On Monday 9th October I worked a full day at Steve and Michelle’s. When we finished work, Michelle decided she would drive me to Rhodes Town, instead of me getting the bus. We went to Gyro and Burger in Afandou on our way, where the food is always great. This time both Steve and I had the burgers and Michelle had the Gyros, all of which were very tasty and big portions. I was conscious we still had a car journey to go so I took the rest of my burger with me. For 3 soft drinks and the 3 meals it came to €23.90 (£20.90).
I said bye to Michelle and Steve who dropped me right across the road from Kahlua Apartments – it was raining. Our holiday plans included coming back to Lardos so we would meet up again very soon. I went upstairs to the reception area only to realise I needed to check-in at the shop downstairs. Back down in the very well stocked shop I got given the keys to both rooms and a nice gentleman showed me round one of them. I decided Captain Caveman and I would take the one with the single beds on the top floor, giving my parents the room nearer to reception, with a double bed. I ate the rest of my cheese burger and had a brief lay down.
When everyone arrived, it was almost 10pm so we decided to go to the Mexican place round the corner for beers and snacks. I was that excited to see everyone that I forgot to take any photos. We all had a big Alpha beer each then ordered some food, I had a fish taco without chillies and it was great. Mom said her burrito was excellent too. We had more big Alpha beers before paying our bill, which came to €70.50 (£60.41), beers were €5 (£4.28) each. We had a walk to a bar not far from where we were staying and called for a nightcap; red wine for Captain Caveman and I, gin & tonic for Ma and brandy and lemonade for Dad. We chose Koykos bar as we had been there before with Jamie, Drew & Nanny Kay and it was nice but it was quite dimly lit and already after midnight. We paid €27 (£23.14) for our 4 drinks and walked back to the hotel for some sleep. Captain Caveman slept in the furthest away bed from me so I wouldn’t touch him and his shingles. He was feeling better but still had a scabby rash so we didn’t want to chance me catching it.
I had a bit of a sleep in on Saturday 7th October and did a bit of work in the afternoon from Steve and Michelle’s. They were working for some of the weekend too but had some people to see in Afandou. I got dropped off at a bar where I caught up on some blog editing while drinking peach iced tea and eating a bacon sandwich – I couldn’t remember when I last had one!
That evening we went to Lindos to meet a friend of Steve and Michelle’s and they introduced me to one of their favourite eateries, Mario’s. They were so enthusiastic about the Thai style curry sauce that all 3 of them ordered it with their pork or chicken. Being a bit fussy with my food, I couldn’t bring myself round to ordering the two together so I settled for just a pork chop with chips and salad. When the food came I had a dip of the sauce and it was incredible. I then had to order an extra portion of curry sauce as it was just so good.
Back in Lardos, to say it got a bit messy was probably an understatement. We ended up meeting Mark, Maria, Lu, Az, Hannah and some other friends of their’s. We drank in the bars around Lardos square and Steve decided it would be a good idea to drink shots (it wasn’t). We spent a small fortune that night and it got a bit out of hand, Steve borrowed a pineapple off the bar and we didn’t get home until around 4.45am.
As you can probably imagine, Sunday 8th October was pretty uneventful for me! I spent most of the day feeling very ‘tired’ while Steve and Michelle went visiting friends and work contacts. I was happy for a day off and was looking forward to seeing Captain Caveman and my parents tomorrow night. Captain Caveman had booked us 2 rooms at Kahlua Apartments in Rhodes Town and he sent me screen shots so I could work out how to get there from the bus station. Michelle had offered to drive me, after work, but it seemed easier to get the bus as I’d done it before. I fed the animals while Steve and Michelle were out but had gone to bed before they returned home. Meanwhile, my parents were getting ready to fly from Manchester to Rhodes and Captain Caveman was enjoying his last night in Naples.
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
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.
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.
Xena and I had our last walk together on Sunday 17th September, she was feeling better but I threw away the pork bone from Valantina’s as I didn’t want to chance giving her it. After my bran flakes for breakfast, I spent most of the morning getting prepared for Steve and Michelle returning that night. At lunch time I ate the macaroni cheese snackpot, some pitta, hummus and Baba Ghanoush before taking myself off for a walk. It was too hot for Xena’s paws and quite warm for me but I went to Alapou wine store. I had 1 glass of great wine from the taster menu and also bought 2 bottles of wine to take home with me. One was a present for Steve’s birthday, a nice Merlot recommended by the owner, the other bottle was a cheaper rosé wine for me to drink, also recommended. On my way home I bought a big sandwich and a cheese pastry from the bakery at a bargain €3.70 (£3.24) – that was my dinner with half of the bottle of rosé! Steve and Michelle arrived back from an amazing time in Switzerland and we had some nice cheese, charcuterie and, of course, more wine. Xena was so pleased to have her parents back too! Steve and Michelle had bought me gifts; a bottle of Black Sheep Greek red wine and a giant Toblerone which was very kind.
We’d gone to bed at gone midnight, Steve and Michelle were back in their bedroom and I was on the comfy sofa bed in the living room. At 2.30am on Monday 18th September Bob, the cat, decided he was going to start climbing all over me, then he sat on me and just stared. I did eventually get back to sleep but then I was awake once everyone else stirred. We all worked that day and, while Steve and Michelle went to the bakery for their lunch sandwiches, I had hummus, pitta and Baba Ghanoush at home. We finished work before 6pm then Michelle drove the 3 of us to Flyers in Pefkos. I was also tagging along on the big shop near Faliraki, about an hour away in the car. I decided to use the cash machine to get out some euros so that I could buy some provisions and maybe some pork products to take back to Dalyan. Unfortunately, I didn’t realise until later, but the machine kept my card – great! We did the big shop, I spent €17.44 (£15.29) on cheese, salami, gluten free pork sausages and coconut milk powder while my hosts bought a massive trolley full of stuff, including lots of pet food. On the drive back we stopped at Gyros & Burgers in Afandou. Steve had a burger, Michelle and I had the Pork gyros and all the food was super tasty and they have ultra clean and well decorated toilets.
I don’t know if it was because Xena knew that Captain Caveman was leaving or that she had eaten something she shouldn’t have, but we were woken up at 4am on Friday 15th September with her being sick on the bedroom floor. She seemed fine after that but I decided to keep my eye on her today and not give her any of the leftovers or the bone from Valantina’s. At 6.30am we were at the bakery getting a sandwich for Captain Caveman to take with him on his 2 hour bus ride to Diagoras airport in Rhodes. The bus was at 7am so we said our goodbyes and, of course, I was sad to be parting ways again but it made sense for me to stay in Turkey while Captain Caveman spent the rest of his 41 days out of Turkey. Money was tight and I needed to work so there was no point me going with Captain Caveman, spending more money.
I took Xena for a walk, she was a bit sad and didn’t want to go far so we just did the short walking route which Steve had suggested. I had grapes, a peach and some yoghurt for breakfast and then worked from 11am to 4.15pm with breaks in between. This meant I had already worked a bit of my time from next week. When I went to take some washing in, I noticed that someone had put some discarded takeaway food on to the terrace for the cats to eat. It looked greasy and smelled disgusting so I removed it and threw it away. Apollo was not happy with that decision and had a face on with me. When I fed the cats the Friskies, they went mental for it, apparently it’s got something in it that makes it very moreish. For my dinner I made egg fried rice which I had with some left over pork, onion and potatoes – it was very nice. Xena had snuggles as she was missing Captain Caveman and we had a quiet Friday night in. She wasn’t sick again but I wanted to stay in with her, just in case.
I was looking forward to sleeping in on Saturday 16th September but at 4.15am Xena was sick again. Trixie knew Xena was out of sorts so we all got on the sofa in the living room for cuddles. It was just bile but I was worried and decided to just walk her a short way around the block at 7am. By 7.30am we were back and Xena was hiding behind a tree in the garden while I watered the plants. Before 10am I had a video call with Captain Caveman who was concerned if Xena was ok too and came on the phone to talk to her. Later, I decided to nip to the shops to stock up on things to take back to Turkey, as well as a few provisions to tide me over at Steve and Michelle’s for the next few days. I spent almost €18 (£16) on Teriyaki sauce, Sweet & Sour sauce, bacon lardons, cereal, pitta bread, crisps, plums and snackpots – using the rest of the cash Euros I had left. Aside from that quick shop, I stayed close to Xena and kept an eye on her. For dinner I ate the mushroom snackpot, some crisps, bran flakes and a couple of plums. I watched a bit of TV but had an early night.
It was Captain Caveman’s last day in Rhodes on Thursday 14th September, as he was catching a flight to the UK tomorrow. He would spend a month in Europe, seeing family and friends and I hoped to meet him in Italy if work and funds allowed. I still had another 5 days in Rhodes then I was going back to Dalyan. He took Xena on her last morning walk with him and I knew they were going to miss each other. Our first job of the day was to go to buy the pet food. I’d consulted with Steve who had told us which ones to get. The big supermarket they go to, near Faliraki, has it much cheaper than a local supermarket but we had no option as there was very little left. At ABC Supermarket we bought the following: Fairy Liquid 2.79 2 x Dog food 3.74 2kg Friskies Cat food 10.70 Total Spent €17.23 (£15.04)
After shopping, we saw Mark and Maria, in Memories bar sat having a coffee so we went to join them. I ordered a juice but Captain Caveman ordered an Alpha beer! By 12.30pm we had been for a walk to find the house Captain Caveman had booked for us and my parents when they come to visit next month. It was very close to the village centre and looked like it would be a lovely Airbnb so I was pleased. Next, we went to Cuckoo’s Nest for coffee (I had water) with Louise and Mark. It was Steve’s birthday today so we took a photo to send to him. Captain Caveman had been trying to have pistachio ice-cream since being in Lardos but they never seemed to have any. Today they did, on his last day, so he had one and I had a lemon sorbet. Back home we had bread, hummus and Baba Ghanoush for lunch and we had plans to celebrate our last night together for a while, with a meal out. We didn’t have much money between us so we didn’t want to go mad. In Rhodes I can’t change lira and some places won’t accept my Turkish bank card.
We started our evening out with Mojitos at Cuckoo’s Nest and for some reason my Turkish bank card does not like the machine there as it wouldn’t work. Captain Caveman had to pay using the last of our cash Euros, aside from his bus fare to the airport tomorrow. We had a gorgeous meal that evening at one of my favourite restaurants in Rhodes, Valantina’s. Here’s what we had with the prices in Euros; 1 cheese balls starter 7.50 1 Moussaka 11.50 1 Tomahawk pork steak 15.90 2 Carafes of red wine 16.00 Total spent €50.90 (£44.43)
My pork steak and all the trimmings was amazing and I think Captain Caveman wished he’d had that, even though his moussaka was nice, just not as big a portion. Valantina’s was definitely on the list for when my parents visited Lardos too. The complimentary pomegranate ouzo shots went down well and we wandered home feeling satisfied, with some leftovers for me and Xena. We decided to finish off the night watching a bit of Jimmy Car on Netflix but Captain Caveman fell asleep.
I’d done all my working hours for the week so on Wednesday 13th September I had the day off. Both Captain Caveman and I went on the walk with Xena. She was getting a bit better at walking on the lead with us, she still pulled me quite a bit and I’m sure she would have no recall whatsoever if we took her off the lead. Captain Caveman had wanted to take her with us to the beach but it would be too hot and we didn’t really know how she would behave if it was busy. We had not been on the beach yet so preferred to explore by ourselves first. As it was Fat Club day, both Captain Caveman and I had got on the scales to see how we were doing. I was 1.4kg lighter than last week, had put 2cm on my bust, 1cm on my hips but had lost 1cm from my waist. Captain Caveman had lost 0.6kg so we had both done well and it showed that we had been eating healthier meals and drinking less alcohol, on the whole. We had the rest of the tortilla for breakfast, just before 8am but then decided to have a second breakfast when we got to the coffee shop on the way to the beach. We both had a chocolate croissant, Captain Caveman had a double espresso and I had an earl grey tea. The total cost for this was €11.50 (£9.97) but it was very nice.
By 11am we had walked along a very shingly beach and had a paddle. I had sore feet so we decided to stop for a drink and a sit down at Kanaloa Beach Bar, Lothiarika, which looked a bit fancy. They had a sign saying you could use their comfy looking sun beds and order food and drink from the beach waiters for a service fee of €14 (£12.13) and I made a note that this might suit my parents when they visited next month. We ordered 2 mojitos which were very well made and refreshing at a cost of €16 (£13.86) for both.
Our next stop off was a short stroll inland to a local Greek restaurant called Taverna Periklis, which probably had the cleanest toilets I had ever been in. We had a lovely lunch and here are the prices we paid in Euros; 1 bottle of water 1.90 1 Alpha Beer 4.10 1 Fig, walnut & pomegranate salad 9.40 1 Beef Stifado 15.90 Total Spent €31.30 (£27.12)
Captain Caveman had planned a bit of a treat after lunch and had decided we were going to walk a different route back, but one that would incorporate a trip to a wine store. Obviously, I was definitely up for a visit to the wine shop which sold wine by the glass too. As those of you are familiar with Captain Caveman’s walks will be, it was not straight forward. Within 20 minutes we were lost and he wouldn’t admit that the road on the map was not actually a road, it was barely a path and the amount of sleeping goats and their droppings were evidence enough to me that we were not on the right track. Our first argument in Lardos was quite a big one while I stood under an olive tree, trying to get some shade in the height of the afternoon sun. Captain Caveman walked around the perimeter of the fenced field we had found ourselves in and I applied sun cream to my face, neck, arms and legs which were already covered in dust from the ‘road’ we were walking on. He came back and explained that he was definitely still correct with his directions but as I was complaining so much we would try an alternative way – how considerate!
I wouldn’t like to be complaining too much but in the interests of painting the best picture I can of our walk back, I will give you a short timeline based on the photos I took and you can be the judge of whether I was being mardy and unreasonable.
•12.56pm we left Taverna Periklis
•1.09pm we reached a gate which I interpreted as meaning the road was closed
•1.15pm I am under a tree while Captain Caveman looks for the way out
•1.54pm we pass a ‘road’ that I had refused to walk down, after I had to have a wee on an open hill and drank all of the water we had brought
•2.01pm I see a fig on a tree and tell Captain Caveman to pick it for me, it was not ripe yet and he ended up with his hand covered in a sticky residue which I thought was quite amusing – Captain Caveman not quite so much!
•2.15pm we have arrived at the wine shop, I’m purpley-red, smelly and quite dirty. We both use the bathroom and order a wine from the tasting menu
•2.18pm normal service has been resumed and we have a glass of wine
•2.47pm Captain Caveman has bought us a bottle of the wine I was tasting to make up for us ‘not getting lost’.
The Wine Store, called Alapou, was brilliant and we had a nice chat with the owners, after I had apologised for the state of me and we knew we would definitely be back again. The wine was €13.80 (£11.96) and went down a treat with our sausage pasta for dinner. In the evening we attempted to watch American Made with Tom Cruise in, but I had got the wrong end of the stick and thought it was a film about a cleaning lady from the USA as I didn’t see the opening credits.
I worked from 8.30am to 11.30 am on Monday 11th September, while Captain Caveman went shopping and prepared meals. Here is what he bought at the shops with prices in Euros; ABC Supermarket 1 orange pepper 1.16 Orange juice 1.29 Mayonnaise 1.99 Grapes 2.08 Baba Ghanoush 2.50 Hummus 2.50 Eggs 2.69 Spaghetti 3.04 Cheese 3.12 Total Spent €20.37 (£17.65)
After a quick break to let Xena on the garden, check on the cats and discuss meal plans for today, I was back at work until 1pm. I had a chicken wrap for lunch with chicken, rocket and a bit of cheese then got back to work until 6pm. At 6.30pm we went to the pharmacy and to buy another notebook and pen. Here’s what I bought from the chemist, who was super helpful and offered advice on how to get rid of my eczema (which was definitely getting worse on my back): Paracetamol tablets 2.00 Aerolin Inhaler 2.20 Imodium tablets 4.51 Aloe Vera Gel 12.00 14 Farviron Tablets 20.94 Total Spent €41.65 (£36.09)
I’d ran out of Aloe Vera gel, which I buy much cheaper in Dalyan and use to soothe my eczema so we had to pay the price. The medication to treat the eczema is an anti-fungal tablet, usually used to treat thrush. The chemist told me it was expensive but would definitely work so I took his advice and got it. This was probably the most expensive medication I had ever purchased. I had no idea how much it would be over the counter in England but I did think the inhaler was very cheap. On the way home we called in to the supermarket to cost up dog and cat food as we were running out and we decided to take photos and ask Steve and Michelle which would be best, before buying any. We weren’t flush and didn’t want to be wasting money unnecessarily, I also thought we had an extra cat as Steve had mentioned they had 13 but I was convinced there was 14.
We had a couple of drinks at Yamas Bar and then went home for a cat count to check that I wasn’t feeding one extra. Captain Caveman made a pasta with pesto sauce for dinner which was very tasty and I was getting used to having my chef back. I put the aloe vera gel on, took the first of the 14 tablets and hoped the €21 had been worth it. We were going to watch another film but it was getting late so we went to bed after pet cuddles.
I worked 9am to 4pm on Tuesday 12th September, with breaks for lunch and pet checking. I had buttered toast and a cup of tea for breakfast, once Captain Caveman and Xena had come back from their walk and the cats had all been fed. We had a bit of a picnic style lunch with all of the stuff we had in the fridge. At 6pm I had got myself involved in a cat photo identification parade as I tried to work out which cat was which and who the extra one was. I had already eliminated Billy Big Bollocks from next door who came to bully Steve and Michelle’s cats and try to steal their food – he was not included in the total amount of cats. In the end, it turned out I was correct about the number of cats that Steve and Michelle were responsible for, but it was 13 plus Billy Big Bollocks who they sometimes feed but I hadn’t been! I’d been thinking that Winnie and the Bella Lookalike were different cats but they were actually the same one! For dinner Captain Caveman made chicken fajitas with wraps and they were very good. We watched Ted Bundy & the Green River Killer later on but that was also a bit of a let-down and Captain Caveman fell asleep this time.
We both had a walk with Xena on Saturday 9th September, then had tortilla for breakfast, which Captain Caveman had made previously. We didn’t have any lunch and for dinner we decided to splash out €16 (£13.84) on a pizza from Roulas. The takeaway was really nice and we even had some left for tomorrow. I only took photos of the animals today for some reason.
Sunday 10th September was spent having a lovely day together and a bit of sightseeing on my day off. We walked Xena for about an hour, saw donkeys and the sunrise on our way. We stopped off at the bakery for croissants and Xena could hardly wait for Captain Caveman to come back from the counter while I held her outside. When we got home, the pets were fed, plants watered and a little snooze was had by Xena.
At 2pm Captain Caveman and I got the bus to Lindos, €1.80 (£1.56) each for the one way trip. I surprised Captain Caveman by getting off a stop earlier than the Lindos bus station so that we could walk through Lindos without walking down Cardiac Hill. We decided to call for a drink at Eklekton, where they have a lovely roof top bar and nice staff. We ended up having 2 ciders and 2 beers, served with tortilla chips for €18 (£15.58).
We had a walk through the winding streets of Lindos, which are not dissimilar to those of Santorini and bumped in to an English man who recommended Rainbird Bar. The bar has lovely views over Lindos beach below but our view got somewhat spoiled when a half-naked, old, fat Greek man sat right in front of us. We paid €9.50 (£8.23) for a large Alpha beer and a Miloklefti cider. Walking back, this time up Cardiac Hill, I had another funny episode where I could feel an asthma attack coming on so I had to walk really slowly while taking really slow, deep breaths. Once I was at the top of the hill I was fine and Captain Caveman reminded me I needed to go to the pharmacy to get an inhaler.
We got the bus back and decided to call for one in Yamas Bar on the way home. Dinner of chicken, salad and potatoes was done by Captain Caveman and it tasted very nice. We watched The Gray Man on Netflix but I think I may have fallen asleep or found it boring as I couldn’t tell you what it was about.
While Captain Caveman continued to be on dog walking and meal preparation tasks, I got on with work on Friday 8th September. I was only working in the morning with it being the weekend and I had almost finished my hours by 12.15pm when I stopped for lunch. Captain Caveman had made a halloumi cheese salad with onion which was very nice and diet friendly. It was too hot to take Xena for an afternoon walk, she would have burned her paws, so we had to let her out in the garden where she loved trying to play with the cats.
That evening, we got the bus to Flyers in Pefkos so there was no dinner to be cooked. At 5.30pm, after pet feeding, we walked to Yamas Bar for a cheeky drink while we waited for the bus. Captain Caveman had a beer, I had a Miloklefti cider and then the bus came and we had to make a run for it. The bus was €1.80 (£1.56) each for the one way trip and we planned to get a taxi back later. As luck would have it, it was happy hour at Dapapa Bar so we popped in to see Hannah and have a pre-dinner drink. Captain Caveman had an espresso martini and I had a pornstar martini for €11 (£9.54) in total. They were very nice and it was good to say hello and ‘Happy Birthday’ to Hannah, who was celebrating with a party later.
We arrived at Flyers just after 6.30pm where Steve and Michelle had kindly booked us in, and paid our deposit, for their famous Greek Night. We were given a choice of tables and we decided to go up to the top section. We ended up next to a big group from Sheffield and ordered a couple of beers. The meal on Greek Night is a set dinner, so we had pitta with a tzatziki dip and a Greek salad to start with. We ordered a carafe of red wine to go with it and got stuck in. The bread is my favourite so, once again, the diet was on hold. The main course was a huge plate of meat (chicken, pork and lamb) with a heap of french fries which tasted a bit like the ones at MacDonald’s. We were impressed at the portion sizes and couldn’t eat it all – I should have brought my Tupperware box with me.
The Rhodian Ballet, and a singer with musicians were the evening’s entertainment and they were fantastic. I even joined in on the group dancing, without injuring myself! Our bill came to €49 (£42.39) and we had a lovely evening.
We returned back to Dapapa’s for a nightcap of red wine, a very generous portion, and our bill for 4 glasses was just €16 (£13.84). We bumped in to Louise and Mark and had a really fun night before getting a lift back with Mark to Memories Bar in Lardos for a cheeky extra nightcap.
Captain Caveman and I had established roles by Thursday 7th September; I was in charge of cats, pet feeding, garden watering and working while Captain Caveman was responsible for laundry, dog walking and preparing lunch and dinner. Xena absolutely loves Captain Caveman and she was so much calmer under his watch, it was cute to see them together. I had a banana and a cup of tea for breakfast, he had some sausage/tomato and sourdough combo. For lunch we had Baba Ghanoush, hummus and pita bread. For dinner it was pasta again followed by peaches with yoghurt. I worked from 8am to 5.55pm with breaks in between. There was more after work shopping and here are the items we got, with prices in Euros:
ABC Supermarket Bag 0.15 Blue Cheese 1.80 Halloumi 3.32 Chicken 11.92 Total Spent €17.19 (£14.94)
The other supermarket Bag 0.12 Mushrooms 0.61 Potatoes 0.88 Peppers 1.53 Eggs 1.53 Pesto 3.68 Total Spent €8.35 (£7.25)
Because I got a bit peckish in between meals I ended up eating some biscuits from the cupboard which were not diet friendly but I did only consume 14 syns, making it a total of 31 syns so far this week.
Wednesday 6th September was a much less hectic day. Captain Caveman and I started the day with a short walk round the block with Xena, the dog. We did 4km and were back home before 8am, for me to get ready for work and to feed the cats. As it was Fat Club day back in Dalyan, I got weighed on Steve and Michelle’s scales to find I was 1.3kg lighter than when I was last here, a month ago. Captain Caveman was 1.5kg more than last time. My measurements weren’t so good though, as I had lost 2cm from my bust but put on 4cm on my waist and 1cm on my hips. For breakfast we were rather naughty and had croissants from the Lardos bakery on the way back from ABC Supermarket. Here’s what we bought at the supermarket and the prices in Euros: Bag 0.15 Tomatoes 0.62 Pasta 0.79 Potatoes 0.89 Red Onions 1.03 Peaches 1.85 Hummus 2.37 Baba Ghanoush 2.50 Yoghurt 3.54 Gluten Free Sausages 4.58 Coffee 5.31 Total Spent €23.63 (£20.53)
As expected, the shopping basket in Rhodes is more expensive than what I’m used to in Turkey, but it wasn’t ridiculous. After working for a couple of hours, I had a break for lunch with Captain Caveman, we had salad with the hummus and Baba Ghanoush and some lovely sourdough, also from the bakery. I went back to work until 6.15pm then had a break and another walk. On the way back home we called at a different supermarket to buy the following: Washing Powder and Fabric Softener €9.79 3 boxes of passata €1.78 Toothpaste €1.35 Total Spent €15.55 (£13.51)
Toothpaste is more expensive in Dalyan but washing powder is almost half the price and it’s always interesting shopping in foreign supermarkets you’re not familiar with, while trying to pick out some bargains. For dinner, Captain Caveman made sausage and veg pasta in a tomato based sauce, which was really delicious and had some leftovers for tomorrow.
On Tuesday 5th September Captain Caveman was up and about at 7.30am packing his bag ready for the next part of our holiday. I really fancied more sleep but that wasn’t to be as bags were rustled and coat hangers rattled! This afternoon Jamie, Drew and Nanny Kay were getting the ferry back to Fethiye to return to Dalyan after their mini break. Captain Caveman and I were off for a spot of house and pet sitting in Lardos for Steve and Michelle’s dog and several cats. Nanny Kay, Captain Caveman and I started our day with another visit to Dali for a pancake breakfast. I decided to be more adventurous and have the cheese and spinach added to my bacon pancake while the other two had the same as yesterday. It was so good and we popped it on the list to visit again when my parents came.
By 11.30am Jamie and Drew had joined us and we had all walked our luggage round for a pit stop at The Saloon, a pub on our way to the bus stop/ferry port. At the bus stop, Captain Caveman and I said our goodbyes and got on the Lardos bus, while the remaining 3 walked down hill to wait at the ferry terminal. The bus left at 1pm and by 1.30pm I was feeling incredibly ill. A smell of sulphur was bringing on another asthma situation and I felt so sickly. Captain Caveman had his headphones on and there was nothing we could do until we got to Lardos. The bus went the long way round, via Pefkos, and it was pretty hot despite sitting on the shaded side. We arrived in Lardos, just after 3pm and the bus dropped us a short walk from the town and bus stop. I needed to get off quickly and find a toilet so we ended up calling in to Blue Bar, the nearest place to where the bus stopped. By 4.30pm I was feeling better but I decided I needed to buy an inhaler for incidents like this happening again. Our next stop was Yamas bar, where I had a soda water, Captain Caveman had a beer and we were greeted with a nice welcome from the owners. I ordered some sweet potato wedges and Captain Caveman had a toasty, while we waited for Steve and Michelle to join us after work. They arrived shortly after we did and we had another drink before dropping our bags off at their house, where I would be staying for 2 weeks and Captain Caveman would stay until the 15th.
At 6pm, Michelle drove the 4 of us up to Pefkos for a drink at Flyers restaurant. Michelle and Captain Caveman had the Espresso Martini, Steve and I had a pint of lager. The views were lovely and we had a chat with the owner. Captain Caveman and I were booked in for the Greek Night on Friday and we were looking forward to it. Back in Lardos, we dropped the car off, then wandered round to GyroSquare The Grill Stories where we ate our dinner, accompanied with some chocolate birthday cake for one of the staff. The food was very tasty and I enjoyed it but I struggled to finish it all. That night, Steve and Michelle gave up their bedroom for Captain Caveman and I, they slept on their sofa bed so that they could leave for their flight that evening. They were off on holiday and would be back on the evening of the 17th.
joloyolo 