Dalyan – 26th December

As it was my parents’ and Captain Caveman’s last full day in Dalyan on Monday 26th December, I had organised a last outing. After the copious amount of booze yesterday I was somewhat woolly headed as we walked Charlie and told him he would get to have a day at home. We were off on a boat trip to Köyceğiz and there was 28 of us on Ali Özalp’s boat. To make it simple we had organised it via Kaan, who’s boat was out of the water, to leave from near Kaunos Tea Gardens at 10.30am. We would take our own drinks, have a mooch round Köyceğiz market, have a bite to eat and then return before it got too cold. Josh had agreed last night that he would bring a rucksack full of Efes and we would meet him at the tea gardens. We called for croissants and Sprite at Migros then when we met Josh, he had also bought Sprite and we were all begging for mercy, after last night’s boozy shenanigans.
On board the boat were some of the usual reprobates as well as a few new people; my parents, Captain Caveman & me, Josh, Kaan, Tayfur, Vanessa & Matt, Janet & Kev, Adam & Kath, Mark & Kate, Linda, Julio, Julius & Toni, Peter, Bianca, Sue, Ron & Sarah, Cath & Keith, 007 and Gay Gaz. Of course Gay Gaz had turned up already tiddly and hadn’t got the memo that it was bring your own booze, as he stepped on the boat and asked for a vodka and coke. Kaan and Tay sorted out a quick trip to the shops to get Gaz his required fix and then we were off on the pleasant journey to Köyceğiz. I did my best to be sociable with everyone but I was feeling quite tired and delicate, and it wasn’t my last day in Dalyan, afterall. When we got to Köyceğiz I was keen to go to the fruit and veg market on account of not going on Saturday in Dalyan. There had been some talk of us all meeting up in Tuana restaurant and, if not, back on the boat at 3pm. My parents, Josh, Captain Caveman and I went off in search of fresh produce and left the others to decide what they were doing. After purchasing a rather heavy bag load of groceries I was looking forward to having a sit down and a cold drink. We didn’t get as far as Tuana before I needed to put the bag down and nip to the loo at Avant Garde restaurant. A lovely little place on the waterfront which also had good veggie options on the menu. I got a bit over ambitious and ordered a chicken burger, mom had a seafood pasta dish and the men had various quesadillas/wraps. Only Dad and Captain Caveman could manage a beer, while I hoped I’d make it home in tact.

By 3pm we were all mostly back on the boat but just waiting for a stray or two. It would be have been easy for any onlooker to think we were in the throws of a murder mystery afternoon but it turned out Kev was feeling rather more delicate than I was and had gone for a lay down on the front of the boat. Sailing back was pleasant and sunny but it was rather fresh as the sun dipped. Gay Gaz was on one of his ‘drunken and don’t care’ missions by leaning on the anchor chain while being precariously close to the switch. A few of us tried to talk him in to moving due to it not being safe and that he could end up decapitated, but it fell on deaf ears. What made him move in the end was that he might get his bright yellow coat dirty.

When we got off the boat most people went home for a good rest while only the foolhardy and inebriated soldiered on for a last drink at Rehab bar. Captain Caveman and I decided we would go get Charlie and walk him back to Rehab. By the time we got there, Kate was doing a superb job of trying to get Gay Gaz in to a taxi where neither them nor the driver knew Gaz’s address. Luckily, I had it marked on my phone and could tell the driver as Kate shouted ‘Get in to the choppa, Gary!’
In Rehab bar, Julius and Peter got their decks out and gave us a few tunes while they waited for their taxi back to Fethiye. Charlie didn’t really care for the music but he certainly was up for meeting more people and chasing a stray dog if he got the chance.
That night we didn’t even all go out as I think we had overdone it. Captain Caveman and I stayed in and he insisted on having some quiet time with Charlie to say goodbye – I think they would miss each other. My parents still went out as they had nothing in for dinner and Josh went out, but separately. Tomorrow we would all meet for breakfast and to say farewell.

Dalyan – 20th December

I was feeling much better on Tuesday 20th December but not 100%. I decided to take it easy during the day aside from being the hoover assistant to Captain Caveman. He had finally got the right tools and fixings to mend Abi’s wardrobe with and my role was to offer up the hoover to suck up the dust as he drilled the new holes. I was sceptical it would be fixable but he did a cracking job and Abi could definitely have more weight on the wardrobe rail and shelf now. It did mean she probably wouldn’t be able to find stuff when she got back as he’d taken all the outfits and bags out and not necessarily put them back as they were. In the early evening the weather was still nice as we took Charlie for a walk and had a quick trip to the shop where we bought the following;

Migros Supermarket

Onions 5.93
Potatoes 8.14
Red peppers 10.79
6 Eggs 22.45
1kg chicken breasts 75.65

Total spent 122.96 (£5.34)

When we got back I explained to Charlie that we were off out for dinner and a party. He wasn’t too pleased and decided to show me his bum!

We had been invited to Michele’s 60th birthday party at Temsi restaurant. It started at 7.30pm and, as I was probably still full of germs, even though I was feeling better, I went for a table away from everyone. Adam and Kath had just returned to Dalyan so they joined us and then Bill and Jaxx, from the Dog shelter, came and sat beside us. Michele had very kindly put a bottle of each colour wine on the table for us to drink, had organised a curry dinner and a band. It was one of the best parties I’d been to in a while and the wine seemed to perk me up no end! Before the night was over I had managed to get as many photos as possible, dance to the band and eat a very delicious curry themed buffet. We only stayed until the singing of ‘Happy Birthday’ and cake cutting as I didn’t want to overdo it. I’d enjoyed the party and it was the first time I’d been at Temsi’s new venue since it moved in to the old Nazo’s building a while ago. We were impressed and it had been lovely to be invited and see so many people celebrating.

Video of the band at the beginning of the night

A video of a few of us dancing to a song that Ian, from the band, dedicated to the ladies of the Fat Club – Lip up Fatty by Bad Manners.

Dalyan – 16th & 17th December

On Friday 16th December I felt ill when I woke up and I knew I had caught the bug that was going round. Captain Caveman walked Charlie then went to Bridge while I muddled through my To Do list. I did my weekly measurements to find I had lost 1cm from my bust, put 3cm on my waist and 2cm on my hips. My leg measurements still differed by 1cm.
When Captain Caveman came home neither of us could be bothered to cook so we had bread and leftover mezes from Nil lounge’s Fat Club party on Wednesday. Captain Caveman arranged to do a long walk tomorrow with friends and this time it was suitable to take Charlie as it was flat. He was going to suss out if it would be suitable enough for me to do it and then, if it was, I could perhaps do it with my parents and 007 on Christmas day.
I definitely had a flu type bug and by 3pm I was in bed unable to function. I tried to sleep but couldn’t and Katrina, who lives in the apartment below, got in touch to say her water leak downstairs was becoming a bigger problem so she was sending her hubby, Mehmet, round with a plumber, tomorrow.
For dinner we had leftover beef stew and I went straight back to bed, feeling terrible. I hoped I didn’t have Covid but the symptoms were starting to feel like it.

I was still unwell on Saturday 17th December, in fact I felt even worse. Captain Caveman brought me a bacon sandwich in bed and I stayed there all day and night. Captain Caveman let Mehmet and a man in to look at the bathroom, then he took Charlie with him to the market and then on his walk. Despite attempts to fix the leak I wasn’t sure it was fixed yet, but we would see. Captain Caveman was convinced it was something to do with pipes outside but nobody understood that.
In the afternoon I did a Covid test as I was getting worse – it was negative. Kate also had similar symptoms, was also in bed and negative. I had soup for lunch and tried to do some Turkish on Duolingo but found the new layout not as good as the original and the free version I use was not as easy to be able to do more than a few minutes at a time.
When Captain Caveman returned he had bought me more soup, strepsils and cough medicine. He made us french onion soup for tea and said they had all enjoyed their walk. Charlie was pleased to see me and wasn’t as tired after this walk as he was the first big one he did.

Photo credit – Captain Caveman took the photo of Charlie on his walk

Dalyan – 29th November

While Captain Caveman was on his way back from London to Dalyan, on Tuesday 29th November, I was doing my best to finish as much stuff as possible so that we could go out and play later. I’d spent the last 2 days at home, had zero alcohol and had not spent anything. I had cereal for breakfast and the remaining pasta for lunch before I headed off for an appointment. Unfortunately, this meant I had to miss singing group in the afternoon and instead I went to see some friends about a house and dog sitting arrangement. My Mom and Vanessa still went to singing group so at least they had each other to get into trouble with. Charlie, the dog, recognised me from before and was very friendly so I knew we would get on fine. Captain Caveman and I would be moving in to his apartment tomorrow and would look after Charlie for a bit. While I was there I got a message from Captain Caveman to say he was home and I headed back to meet him. When I got there, having past a bicycle on a gate and a big black cockerel, the kitchen table had lots of goodies on it and the freezer was being stocked with even more. Captain Caveman had brought back grub screws, cheese, bacon, crumpets, muffins, sausages, a proper Yorkshire pudding tin, freezer bags, a fish slice, silicone pan lids, hoops for poaching eggs in (apparently called poachettes), chopping boards and, best of all, 210 Yorkshire Tea teabags!
I was very interested to see how the prices were in the UK as I hadn’t been back for almost a year so I took Captain Caveman’s receipts to check out the details. Here’s a list of what Captain Caveman bought in England and the prices in pounds;

Ikea
2 bathroom pots £1.80
Ziplock bags £3.00
3 saucepan lids £12.00
Total Spent £16.80

3 Phone Store
10GB SIM and phone package £10

Wilko
Yorkshire Pudding tray £1.50
Fish Slice utensil £1.50
Poachette rings £4.00
Chopping boards £6.00
Total Spent £13.00

Lidl Supermarket
Ginger nut biscuits £0.49
Muffins £0.65
2 Malt Load £1.44
1 Unsmoked bacon £1.55
Vegetable stock cubes £1.65
2 Crumpets £1.78
Gorgonzola cheese £2.19
Red Leicester cheese £2.69
2 Oxo cubes £3.78
2 Cheddar cheese slices £3.98
Yorkshire tea teabags £4.49
2 Richmond sausages £4.78
1 Christmas cake £4.99
3 Smoked Streaky bacon £6.57
Total Spent £41.03

He also bought some meat, galangal and lemongrass back for Kate, as you can never have enough.
We really didn’t need those lids from IKEA for £12, nor the new chopping boards when we already had some. I wouldn’t use the rings for poaching eggs either so they would be redundant until at least September 2023. It was amazing how he got all this and his clothes in his hand luggage, but I was very happy that he had.

Seeing the teabags made me actually cry tears of joy and Captain Caveman couldn’t stop laughing at me! To cheer me up even further he suggested drinks with Ma & Pa at Tez bar so I texted Ma to see if they were available. She didn’t answer so we decided to go there anyway and, when we arrived, my parents were already there, sat with some of the usual frequenters. They had taken to having an early bar recently so I should have known they would be there. After a couple of drinks we decided to go to Duble for dinner to celebrate Captain Caveman’s return. I tried to order sensibly to help the diet I was meant to be on, so I had lentil soup and a chicken shish. Of course the main dish comes with chips, rice, salad and flat bread, with oil and butter used in the cooking, but it was better than some of the dishes I could have had. Dad and Captain Caveman had some delicious looking potato croquettes and we had wine with our meal. We had a complimentary hot beverage to finish off our meal and were home before 10.30pm having had a lovely night. Tomorrow we would be taking on another canine responsibility that was just so cute!

Dalyan – 26th November

I had a mystery meal defrosting on Saturday 26th November so that I could eat a sensible lunch before I went out. I was busy all morning until lunch time and then worked out what the mystery meal was. It was a chicken casserole so I added roast potatoes and roasted cauliflower to give it a bit of substance. It was delicious and would sort me out for any beer drinking which might (would!) happen. Captain Caveman had been in touch and he’d given me some money to go to the Christmas Fayre with but it came with strict instructions to not buy anything unnecessary. Neither of us like ornaments or trim up for Christmas so there was no chance of that – it was more likely to be spent on food and drink, unsurprisingly.
I’d told friends I would be at Bistro Blue at 2pm and I was already running late so when I arrived some people were there and others not yet. Vanessa and her mother in law were waiting for me and we managed to find a seat, as Diane isn’t too good with her legs. Ann, Jax, Debbie (Darling) and Kate were already there and I briefly said hello. Vanessa ordered a white wine and soda, I had a beer and Diane didn’t order a drink. My parents were running late and when they arrived my mom had a black eye from being drunk lask night. At first she started to tell everyone about her drunken walk in to a door but in the end I said she may as well say Dad hit her (which he didn’t), and no-one seemed to care about that. Kate came over to join us and was keeping an eye out for a tall black guy with dreadlocks, Julius. She did ask a few people if they had seen him and they said they wished they had. Julio (the less tall Welsh man) turned up first and his friends were also joining us later.

I had a little mosey round all the stalls with Kate and there was a lot of stuff for sale. We bought some cheeses and Kate bought a crocheted top. I decided to get some curry from the Spice Garden stall to take home and I also ordered some onion bhajis for us all to share. The afternoon got lively, my parents got tired after overdoing it yesterday and I walked them part way home with the intention of dropping my stuff at home and returning. I got changed and came back out as it was difficult to not get involved with 40 lira Bistro Blue beers and DJs giving it the ‘what for’! Most of the day time people I knew had either gone home or were about to leave but the evening crowd and the hardcore few had arrived already.

There was lots of dancing and I really enjoyed chatting to and dancing with Katrina, Steff, Penny, Eileen, Julio, Toni, Julius and Mark before it got quite messy.
Needless to say a few of us ‘accidentally’ ended up back at Mark and Kate’s for some more shenanigans, despite Kate having gone home before it got dark. I slept in the upstairs room in a single bed with a tremendously warm blanket. Not everyone made it back to Fethiye as planned either so tomorrow was bound to have people with sore heads!

Dalyan – 14th & 15th November

The weather forecast for Monday 14th November looked nice with a high of 23°C. I was meant to be going with my parents on a trip to Ortaca but, unfortunately, I had decided not to go. Vanessa had let me know that Matt had tested positive for Covid, after feeling unwell for a couple of days. The best thing to do was to cancel my plans in case Vanessa had caught it and /or passed it on to me without us realising. I finished batching up my various soups and sauces for the fridge and freezer then I got an invite to Kate’s birthday party on Wednesday.
Vanessa and I both decided to do Covid tests and we were both negative, which was good because I needed to have more than just soup in the house. I decided to go shopping, in case I started to get poorly. Here’s what I bought at the supermarket:

Migros Supermarket

Ginger 4.12
Noodles 9.95
Chicken pot noodle 12.90
Sweetcorn 16.90
Cauliflower 22.34
Mushrooms 24.90
Milk 31.50
Beef mince 44.91
2 tins chopped tomatoes 49.00
Beef mince (reduced fat) 58.05

Total spent 274.57 lira (£12.48)

The exchange rate was now 22 lira to the pound which was the highest I’d known it.
I bought a notebook at the stationers for 40 lira, a months worth of contraceptive pills for 115 lira from the pharmacy and a cooked chicken for 80 lira at the butcher’s. My total spend for the day was 509.57 lira (£23.16) and I had so far managed to avoid going to a bar or having any alcohol.
When I got home I noticed that my Turkish phone had a text on it from Aydem from this morning saying they had closed the job. I went to check the meter and they had not done anything at all, I was so annoyed with them! It was a good job it was winter and we didn’t need any communal electric on, although I did notice that the roses at B1 and the route between A and B Block was now looking a lot more overgrown and would need more than kitchen scissors.
For lunch I had a salad with about a quarter of the roast chicken, without the skin, then put the bones and skin in a tub to make stock.
Later my parents were out at Tez bar but I resisted the urge to go out for a drink and stayed in. I wanted to have lost some weight this week and I knew if I went to join them I would definitely find it difficult to resist the booze or eating out.
I added some of the chicken to a couple of portions of pumpkin and lentil base for dinner and added spinach and chopped tomatoes for a nice curry with steamed rice. I resisted a beer out of the fridge!

I had marked in my diary that the restaurant Duble was reopening on Tuesday 15th November, but it didn’t. This was good news for my diet and reducing the amount of booze I drank. I didn’t have any breakfast and I noticed we were running low on freezer bags so I messaged Captain Caveman to add them to his list of things to bring back. He’s bad at keeping in touch when we are apart but I got a thumbs up. I went to Turkish lessons, Vanessa was unable to come so I messaged her with the homework later. For lunch I had the curry but with a warmed up wrap instead of rice. I ate yoghurt with figs and honey as a dessert and then went to call for mom to go to singing. Vanessa and Kate couldn’t come and there was still no sign of Gay Gaz joining the group.
I’m not quite sure what had got in to the singing crowd today but there were a few more choices of different, more lively, songs; I have a Dream, Wonderful Tonight, When you say Nothing at all, The Boxer, Moon River, I’d Like to Teach the World to sing, Will you Still Love me Tomorrow and there was a request for The House of the Rising Sun. Peter and I had added it to the request book but some people at the other end of the table decided we weren’t singing it, for some reason. I readded it to the list and we did sing it but I noticed a few members of the group not joining in.
After singing, Mom and I went to buy Kate’s birthday present ready for tomorrow then we each went home. For dinner I had chicken and vegetables with noodles then some popcorn while watching a selling houses series on Netflix. It was a nice cosy evening until I went to bed and decided I needed a winter quilt on the bed. Captain Caveman had moved all of our 6 quilts around so it ended up taking me quite some time to get the right bedding out and reorganise the linen cupboard. It was my 3rd night without alcohol so I was hoping it would have made a difference at Fat Club tomorrow.

Dalyan – 12th & 13th November

Captain Caveman was packed and ready for an 18 day trip to the UK on Saturday 12th November. He made his own breakfast and I had cereal a bit later on. The electric meter issue was still not resolved so I called Aydem again and this time I felt like they were listening, understood and were going to fix it. They agreed to send someone out, gave me a job reference via text and Captain Caveman could leave, happy it would all get sorted – I still wasn’t holding my breath! Captain Caveman’s taxi with Fikri was booked for 11.30am so we still had some time to go to the bank and the chemist. Kate had messaged to ask if I could pick her up some more dressings and some veg, Captain Caveman was still suffering with a cold so he bought some flu medicine to take with him. He’d not seen his parents for quite some time so he was looking forward to seeing them, as well as attending the screening of A Crack in the Mountain, the Phong Nha film at the Kendal Film Festival.

After saying goodbye to Captain Caveman, I went to the weekly market with my parents and here’s what I bought:

Broccoli
Spinach
4 Onions
3 Potatoes
5 red onions
Grapes
Garlic

Total spent 71.50 lira (£3.33).

I was meant to have bought a cauliflower too but, because I didn’t put it in to one of the plastic bags, the stall holder didn’t think I wanted to buy it and put it back, rather than in my shopping bag.
While Captain Caveman flew from Dalaman to Luton I walked over to Kate’s. Mark was at Rehab bar for pool afternoon with the lads so I was taking her some dressings, spinach and tuna. We had a good natter and Kate gave me a couple of pairs of jeans, they were a bit snug but with all the weight I’d be losing I felt sure they’d soon fit better. I just drank water while there and on the way back I called in for 1 drink at Rehab bar. John was meant to be in Mark’s team at pool but Andrea had turned up so he was leaving. He asked me to play his game and I was surprised to see Tay and Wolfie beat Mark and I so easily. Mark and Wolfie were still playing pool at 7pm when I went home to cook up a nice dinner made from leftovers, pleased I’d managed to go to a bar ‘just for one’. I used the half portion of beef casserole, which I’d had in the freezer from Duble. I had it with steamed rice and it was delicious.

When I woke up on Sunday 13th November, there had been an earthquake in Rhodes at 5.30am this morning but our friends Steve and Michelle, who live there, were fine – in fact they hadn’t even noticed.
I decided to have a bit of a soup making day, I tried the Slimming World slow cooker red onion soup which is super easy to make and smells amazing. I also roasted some pumpkin to make a base for soup, or curry which I would add lentils and Kate’s curry paste to. Vanessa came over in the afternoon and we did our Turkish homework together. She’d also brought me a piece of writing she had done from after her operation, which we’d been talking about. When I read it, I cried, it was well written, interesting and so emotional. At 5.15pm Vanessa had to get off because she had a family call. I was still batch cooking up more soup, after having a delicious bowl of the red onion one, then made a diet friendly pizza.
While Captain Caveman was away I was going to use the time to my advantage to try to lose weight by not drinking, eating things I shouldn’t and spending too much money. I was on a mission and, although yesterday I had 1 beer and spent 122 lira (£5.68), today I had drank no alcohol and spent nothing.
I stayed up until after midnight watching some murder series on Netflix, tomorrow I had a busy day planned.

Dalyan – 10th & 11th November

I treated myself to buttered toast and a Yorkshire tea with milk on Thursday 10th November. Captain Caveman went Bumming and I went to the supermarket to get some essentials. Captain Caveman was going back to the UK this weekend so I bought some items that I would need for my diet friendly recipes. Here’s what I got:

Migros Supermarket

Onions 2.77
Pumpkin 19.60
1 Pomegranate juice 26.00
2 plain Quark 27.90
2 tins of tomatoes 45.80

Total spent 122.07 lira (£5.68)

Şok supermarket

1 bag of red lentils 22.50 lira (£1.05)

I got the slow cooker on to make a curry for dinner that night and then decided to have a super healthy lunch of a beetroot salad. Captain Caveman was back later than expected from an arduous morning of bumming and wasn’t too pleased when I said we were off out. I’d arranged to meet my parents at Kaunos tea gardens but Captain Caveman didn’t have time as he needed to have lunch and go for a shave and a haircut. I went anyway and my good intentions of having a Turkish tea without sugar were successful. But then, the sun was shining, my parents ordered another beer and a cleanly shaven Captain Caveman arrived and ordered a beer. I succumbed and ordered a beer, we saw Kaan and Selahi there with friends and it stayed sunny for quite a while as we enjoyed another beer. On the way home we saw Mark at Tez bar so I gave him back Kate’s house key and took a photo as proof, seeing as he’d had a few and might forget he’d seen us.
Back home we had the curry I’d made and it was very enjoyable, there was some left for another day too. Captain Caveman opened a bottle of wine to have with his dinner and I couldn’t resist a small drop.

On Friday 11th November I remembered to take my measurements. I had lost 1.1kg on my home scales but had put centimetres on in most places. Captain Caveman made me a diet version of a sausage butty by using sausages that were skinny in a wrap with peppers and onions. I had orange juice too and really enjoyed my breakfast. Captain Caveman went off to Lukka bar to play Bridge and I worked on a presentation for the delayed training session I was involved in later in the month. When Captain Caveman got home we had leftover curry for lunch. I absolutely love having my rice steamer here in Dalyan as the rice takes only about 10 minutes and is perfect every time – I won’t do without one now.
In the afternoon I’d arranged to have a walk over to Mark and Kate’s with Captain Caveman and my parents. Kate was still recovering and so she wasn’t yet able to be out and about. The boys had some beers, I stuck to water and Kate celebrated with a splash of prosecco – it had been a week since she’d been in hospital. Bebek the cat took a shine to Captain Caveman while he was sat on the sex swing. My parents and I left him there while we had a lovely stroll back in to town. It would have been rude to go past Rehab bar without calling in for a draft Efes and to say hello to Tay. Captain Caveman joined us later when Mark dropped him off on his mobility scooter.
That evening my parents had invited us round for dinner which we were really looking forward to. Mom was doing one of our favourite dinners too, Spaghetti Bolognese. I did succumb to some crisps and 3 glasses of red wine with my large portion of spag bol, which was delicious. For afters we had taken some cheese so we had a cheese board with grapes and some of Kate’s membrillo and plum chutney. I purposely had a break before I ate the cheese so that I would eat less of it.
It was a great night and, as it was Captain Caveman’s last night in Dalyan for a couple of weeks, a good way to have a bit of a send off.

Photo credit – Dalyan Riverbums

Dalyan – 8th & 9th November

I had cereal for breakfast on Tuesday 8th November before my Turkish lesson at 10am in Lukka bar. Captain Caveman was there at the same time for his Bridge group which lasts for 3 hours.
I went to Singing group in the afternoon while Captain Caveman bought 5kg of washing powder for 82.50 lira (£3.84) in Migros. I was back trying to redeem what was left of this week’s chance to lose any weight but at this point all I could hope for was to have not put weight on. I would probably have gained weight but it might be a good idea not to throw the towel in just yet.
At singing group we sang a new song, to me, Running Bear. It was really hot with the sun coming through the window and I wish I’d wore shorts.
For dinner I made a bit of a make-do meal using my left over Chicken Shashlik, from M-Eyhane on Saturday. I added some extra veg and served it with steamed rice for a low syn dinner which was very tasty and filling. We even had a fruit salad with yoghurt and honey for a treat and I refrained from having any alcohol. By 7pm the temperature had dropped to 21°C and I was a little chilly.

Captain Caveman went Dogging on Wednesday 9th November while I got on with making a syn free snack to take to Fat Club. I went for the easy option of popcorn, which is virtually syn free and you’d have to eat a lot for it to count. I had cereal and milk for breakfast as part of my allowance then for lunch we had a lovely salad. It had lettuce, carrot, red cabbage, onion, peppers, figs, olives and cheese in it and I’d done some Slimming World friendly garlic potatoes to go with it but left them in the oven by mistake. We had a couple of them and saved the rest for another meal as I had to get off to face my result. Obviously, I had put on weight, 0.7kg to be exact, so that wasn’t good. We sat around in the group and tried each others’ snacks. There were courgette fritters and quiche which I didn’t try as they were made with egg. I accidentally did try the breakfast muffin and curry loaf which did have egg in and enjoyed them. If I hadn’t known, it was difficult to tell it contained egg and both were very nice. The pasta salad and broccoli soup were egg free and ones I could definitely do myself so it gave me some good ideas.
After Fat Club, I called at Rehab bar to collect Vanessa so that we could go to see Kate. I also needed the toilet as the egg had taken effect. Kate had been recovering at home after surgery in Fethiye hospital so it was so nice of everyone at Fat Club to give me some of their snacks to take. Vanessa and I cycled over as she updated me on the events and their recent trip to Fethiye. When we arrived it was clear that Kate had not been taking things that easy and had been baking, quite a lot! We sampled a small piece of plum scone which was lovely and she’d made plum chutney with Wolfie’s plums. We didn’t stop too long as we hoped she would get a nap in before Mark came home from pool.
Back home I limited myself to just 1 glass of wine with dinner, Captain Caveman made a diet friendly chicken pasta dish and we had strawberries with yoghurt for after.

Dalyan & Köyceğiz – 7th November

We were off to Köyceğiz on Monday 7th November! I’d organised a boat trip with Rob in mind but he had to work and couldn’t come along. Not to be deterred, the rest of us still went on another of Kaan’s boat trips, this time to take us to Köyceğiz market. On board today were;
Captain Caveman, me, Mom & Dad, Linda, Vanessa, Tracey, Diana, Jackie & Chris, Wolfie, Tay & Angelique. At one point we were doubting if the weather would be good enough to go as, up to an hour before, it wasn’t looking good.
Once we had set sail, I suggested to Kaan that he write the price of each drink on the sheet at the top of the page – that way everyone knows what they were paying beforehand. He told me the prices and I wrote them on for him while we set sail to Köyceğiz, across the gorgeous lake. While I was behind the bar, helping people get the drink they wanted and writing it down on the bar tab for Kaan, I noticed a hat. I was sure it was Viv’s so I messaged her and it was, so I popped it in my bag to give her.

Most of us had already had a drink before we arrived in Köyceğiz and I still had half of my beer left, which I gave to Captain Caveman. My parents, Captain Caveman, Linda and I headed to the clothing part of the market where my Dad decided to buy some trainers. My parents needed a new toaster so Captain Caveman went off to locate the electrical shop, but it was no longer there. The ones we did find didn’t sell toasters so we were just about to make our way back out. Unfortunately, a rather large Turkish woman in somewhat of a rush bumped right in to Dad making him almost lose is balance. When Captain Caveman rejoined us, she had almost done the same to him. It was time to get out of there and reconvene with the group at Tuana restaurant. Linda and I went to the public toilets, they are a short walk from the waterfront and it costs 4 lira (less than 20p). Because Kaan was charging 80 lira (£3.72) for a glass of wine and didn’t have any red, Linda went to buy a bottle in Migros. My parents went straight to Tuana but Captain Caveman and I wanted to find the fruit, veg and cheese market stalls. We found some lovely strawberries, then tried out and bought a few delicious cheeses.

At Tuana a few people were already eating and, although a glass of wine here was 85 lira (£3.95) a beer was only 50 lira (£2.33). The food was good and a few people recommended the quesadillas so Captain Caveman had that. It had chilli in so I ordered a plain chicken sandwich but when it came they had sprinkled chilli flakes on the chicken. I dusted them off and ate it as I was hungry but it was a bit warm. As we were leaving there was a bit of an unfortunate incident. I’d gone to the loo in the restaurant just before Tracey but didn’t realise that she was stuck in there. The dodgy lock meant she was trapped inside and had to phone Diana who alerted the staff. Tracey was rescued by them breaking the door so she didn’t get left behind!

Loaded up with fresh produce from Köyceğiz market, we got back on the boat just before 3pm. The bad weather looked like it might finally be catching up with us but we were heading away from the big black clouds. More drinks were had on the boat and I helped Kaan behind the bar a bit, to make sure everything was recorded properly. Our plan had been to anchor up somewhere on the lake, pop on some music and chill out a little but the rain did look like it might come. Kaan doesn’t have any side awnings on his boat but I momentarily couldn’t think what they were called to ask about them in English or Turkish. We had a laugh telling Kaan he needed to get some ‘side flaps’ for when it was wet! I made the decision to go back to Dalyan without anchoring up, just in case the weather turned, as we had been very lucky so far. This meant we were back by 4.30pm instead of the 5pm we planned so we didn’t cut it short too much.

A few of us decided to stop at Tez bar for a drink, Captain Caveman took our shopping home and went to check if Rob had finished work and wanted to join us. He was still in a meeting so he left a note to say to come to us and we had a couple at Tez’s. A guy sat there had just ordered a toaster which had been delivered to Tez so I took a photo of it for my mom to see if she wanted to order one. There was a German woman sat alone so she came to join us and, when Rob arrived, it turned out he spoke the most German out of any of us.

For dinner we decided to go to Çağrı, Rob had booked Fikri to take him to the airport so we were tight for time. Joining Captain Caveman, Rob, my parents and I were Jackie, Chris and Diana. We all ordered and a few people shared various mezes from the chiller too, there was more booze involved and we all had a lovely meal. Unfortunately Rob had to leave while we were still at Çağrı and we were all sad to see him go. He’d been a perfect guest and everyone had got on well with him, he is so easy going too. Captain Caveman gave him an open invite to come back any time.
That really should have been the end of the night but, foolishly, after saying bye to Diana, Jackie and Chris the 4 of us had a table booked at the new Heybe’s Monday Entertainments quiz. When we got there it had just started and we got told off for being late. This quiz is an entertainments one which is based mainly on TV, film and musicals. Obviously Captain Caveman and I find that difficult as we were living in Vietnam for quite a while without any TV at all. We were in luck though as the specialist round was from years back, Only Fools and Horses, something we all used to watch. Jamie, Drew and Debbie were on the next table but we had no time for chatting to anyone as the quiz was on. Obviously we didn’t win and we weren’t sure this kind of quiz was our thing really. It’s ideal if you do like a lot of TV and film though. Earlier in the year I’d had a firestick but I rarely watched anything but Formula 1 or the news, so we were definitely at a disadvantage. Next week’s specialist round would be on the 1968 musical, Oliver! That was definitely more up Drew’s street as he’s good on musicals, none of us 4 have a clue. We were all drunk, we’d had an amazing weekend and now I needed to get back on track with my diet!

Dalyan – 3rd November

While Captain Caveman went Dogging, I got ready for Jamie and Drew’s return on Thursday 3rd November. I stripped the bed and put a wash on then made sure the house was tidy and packed ready to leave. Norman and Edna were excited to be having their owners back home and were a little bit giddy when they saw my rucksack. We sat outside in the lovely sunshine and every time a car came near, the dogs thought it might be Jamie’s taxi. When at last they did arrive, the dogs were so happy.

I didn’t stay long as I had another appointment to get to; I was off to Mark and Kate’s for more house and pet sitting while they had a couple of days away. After buying more credit for my Turkish phone, I met Captain Caveman along the way. I parked Daisy, my bicycle, up outside Rehab bar and we went in to Sosyete for a bite to eat. We both had a pide served with a lovely complimentary pomegranate salad which was all delicious – I’d not noticed before but they don’t serve alcohol. At Bumming today the volunteers had very sadly found a dead turtle and cleaned up lots of rubbish from the river areas so Captain Caveman had certainly worked up a good appetite. He wasn’t joining me at Mark and Kate’s this time, firstly because of his cat allergy and secondly, because our friend, Rob, was coming to visit us tomorrow and he wanted to get the apartment prepared. We called at Migros where Captain Caveman bought a bottle of the red wine, Fiona, recommended by Linda, but he took that with him.

I was at Mark and Kate’s in time for the cat feeding and I let myself in as I already had a key. My bedroom had been made to look very cosy and had an overzealous amount of cushions. Unfortunately one of the younger cats startled poor Casha, who’s only got one eye, and she ended up hiding in the crisp box for the rest of the night.
When I went to bed I tried to download something to watch on Netflix but I got an error message. As I updated my diary I realised I had already had double the weekly syn allowance and it was only Thursday. Still, I’d had no alcohol today which was a bonus. I went to sleep fairly early, knowing I’d be up at 7am tomorrow to feed the cats.

Photo credit – The Riverbums/Dalyanlı

Dalyan – 1st November

My day started badly on Tuesday 1st November, when I kicked the coffee table with 3 toes at once. It hurt and I knew I had broken at least one toe. Luckily Captain Caveman was on dog walking duties so I only had to get myself to Turkish class for 10am and I was cycling. I couldn’t speak to our Turkish teacher for help with the electric meter issues because she had other people to help and her next class. Instead, I made a phone call to Aydem to try to get it sorted, again. They told me that they couldn’t see any reason for cutting the communal pool and garden electric off and that the payment had been made so they seemed as confused as me. They told me that they really couldn’t do much without a paper bill and said there should be some appearing this week, if not already.
I ate left over chicken casserole, with white beans in, for lunch and decided to do a tally of all of the electricity which Captain Caveman had paid for this year. He’d never asked any other apartment for their contribution to the communal electric and had no intention of doing so. I sent him all the info which took me an hour to collate, in a way that made sense. Interestingly, the bills for the pool and garden had been zero from February to June, once again showing that no one had used any pool or garden electricity until probably May, this year. July’s payment was double that of June’s when the pool was likely to have been used more too. For some reason the August and September payments were never requested by Aydem with Captain Caveman’s bank but October’s payment was less than July’s. I didn’t get a reply or acknowledgement from Captain Caveman so I went to singing group with Mom, Vanessa and Kate. In addition to some of the usual songs, we sang ‘Both sides now’ and ‘City of New Orleans’. Back ‘home’ I sunbathed with Norman on the patio while Captain Caveman tried to check the meter cupboard at his own apartment for a paper bill. For the first time in years the cupboard was locked and no one had a key for it. On his way home he went to Migros as we were running low on Norman’s turkey ham, used for hiding his tablets in. He bought a packet of turkey ham, cherry juice and orange juice for a total of 86 lira (£4.09).
That night we had sausage cassoulet with carrots and potatoes and I resisted the wine. Captain Caveman drank quite a bit of it as he was annoyed at the never ending communal electric issue.

Dalyan – 24th & 25th October

While I met another clothes buying friend, on Monday 24th October, Captain Caveman made us another breakfast fry up. We had our breakfast as a brunch and it was very nice. I thought, as I had a quiet week, this week, I might join the Fat Club on Wednesday. Some of the Dalyan ladies had already been doing quite well and I did want to lose a bit of weight – my winter clothes were a bit too snug!
For dinner I made chicken with potatoes, onion, carrot, spinach and corn on the cob which was quite tasty (and I love corn on the cob with a bit of Lurpak butter on)! No alcohol was drank by me today, which made a nice change. That night we stayed in and watched more of the Jeffrey Dahmer series on Netflix.

It was a busy and eventful day on Tuesday 25th October. Captain Caveman was at the supermarket while I was getting ready for Turkish class. Here’s what he bought on his first trip;

Migros Supermarket
Tinned tomatoes 18.32
2 Chocolate croissants 21.90
Rice 28.50
2 Orange juice 52.00
2 jars peanut butter 89.80

Total spent 210.52 lira (£10)

While I was at Turkish class, Captain Caveman went back to Migros and bought chocolate spread and tahini for a total of 70.95 lira (£3.38) so that I could have this for breakfast. He also wanted the tahini for his Baba Ganoush making.
At lunchtime I went to Kaunos tea gardens with my parents and Vanessa, Captain Caveman was meant to join us but went to the wrong tea garden and said I told him the wrong one. I had a standard sized Turkish tea which is a bargain 4 lira (19p), Vanessa was sensible and had a large tea for 6 lira (29p) and my parents were on the Efes Malt at 50 lira (£2.38). My parents had a cheese toastie each, I had a cheese gözleme (pancake) and Vanessa had a chocolate one. Each were 35 lira (£1.67) and the food is served quickly with good sized portions. I couldn’t manage half of mine so when Captain Caveman arrived an hour late, he finished mine. He’d already had a beer and his lunch at the other tea garden on his own, out of principle. Mom, Vanessa and I left Captain Caveman and Dad at the hardware store, Vanessa and I pushed our bikes and walked along with Mom.
Our next adventure was singing group where we were also joined by Kate. Gay Gaz had kept threatening to join but he had not appeared as yet. We sang most of the usual ones but this time there was ‘Some Days are Diamonds’.
After singing group, Kate had arranged to meet Mark at Okyanus so I’d messaged Captain Caveman for him and Dad to meet us there. Unfortunately Mark had arrived 20 minutes before Captain Caveman, Dad and the bar man and couldn’t get a beer. He’d left with the face on and gone to Jiks so Kate went home and we went to Okyanus. Captain Caveman and Dad had managed to get served fine, in fact they had managed to get served without delay in all the bars they went in after the hardware store, so we messaged Mark to come join us. He was still sulking and had already decided Okyanus wasn’t for him today. As the sun went behind the trees at Okyanus, we decided to chase the warmth and go to Tez bar. We were only going for one because I had a chicken dish in the slow cooker for dinner. There was a man there, called Big Bob, who decided to corner my (quite tiddly) Dad’s attention and talk at him for about an hour. When I went to the toilet, just before we were leaving there was a bit of an ‘incident’. Captain Caveman had been listening to Big Bob’s bullshit and decided to address this with him. When I emerged from the back of Tez’s, my parents were stood up saying bye and Captain Caveman had left. There was no sign of Big Bob either! My mom was worried I would tell Captain Caveman off because he does have a tendency to be rather blunt, often considered rude to some. When I asked what happened she said Captain Caveman had told Big Bob he was full of shit and no one wanted to listen to it. You can’t take him anywhere! On this occasion he was right, though, as it turned out 2 sets of people we know had already left Tez bar that afternoon because Big Bob was there.
At home we ate the chicken slow cooker dinner with rice and were about to settle down for the night. Jamie messaged to ask if we wanted to meet him at Lukka bar for one so off we went, back out. Norman and Edna, the dogs, were there too so we made a fuss of them and drank a couple more drinks while chatting.
Neighbours and friends of Vanessa’s came past, on their way to Retro bar, and we arranged to see them at the quiz tomorrow night.

Dalyan – 22nd October

Kate had arranged what we thought might be the last boat trip of the season, on Saturday 22nd October. Kaan’s Tequila Boat was once again the chosen one for today and he had agreed a good price. The plan was to go out to sea and find a tranquil spot at Devil’s Bay.
Captain Caveman got up super early to go to the weekly market before the trip and ended up there before it was opened. Luckily he got himself a savory pancake for 25 lira (£1.20) while he waited for the stall holders to finish setting up. Once ready, he bought a variety of fruit, vegetables and olives for a total of 146 lira (£7), which would easily last us the week.
At 10am we were on the boat waiting for 1 person who hadn’t seen the message that we were leaving 30 minutes earlier than first planned.
Joining Kate, Mark, my parents, Captain Caveman and I on board were;
Matt & Vanessa, Adam & Kath, Trish & Steve, Linda, Shiela, Gay Gaz and his mate Kelly. At least 2 of those people were half cut when they got on board so it looked like we were in for a lively day. This was the first time, since Captain Caveman arrived, that we had seen Kaan and he had a present from Vietnam. Kaan was so pleased with his Easy Tiger T-Shirt that he put it on straight away and showed it off to everyone.

Steve was the first in the water then lots of paddle board action ensued. Captain Caveman, Dad and I stuck to old fashioned swimming in the sea which wasn’t too cold ‘once you were in’. Poor Trish had been under the weather so wasn’t her usual chatty self, joining Kate in the not drinking alcohol camp. Kaan’s fridge soon got emptied though and Kelly was the first to declare the bar was open. Captain Caveman wasn’t too far behind Gaz and Mark but Dad and I waited until midday at least.

Steve like to be the first in the water

Captain Caveman testing out if it is warm enough

Kaan getting the equipment ready

Even though Mom didn’t risk going in the water, on account of her possibly not being able to get back out again, we still all had a good time. The BBQ lunch was good, as always, with plenty of it and some of the party sorts were proper hammering the booze. Gay Gaz’s friend Kelly was a force to be reckoned with and couldn’t half knock back the beers and raki. She did a couple of impressive dives from the roof of the boat, on the first occasion her boobs were out, we were spared Gay Gaz’s testicle appearance this time, though! It was a really great day out and with lots of swimming, eating and drinking. Kate and Kaan felt sure we could maybe squeeze in a repeat performance before the end of the season and the feelers were put out for another Miss Guided Tour next week.

When we got back to town it was dark so, after dropping Mark and Kate off at their jetty, and saying bye to the sensible friends, the remainder of us popped to Rum bar for a cocktail – they do one of the best Pina Coladas in Dalyan.
My parents, Captain Caveman and I were a bit peckish by 8pm so we took ourselves off to Pizza 48 for our dinner. Dad had Hawaiian, Mom had tuna and onion, Captain Caveman had a mixed with extra onion rings and I had salami and mushroom. It was all very nice and the prices reasonable. The most expensive pizza was only 80 lira (£3.80), an Efes 55 lira (£2.62), Coke 15 lira (70p) and red wine 50 lira (£2.38) – we paid 515 lira (£24.52) for the 4 of us and we were all very full.

Photo credit – a couple from Adam Newton

Datça to Dalyan – 15th October

Captain Caveman was awake early on Saturday 15th October, checking the updates on the miners rescue mission. It was fortunate that Captain Caveman wouldn’t need to join the rescue efforts so we went to meet my parents for breakfast. It was our last feast at Datça Vineyard and, this morning, it was even better because we were the only guests. The lady had already set us up two tables, one per couple, overlooking the vineyards. Each table had a feast of all the breakfast items except for cereals and eggs. I helped myself to cereal, the lady brought the rest of the family their choice of eggs and some çay. We filled up our water bottles then went back to the room to pack before the noon checkout. We were sad to be leaving but there were a couple of things to help soften the blow; while we had been gone we had arranged for cleaners to clean our apartments and we were about to treat ourselves to some takeaway wine from the vineyard.

Captain Caveman had the idea that we might want to stop off at the massive Migros supermarket in Marmaris before heading to Dalyan. The weather had turned a bit and updates from Dalyan told us it was raining there. While we had the car it would be helpful to my parents to stock up on anything hard to carry so we did just that. Captain Caveman and I also got a trolley full and we ended up filling the car up between us with lots of essentials. By late afternoon it was rainy so we only just made it back in time to unload the car and get it back for 5pm.

Here’s what Captain Caveman and I bought at Migros and the prices in lira:

Apples 7.21
Envelopes 7.90
Mouthwash 7.95
Bin liners 10.74
Red peppers 12.97
Schweppes bitter lemon 16.00
Schweppes tonic 16.00
Tomatoes 18.32
Turkish salami 21.90
Gherkins 22.05
Spinach 22.92
2 x salt & vinegar crisps 24.50
Blu-tac 24.50
Yoghurt 26.50
3 x pasta 28.50
Washing up sponges 30.45
3 x passata 39.60
Corn on the cob 44.92
Cheese balls 47.95
2 x Cherry & apple juice 48.00
2 x orange juice 52.00

Total spent 562.78 lira (£26.80)

We decided to brave the rain and reconvene in Lukka bar for a beer, seeing as that was where the car was being collected from. We contemplated eating there but, instead, we booked a table at Duble, a nearby Turkish restaurant which had been getting good reviews recently. It was only in the old market square so if it carried on raining we all weren’t too far from home. Mom had a glass of white wine which was only 50 lira (£2.38) but the rest of us shared a bottle of red. The bottle was 250 lira (£11.90) but, as it happened, would have been cheaper by the glass. For starters Dad and I had chicken soup which could be the best I’ve had in Dalyan. Mom and Captain Caveman had liver plus we had about 3 lots of warm bread. Dad and I both had the beef casserole for mains, Mom had lamb chops and Captain Caveman ordered something none of us knew what it was. It was a shepherd’s casserole and we all loved our food, I couldn’t finish all of mine, as usual, so Captain Caveman popped home to get my tupperware. The whole bill came to 1,180 lira (£56) which wasn’t bad for what we had.
As the rain started to get heavier there were a couple of blips in the power so it was home time. We got back to a lovely, clean apartment just as a storm started.