Dalyan – 31st October

Captain Caveman and I don’t do Halloween so we were pleased to be invited to a non-Halloween party on Monday 31st October. Norman and Edna had slept on our bed at Jamie’s villa and weren’t even up and about by 8.45pm. They had walks and breakfast, making sure I was still checking Jamie’s list for feeding and medication requirements. Vanessa came over to Jamie’s villa, while Captain Caveman had gone Dogging, so that we could do our Turkish homework. We even did it outside on the front patio with a soda water, ice and lemon. For a late lunch I made jacket potatoes with cheese and a bit of sucuk (Turkish sausage) but without butter to make sure it wasn’t too many syns for Fat Club. We had more dog walking in the late afternoon before we got ready to go out. We were already running late to meet Vanessa, Matt, Ma & Pa outside Istanbul restaurant so when we did get there they had already gone on to Adam and Kath’s where the party was already in full swing. Kate was still on her alcohol free stint and doing amazingly well as she sipped water with pomegranate and orange pieces in. Mark was being very supportive by not offering her one of his beers. I thought I could do well to take a leaf out of Kate’s book, as I opened a bottle of Tılsım red wine and poured Captain Caveman and I a glass. I sat next to Linda and she had a glass, there were crisps and Doritos which I luckily couldn’t reach but I saw Captain Caveman shovelling them in like a kid who’d been forever denied treats. Also there, were Andy and Kay who I’d not seen for a bit so it was good to catch up. Jack & Sue and Nigel & Amanda were at the other end of the table with some people I didn’t know so I didn’t get to chat to them.
Adam and Kath had put a delightful spread of food on and it was definitely difficult to stick to the diet as I ate ham in a breadcake with some salad items, including olives which are not syn free. I was spared the fab looking roast potatoes as they had chillies on and I did have some crisps. Linda got a second bottle of wine out for the 3 of us to share, it was one I’d not tried before and I liked it.
Matt decided to organise a pool tournament and it turned in to a right laugh. My Dad doesn’t usually play and, because of his bad eyesight, he wasn’t up for playing but it wasn’t an option – our names were down. We had a few rounds of Killer, which I like best and Dad wasn’t the worst player. Captain Caveman and I actually left at a reasonable hour as we wanted to get back for the dogs. On our way ‘home’ we walked near to the new Jazz Bar in the square next to Migros which was very lively.
Norman and Edna looked like they hadn’t moved from the sofa when we got ‘home’ so I’m sure we could have stayed out longer. We left before my parents, Mark & Kate and Vanessa & Matt who were still giving the ball a good kick.

Photo credit – Adam Newton

Dalyan – 30th October

Kate, aka Miss Guided Tours or Miss Adventure, had organised another boat trip on Sunday 30th October. I had resigned myself to not going given that Edna, the dog, had not been well yesterday. When we got up and took both dogs out for a walk they were fine and Edna was back to normal, thankfully. I decided I would go on the boat trip, after all, but it did mean we would be leaving the pooches in the villa for about 7 hours and I was a bit concerned. Before the day out to sea on Kaan’s Tequila Boat, we didn’t have time to make breakfast so we grabbed a pain au chocolat from Migros and ate it at the front of the boat. On board today we had some of the same usual suspects but we were missing a couple who couldn’t make it and had added more for good measure. My parents, Captain Caveman and I were joined by Vanessa, Adam & Kath, Jackie & Chris, Trish & Steve, Michaela & Ali, Gay Gaz, Kelly and a lady we call 007. Mark and Kate got picked up from their jetty on our way to Devil’s Bay once again. I was so pleased that Ali was well enough to join us even though he and Michaela were not able to go mad with the drink. Trish was back to her usual self too and could enjoy a white wine (or 2) but Vanessa was now feeling a bit iffy and had to limit her wines to just 2 this time. Kate, who was doing so well being alcohol free but was finding it tricky to not drink. Typically, Kaan and Kate had agreed water would be free on this trip, so if she ordered wisely she still could take advantage of a free bar today! Of course, Gay Gaz, Kelly, Mark and Steve managed to make up for it on the booze. By 2pm Captain Caveman had cleared a beach of lots of litter and was towing it back to the boat using a paddle board as a raft.

Most people went in the sea and it was sunny still, about 26°C, but it did feel cool when I got out of the water. Kaan was so relaxed because this could well be the last boat trip of the season and he knows us all so well. He even joined us in a few drinks at the bar, leaving his two mates to do all the work.

The BBQ lunch was wonderful and with 18 of us on the boat it was cosy while we ate it. Kaan took us for another swim spot at hole island and we had more drinks, I think we may even have ran out of certain refreshments.

It was a lovely day even though I didn’t drink too much on account of looking after Jamie’s dogs and, when everyone suggested going for drinks after the boat trip, we decided to go straight home. I was sure that little Edna may need a walk by now and even half expected for one of the dogs to have had an accident but they had been as good as gold. I didn’t have any WiFi on the boat so I didn’t realise that we had missed Nanny Kay who had popped round to say hello, while we were out. I was sad to have missed her because she does have some of the best stories and always makes me laugh. After a nice walk the dogs were super ravenous and it was good to see Edna was back on her normal dog biscuits.
For dinner that night we had diet pizzas and were trying not to fall asleep on the sofa, while watching Somebody Feed Phil on Netflix, at only 9.30pm.

Photo credit – Michaela, Adam and Kaan

Dalyan – 28th & 29th October

By 7.10am on Friday 28th October, I was up and ready for a walk, even if Norman and Edna weren’t! They had slept on my bed all night and were still a little snoozy. The view from my bedroom window was wonderful and I thought it would be lovely to be round that pool in summer. After bread and cheese for breakfast I took Daisy, my bicycle, back home to see how Captain Caveman was doing. His foot was still bad but he could walk a bit better now. I left my bike for him to use and I walked back to Jamie’s for more dog fussing. In all the faffing about I forgot to get weighed or do my weekly measurements. I started making a chicken casserole for dinner while Captain Caveman got moved in and fussed the dogs. He had brought lots of stuff for the fridge and freezer which we just about managed to squidge in. For our evening walk, which was easier with 2 people we took the dogs to nearby Waterfall bar. They know Skippy, the Waterfall dog, and we met my parents there. John and Andrea were in with friends but came to say hello and pet the pooches. When Edna and Norman wanted to chase cats it was time to go home for dinner. While Captain Caveman sorted my parents out with a glass of wine, I fed the dogs who ate like they had never been fed. We had a civilised evening, eating chicken casserole with broccoli and roast potatoes. My Mom pointed out that Dad had been given more potatoes than Captain Caveman which then meant Captain Caveman was disappointed to not have as much dinner. I’d not made a dessert but there were some mini-Magnum icecreams in the freezer, taking up unnecessary room, so we polished them off. After another glass of wine and some dog tickles I booked Fikri (the taxi driver) to take my parents home so they didn’t get lost in the dark.

There was a bit of a ‘to do’ on Saturday 29th October; at first I wasn’t sure which of the dogs were ill because they had both left presents in the kitchen but one wasn’t very solid! It turned out that Edna had a bad tummy so I made her scrambled egg and pasta for breakfast. I was meant to be meeting Vanessa for Turkish homework but had to cancel as I didn’t want to leave Edna in the house with the runs. I let Jamie know she wasn’t too well and I stayed home all day with the dogs.
Captain Caveman went to the weekly market where he bought potatoes, onions, aubergines, tomatoes, peppers, and carrots for less than 100 lira (£5). At Migros supermarket he bought Fairy liquid, apple & cherry juice and white beans for 80 lira (under £4). We had a few walks and Edna managed to have the runs on her own garden path which Captain Caveman washed for us. I mainly stayed outside on the patio where the sun was really hot and I was glad of Jamie’s suncream shelf as I hadn’t thought I’d need to bring any at this time of year. By 5pm I was having a glass of wine and updating my diary while the dogs snoozed.
In the evening we were invited to Deniz’s wedding party at Paradise Hotel but we decided not to leave Edna (or Norman) in case things didn’t improve. I made more scrambled egg and noodles for Edna’s dinner and turned left overs in to a chicken casserole with white beans. It was really good and I would do the same recipe but with sausages next time. Before 10pm it looked like little Edna was on the mend and all but me were enjoying sofa snoozes! We had plans for tomorrow but we had already decided I would stay home if Edna was not 100% and Captain Caveman would go without me.

Dalyan – 26th & 27th October

Captain Caveman woke up in pain on Wednesday 26th October, he was sneezy and his gout had flared up so he couldn’t get out of bed. I went to the bakers for bread and a simit and we had Turkish style breakfast. Captain Caveman struggled to make it to the table and had to dose himself up on painkillers. A friend messaged me to say all had gone well yesterday at the hospital for her husband, which was excellent news. I went to Jamie’s to pop over for a dog related briefing as we were moving in to his place tomorrow, while he and Drew jetted off to a wedding.
In the afternoon I went to my first Fat Club meeting and it was quite funny. The idea is that we follow Slimming World’s philosophy, although Kate is doing her’s as calorie counting instead. I’d already lost 0.8kg by our leader, Carol’s, reckoning but that was only because I had given her my current weight from my scales at home, which weigh heavier. I needed to lose 10kg so we would see if I could manage that given all the temptations in Dalyan. I was hoping to use the group for motivation, inspiration, ideas and obviously the tracking of the weight. Carol had us all discuss when we can do a Christmas knees up (with food and drink) and then went on to plan for us to bring treats to the group in a fortnight’s time. At first I didn’t hear that they were meant to be syn free treats and had visions of me tucking in to a Bounty!
I went home with two borrowed Slimming World cook books, some ideas for soup making and all full of determination. I had an apple for a snack, followed by a home made chicken, potato and spinach curry with steamed rice. I worked out I could have 15 syns each day and thought that would be plenty as I don’t tend to snack or eat much sweet stuff (or so I thought)! Captain Caveman was laid up on the sofa and could barely walk so I had to go out without him. I met my parents at Retro bar and decided to have a glass of white wine and soda so that I had a more sensible drink which would last longer. I don’t like to drink diet drinks because of how the body reacts, plus they don’t taste great. Maureen and Gary arrived and we got on with the quiz, the picture round was quite tricky in parts. We had a good laugh at the quiz and we didn’t do as badly without Captain Caveman as he would have predicted, but we didn’t win. I stuck to just 2 white wine and sodas, which was 17 syns and I’d already had 6 syns at breakfast. Today I had already gone over my daily allowance and would have to keep it in check a bit for the rest of the week.

Captain Caveman was still not well on Thursday 27th October so I had to move in to Jamie’s villa without him. I started the day with a simit, hazelnut and tahini paste mixed together and a cup of Yorkshire tea with milk. Then I said bye to Captain Caveman and cycled over to Jamie’s. It was the first time he had left his 2 King Charles Caveliers in Turkey and he was, understandably, a bit apprehensive and sad. He’d already given them their breakfast and daily treat and then he said his goodbyes. Jamie’s cleaner had made some cake which he had left some for me to finish off as well as 4 bottles of red wine – day 2 of the diet was going well!
Norman and Edna were absolutely fine as soon as Jamie had left and were quite happy being fussed or snoozing. When I took them for a walk they were so cute and comical but very well behaved. For lunch I had a cheese sandwich, I drank lots of water and had noodles for dinner but then I had a small piece of the cake! This meant I had consumed 8 syns today so I was still already over as a running total, so far. The cake was so nice, very moist and the dogs really wanted some. Instead they got their biscuits which they inhaled so quickly I thought they might choke. Norman had scoffed his before I’d even put the lid back on the tub, I was going to have to be careful I didn’t drop anything on the floor when cooking or that would be snaffled up.
When it came to bed time I wasn’t sure if the pooches would go in their bed or stay on the sofa and so I asked them. It was hilarious that the word bedtime had them halfway up the stairs looking at me, as if to say “Well, come on then!”

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 – 23rd October

Sunday 23rd October started with Captain Caveman making me a bacon and mushroom muffin for breakfast. He made himself something that resembled a MacDonald’s bacon & egg McMuffin which made me feel a bit queasy. While he and my Dad went off to watch the local team, Dalyan Spor, play football I invited Vanessa and my mom round for the afternoon. I’d also got someone coming to Lukka bar to buy some trousers so I was looking forward to seeing how that might pan out.
Vanessa and I like to get together to do our Turkish homework, usually with wine, but today we were good and just had cups of tea. Mainly as we were all out tonight and didn’t want to get bladdered in the afternoon. We had a good laugh, of course the trouser buyer fell asleep, then turned up late but did buy them. On my way back home I noticed it was getting cooler around 5pm now, even Kitler, the cat, had taken to sleeping in the Aussie’s plant pot to keep warm. Captain Caveman made sausage pasta for dinner which was really tasty and plenty of it.
That night, Captain Caveman and I joined my parents, Matt & Vanessa, Mark & Kate, and Adam & Kath at Sinan’s for the weekly cancer quiz. We haven’t been for years due to the last time we went it was far too smokey. (I’d wrongly assumed the quiz was to raise money to help find a cure for cancer, not give it you while you tried to work out the quiz answers). Of course, Captain Caveman was a knobby-know-all and wrote all the answers to the first section without even showing anyone else the sheet. By the third round I could tell Matt was getting bored and he and I started taking the piss a bit. In the break I had taken a skirt for the lady who went on a bender and forgot to get it, gave it to her friend and went back to the table looking like I was doing dodgy deals. I was pleasantly surprised to see very few smokers this time but it was spoiled by one bloke smoking a massive cigar throughout most of the first half. Obviously, we didn’t win the quiz and Captain Caveman got argumentative over one question that could have had more than one answer.
By the end of the night Mark, Adam and Matt were playing pool and I was regretting not bringing warmer clothing. By 10.40pm I had borrowed Kate’s scarf and gloves but was ready for home. I’d decided I really didn’t enjoy doing quizzes, it just reminds me how much rubbish I don’t know, or even need to know, while Captain Caveman shows off how clever he is.

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

Dalyan – 19th to 21st October

Captain Caveman was not too clever on Wednesday 19th October when he got up to go Dogging. He was very sneezy, as if he was still near cats but he hadn’t been. His mood was also a bit iffy and he seemed to have a bit of an issue with me having my things around the home. While he was gone I decided to do a clear out of some of my clothes, as I had 3 boxes of them in a cupboard which would not fit in the shared wardrobe.
The Wednesday Fun Quiz at Retro bar had been moved to Thursday for this week so my parents, Captain Caveman and I had a spare evening to spend at home. When Captain Caveman got back he hardly spoke, was very sneezy. We had diet pizzas for tea, watched some Netflix then went to bed.

***Captain Caveman’s photos of the dogs being walked at the shelter.***

Captain Caveman went Bumming on Thursday 20th October while I sorted through my winter clothes. Captain Caveman was still under the weather and I had started to feel a headache coming on.
For lunch Captain Caveman made halloumi salad, he put some shelves in a cupboard in the afternoon. We decided not to go to the Retro bar fun quiz tonight, my parents went to Firat’s for dinner but we stayed in again.

Disappointingly, the training workshop I was due to be part of today had been moved on a month. On Friday 21st October Captain Caveman was very productive, he’d been to the shops and he was cooking a full English breakfast. In Migros he spent 165.60 lira (£7.88) on a toastie loaf, eggs, cereal and chicken. Before breakfast I did my weekly weigh and measurements only to be a little disappointed. My weight was 0.3kg lighter but my measurements were showing I’d increased by 1 or 2cm.
We’d eaten the delicious breakfast and washed up before 9.30am so we could waste more time on the communal electricity issue. I had read every meter in the B Block cabinet but none of them seemed to correlate with the communal electric. I decided to have a look if there was a specific meter for this in A Block and we found it had been cut off, with cutters and a tag had been put on by the electric company, we presumed. This was very strange and I could not understand why they would do that, especially when Captain Caveman had just paid almost 2500 lira (£120) about 10 days ago. The last time I had spoken to Aydem about this they said they couldn’t do anything without me having a paper bill or the correct meter number. We still had no paper bill but maybe the tag number would help? I planned to ask my Turkish teacher to help me on Tuesday as we were getting nowhere.
I did some Turkish practice and homework, we had curry for dinner and then we joined my parents for Lukka Music Bingo. Adam & Kath were on the next table with Sue, Nigel and Amanda so everyone got introduced and the Bingo was good fun. Our table of 4 had said we weren’t eating at Lukka because we had all eaten dinner at home. For some reason Captain Caveman ordered an halloumi starter at a cost of 65 lira (£3.10) – my homemade curry obviously hadn’t filled him up enough. The men had 3 beers but the ladies only had 2 as we didn’t want to be hungover for tomorrow’s outing.
As usual the Music Bingo was great, we didn’t win but we had a fun night – this time not a wild or late one.

Dalyan – 18th October

We were woken with a bit of a jolt on Tuesday 18th October as Captain Caveman’s side of the bed collapsed. Captain Caveman got his tools out and got on with fixing it while I was supposed to be at Turkish class but the class had been cancelled. I made halloumi salad for lunch and then gave Captain Caveman a hand turning the sofa upside down so he could fix that too. At 2pm I went to singing group where Kate and my mom also joined. We sang most of the favourites from last week but we added a couple that we really liked; ‘Bad Moon Rising’ by Creedence Clearwater Revival and ‘Top of the World’ by The Carpenters.
Mark & Kate had arranged to meet Matt & Vanessa, who had arrived in Dalyan late last night, at Tez bar so Kate invited us 4 along too. Sheila also joined us and a random couple got stuck with our group when there were no more seats. After one drink and a quick change, Captain Caveman and I had to leave as we were off to Katrina & Mehmet’s wedding reception at Hotel Dalyance.

The wedding party was really lovely and we were honoured to be invited as they had kept it just to close friends and family. Louize had made the cake which looked amazing, all the wedding party looked great especially Katrina, who was looking so beautiful and happy in her gorgeous wedding dress. I was rather too busy mingling and reminding Captain Caveman of names of people he might have forgotten, after being away for 3 years, to take as many photos as I should have. There was a free bar which we were conscious not to abuse the generosity of and we chatted to some lovely people. We got home after midnight having had a fab time.

Photo credit – Tez and Captain Caveman

Dalyan – 16th & 17th October

We woke up on Sunday 16th October after a cracking storm and were looking forward to an easy day. Captain Caveman went to the bakery for a fresh loaf and a simit, which we had for breakfast with cheese and jams. I popped a sausage casserole in to the slow cooker and checked we had enough potatoes and flour to do roast potatoes and Yorkshire puddings with it.
A lady who was interested in Amanda and Greg’s table, but had not showed up last night because she had mistakenly gone to Ruby rooms during the storm, was going to try again and come today.
When she arrived with her Turkish boyfriend, who still had his pyjamas on (which were inside out) she had a broken arm and the table was too big. They ended up stood in our kitchen for ages chatting and it transpired that Greg had not put the measurements of the table on the advertising post. Captain Caveman measured it and sent him the details to amend his post to include measurements which should have been included.
During all this, my parents had woken up with no power and were trying to get sorted out. It had turned out that their power supply had been struck by lightning in last night’s storm and they may be without electricity for some time. My mom said they would manage without but I was having none of it and insisted they pack some things and come to stay with us. Luckily the spare room was prepared for guests and they like sausage casserole.
It turned out to be another good night with rather too much wine and they brought rum too. My Yorkshire puddings didn’t rise as much as I wanted them too so I was disappointed but we ate them all. I even saved some mixture in the fridge for tomorrow. As we were in bed, about to go to sleep, I got a message asking about the table and could we sell it for less, I said no and went to sleep.

On Monday 17th October Captain Caveman was pleased as we got to have pancakes for breakfast. My parents were going to go home but they wouldn’t even be able to have a cup of tea with their electric being off. Dad had plain pancakes with honey, the rest of us had savoury pancakes with mushroom, spinach and cheese.
After breakfast, we got all the washing done and pottered about a bit while my parents went home to check what was happening with the power. Someone was coming to replace the transformer today, which was rather prompt and they would have power back on today. For lunch we had dips and veggies with olives in an effort to be a bit healthier.
While I got involved with another potential table buyer, Captain Caveman booked a flight back to the UK for 12th November. I got a message from a random man to tell me he was at Lukka bar, sent by the woman who wanted the table for less money, and was trying to find our apartments. I went to Lukka bar and he wasn’t there but I also got calls from a Turkish man saying he was there too. Appo, at Lukka bar, said no one had been and they definitely weren’t there but when I finally worked it out they were in Çalış, not Dalyan. Really?!!!
Captain Caveman made pasta for dinner and we had a night in front of the TV for the first time since Captain Caveman had got to Dalyan. We started to watcher ‘Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story’.

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.

Datça Vineyard – 14th October

I got up to watch the sunrise at 7am, on Friday 14th October, which was very pretty. Unusually, I was out of bed before Captain Caveman so he missed what I saw.
Today was my parents’ Golden wedding anniversary, I went down to the car to collect a gift for my parents; a snazzy bottle of champagne in a gold bottle. Captain Caveman had managed to locate this in Dalyan, which was fortunate as it’s not easy to get decent champagne here.
I took a few photos of Datça Vineyard and it really is very beautiful, I loved the tunnel from reception to the rooms.

Once I could tell my parents were up, we went next door to their room to wish them a happy anniversary and give them their card and present. There’s also less choice on greetings cards in Dalyan so I had bought a handmade card from a lady called Faye, who lives in Dalyan. She sells her cards in Maisie Moo and Books & Cookies and they are very nicely made. I chose one with owls on as I know they like owls and my mom once rescued one in Dalyan. The 4 of us went downstairs for breakfast in the lovely dining area with views over the vineyard. A Turkish lady serving the eggs was very friendly and the choice of food was excellent. I really enjoyed my breakfast and there was so much of it, too.

After breakfast, I went to reception where we booked a wine tasting in for 12.30pm. We had a bit of a rest but by 11.30am Dad was in their whirlpool telling mom it was ‘fine once you’re in’ and to get her swimmers on! It took Mom 15 minutes to investigate and then get in the whirlpool where I took some photos of them. Captain Caveman and I came to the conclusion that the water was freezing so we didn’t go in.

We got ready for wine tasting and went down to the main garden, it seemed chilly because of the wind so we sat at a table with a perspex windshield – a real sun trap. We sampled a white, a blush and 2 reds in the warm sun, Ma and I were getting quite hot. I wasn’t expecting the wine to be up to much as the prices were not expensive so we were all quite impressed.
We went inside when the wind got up and I thought we might order some nibbles but no one was hungry after so much breakfast. Instead, we decided to wait until dinner and take a walk through the vineyard.

Back up the stairs, it was very sunny outside of our rooms and we were hot after our walk. By 2pm Captain Caveman had his swimmers on and was testing our whirlpool out, Ma & Pa were in their’s shortly after. I joined Captain Caveman and it was freezing so I didn’t stay in long. I got us all a gin and tonic (bitter lemon for me as I don’t like tonic) and we chilled out before dinner. Captain Caveman and I shared the remaining pizza from yesterday’s lunch and we got the remaining nibbles out of the fridge.

I thought I’d make an effort that evening, with it being a special celebration, so I wore a black dress with my gorgeous silk scarf. Chung and Uy, in Vietnam, had bought me the scarf as a gift and I was wanting somewhere nice to wear it to. We were the only ones in the dining room and ordered a bottle of red and a bottle of white wine with a cheese and meat platter to share for starter. For mains we ordered a selection and shared between each couple; pizzas, pasta, salad, and steak. We had a lovely meal, Datça Vineyard is very simple and has a small menu to go with the wine but we all found something we liked. After dinner, we retired to the bar to taste more wine and we were chilled out when we got a message from our friend, Julio. There had been an explosion in a northern Turkish mine where quite a few miners were dead and lots more were trapped underground. Captain Caveman and Julio’s help and expertise may be called upon, as part of the rescue volunteers, so they took some time to get the necessary people on standby. I, selfishly, was concerned this may put a bit of a dampener on the celebrations but there was further concerning news. The bar was closing at 9.30pm – crikey!
Back in our room, Captain Caveman went in to the bedroom to liaise with Julio and other potential volunteers so that details could be prepared for if they were needed.
Once that was sorted my Mom insisted we open their champagne and share it. I’d tried to object, to say they should keep it for themselves to drink. It turned in to quite a boozy day and night and, as we were safely tucked up in bed that night, 300 miners had started to be rescued.

Photo credit – some by Captain Caveman

Dalyan to Datça – 13th October

To celebrate my parents’ 50th wedding anniversary, the four of us had booked a couple of days away. On Thursday 13th October Captain Caveman had loaded the car up with plenty of goodies and was ready to pick my parents up at 9.30am. We drove to Akyaka for breakfast at Orfoz restaurant, on our way to Datça. Captain Caveman ordered menemen, my parents ordered an omelette each and some tomatoes, cucumber & rocket. I just ordered some cheese and jam as I don’t like to eat eggs and a bigger breakfast would be too much while travelling.

Our next stop was at Datça Vineyard, where we were booked in to stay at. We had arrived early and decided to check out the town. We drove around Old Datça, got lost a bit and then made our way towards the sea.
We parked up and walked past a place my parents had been to years ago then stopped for a drink at Gocadam Pub for a cold drink. We had lunch at a nice cafe overlooking the sea, Mom had a seafood spaghetti dish with a soft drink and the rest of us had pizza and beer. It was very nice and I had a bit left over as the portions were big.

On arrival at Datça Vineyard we walked up the steep slope to the reception to check in. It took a while as my Turkish is limited and so was their English and it seemed very laid back. We had booked 2 of the nicer rooms and they were lovely, they even had a whirlpool outside and a complimentary minibar. Dad did get in the whirlpool but it was very cold. The sunset and views from our rooms were charming and we really loved the place. The place had been recommended to me by Andy & Julie last year and I had been going for my birthday in January (this year) but we had to cancel. I was glad to finally get to visit and we were pleased to be staying 2 nights.
That night we were supposed to be taking it easy but we all managed to drink lots of wine in our room. Captain Caveman and I had also brought lots of cheese and nibbles to go with the wine. We even brought our own supply of Tılsım red wine, just in case the vineyard stuff wasn’t what we liked.

Dalyan – 12th October

I woke up on Wednesday 12th October with a bit of a woolly head from trying to keep up drinking with the boys last night. I don’t know why we didn’t just get a taxi home and me come back for my bicycle this morning, but it seemed like a good idea at the time. Kate was already up tending to the cats when we saw the news of how bad the floods were in Vietnam. Hoi An was looking particularly bad this year but lots of central areas were affected. We were loaded up with produce from England for the house and cat sitting. Kate had brought us back some treats such as cheese, crumpets, malt loaf and bacon which Captain Caveman and I were very grateful for. I rode my bicycle back while Captain Caveman was going to get a lift on the double seated mobility scooter with Mark. I said bye, Mark and Kate said thank you and off I cycled with my rucksack. At the turtle roundabout, outside the bank, I was overtaken by Mark, Kate and Captain Caveman on the disability scooter and given some abuse for being a ‘slowy’!
At home we had diet pizzas for lunch and then I popped to Maisie Moo. Captain Caveman and I met my parents for a drink at Lukka bar as Captain Caveman had ordered a hire car from Dalaman, which was coming at 5pm. As a treat we had decided to dine a little out of town, in nearby Gokbel. This is where Tay and Angelique’s house was and she had recommended a small cafe called Olabilir. They couldn’t join us as they were busy so the 4 of us decided to try it. The views over the hills and a mosque there were lovely and the menu was definitely interesting. We ordered drinks first and, because they don’t sell alcohol, Mom and I ordered the surprise juice, Dad had a Coke and Captain Caveman a Turkish coffee. We loved the juice which I think contained fresh mulberries and Captain Caveman said the coffee was good. For dinner my parents’ first choice wasn’t available so they had a pasta arrabbiata. Captain Caveman and I chose Mantı, which is a kind of Turkish ravioli. This was the first time Captain Caveman had tried it and he enjoyed it, as did I. The place is really nice and we had a nice time, it was good to try somewhere different and out of town. It was also super cheap as our mantı dish was only 65 lira (£3.10). Unfortunately during our dinner Captain Caveman was involved in the WhatsApp group chat for our apartment complex where the pool and maintenance contact was calling me a liar and saying he hadn’t been able to do the garden because there was no electricity. It had been working in June, July, August and September so I wondered what the excuse was then. I was glad I wasn’t on WhatsApp and wished Captain Caveman could leave his phone alone while we were trying to have a nice meal out.
Out next stop, after Captain Caveman dropped the car back in Dalyan, was Retro bar for Quiz night. We had a good time and, although we didn’t win, we did win the draw for the round of free drinks. How that works is that you get the same as your last round again for up to 4 people for free. How fortuitous of us that Captain Caveman and I had ordered a bottle of red wine plus my parents had an Efes Malt beer each. That made our night and was funny because we had said we were having an easy one tonight. We had to be up bright-eyed and bushy tailed tomorrow, ready for a road trip.

Dalyan – 11th October

Kate and Mark were due back later on Tuesday 11th October, I was up early and feeding the cats, watering the plants and generally tidying up ready for their return. I even gave the kitchen cupboard doors a clean, up to where I could reach, as the sun shining on them highlighted some smears. The weather forecast was looking good for my parents’ first day in Dalyan and Ma had messaged me late last night to say they had arrived safely. Captain Caveman and I cycled home for me to pick up my Turkish workbooks and had some breakfast there. We had fresh figs, plums, yoghurt and I had a drizzle of honey on mine. Turkish class at Casablanca hotel went well but it was definitely starting to get harder.
After class I took photos of the electric meters through the overgrown bougainvillea, meaning some photos were tricky to read, to try to sort out the communal electric situation for Captain Caveman.

Next, we met my parents at Okyanus as I had to be at another appointment at 2pm. It was great to see Ma & Pa, they were looking well and pleased to be back in Dalyan. Captain Caveman gave Ma her new phone from Vietnam and she was very giddy, especially with the face recognition unlock function. We had a beer, some lunch and a great laugh before Captain Caveman spotted Ramazan, the owner, had some secateurs. During our meal Captain Caveman had been getting messages on the communal WhatsApp group to ask what was happening with the electric, which was still off. We needed to be able to get in the electric meter cabinet a bit better, so Captain Caveman borrowed Ramazan’s cutters, hurried home to cut the overgrown bougainvillea so we could open the cupboard wider, then returned them.

I had to leave my parents and Captain Caveman at Okyanus while I went to Merhaba Cafe. The weekly singing group at the café in the Mico hotel was starting again for winter. I think I’m one of the youngest there which often means the song choices are ones I don’t know. A book is passed round for each person to write their requests in (from an already established list), most attendees pick their same favourites each week but I didn’t pick any this time. This week we sang quite a collection but there was a definite theme running through most of the lyrics. Here’s a list of the songs we sang today:

The Skye Boat Song
Swinging on a Star
Always on my Mind
Four Strong Winds
The Rose
Only Sixteen
I don’t know why I love you (but I do)
Meet Me on the Corner
You don’t know
Hallelujah
Halfway to Paradise
Annie’s Song
Blanket on the Ground
Wonderful Tonight
The Galway Shawl
Let it be Me
All Alone am I
Twighlight Time

Shiela, the accordion player, introduced us to a new song which we were given the lyrics to ready to give it a go next week. The group members are rather amusing and can say “it’s not a choir” or “it’s not karaoke” and, if you pick a song they don’t like, someone will let you know. Overall though, they are a nice group and I do enjoy a good warble.

After singing, Captain Caveman and I met at Rehab bar for a cheeky beer and then my parents came to join us. We ordered pizzas and a pide from Sosyete, next door, and had a good laugh until we had to get back to Mark and Kate’s for our last cat feed of our stay. The pizzas were lovely and we got a free salad with 2 dips which was appreciated.
Back at the house, all the cats were fed and waiting for their owners to return. We had packed up ready to leave and stay at our apartment tonight but we ended up staying one more night. We had a few welcome back drinks with Mark, Kate hadn’t been too well and was drinking water. Mark got us a cheese board with various nibbles out and we had a good time. We had quite a late night and I hoped Captain Caveman would be ok for tomorrow’s planned excitement.