus all the way back late at night and said she could stay over. At the shop, Steff not only bought a bottle of white wine, but she got some extra snacks/crisps.
Captain Caveman polished off the snacks and fell asleep while Steff and I were chatting so I sent him to bed before us. I wasn’t sure exactly what I’d needed before Steff arrived, but we had laughed so much that the time had flown by and I’d realised I’d missed this! Because Steff and I had both been on health kicks as well as concentrating on our own careers, we were lightweights now but it was good to let our hair down. It was definitely gone midnight when we retired and I knew I would regret it in the morning.

Photo credit – some taken by Steff and Captain Caveman

Dalyan – 24th September

I helped myself to a delightful sage tea on the morning of Tuesday 24th September after feeding Norman, Edna, Coco & Bebe who were all just so cute. I was outside before the sunrise and it was really lovely to enjoy the river views at Julia’s while the dogs had a good sniff about in the garden. I’d not heard from my parents yet, but they arrived in Dalaman about 12.30am and were probably sleeping. I did finally hear from Captain Caveman and he gave me a call from The Villas in Phong Nha, where he had popped in for an early lunch. I told him I got the residency, he was pleased that I had got the result I needed. He was a bit distracted, though, as he was planning his leaving party for tonight at the floating restaurant on the Son River. It would be at 5.30pm Vietnamese time, so 1.30pm Turkish time. I told him I had some wine left so I would do a video call to join the party and do a cheers with him and everyone to commemorate leaving Oxalis. I also messaged Tatas to say I would do this and to ask her to ring me to facilitate – she agreed.
I finally got some breakfast down and noticed a great tip if you’re trying not to eat too much; all 4 dogs were always the other side of the fridge door when I opened it, or if the toaster was in use they would wait for a little morsel. They looked at me with those puppy dog eyes every time I opened that fridge door as if to ask what I was eating (again)! I sat some more outside and ate some plums.
After breakfast, while the dogs napped, I did some preparation for a course I was starting this afternoon. It was a free course on Planner Ideation with Claire Clarke, who has a business producing planners, journals and such like to enhance businesses. I thought this would be a good idea for the future if I decided to set up my own business. I was very much sure that I would be going back in to the travel industry in some way and I just needed to figure it out.

Just before I got ready to join Captain Caveman’s party from a far, I got a reply from my Mom. I’d mentioned getting together before they left for Cappadocia in a couple of days time but unfortunately she messaged to say she wasn’t sure they would have time and would have to see how things went. Obviously, I was disappointed but they were only going to be away for a week so I sent her a cute photo of Coco & Bebe. For lunch I polished off a cheese sandwich and a pot noodle, for convenience, poured myself a glass of wine and went down to the river front ready for Tatas to call me. I messaged her and Captain Caveman to let them know I was here and ready to virtually join in the celebrations. I also recorded a video as I suspected that they might be having so much fun that they would forget to call me. I was right and, after an hour of waiting, I finished the wine and went back to the house.

In the afternoon I received notification of the water bill for Captain Caveman’s apartment and it was 7 times the amount of the previous month, which was a bit of a shocker when money was tight and I’m between jobs. Apparently, the electricity and water prices had increased quite a bit recently.
At 3.30pm I attended the first session of the planner course and it was quite informative and full of ideas. This was good as it helped give me some motivation and guidance for the ideas I’d already had. By 5.30pm I was relaxing in one of the huge hammocks and assuming that Captain Caveman would now be pretty drunk. I made pasta for dinner and totted up my syns for the week, ready for weigh in tomorrow. I had consumed 394 syns so it wasn’t going to be a good result, especially as I had been out, eating and drinking with my family and while on holiday with friends over the last week.

Captain Caveman was still out drinking at stupid o’clock Vietnamese time, when Chung and Uy called me to say he was at their house. Now it was my turn to not be that interested in speaking to him as I was trying to cook and he’d forgotten earlier. After 2 sets of walkies and trying to beat the mozzie spraying vehicle back home, Bebe came to me with one of her toys for snuggles and was so cute. Norman and Edna slept in their beds but Coco and Bebe were a little more clingy while their mom was away.

Fethiye & Dalyan – 23rd September

My residency renewal appointment was at 8.30am on Monday 23rd September at the Fethiye Government office. I had enlisted the help of a friend so that I wasn’t doing it alone and at least I wasn’t on the bus as I needed to be at Julia’s straight after to look after the dogs.
When I got to the Government building, I gave my documents in to a woman and waited. After less than 15 minutes I got called in and she asked if I had paid the application fee/taxes yet. I said not and she gave me a piece of paper, with the $55 fee written on it, to go and do that. I’d been hoping I could apply for 1 year but it wasn’t to be and I could only go for 6 months. We went to the tax office and paid the fee, which was fairly quick. Back at the Government building, I gave the lady I saw before, my receipt and she granted me my residency renewal, for 6 months. I got the official piece of paper and some of my documents back. I was pleased although now it meant I would need to apply again in February for the next one and wouldn’t be able to leave the country for more than 15 days until after I got my new card at the end of April, which was an inconvenience. We walked back to the car, calling at a bag shop to get a handle fixed for my friend. Then we were off back to Dalyan, as I needed to be back for the 4 dogs. In the car, we ate the sandwiches, biscuits and mints which I had brought and then drove back.
I should have felt excited that I was able to celebrate another 6 months of legally being able to reside in Turkey. For some reason I didn’t feel that and I wasn’t sure why not. It had not cost me as much as a lot of people had been saying it would either – here’s the breakdown of what I spent the money on;

Health Insurance for 1 year 1924.20 lira
Residency application fee for 6 months $55 (1,883 lira)
New Residency card fee 565 lira
2 lots of passport biometric photos 750 lira
Post Office and eDevlet sorting 400 lira
Location check for my address on the system 500 lira

Total 6,022.20 (£132).

I was pleased that I hadn’t had to wait for a delayed Captain Caveman to return for us to pay for a new rental agreement when I could use the original one from 2019. It also turned out I hadn’t needed the other ones we had paid to translate at the notary in the subsequent years, as the original one is on a rolling 12 months anyway.

On opening the gate at Julia’s house at 11.30am, I was met by a cheeky looking Norman, who was patrolling the perimeter. All the other dogs were inside, in the AC, having a chill out. I was so glad to switch people for dogs as I messaged Jamie to let him know I got approved and that I was now back in Dalyan with some very happy dogs. For lunch I had been left a tasty bolognese that needed eating up so I reheated it and had that. Later, I popped my bikini on to have a swim in the lovely pool. I did 2 separate walks with Norman & Edna first and then with Coco & Bebe.

That evening, I relaxed with the dogs who were so cute and I ate a Sunday dinner which Jamie, Drew & Julia had left for me to eat and it was delicious. All 4 dogs wanted some but they didn’t get any as they had leftover chicken and steak saved for them.
I was so happy to be sat having cuddles with cute dogs while having a glass of red wine and some chocolate as a treat to myself for getting another 6 months residency. I was glad to know that my parents were already on their way to Dalaman airport and would be arriving after midnight tonight. I was very much looking forward to seeing them again.
I left the dogs snoozing and I walked in to town and called at the supermarket. Here’s what I bought, prices in lira;

Migros Supermarket
Gold Chocolate brownies 7.00
Milk 8.95
Soup 25.90
1 Pot noodle 19.95
Wholemeal sliced loaf 44.95
Total spent 107.00 lira (£2.35)

The rate had reached 45.6 now so this was an absolute bargain in English money.

Dalyan – 22nd September

Gayle messaged me on the morning of Sunday 22nd September asking where is good to go for Menemen and did I fancy a last breakfast with them. I don’t eat eggs and tomatoes generally so it’s not a dish I like but everyone I know who does, says that Ela’s Kitchen has the best one. Gayle said they had already been there 3 times this holiday so had wanted to try somewhere else and was thinking of Cinar. They didn’t have Menemen on their menu so we ended up at Ela’s, anyway. Beforehand, I had walked over to their’s and they had helped me bring all the rest of my stuff over from my parents’ upstairs room. My parents were arriving in a couple of days but I only had a 2 day window to get my stuff before they left for a holiday in Cappadocia.
Once at Ela’s Kitchen, one of my favourite breakfast places, Neil and Gayle both had their usual and I was extra hungry so I had a large full English (no tomatoes or eggs) and a cup of Yorkshire tea. The food was as good as always and I ate every bit of it as I was pretty peckish. The bill came to a total of 1300 lira (£28.63) for all of us so less than an English tenner each for a great breakfast.

After breakfast, Gayle & Neil were going back to get ready for leaving Dalyan tomorrow and, as I was up and off to Fethiye really early, today was the last day I would see them. They invited me to join them at Kingfisher restaurant that night but I was mindful they would probably want a romantic night by themselves. I did invite them to call in at mine for a drink before or after though, so we could say goodbye. I had really had a great time with them and I wasn’t really sure when I would see them again. I popped to the shops and picked up some essentials, including provisions for my trip to Fethiye tomorrow, prices below in lira;

Migros Supermarket
1 plastic bag 0.25
1 Quark 29.95
Water 34.90
Total spent 65.10 lira (£1.44)

Şok Supermarket
Water 9.75
Biscuits 17.00
Turkey ham 22.00
Cheese slices 28.50
Total spent 77.25 (£1.70)

Bakery
1 fresh loaf 10 lira (22p)

When I got home, I had a video call with Captain Caveman and I mentioned about me going to Fethiye tomorrow. He didn’t seem at all interested and was preoccupied with something else. He said he would call me back after he had a shower but then he forgot. I was a bit cheesed off that he had not wished me well for my appointment either. Was I maybe imagining that he really didn’t care if I got it renewed or not!?
Jamie picked me up at 6.30pm and I was outside trimming the bush that our gardener still hadn’t touched. The elusive gardening company were still experts at doing absolutely nothing and the bougainvillea was below face level for anyone going through the gate. My neighbours were older than me and had to duck beneath the spiky branches. We drove over to Julia’s so that I could pick up a key, meet her dogs and go through the requirements of what I was needed to do for the next few days of doggy care. Coco & Bebe were a little shy of me at first, while Norman & Edna were pleased to see me. Edna was a bit less giddy than usual but it was probably because she was at Aunty Julia’s house and wanted to show she was behaving better than the resident dogs! I wasn’t there long and then decided I would walk the 20 minutes back in to town, calling at the shops again on the way back. Here’s what I bought with the prices in lira;

Migros Supermarket
Dido Trio chocolate bar 13.50
Dido Lemon chocolate bar 14.00
Popcorn 21.50
Total spent 49.00 lira (£1.08)

Nova Market (used to be Selcuk Market)
1 bottle of white wine 200.00 lira (£4.41)

I was definitely noticing that, although prices had gone up a little in Dalyan, the prices for drinks and snacks in the shops were definitely cheaper here than in England and Rhodes.

I made cheese and turkey ham sandwiches for tomorrow’s trip to Fethiye, even though it should have been a short visit once there. I was preparing for if it was not straight forward as I didn’t want to be spending money on lunch out. I ate a sandwich while waiting for Gayle & Neil to pop in after their meal at Kingfisher.
When they arrived, they weren’t as merry as I had expected they might be on their last night. They had a lovely meal but said they were finished quite early and then had to sit around for a while waiting to get the boat back. We had a couple of drinks and a good laugh. We had used my parents’ shopping trolley earlier to bring some of my stuff over, so they took that back with them.
We had hugs goodbye, which is unusual as my sister is not normally one for hugs or soppy farewells. We had all had a really good time together on the occasions I had joined them and there had not been any falling out whatsoever – we were obviously maturing! I was actually very sad to see them leave and a little bit glad that I wouldn’t be able to see them drive off to the airport tomorrow at 9.30am, in case I got upset. I don’t think they wanted to leave Dalyan, having had such a great holiday but they had to get back for the dog.
I got all my documents together and set my alarm for 6am so that I could be up and ready for tomorrow’s residency renewal appointment.

Dalyan & Fethiye – 26th August

On the morning of Monday 26th August I was up and about before daylight and even got a photo of the sunrise at 6.05am. Captain Caveman was travelling to Dong Hoi to see Stu and was staying in the city. Jamie and I set off for Fethiye after a quick stop off at King Emlak. Jamie dropped me off near where I needed to be and went in to town on an errand while I walked to the Government office building. It was very busy, I went in to the office and told them I had a new passport, a man passed me the form and told me to complete it outside. I did, then went back in, pushing to the front of the queues. He got angry with me and said he needed copies of my old and new passports. I pointed out he was sat next to 2 scanner/copiers but he said no and that I had to go away, get my own copies and come back in the afternoon. I didn’t like this man, he evidently wasn’t keen on me and I left, hoping I wouldn’t get my appointment for renewal with him. Next, Jamie drove us to the Erasta shopping centre where Jamie could have a short shopping spree and I would find somewhere to get passport copies, nearby.
I was in 2 minds as to whether I should bother going back to update my new passport number. Something made me consider that I could face issues if/when I left the country next (Rhodes in just over 2 weeks) and that I should persevere with sticking to the rules. I went to LC Waikiki, a popular clothes shop, as I was desperate for some shorts that fitted me. The pair I did have fell down without unfastening the button and zip! I tried on 2 pairs which were in the sale and the Size 40 fitted me, I spent 659.98 lira (£15.35) on both pairs.
They weren’t cheaper than Primark but I’d been unable to get any there, on my last visit. I was happy and feeling in a better mood as I left the shopping centre in search of a printers. Luckily, I spotted Foto Deniz, a place where I could get my biometric photos done which I needed for my residency renewal application, anyway. It was 300 lira (£6.98) for 4 passport photos on a white background and he also took copies of my passports for free – mission completed.
By this time, it was lunch time and so there was no point going back to the Government office as they would be at lunch. Jamie and I decided to grab a drink and a sandwich at the nearest place, since he had quite a few bags!!! I have only ever seen someone with bags like that on a film, like Pretty Woman. Here’s what we had at the cafe, with the prices in lira;

Kahve Dunyasi, Erasta centre

1 bottle of water 25.00
1 Mint & lime smoothie 112.00
1 chicken caesar sandwich 140.00
1 mozzarella, tomato & pesto sandwich 145.00
Total spent 422.00 lira (£9.81)

The lunch was reasonably priced, the queue was massive and took ages. I couldn’t recommend the lime and mint smoothie which was definitely going to make me ill but the sandwiches were pretty good. It was also the place to go if you needed Ethiopian coffee beans, which seemed popular.
Back at the Government office, the nasty man I had seen that morning wasn’t working that afternoon and the lady at the next desk told me to come back tomorrow. That was not an option so I stood there until she did my change of passport number. It took seconds once she started it and I checked it was processed on the computer after hearing stories of others still finding it had the old number when doing their residency.
We drove back to Dalyan and I was very grateful that Jamie had been kind enough to invite me a long. I was back at my parents’ place by 4pm and it looked like most of the neighbours had gone home. A couple of cats sat on the step looking for food and wondering where everyone was. I had been at this apartment for 2 weeks now and still hadn’t had chance to go in the pool, I noted that I would this week while it was still really hot.
For dinner, I made myself a mushroom risotto which tasted fantastic, if I do say so myself! I was in bed by 10pm having had a busy and tiring, but productive, Monday.

Dalyan – 25th August

I took it easy on Sunday 25th August, I did some work and didn’t get much of a lay in. I had and amazing fresh fruit salad for breakfast with a Yorkshire tea. At lunch, time I made a cheese and lettuce sandwich on wholemeal bread (no butter) and researched what I needed to do in preparation for my residency renewal application. Jamie had offered to take me to Fethiye tomorrow to update the passport number at the Government office and I’d said yes.
In the afternoon, once I had finished work, Captain Caveman called me from Victory Road Villas in Phong Nha, while he had a beer and a pizza. He’d finished his last Son Doong cave tour and was planning his departure from Phong Nha once any loose ends had been tied up. He would take a bit of a holiday in Vietnam to see and say bye to friends before he booked a flight to Turkey.
In the evening, I made a bit of a strange concoction for dinner; I cooked pasta with chickpeas, tomatoes, marmite, tomato puree, garlic, mushrooms, peppers, chicken and a small amount of sucuk (Turkish salami). It was also another zero spend day and I was pleased to not have had any alcohol either. My will power was holding up as long as I didn’t go out but that was fine for now.

Dalyan – 1st & 2nd February

Thursday 1st February was a busy day; the Aussies were leaving Dalyan early the next day and heading to Rhodes. They wanted to have a Turkish breakfast before they left and so it had already been booked in that I would join them, Mark and Kate at Melekanne, a restaurant by the river. I’d only been a couple of times before but had been disappointed, so had not been back for well over a year. Lots of people had recommended it so I decided to give it another go, however we agreed for us to meet there after my Zumba class, rather than before.
Zumba class was good and I mentioned I was rushing off to go for breakfast at Melekanne to a few of the ladies. It was too late to change our minds but I got told the prices were shocking for what you get and that the breakfast isn’t that good. I tend not to react well to Turkish breakfast as it’s either food I don’t like or food that doesn’t like me. As I’d been doing Slimming World I’d started to get better with my intolerances so I decided I’d go for it. It was the Aussies last meal in Dalyan and worth a little celebration.
The Melekanne breakfast was 300 lira (£7.73) each which is more expensive than some other places but we did have nice views and were sat in the sun. Amanda, Greg and I ordered the Turkish breakfast, Mark ordered a hamburger and Kate ordered an omelette. There were plenty of chips (with and without yoghurt), cheese rolls, cheese, tomato, cucumber, marmalade, jam, chilli dip, fried eggs, olives, bread and lots of tea. In other places a Turkish breakfast can be hard to finish but the portion size here was not too big. Mark’s burger was all sauce and very messy, Kate didn’t rate her omelette which came with a tiny amount of chips so she had to have some from our breakfast. Mark and Kate’s bill was 590 lira (£15.21) which included 2 coffees and a juice. Quite unexpectedly, I had no bad reaction whatsoever to what I ate. Admittedly I only had bread, cheese, a cheese roll, olives and chips but I was pleased I wasn’t ill. Mark and Kate left to go run some errands but the Aussies wanted to try the new coffee shop in town. Mono & More is owned by Ercan, aka Mario, from Spice Garden and people were talking about how good the coffee was. I don’t drink coffee or frequent coffee shops but thought it would be good to have a look. The place has been decorated really well and it looked nice. We met Jill, their neighbour, there and while the others had some fancy coffee, she and I had a hot chocolate. It was very nice and probably full of sugar and syns, but only 60 lira (£1.55).
Our next stop was Ozzy’s, where they had started doing food. There had been a post on Facebook, from Ozzy, to let everyone know and he’d put a photo of some chips for attention. They were crinkle cut and it got a lot of comments that they were or weren’t frozen. Ozzy had said they weren’t frozen, I believed him, but we had to go and give them a test. Mark and Kate joined us and Kate helped us test the chips too. I had a couple of the chips, they weren’t frozen, and they were good. They also do a beer plate, which I took a photo of but didn’t eat, which was popular with customers.
I had a couple of wines in Ozzy’s which came to 220 lira (£5.67) and was home by 8pm, having said bye to Amanda and Greg. I had a burger for dinner at home then an early night as I had work in the morning.

For breakfast on Friday 2nd February I had dried figs, an apple and a cup of Yorkshire tea. Then I got on with work for the morning, not noticing that I had got a missed call and a text from Greg. They had taken a taxi to Fethiye for a ferry they had booked with Sky Marine, only to find that there was no Sky Marine ferry. They were calling me for help as to what to do, unfortunately when I’m working I put my phone on do not disturb. There was another ferry company and they got that one but I later noticed they had put some angry posts on Facebook about it. I looked at Sky Marine ferries website and the ferries were not running in February so I’m not sure how that had happened. For lunch I had veggie pasta and a quick call from Captain Caveman. He’d just got out of Son Doong with Martin Garrix (a famous Dutch DJ) and Lando Norris (a famous F1 racing driver). We had a quick catch up and he said he would try to call me later.
I carried on with work with the waft of a homemade soup in the slow cooker, I was trying cauliflower, leek and courgette.
I had another break from work in the late afternoon when Captain Caveman video called me with Martin, Lando and their fellow cave trip members on the call. I got to ask what they thought of the tour, they said it was beyond amazing and the best week of their life!!! I didn’t get to ask my other 10 questions in person but Captain Caveman said that they would send the replies later. I was so pleased that they had called however, it meant I had to work until 8pm because of the time for the phonecalls. I had chocolate and some jellies to keep me going until I logged off the laptop.
For dinner I tried the soup with some potato wedges, it wasn’t my favourite meal.
Later, I got the answered questions I’d sent to Lando and I was so pleased, it had made my day. I’d also spent zero money today, in an attempt to get back on track with the budget. I went to bed in a good mood and looking forward to the weekend.

Lardos to Dalyan – 15th October

On Sunday 15th October I woke up without a hangover, which was quite a surprise. We sorted out the remainder of our laundry, which had been hung out to dry, and Captain Caveman went to get some much needed water as we had none in the house. We decided to pack all our stuff and leave the traditional Greek house earlier to go for a hot drink/breakfast rather than go to come back again. Our ferry from Rhodes to Fethiye wasn’t until 4pm but we needed to be there for 3pm to get our tickets. I got a message from Steve at 10.40am to say he would send us our ferry tickets shortly. We left the house just after 11am and went to the bakery and Cuckoo’s Nest for everyone (except me) to get pastries and coffee. Even though I no longer have gluten intolerances, I still avoid pastries before travelling as I always get a dodgy tum. I did buy a sandwich to take with me for when we got to Rhodes Town though. Steve and Michelle joined us for a coffee and to say their goodbyes, not knowing exactly when we would see them again but the ferries were going to be running in the winter months. Taxis in Rhodes are extremely expensive and would not have comfortably fitted 4 adults and all our luggage in so we had opted for the pretty reliable public transport option. The bus cost us €5.60 (£4.71) each to get to Rhodes Town and was meant to take 2 hours.
We got in to town before 2pm and decided to go straight to the port rather than messing around. It was a bit of a walk but we took it steady as the weather was nice and we were in no rush. At the port, it was the busiest I’d ever seen it and there was no available seating. Eventually we got a seat, I got the tickets and I managed to eat my sandwich around 3pm.
It was a long trip back to Dalyan, especially as we took the decision to go all the way by public transport after our usual taxi guy, failed to respond to messages. The ferry crossing was fine and quite relaxing, we took a short but speedy taxi ride to the bus station only to find that a bus to Ortaca was already in. Captain Caveman ran ahead to get on with us rushing to keep up with him. We got on and paid the less than £2.50 fare each to get to Ortaca, about an hour away. The bus ride wasn’t too pleasant, it was rather cold with the windows open plus I soon needed the loo. When we got to Ortaca the bus to Dalyan was in so Captain Caveman was keen to hurry to get it but we had a falling out when I said I didn’t care if we missed it. Even after a pitstop for Mom and I to go for a pee, we still managed to catch the Dalyan bus that was waiting but I had to squidge on to the back seat with a nice Turkish family. It was cold and rain was coming in the open window so we were all glad to finally get off at Dalyan where Captain Caveman had a cunning plan. He needed to redeem himself for us all being so hungry and thirsty but yet being in Dalyan with all our luggage at gone 8.30pm.
Since leaving Lardos at 12 we had not stopped and my parents hadn’t eaten since that pasty for breakfast at 11.30am. Captain Caveman would take our bags home while my parents, their bags and I would go to Duble restaurant and order some food. I think my dad was a bit too tired because he couldn’t decide what to have and said there was nothing he liked despite going to Duble a few times and enjoying it. By the time Captain Caveman got back we still hadn’t ordered either. Mom chose chicken and mushroom pasta, Dad went for a chicken shish he didn’t really fancy and Captain Caveman and I both ordered the same; lentil soup and liver starters as a main. Dad and Captain Caveman ordered alcoholic beverages but Mom and I could not face booze after last night. The food was excellent and Ma insisted that she paid for the meal which was very good of them. It was easily after 10pm as we headed home, Captain Caveman took my parents case to their’s for them so there was no chance of either of them struggling with it on the stairs.

Dalyan to Lardos – 6th October

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

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

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

Rhodian Ballet

The audience participation was great

Dalyan – 1st to 4th October

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

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

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

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

Dalyan & Fethiye – 28th September

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

Rhodes, Fethiye & Dalyan – 19th & 20th September

On Tuesday 19th September Michelle made us all a sausage and mushroom breakfast wrap which was so good, then we got on with work. Steve booked in some training so that he could give me a new task, working on UK social media. Because he and Michelle were playing catch up on work since their holiday, they were busy with lots to do.
For my last night in Rhodes, Michelle made a delicious veggie curry and I went to the shop for some ciders. €8.70 (£7.63) for 6 Milokleftis was much cheaper than going to the bar so I was happy with that. It did mean that this week I had consumed 227 syns and had very little chance of having lost any weight on weigh-in day tomorrow! I’d enjoyed my stay looking after Xena and the cats – I’d finally remembered all the names of each cat now, much to Winnie’s disgust that it took me so long!

It was time to leave Lardos on Wednesday 20th September and I was ready to get back to Dalyan. I love looking after pets, especially as we aren’t able to have our own, but I was definitely looking forward to having a little break from it, maybe even that elusive lay-in on a morning. I got on the scales to find I had lost 0.2kg this week, not bad considering the booze I’d had in the last 2 days. My measurements were also good; no change to my bust, 3cm off my waist and 1cm from my hips.
I had 2 options to get to my ferry but I chose to take the bus. It would have been almost a 3 hour round trip for Michelle to drive there and back, during the working day and she was pretty busy. I decided I would get the 10am bus which takes 2 hours to Rhodes Town and then take my time getting to the port.
I said my goodbyes to Steve and Michelle as well as Xena and the cats that were around, before walking to the bus stop in the village square. The bus was due at 10am but it didn’t arrive until 10.13am and the journey cost just €5.60 (£4.91). The bus wasn’t too full and the AC was working so it was quite a pleasant journey and we arrived in Rhodes Town at noon.

I walked, in the hot sun, towards the port, taking a diversion in to the old town to go get some lunch. I decided to go to Nimmo’s where I’ve been before and isn’t too far from the port. I had a litre bottle of water as I was pretty thirsty when I got there, then ordered a pork souvlaki for lunch as it would be the last time I ate pork for a few weeks. I decided to have a glass of red wine to wash down my lunch and this is what I paid:
1l water 3.90
Pork Souvlaki 10.60
1 glass of red wine 3.10
Tip 2.40
Total spent €20.00 (£17.53)

My ferry was at 4.30pm but I had to get there an hour before to collect the ticket, the crossing was fine and took around 2 hours in total. I bought Jamie a bottle of Tanqueray Gin as they didn’t have any sherry for another friend and it’s much cheaper than in Dalyan. I’d arranged to meet Stef at the Erasta shopping centre in Fethiye when I arrived so I walked to the big Migros, stopping to get some Turkish delight on the way for less than £1 at Tuğba.
Stef was in good spirits and we talked about me setting up my own business over a hot beverage in a café. I eventually got the bus back to Dalyan and was absolutely exhausted by the time I got home at 11.45pm.