Antalya & Dalyan – 14th October

I left Jamie praying to the porcelain Gods in our bathroom at the Kremlin Palace at just after 8.30am on Tuesday 14th October – a sentence I never would’ve thought I’d write!
I was the first out of us all for breakfast and decided to try the hot sausages, mushrooms, beans and chips. They were of European style and quite tasty but the croissants were good and the tea strong. Compared to the Selectum Luxury Resort hotel, the Kremlin Palace was much more of a free for all dining experience. Jamie and Amanda didn’t make it to breakfast so we arranged to meet up after packing. When I got back to the room, Jamie had packed but was in and out of the bathroom being unwell and I hoped it didn’t mean we had to stay another night! The Anex Fam trip and extra night had almost broken me and my broken foot! Today was my parents’ wedding anniversary and I needed to be back in Dalyan as I’d been invited to help them celebrate with a meal out that I didn’t want to miss.
After speaking to Jamie, we decided to say our goodbyes and leave. We made plans to meet in the UK and even have a reunion in Dalyan in 2026. By 11am we were on the road back to Dalyan, only stopping for a pee and some mints at a very nice petrol station.
Jamie dropped me off at home around 4pm and helped me carry everything as I still struggled with the stairs. I unpacked, put some washing on, and got ready to meet my parents as we had a lift booked for 6.30pm.

My parents were early but I was ready for our evening meal out. Ma had booked us in to Yalıcapkını (Kingfisher) Restaurant and she had arranged for the boat to pick us up at 6.30pm. We were about 15 minutes early so when we got on the boat, we decided to all have a wine. It wasn’t great and Mom’s glass of white was off and had to be replaced. It also wasn’t cheap at 300 lira (£5.56) for a glass – and we decided we wouldn’t bother with one on the way back. The boat trip was just for the 3 of us and we sailed over to the Kaunos Tombs for sunset. It was really beautiful and it took us less than half an hour to arrive at the restaurant’s jetty. I struggled to get off but was helped and it was still light as we walked through the gardens. One of the big differences I noticed from being in Antalya was that I’d not had to worry for the last 5 days about uneven floor surfaces, unless I had ventured on to the beach. Here in Dalyan, it’s a struggle to find an even floor surface anywhere.

Once inside, our waiter showed us to a nice table and brought the menus. I’d heard mixed reviews from recent visitors so my expectations weren’t too high. A friend had told me that her and her husband wouldn’t go again after a terrible meal, whereas Jamie had enjoyed his steak there recently. For starters, I ordered a burrata salad, Dad chose a beetroot and cheese dish while Mom had the crab. Harris, our waiter, even broke the crab up for Mom which was good. The bottles of wine were fairly pricey but we decided on a bottle of red. It was much more superior to the wine we’d had on the boat and we did wonder if we should suggest they supply the captain with decent wine in future. For mains, we all played it safe and I ordered the steak which Jamie had recommended while my parents both had a pepper steak. In our opinion the food was excellent and we all really enjoyed it.
As my parents paid for the meal I thought it rude to make a list of the prices at the dinner table. However, for blog purposes, we did discuss the total for complimentary bread and dips, 3 starters, 3 mains, and a bottle of decent red wine. I thought it still good value at 6,760 lira (£124), so about £41 each – a treat for Dalyan but cheap compared to the UK where we might have ordinarily enjoyed a fancy meal out. I was very impressed and I would definitely eat there again.
The walk back to the boat was more precarious, especially as we now had been given bags of fruit to take home. We each had a mixture of oranges, satsumas and pomegranates which I thought was rather kind. With hindsight, a taxi back may have been a better idea for the less mobile of us but we managed it and the staff were super helpful and had torches. We took 2 other diners back with us who were unaccustomed to the route so it was like a mini adventure on the way home.
As my parents had so generously paid for the evening and I had only paid for the tip, we rounded off the evening at mine for some more drinks. It had been a lovely night and I was so glad to be back home. The only thing I wasn’t looking forward to, was tomorrow’s weigh in at Fat Club!

Gratitude List
1. Getting back to Dalyan after a wonderful Anex Fam trip
2. Having a lovely anniversary meal with my parents
3. Surviving the boat ride to the restaurant and back, without incident.

Dalyan and Ekincik – 13th May

Often in Dalyan, I don’t get invited to anything for ages and then 2 things crop up at the same time. On Tuesday 13th May I was booked on to a friend’s private boat trip for the day. I’d also been invited to a Ladies Night boat trip but couldn’t go to both. The Villa Duran boat is owned by Captain Ünal and his wife Sioned, my Turkish teacher. On board for the day were Julia, her parents, Jamie, Nanny Kay and her 3 friends, so a lovely small group of us. We left at 10am and were tucking in to the home made Welsh cakes by five past. It was my first boat trip of the season, we went to Ekincik Bay so I made sure I took a sea sickness pill as I’m prone to getting sick out at sea.

One of the things I noticed about the boat was the extra wide steps which were good for anyone who might have just had knee surgery (my Dad) on their next visit. Our BBQ lunch was served about 1.30pm and I had chicken, köfte, chips and some salad with a couple of glasses of red wine.

Video of me testing out the steps

It was all very lovely and I really enjoyed the day out. We got to swim in a few spots, saw a turtle, ate delicious ginger cake and got dropped off at Julia’s jetty to see the dogs and have another drink. The boat trip worked out at £40 each, which I had paid by bank transfer before the start of the trip, and we paid for our own drinks at the end. Drink prices were not dissimilar to prices in the bars and the wine was a really nice.
Here’s a video of the boat, on Facebook, which is definitely one of the biggest and is super comfy and immaculate. Captain Unal is super professional and a good chef too.

https://www.facebook.com/share/r/1Z9WvQP2Pr/

I walked from Julia’s with Jamie, Norman and Edna and having really enjoyed the day out, a private boat trip is one of my favourite things to do in Dalyan! Back home, I had a shower and a lay down but didn’t set an alarm. I woke up at almost midnight thinking it was the next day!

Gratitude List
1. Being lucky enough to be on my first private boat trip of 2025
2. Swimming in the sea
3. Spending the day in great company.

Photo credit – some photos by Jamie and other guests on the boat

Dalyan – 22nd March

I had planned to meet a friend for an outing to Dalaman on Saturday 22nd March. The plan was to meet up after the market and go off on a bit of an adventure, but I had to cancel. I had Resort Experts enquiries to deal with and I didn’t want to miss out on potential bookings. I had Yorkshire tea and wholemeal toast for breakfast then cracked on with work.
In the afternoon I went to the market where I also treated myself to lunch. Here’s what I bought with the prices in lira;

Market

Stall 1
Potatoes 35

Stall 2
6 Eggs 42

Stall 3
Gözleme mushroom 125

Stall 4
Strawberries 130

Total Spent 332 lira (£6.78)

I didn’t buy much this week as I still had enough food in. Back home I ate the gözleme (Turkish pancake) which was amazing and not Slimming World friendly. I had strawberries after, as I washed and chopped them up – putting them in a glass jar so they last longer.

I worked all afternoon on quotes and social media posts and even ate a Dido with a sage tea in the afternoon. After work, I met my friend at the Kaunos tea garden where I had a large Turkish tea and a bottle of water for 50 lira (£1.02). I still rate the tea gardens as one of the best places to go and the views are so good. We decided to go to Cömert Lokantası for a cheap and quick dinner. I had a chicken stew which had potatoes in it but came with rice. The cost for my meal and a bottle of water was 110 lira (£2.24) and was rather tasty.
I’d planned to host a Sunday dinner at mine tomorrow and wanted to get the Yorkshire puddings made today, that went by the way side as I ran out of time. I had a bit of a near miss when I went to Migros to buy the chicken for the Sunday dinner – there were none left. There were none left in A101 either and the ones in BIM were very small. Luckily, I found the last 2 in Şok and went home. I had a second visit to the shop when I realised I had run out of milk. Here’s what I bought with the prices in lira;

Şok Supermarket
2 x 1.8kg chickens 309.52 lira (£6.32)

Migros Supermarket
Milk 31.25
2 Quark 70.00
4 Dido chocolate bars 66.00
Total spent 167.25 lira (£3.41)

I had to move my desk down to the kitchen to make a bigger table for tomorrow and was slightly concerned there wasn’t enough room. It had been a busy day and I was pleased to see my bed that night.

Gratitude List
1. Being busy with work
2. Market visit
3. Having a desk for a spare table.

Dalyan – 3rd & 4th February

Jamie was due back at about midnight on Monday 3rd February and the dogs were looking forward to his return. I had my breakfast ‘cake’ with a cup of Yorkshire tea then got organised for my last day with Norman and Edna. I cracked on with some work before going to meet a friend who I’d not seen in ages. We met at the tea gardens for a cup of tea and a quick chat. I felt bad as my friend was up for going on outings but my schedule was not yet flexible enough that I wanted to be away from my laptop. My priority right now was building up my Resort Experts customer base and getting the handy travel tips book out there for people to buy. Luckily, she understood and I said, once I was in a better situation, I would let her know. I did mention her joining us for Sunday walks but she was busy then. Later, I walked the dogs and had soup for lunch. By which time, Captain Caveman was already on the train from South Yorkshire to Scotland for his first day in his new job. He would be near Glasgow for 2-3 days and had been put up in a hotel. I worked all afternoon and then took the dogs out again. I made a Slimming World veggie wrap pizza for dinner and had snuggles with the dogs until it was their bed time. I had a bit of an issue with my English phone number, in that it’s with GiffGaff and it doesn’t always get signal in Turkey – they advised me to reply to their text to keep my account but then it wouldn’t send! It was very frustrating so I put it on my To Do list to try to find another way to keep my number and change providers.
I spoke to Captain Caveman who had survived his first day at work and seemed content, which I was pleased about.

Gratitude List
1. Tea Gardens with a friend
2. Having a great team at Resort Experts
3. Norman and Edna.

I was super busy on Tuesday 4th February as I had work and my book project. I had decided that I needed to get the book published on Amazon KDP and Kobo so I had cracked on and loaded up both. The Kobo one was much easier to do but it then said, as I was in Turkey, that I couldn’t review what I had submitted and it would let me know in 3 working days when it was published. I had no idea about the lay out and if the cover looked ok, as it had auto formatted it, but I had submitted a book for publishing. The Amazon KDP submission was on hold as it was giving me issues. I forgot to have breakfast, had curry and rice for lunch and immersed myself in my To Do List while enjoying being back at my own desk today.
For dinner I just had cheese on toast but it was almost 11pm once I had finished work and I had another video call with Captain Caveman. He had a new work van so he was very happy and he filled me in on what he was up to in Scotland. There was news from Santorini that there were earthquakes and a scientist had said that it could be serious with a risk of a Tsunami so I got Captain Caveman’s advice on how that will affect the surrounding areas and if it would impact Turkey. I was meant to have had a video call with Vanessa too but I hadn’t had the time and had to move it to later in the week.

Gratitude List
1. Being back at my own desk
2. The sun coming in through the windows and doors of the apartment and warming up all of the house
3. Knowing Captain Caveman was happy with his new job.

Dalyan – 5th January

There was no official Sunday walk on Sunday 5th January, as Captain Caveman had now left Dalyan and there was no one else willing/available to take on the task of organising one this week. I’d decided I would not always be free as I worked some weekends and I also was a bit of a fair-weather girl who couldn’t read a map. The sun was out and so when I got up and had my cup of tea, I messaged Debbie and Janet to see if they were going on a walk. They said they were up for a short stroll and Debbie let Sezgin and Nur know too so we could meet at the tea gardens at 11am. It turned in to a bit of a Secret Squirrel Sunday walk, quite by chance. We all started off togged up in many layers, as it was a very cold morning despite the sun. We had lost one walker before leaving the Mosque Square and we watched some stand up paddle boarders on the river. One of them fell in, which must have been a bit refreshing for them. By 12.45pm I had taken so many layers off that my bag was full of clothes and I had very hot feet. I was wearing Captain Caveman’s wool socks with my wellies to make them comfier. We went to the tea gardens afterwards and had a hot beverage and a bit of a laugh.

After the walk, I went to the shops to stock up, here’s what I bought with prices in lira;

Bakery
1 fresh loaf 10.00
1 açma 15.00
Total spent 25.00 lira (57p)

Migros Supermarket
2 red onions 10.72
1 chocolate bar 14.40
Spring onions 34.94
1.2kg carrots 64.84
720g sweet potatoes 71.96
3 Quark 89.95
Spray olive oil 129.95
705g chicken breasts 105.72
912g chicken thighs 184.64
Total spent 707.15 lira (£16.07)

When I got home, Captain Caveman had been busy setting up a Facebook Group and had invited me to be the admin on it. I treated myself to the açma with kaymak and jam for my brunch and made a chicken casserole in the slow cooker for dinner. The weather forecast was looking bad again for next week so I got on with work and then started looking at my own holidays. I had a quick look at costs of package holidays to Marrakech in February and saw one at £229 per person from Gatwick, hand luggage only but staying at a nice place with a pool. Captain Caveman thought this was a bit pricey and I looked at flights which came up at a bargain £35 return from Gatwick. I would still have to add my flights from Turkey to the UK on top of that, though. I went to bed thinking of a weekend in Marrakech and knowing the sales course I was on tomorrow had come at a good time.

Gratitude List
1. The Secret Squirrel Sunday Walk
2. Bargain chicken from Migros
3. Captain Caveman including me in his projects and plans.

Photo credit – some photos by Debbie W

Dalyan – 26th December

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

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

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

Dalyan – 22nd December

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

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

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

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

Photo credit – some photos by the Sunday Walkers

Dalyan – 15th December

There was a bit of excitement in our day on the morning of Sunday 15th December when we decided we would take Norman and Edna on the Sunday Walk which Captain Caveman had organised. Norman had been so sprightly lately so we thought we would give it a try and if he got tired then I would go back with him, or even both, dogs. It was very cold at 7am when I woke up but it would be a whopping 9°C by 9am. I forgot to have breakfast but I had a couple of cups of tea. It had been a month since my parents had left and I hadn’t spoken to them on the phone yet. I missed them not being on the Sunday walk so that I could have an excuse to be the fat, slow one at the back. On the walk today was a nice small group and I enjoyed our very nice walk until we got to a muddy patch. I had my trainers on that are not suitable so I moaned that I would turn back around with Norman and go home. Norman joined in and decided he didn’t want to go through the big puddle either so Captain Caveman came back, carried Norman over and then offered to carry me over it. I went across and was fine after that, despite soaking socks and Norman pulling to try to get in to the front again. We even got another dog, Chezza, joining us who protected us from any of the street dogs. At the end of the walk we went to the Kaunos tea gardens for a beverage and the big dog, Chezza, got in the river while Norman and Edna had a drink of water from my bottle. We sat on the wall as dogs aren’t allowed at the tea gardens and we had 3 teas for 40 lira (less than a pound). Edna got cocky and decided to see Chezza off so he left and then we all walked back home.

We had leek & potato soup for lunch with bread and then I ate a banana as a snack. I got on with work for a bit and Captain Caveman lay on the sofa with the dogs for the rest of the day. He said he didn’t feel well and he was incredibly snotty and sneezy. I made a chicken casserole for dinner with stuffing, Yorkshire puddings, carrots, onions, green beans, cabbage and roast potatoes. This did mean that I had gone quite a bit over the syns this week and was on 299 syns. I had a really nice surprise from my parents when they sent me some Christmas money, this made me a bit emotional and I promised to spend it on something nice, rather than something essential. At first I had thought I might use it to get my hair done because I had not had it done since June but I decided it wasn’t a priority and I could always wear a hat! I worked quite late as we had received a warning that there may be a planned power outage tomorrow so I wanted to be prepared.

Dalyan – 20th November

Captain Caveman took the dogs out early on Wednesday 20th November and then we both got weighed. Even though Captain Caveman wasn’t actually on a diet, he had agreed to support me on my healthier lifestyle by eating the same as me, if not just a little bit more than me in terms of portion size. I had stayed the same weight as last week on the home scales, my bust and waist measurements also remained the same but I had put on 2cm on my hips. Captain Caveman had lost 1.15kg (2.5lb) and was now under the 80kg mark.
As his schedule is free on Wednesdays, Captain Caveman had previously said he would look after Norman and Edna while I went out to Turkish class, which I ended up being late to. Today it was held at The Pier which is a lovely new restaurant. I had already been warned that a coffee could cost up to 200 lira (£4.59) there so I had decided I wouldn’t buy a drink. An hour’s Turkish lesson is less than that and buying unnecessary drinks soon adds up. The Pier was very lovely, though, and I thought it looked like a great venue to bring family and friends when they come to visit.

On the way back home, I spotted a dead snake on the pavement and took a photo to try to identify it later, but it was upside down. At Fire Opal it was evident that the painting was finished but the cleaning up after, wasn’t included in their work! Once again it was soup for lunch, a dog walk with both of us and then I was off to Fat Club.

Miraculously, I had lost 0.2kg (0.4lb) and meant I only had just over 2kg (4.4lb) left to lose to hit my target. The app we were using was still showing I had the body of a 58 year old though, down from 61 at least. Carol was off to the UK for 3 weeks so she had asked me to hold the fort for her. I was honoured and hoped it might be a bit of motivation to actually keep on track and not lapse while she was gone. Carol dropped me off at mine with the precious scales and all the books. For dinner we had a Slimming World friendly chicken and leek bake with pasta and it was so tasty, washed down with a bottle of white wine between us. We went to bed that night, having walked the dogs and told them Little Daddy, Jamie, was on his way home right now. Tomorrow he would be picking them both up and we would be responsibility free once again.

Dalyan – 3rd November

It was Captain Caveman’s Sunday walk on Sunday 3rd November and this week there was a bit of excitement as we were crossing the river. I wore a red Vietnam t-shirt, cycling shorts and plastic porter sandals. I remembered to take a banana and some water as this week was a bit more hilly than usual. My parents had decided not to come as my mom had some issue with her toes and she wasn’t sure my Dad’s knees would manage it. There was quite a crowd of us and the walk turned out to be a bit too much for me, especially when I had eaten my banana early doors, then drank all of my water. We took the Portakal ferry over to the other side of the river, which cost 15 lira (34p) each, and coming back cost 25 lira (56p) each on the rowing boat. In between, there was walking on quite a tricky ‘path’ which I found too steep and the group kept having to wait for me.

When we reached the top there were some amazing views, admittedly, but I wasn’t convinced that it was worth the pain I would be in tomorrow. A few of the ladies on the walk were encouraging and one lady in particular helped me when I couldn’t even see a path to follow. When we got to the white building, which I had often seen from afar while on boat trips, I was told there was a water tap, and got excited. However, one of the ladies mentioned it had been off a couple of days ago. Captain Caveman went on ahead to check as he, another walker and me were out of water – the tap worked and he left it on. I, concerned it would run out, ran to the tap to fill up my bottle. The others laughed at me as a few minutes previously, I had been struggling to keep up with the walking pace, and running was not expected from my audience. By the time we had walked along the Kaunos city walls and were on the downhill stretch, the group were much faster and I couldn’t even see them.

When we eventually got back to the rowing boat, we went in 2 boats and even got a small discount, with their being so many of us at once. Quite a few of us were in need of a beverage at the tea gardens when we got back and I had a lemon soda while Captain Caveman had a beer, totalling 165 lira (£3.72). Even a double Turkish tea is only 15 lira (34p) there. It had been a great crowd and we were all grateful to Captain Caveman for his leading of it, I for one was way out of my depth but was thankful to have made it back.

I could hardly walk home as my legs and feet were so sore after the Sunday Walk. My parents would be pleased they had not attempted it and one lady had been glad that she had turned back at a sensible spot. For lunch, Captain Caveman put on more of the pumpkin and vegetable soup and we had it with fresh bread. I could easily have eaten it twice, even with the orzo added to make it extra filling.
There was no rest to be had, though, as I needed to get on with preparation for this evening, as I had invited my parents round for dinner. I made a beef mince and lentil ‘shepherd’s’ or ‘cottage’ pie but more like a hot pot as I used sliced normal and sweet potatoes on the top as Mom and I don’t like mash. We had red cabbage and leeks and I also did Yorkshire puddings to go with it. I had hoped to make a chocolate orange sponge for dessert but I couldn’t find any ready mix chocolate cake. My parents arrived around 7pm, Mom stuck to white wine while the rest of us drank red and we dished up the dinner. I thought it was rather tasty but Captain Caveman said he would have preferred it without the lentils in. Everyone ate it, though, and had seconds so it wasn’t that bad. It was nice to have my parents round and I think they were glad of the rest as they had been out and about with their Dalyan friends quite a bit lately. They only had 13 days left until they went back to Sheffield so they were certainly planning on making the most of Dalyan while they could – and who could blame them while the weather was still so lovely.

Photo credit – Some photos taken by others, including Captain Caveman, on the the Sunday Walk

Dalyan – 29th September

The alarm went off at 7am on Sunday 29th September and I got up to see the sunrise over the opposite block in the complex. I had tea and toast for breakfast and then made my way to the meeting point for 10am. I noticed that a small miracle had occurred and that Mehmet’s Dad had been and cleaned all my cuttings off the floor beneath my balconies. He had not done the rest of the trimming and, when I asked Mehmet, he said not until the end of October. I said he had to do it sooner, as I still couldn’t hang my washing out, and he said tomorrow – I didn’t believe him. At the corner shop I bought a 19 litre water bottle top up for the cooler and it was now 100 lira (£2.19) which had gone up more than I had expected.
I had decided to join the Sunday Walk which one of the Dalyan Dwellers had organised. A couple of friends had said they were going as well so was a good opportunity to see them. It was about 10km so would be a challenge for me after sitting at a laptop most days and not moving much. The walk was lovely and 18 people turned up, which was good. Michele, the organiser, asked me if I thought Captain Caveman would run the next one, with it being the day after he arrived, and I said I would ask him.

After the walk my friend, one of my friends talked me in to a beer with her at Tapa – so that she could take her dogs too. As I’d not seen her for a while and she was limited as to where we could take her dogs, I agreed and messaged my other friend to say we were there if she wanted to join. She had been at the front of the walking crowd and I am always at the back of the group as I walk slowly compared to everyone else. I introduced the 2 ladies who got on well and, despite me chatting to another friend about how well I’d been doing on not drinking any beer, I had 3! My drinks came to 270 lira (£5.92) in one of the cheapest places in town for draft Efes. By 3pm we were over in Okyanus having some lunch and another beer. My friend had a new dog from the shelter, called Polly, and she was a real cutie. I ate a chicken wrap with salad and chips and it was very good. My friends ordered a chicken wrap too and a pizza which the lovely waiter, Üstün, ordered in from Pamukkale restaurant. My lunch and drink came to about 300 lira (£6.58) which was very reasonable, especially for a riverside restaurant.

When I got home, shortly before 6pm, I messaged Captain Caveman to ask if he would do the next Sunday Walk but Michele and he had already arranged that he would.
Later, Jamie and Drew were taking Norman & Edna for a walk and I suggested they call in. While the pooches had a snooze on the sofa, the boys had a drink and I only had tea because I had already overdone it today. I was now on over 170 syns for the week so far and had spoiled the idea of getting some exercise. I made myself a vegetable and egg fried rice for dinner and had another relatively early night.

Dalyan – 20th December

Wednesday 20th December should have been my pay day so I had organised to meet a few friends and take our guests to a live gig tonight and was hoping for a bit of a blow out. Unfortunately, I would have to wait until January for my pay to get processed, due to a problem with my bosses new card being sent in the mail over the Christmas period.
I could certainly do without the stress of having no money but I had 2 choices of how I was going to let this affect me for the rest of the year! I decided there was nothing I could do about the situation and I was going to do my utmost to remain positive and get through the rest of 2023 as best as I could. Luckily, Captain Caveman came to my rescue and transferred some money in to my account.
I had a cup of Yorkshire tea, overnight oats with persimmon and then a lemon & green tea. As it was weigh day, I should have taken my measurements and got on the home scales but I forgot. Downstairs, Captain Caveman told me that he’d put some treats away which Josh and Martha had brought for me. It made my day that I had a bar of Dairy Milk chocolate, cheese (cheddar AND Red Leicester), and some duty free booze – the legends!!!!
Obviously, my Fat Club weigh in resulted in me putting on weight. A whopping 0.8kg (1.8lb), twice the amount I lost last week! It was reassuring that a lot of the other ladies were kind of in the same boat.
Afterwards, I met the gang at Rehab bar where Captain Caveman had dragged Josh and Martha to, as part of their continued initiation in to the expat life over here. Both of them seemed to be fitting straight in to the madness and were doing well.
After a walk home along the river, we went to Çağrı for dinner with a couple of friends. The tomato and lentil soup was tasty and I really enjoyed my chicken shish, the meal for just us 2 came to 600 lira (£16.22) including drinks.
Our next stop was to go to Ren Garden to meet more friends, including Jamie and Nanny Kay for a pre gig livener. With it being a new drinking establishment, I thought it would be a nice change but it wasn’t open and we plumped for Jiks instead. I had started to have a worse sore throat so I only had the one glass of white wine then I nursed one glass of red wine at the Jazz Bistro. I was glad I did as it cost 150 lira (£4.05), even a beer was 100 lira (£2.70) and a small water 40 lira (£1.08), which is more than most other bars. The music was great, though, and we had a good time – a few of us even got up for a bit of dancing. Martha gave the ball a good kick and none of us thought to mention that the measures of gin in Dalyan are often doubles, definitely larger than she’s used to back in the UK. Nanny Kay did rather well as she accidentally left without paying her bar tab and Jamie got her a taxi ride home as it was too busy for the usual ones to come.

Dalyan – 19th December

It was all go on Tuesday 19th December and we were both excited for Josh and his girlfriend to arrive in Dalyan that afternoon. Today was also Daisy’s 25th birthday with a party booked at Tapa from 2pm.
The cleaner was not at our apartment at 8.30am, as agreed, so we waited to see if she turned up. She was late as the office wasn’t open for her to collect the keys any earlier but no harm done. Captain Caveman and I decided we would go to a cafe or somewhere for a hot beverage, maybe some breakfast, before he went to Bridge Club. After walking round Dalyan to find nowhere open yet we bought 2 chocolate croissants for 37.90 lira (£1.02) from Migros and walked round the streets eating them.

When Captain Caveman left, I waited for Kaunos tea gardens to open and had a tea. I messaged Jamie to see if he fancied meeting up and I had a second breakfast with him, at Ela’s Kitchen. As tomorrow was weigh day, I tried to make as sensible a choice as I could. The beans on toast that I ordered was a very generous size and I was pleased id managed to resist Sev’s sausage.
By 11.30am I was on my way to my parents’ place as arranged so that I could go to Jiks with Dad, while Mom went for her hair cut. Captain Caveman would meet us at Jiks for lunch. Ma finished early and we all ate together; Dad a burger and the rest of us had pizza which was great – my diet was well and truly blown! While there, Jamie messaged to ask if I would be able to take 2 bed side lamps to Tapa for Janet. He was selling them for a friend, Janet, who was going to be at Daisy’s birthday party, where we were going to go for one, before Josh and Martha arrived. Of course I agreed and we carried them over to Tapa where the Dalyan gossip started that Jamie must have sold his house because he was getting rid of some lamps!

Daisy’s 25th birthday party at Tapa was busy with lots of friends. My parents had a cold but had managed to muddle through and I had a bit of a sore throat coming. We’d already said we weren’t staying long as we needed to get back to greet Josh and Martha who were on the plane. Captain Caveman left first with instructions to ring me when he knew that Josh was in the taxi. He forgot, so when I got back home our guests were already there!
It was great to see Josh again after a year and it was impressive to see he’d really done well for himself. Captain Caveman and I liked Martha straight away as she was really lovely – it takes a special kind of person to agree to a week in Dalyan with us lot (as I’m sure you can imagine). I just hoped we wouldn’t be spoiling her Christmas holiday and that she could get through the Dalyan shenanigans. We decided to ease Martha in gently with a trip to the Waterfall so we could have a drink together and get to know each other a bit better. She had a good sense of humour and it was obvious we were going to have a great week. Jamie popped in for one with Norman and Edna and he wasn’t too pleased that Dalyan Dwellers thought those lamps were his – surely they knew he had better taste in décor! We asked my parents, who had also left Tapa when I did, if they wanted to join us to meet Martha and welcome Josh back. Dad had already got bored at home waiting, so they had gone back to Tapa. The four of us decided to go to join them where we introduced Josh and Martha to everyone, some people Josh had already met. We had a couple of drinks and decided we were going to go for a meal as we were all peckish and I’d already booked Simple for the 6 of us. Daisy didn’t want us to leave and Josh, the not so devout vegan, managed to eat a slice of chocolate birthday cake as we were departing.

Simple was lovely, just the 6 of us indoors, with Onur the chef making us very fresh and tasty food. Josh and I had the vegan pumpkin soup, the others had the chicken soup – all were delicious. Martha and I had the pulled beef burger (with chips), Captain Caveman had a chicken quesadilla and the rest had the Asian noodles (meat for my parents, veggie for Josh). All the food was excellent although the noodles were on the spicy side.
Simple is not licenced for alcohol but we were able to get beer and wine from next door. The prices were reasonable to say it felt like a private dining experience. Unfortunately, my 2 breakfasts, a pizza lunch, a few wines and a loaded burger meant that I had completely gone over the top on the syns this week. We went back to Tapa to rejoin the birthday shenanigans which were now getting even more lively. It had been a great day and we had more excitement planned for tomorrow. Fat Club was going to be a bit more like a confessional for me tomorrow, having had 548 syns.

Dalyan – 24th to 27th November

After a cuppa and the dog walk on Friday 24th November, I tidied up and got myself ready to meet our Aussie/Viet friends for the last time. They were off this afternoon, on their journey to Istanbul, via some remaining archeological places. Captain Caveman had gone to Bridge so I met Veronika at Pier Gusto for a hot beverage. Bich and the kids joined us shortly after and we all had drinks while I listened to the tale of the missing hotel master key. I opened my purse to pay and found that I had picked up the white plastic card (the key) at the tea gardens yesterday, not realising what or who’s it was. They were delighted and it saved them paying for a new one.
We decided on a spot of lunch at Çağrı where we had a selection of food both off the menu and from the chiller cabinet. Bich had a beef stew but found it a bit salty, Veronika enjoyed her soup, I had chicken casserole with rice, Micheal and Howie had chicken wings. Captain Caveman joined us later and snuck in a Lamuchan and the kids leftovers. I couldn’t manage all of mine and took the rest home for the freezer. Ben didn’t join for food but swung by in the car to collect everyone. It was a lovely last lunch and I was definitely sad to see our friends leave. I was already looking forward to seeing them again in Phong Nha.
I was meant to meet Vanessa in the afternoon but she had already been to Kefal tea gardens while I had arranged to meet Adele at the Kaunos tea gardens. It is walking distance but Vanessa had a bad foot and she thought it may rain. We saw Adele and then went back to Jamie’s for more cute dog cuddles and to eat some lasagne (with cabbage in it!) for dinner. By 9.30pm everyone, but me, was having a bit of a snooze.

Saturday 25th should have been the Dalyan Winter Fayre but it was postponed to next week, due to the bad weather. I was slightly relieved as, I wouldn’t be getting paid until next week and I didn’t have any spare cash. We stayed in with the dogs and watched TV as more storms were predicted.

For the next 2 days I didn’t do much, aside from looking after dogs. On Sunday 26th November Captain Caveman did the Sunday walk. The rain had temporarily stopped so he and the one other walker were lucky with the weather but everyone else had been put off. Captain Caveman got some great photos and I wish I’d gone for the exercise, he said it would have been too difficult for me.

Because we were house and dog sitting for just the weekend, I moved my working day on Monday 27th, to later in the week. It would be easier back home to save bringing my laptop over and when Captain Caveman is out. The storm at not done any further damage aside from knocking a few outdoor plants over, and moving the patio furniture, which was lucky.
We got Jamie a shepherd’s pie out of the freezer to defrost for him tomorrow and Norman and Edna snuggled up with Captain Caveman.

Photo credit – Captain Caveman

Dalyan – 19th October

I’d previously been invited, but declined, an invite from Kate to go on a 12 island boat trip from Fethiye on Thursday 19th October. At the time of asking I’d not known when my residency renewal appointment or me having to leave Turkey date would be so we couldn’t commit.
My parents, on the other hand, didn’t have these problems and had said they were going and were being picked up from Lukka bar at 10am.
More recently, Jamie had invited Captain Caveman and I on Drew’s private boat trip for his brother’s birthday and we had agreed. This one was with Ünal, Sioned’s husband, on Duran Duran boat. My diet started badly with a homemade (by Sioned) Welsh cake and a cup of tea as we set sail and got introduced to everyone. There was Jamie, Drew, Robert, Lucie, their 2 (well behaved) teenage children, Ann, Sharon, Ali and us two. Drew’s family were lovely and we all had an absolutely fantastic day out with excellent company and amazing food. I ate fresh bread, courgette fritters, şakşuka, spinach, pasta, green beans, carrots, chicken, meatballs, chips, red cabbage, couscous and more bread! I pushed the boat out a bit and had a beer (just the one) too.

We all went swimming, walked on the beach and generally had a really good laugh. There was numerous stops (beach and the lake), there was crab fishing, which I didn’t do but all the crabs caught were females so they had to be put back in to the sea. Ünal really spoiled us in the afternoon with fruit platters and a delicious cake. We sang Happy Birthday to Robert and I probably should have said no to finishing off Captain Caveman’s piece of cake too.

When we left the boat, everyone went back home but we reconvened at Lukka bar, where there was another surprise singing of Happy Birthday. An impressive chocolate cake was shared out and I managed a slice. Norman and Edna had joined us and wondered why they didn’t have such treats.
I didn’t need any dinner that night and we were quite sensible with an early night. My parents, on the other hand, were still giving the ball a right kick!