Writing the start of this in a bus stop in Hisaronu, after a “tried hard again” England performance.
Football first. We were beat by the better team, but for a lot of the game it was by those fine margins. Stuff happens. Usually to us. But “we get knocked down again, and we get back up again”. At least that’s what the pub were singing minutes after the final whistle.
Thanks Harry. You’ve been a great front for the team. Unfortunately, time & talent, and a bit of luck has beaten you. I wish you well in your future.
Jude? Grow a pair. Stop being ‘continental’ & dropping like a sack at every opportunity. Stay on your feet, believe & beat someone. Anyone.
Gareth? You’ve managed tournaments well, even against a tide of ‘pub managers’. But. Great leaders take gambles & trust instinct sometimes over stats & public opinion. Be braver, take a chance. Earlier. Play people that make it look like they’re playing with that fun & confidence they had as kids on the park with their mates.
Anyway, I know nowt about football strategy, nor the inner workings, so the above comments hold the same weight as the rest of social media’s experts & ITKs.
It’s confession time. Today was a bit of a duff start. It turns out that spending a few hours snorkelling with a big, fat, paper-white back means you get burned. Quite badly. Sunstroke level of badly.
So the first part of today was spent in the shade, in the cool & drinking (non-alcoholic) fluids – water, orange juice, ayran, tea, coffee. Anything.
I’m a nob when it comes to thinking about sun.
Later, I had a very cold shower & airdried (sorry) my way back to some sort of sanity, before heading out.
Oh, I did nip out earlier to the corner shop & out a big order in, that’ll get delivered in a Turkish Tomorrow. That’s not fair & is a cheap shot. The buses may well appear every (Turkish) “5 minutes”, but the reality is that the service & timing for everything else has been bang on.
Along with meats, ayran, tomatoes, and the like, I’ve also ordered 19l of water, a 24x ‘slab’ of Tuborg Fitresiz, some Coronas, Cokes & Sprites. The Essentials. High up on Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, I’m sure.
Hat is older than most of the England team!
We went out at around 6pm, and via the Dolmus, headed into Hisaronu for a bit of a mooch, some tea, and then to our table at Fez Bar.
I’ve taken loads of photos this evening of shop names. I hope I’ve done them justice when I compile them. Here’s a teaser. Read right…
“Cheaper than shoplifting”. I’m in!
We had a good look around and have got an idea of which shop we are likely to be buying 5x £120 designer tee-shirts from. It came down to the quality & thickness of a ‘Moncler’. Go on, at some point I’ll buy. After all, 5 for £40 total isn’t bad. Is it?
From there, we had decided to give a ‘new to us’ restaurant a go, Festival, just opposite Fez Bar.
Jane went ‘Mousaka’ (she’s becoming an expert reviewer) , whereas I went all ‘Kavurma Lamb’. Stir fried lamb with vegetables, heavily seasoned with black pepper (I’m a fan). I had my now ‘usual’ of creamy garlic mushrooms as a starter, but can’t even remember what Jane ordered because of that. If I turned veggie, my meat replacement would be sautéd mushrooms. I bloody love them.
Food & service was really good, but would still need to stretch to get closer to Suat & the team at Shiraz, in my humble opinion. I set a high bar, I get that.
From there we walked over to Fez Bar, then swerved and carried on, only because we were very early, so had another mooch around the shops, not deliberately, but likely winding up the sellers. “Thanks but it’s just research. My son & his mates arrive tomorrow. I’ll recommend they take a look”.
Eventually, we circled around and went back to Fez Bar. “Our table” (the one where we won) had been reserved for us & I’d washed and now worn the same clothes as previous. No way it was coming down to whether I was wearing this same g-string or not, that’s not happening ever again.
Oops. I nodded off then. I’m back. It’s now 2:28am here. #NeverGiveIn
The place is brilliant. If I ran a boozer, I’d have similar aspirations. Place and people delivering are top notch. And also, and this is key, I think the place thrives off customers that are ‘regulars’ even if it’s their first visit. Ones that aren’t d**kheads. I know a couple of places locally where the same happens – it’s almost self regulating and still welcoming &’ nclusive. Unless you’re a d**khead, that is.
Then there was football. See earlier.
I’m calling time on this one. I’m knackered & it’s now 3am. Also, I’m now being bitten to buggery by midges.
We woke to John Squire’s opening guitar intro to “Love Spreads” (Stone Roses) at exactly ‘oh-eight-hundred’ this morning.
Alarms are not a normal feature of a holiday, so this was because we had to be down at the Taxi rank for 9:10am to be picked up by Mr Baris (his Panama-hat-wearing colleague, tbf) and whisked over to Fethiye harbour.
Like lions led by donkeys, oh, hang on that was pre-election. Led by a non Panama-hat-wearing crew member, we were taken the short walk down a long path to the boat. THE. BOAT. THE BOAT! What a boat!
The boat!
Remember that boat I took a fancy to on Thursday & in the photo, said I’d captain one day…???? The Grand Baris is a proper swanky, top notch big sailing boat. And it’s one of two that Baris runs.
I WhatsApp’d him on Thursday (that’s how things get done here) & sorted out a booking. “Each person GB 30. 4 stop, no loud music, BBQ lunch. I will pickup and drop back from Ovacik Taksi Rank 9:10am”. Job’s a gud’n, we’re in!
The sticky-out bit at the front.
Then, we were taken a long walk across a short plank, onto the back of the boat, (stern? I was certainly assertive) and through the boat to the front pointy bit that you see on Titanic before it sinks. Note to self: I perhaps shouldn’t have said my thoughts out loud as I often do, as it seemed to unsettle a few of the passengers.
Jane & I settled down in our seats that were a quarter boat-length apart. One in the squishy chair in the sun, one with a rigid back, easy access to a vomitory (exit passageway), and a sturdy table that could hold a cold beer at the appropriate height. After we swapped seats it worked well for the whole of the voyage.
Pertinent background. I describe that I get “seasick in a bath”. Through baby to kid to young adult, I have form. Projectile vomiting is another of my panurgic skills. Practice at an early age, through good parenting, I was trained to a point of being able to redecorate a room, if fed brandy & carnation milk. As I matured, (age 1+), I dabbled to further my athleticism. Coach travel, car travel, just travel.
Blue. Not green. Or orange.
Then, as an early teen, thanks to Mrs & Mrs Bennett’s now infamous Boxing Day parties, I managed to add an artistic twist to my CV, learning that as a 16 year old, mixing chilli & rice, with a 2l bottle of Woodpecker cider and half a bottle of ‘Blue Curaçao’ meant that the then flat roof extension outside of my bedroom window could become a palette of colours, albeit mainly a radioactive green.
Latterly, I ruined a day trip out on the North Pacific for a large group of fellow whale watchers, including the aforementioned Mr & Mrs Colin & Kath Bennett along with Mr & Mrs Arthur & Ann Robinson . The boat left Nanaimo, headed out into what Captain Pugwash described as calm, but I described as tsunami.
We spotted greys breaching & playing & so got closer. They were so close I know the smell of their spout outbreath. It’s not good when krill & prawn is your only input.
Pugwash cut the engines. The boat began bobbing with the waves. It turned side on towards the whales & everyone rushed to that side. I however rushed port side, reconsidering my breakfast choice. Everyone took photos. I saw a Sunfish on my side of the boat. So did Pugwash. I power-washed that Sunfish with the most expensive breakfast I’ve probably ever eaten – steak & eggs. Pugwash missed that and called everyone over to port side to take photographs. “Why is the Sunfish eating carrots, Daddy?” Was the last I heard before being crushed by shame.
More Pudgy that Pugwash.
So! Two years ago, we did a boat trip & I was fine! I did another today. I was fine. It was bloody brilliant!
We headed out, caught a glimpse of a turtles head in the harbour, and continued out north easterly before arriving at a small, steep-sided cove.
The colour of the water is definitely an upgrade on Sale Water Park, that’s for sure. It’s a very clear Med, with white shale beaches around here. How could I not resist jumping in & snorkelling about with my Go-Pro!
As always for people born pre-1973’ish, entering deep water that hits ‘that blue’ colour evokes an emotion. And a physical response. After I initially unwound from my foetal position, so I had nothing dangling tempting to things with jaws, I relaxed.
Mask & snorkel on, salt-water buoyant, the first interesting thing I filmed on the go pro was my cheap crappy smart watch on my wrist. Flashing, vibrating, emitting many green lights from its underside. I felt its pain, literally for the 5 minutes it took for it to fall on a salty sword. Rest in peace dear 19-day old friend.
The hooter went. Time to return. Onto the boat, freshwater shower to rinse off the salt. Then off we go again!
Next stop, after passing many great views was another cove (2 more to come, so don’t get coved out just yet).
Just before the Great Tsunami of 2024
Giddy & more confident folk started practicing their Titanic moves byjumping from the boat from greater & greater heights.
Meanwhile, Jane & I realised an interesting passenger dynamic.
Where we sat, front lower deck, was a group from Wigan (Pemberton & Upper Ince bizarrely, my genetic heritage), Preston & Manchester. On the upper deck where the sunbeds were, and Jane had a dabble, were folk from the south east of our fair land. There was a north/south divide!
After the dip, dinner was served (lunch, for those upstairs). Chicken or fish? We had one of each plus a plate of chips. Really nice food & plenty of it as well.
From this stop we seemed to be heading toward Cape Horn, but suddenly the engines cut. We were all asked to return to our seats. I grabbed 4 life jackets on the way back, just in case.
“Full wind ahead, Cox” I shouted. They cheered. I think.
Then the sails unfurled. I’m not nautical (shocker!), but this was wonderful! Yes, I know the science, but to have such a big boat go from stalled, to decent speed to the point I noticed us riding higher in the water, was an experience. Bravo!
We did stop twice more, and apart from seeing lots of fish, a possible jellyfish sighting (yet to be confirmed via the GoPro), and more jumping in, we had two more hours of good fun.
From my drowning practice position.
All good things, etc. We docked, said our goodbyes & were led back to the charabanc for our journey home.
We decided on the way, that we would head to Turtle Restaurant (thank you), and get some chilled-out scran. A Mousaka & Chicken Kebab, and a very entertaining dialogue with our servers later, we meandered back via the corner shop & that’s where you find me now. On’t balcony.
Tomorrow? Yeah, lazy then football. May involve buying some knock-off clothing. Maybe not.
Well, this is going to be short! We’ve been really, really busy doing absolutely nothing today.
I found myself somewhat reflective today, having been reminded how much I needed this holiday last year.
On 13 July, 2023, I worked my last day at Airangel Limited – a company I co-founded, and it brought to an end 12,761 days without seeing a P45. I’d had 35 years of continuous service for one reason or another.
I can’t say it wasn’t disappointing to not get a call off anyone from work during the final 2 days. It just stopped and then I went on holiday. Very strange ending to a very long career.
Well it’s been a year! After Airangel was wholly purchased by an American business, I was made redundant (on 6 months statutory notice). Somewhat unexpectedly, I was also returned money that I had loaned into the business (at 0% interest). I was then taken on by said ‘Murcans on a consultative basis, through until January of 2024.
For those wondering, yes, I was also a shareholder, so at some points there may be some money coming my way. But also, maybe not. It’s complicated. Either way, it’s not a life changing amount, I’m not retired on financial and age grounds, put it that way.
What the above did mean was that I had the equivalent of 12 months or so, of income, pre-paid.
I’m very thankful of that. It gave me the opportunity to take a bit of time off, but mainly to then have a go at things that I really wanted to without the immediate pressure of replacing that income.
It was obvious to me what I wanted to do and I immediately applied to become a volunteer at the local NHS Trust Hospital – Stepping Hill, Stockport.
I can’t deny that it was an odd feeling going to my first interview since I was 18, even for an unpaid voluntary position. I was delighted when I was asked if I would be a Ward Helper on the Acute Frailty Unit (D4). Given that Dad ran the Path Lab & Mum was a Ward Aid on A14/15 back in the day, then my little Sis’ did a stint there as a Clinical Speech & Language Therapist, it meant I’d “squared that Blue circle”.
Serious need to reorganise those cups.
I’m still there 2 days a week, 12 months on. I think it’s probably the most rewarding job I’ve ever had. I really do mean it. I love helping the patients and clinical staff. The staff there are all heroes. Oh, and arranging the blue mugs above the red ones on every tea trolley round is a highlight!
Some of my finest work. Even got the ‘keeper in there.
I’d decided that after the New Year & my consultancy stint finished, I would start looking for other work, ideally flexible time-wise, so am presently an independent consultant that’s very happy to help businesses improve through Quality & Information Security Management systems and processes.
I also got a qualification in Spectator Safety & applied for a role at the new Co-op Live arena, on the same campus as the Manchester City Stadium. I did get a Fan Services role, but suffice to say, working in an office answering customer complaints wasn’t the most rewarding of days work, whilst it bumped and bathed its way through a very rough opening few weeks.
Thankfully, that role was deemed untenable, by the Co-op, and myself! After a short hiatus, I did a few shifts as a steward, working in the seating area for Eric Clapton/Doobie Brothers, and on the doors at Entrance F a couple of times. It was really good fun, being able to interact with & help fans have a great experience.
“The Bowl”
After three shifts I was asked to consider the Fan Service Assistant role that I’d expected the first one to be. I said “yes”, and within a couple of shifts we’d got a decent team together of regulars. It’s unfair to pick people out, but Maz (Maria) & Adam are top notch & we get on particularly well! They totally get the service delivery/customer experience bit alongside conflict management & thinking on our feet. It’s a buzz working with them & we keep in touch outside of the shifts, mainly talking work – we are a great team for sure! I’m looking forward to my next shift which is a 7pm-6:30am (yikes!) for a UFC Fight night event. That should be “interesting”!
One thing that’s also been interesting & frustrating is that because I’m ‘panurgic’ (a good Jack-of-all trades) and am able to put a CV together for all sorts of work whether tech, business process engineering or hospitality/customer relationship centric, I’ve applied for lots of roles.
I’m grateful for the companies that have had the good grace to reply, even with rejections. Almost all haven’t even bothered. I would never consider not replying. I’m now on my 4th ‘no reply’ for applications as a Bar tender, as an example. If you hear of anything, bear me in mind!
I’m even genuinely considering becoming a driving instructor, as it would allow me to carry on volunteering and working in the Fan Services role. Who knows what the future holds.
Anyway, all of this contemplation was in part because I’ve been avoiding the sun today. I’ve gone a bit “Jerry the Berry” (standard operation procedure, in my case), and so have been sat in the shade, reading, dozing, wondering if the house is trashed, for a large part of the day. It was about 4pm, before I finally ventured into the sun. I felt almost vampiric!
By six, and a few pool dips later we went & showered and then I fell asleep! Oops.
I was awakened by my cheap-but effective smart watch buzzing with messages from my Fan Services WhatsApp group. Some stuff happened. Some people were kinda happy as they could watch the England final. Then some other stuff happened. Now they have a tough choice to make. The craic in the conversations is superb! What a cracking bunch of nutters I work with!
As we have an early (pre-9am) start tomorrow, we decided to stay local and ‘light’, so we’ve been to Casibe -a shortish walk down the Ataturk Road, for a tapas style meal.
Yet again, food, service & company all fabulous! Steak skewers, Chinese style prawns, smokey meatballs, a proper-tasty babaganoush, croquettes and a feta with sesame & honey dressing. Yum!
One of the fellas spotted I was pointing the microphone end of my phone towards their speaker (Shazam’ing, as I thought the singer sounded like Ruth B.). He gave us the link to the ‘streaming video’ service (YOU know the one), and told us the song, a cover of 1000 Years. Those are the details that make a difference. Great service doesn’t have to cost a penny when you have a great attitude.
Appetite suitably sated, we’ve headed home for a relatively early night, ready for our nautical adventures tomorrow!
After finishing yesterdays blog this morning, I scoffed some bread, cheese, ‘meats’ & tomato & washed it down with fresh orange juice, apple tea & a pot of ayran (sour sheep yogurt, water & salt – it’s much better than it sounds, trust me!).
Wonky.
Given our late start today & our plans for this evening, we just spent a few hours around or in the pool, reading, snoozing or listening to music (probably Pet Shop Boys, in Jane’s case).
At around 3:30, we called time and headed up to the apartment for showers & a change into our finest feather. For me that meant a pair of garish checked shorts, a mismatched polo shirt & chilli-dip-splashed light grey Sketchers (they’re comfy, bite me).
The Dolmus throwing an anchor out to stop
We headed down the hill and caught the Dolmus north to Fethiye, this time on a bus with a better safety rail, but no brake pads (the smell as we braked down the hill into Fethiye was impressive).
After about 20 minutes and £1.40 lighter for the two of us, we arrived at the ‘last stop’ in the centre of Fethiye at 5:15pm. A short meandering walk in the sunshine took us down to the harbour where, ahead of our schedule, we called in at Cafe Geniş for a cold drink, before the 6pm Water Taxi over to Çaliş Beach (where we e-scootered to the other day).
Water taxi heading into Çalis Beach
We paid up, and headed to the water taxi, which took its usual 20 minutes or so to get to the stop near Çaliş Beach, from where we headed south on the other side of the estuary. We are heading for a ‘wooden jetty that’s 200m north of the Big Boy” or something like that.
Sure enough, at about 6:50 our next water taxi arrived to take us on our complementary ride over to Sovalye Island & the Ada Restaurant for our tea.
Ada on the island hill top
Wow! What a place that is – proper fine dining experience! Glad that we’d had a steer to book a Balcony table that is a) an incredible view; and b) no smoking. Also glad that I’d been recommended the grilled squid starter! The place, the view, the service, the food and company were all amazing!
Table view.
Well, apart from the young couple sat opposite to us that had clearly had a row. She sat, stony faced with her arms crossed for the first half hour, only lightening up to take photos of her fellas head so she could prove to him that he was ‘thinning on top’. Bless ‘em.
Fine dining scran!
We ate well & watched the sun set over the distant mountains and the sea. Pretty much a perfect evening!
What a view!
The taxi back leaves at quarter to the hour, so at 9:30, we headed down the steps to the jetty to be greeted by a wet dog, who seemed to be commanding the boat!
Captain about to jump ship?
It was a short 6/7minute trip back to Çaliş, where the dog got off to be welcomed home by his ‘wife’ dog. True apparently.
Then a quick stroll up the promenade back to just about make the 10pm water taxi back to Fethiye Harbour. It was a busy boat back, as to be expected at this time of the evening.
A short walk down the harbour-front to nosey at all the boats at night, many of which make a show of being lit up. Some proper swanky looking things in tonight!
That looks a fancy Dan boat! I’ll captain it one day!
Once in Fethiye, we decided we’d call it a day & so headed back to the apartment via a Dolmus that had brakes and a safety rail. Actually, it seemed to be brand new!
Flash buggers!
Had a lovely day today, and really relaxing in to this ’just Jane & I’ holiday, although I think Jane is less so, missing both her boys, Toby & Charlie. Me? I’m making the most of it before the Monday nights arrivals!
No idea what we’ll be doing tomorrow, but whatever, we’ll enjoy it! Plans made for Saturday & Sunday though, so all good!
Today (Thursday) starts with me being “tired and jaded” (slightly hungover). Hence the late post.
Yesterday however, began with a bright and breezy breakfast on the balcony, followed by us heading down to the pool.
It was a bit much!
It was scorchio! There seemed to be very little wind and as such it was feeling every bit of the 34°C that it was supposed to be. Jane sunbathed. I spent a chunk of time in the pool.
Suddenly, the wind got up & the sun was obscured by cloud. Within minutes, Jane & I were packing the cushions up behind the bar under cover, as dark clouds bubbled furiously over the Babadağ Mountain peak.
We were back on the balcony as the thunder began & we got to watch a first for us here, rain! It was a pathetic imitation of Mancunian rain, lasting for 10 minutes and hardly wetting the tiles.
The tiles were so warm, the rain dried faster than it fell.
We spent the rest of the early afternoon chilling out, rinsing our roaming data allowance & wondering whether our house has been trashed yet. The video doorbell snapshots suggest plenty of comings & goings and I suspect some are ducking around the side of Jane’s van, out of vision. Fair play.
Showered & pampered, we then headed down to catch the 23Tl (50p) Dolmus down to Hisaronu. Made me chuckle that the overhead ‘safety grab bar’ was the most dangerous thing on the bus, being entirely detached except for the front.
The “safety rail”.
We got off in the centre of His’ & wandered up past Sports Direkt, Harrools (Harrods), I.idI. (near to Nevv Look), Mark & Spensers, then Footaslyum to Shanghai Blues, a Chinese Restaurant that we’ve been to before. No other choice really given we were going to spend the latter part of the evening watching the Stockport Iniesta show Jude Bellingham how to contribute more than a spawny goal.
The service and food were lovely, although again, we managed to eat more than we really needed to. (Mixed starter platter, lamb with ginger & spring onions, beef & cashews, served with egg fried rice & prawn crackers).
As the table was being cleared, the chap serving us dropped the small bowl of chilli dip, which smashed on the tiled floor and spattered all around in red chilli & oil – his white shirt, Jane & my legs, shoes, shorts, the white table cloth, the white seat covers. Oops. Apologetically, we were handed a few hand wipes to mop ourselves down with.
After paying the bill (cash, as it’s the only place where our Revolut card gets declined, as per last year), we started to head towards Fez Bar, via a few clothes shops. I’m sure we’ll be buying a few things before the holiday is over!
I’d booked us a table via Jo & Serdals Facebook page, so on arrival we were seated in a nice corner with a good view of the big telly. Happy days. Jo had suggested we’d be ok for 9pm but slightly earlier would be better. As such we got in for 8:15pm – better early than late!
As the match drew closer, the background music stopped, and the pre-match playlist was put on loud, so rather than having to listen to Andy Gray & Richard Keys (ars*hole), instead we, the pub patrons sang to:
Three Lions (Football’s coming home);
Vindaloo; then
Sweet Caroline
Sadly this did mean we had 5 minutes of the joy of the BEIN panel where Ronald De Boor made Glen Hoddle look like a Poundland Glen Hoddle & Jason Macateer did his best Poundland Jamie Carragher impression.
Just before KO, I got a FB Message from Fez Bar “ Hi Chris, are you coming? Ok if not.”. I replied with a photo of our view, Jane drinking her very large & very nice Strawberry Daiquiri. I saw Jo check her phone & burst out laughing. She came over to apologise, having not clocked us. It gave them a table back that had been reserved for us, that got filled immediately!
After Sex on The Beach, Jane settled for a Strawberry Daiquiri
Then the match. Great first half. Mainoo & Phil (Stockport Iniesta) Foden doing Stockport proud! Bellingham being ‘continental’ by being tapped and making a meal of it, and Harry Kane doing his best David Blaine impression (a long time in the box doing nothing). Apart from scoring a penner with his “foot’s hanging off, he definitely caught me!” (according to his post-match interview).
Fireworks!
Second half tense. Holland (it’s Holland isn’t it, if you’re of a certain age), had neutralised our threat. At 60mins it was crying out for Kane to get hooked and bring Palmer on, but Gareth had than on his spreadsheet for 98th minute, so we endured some more.
Finally! Substitutions! Kane & Bellingham surely? Oh, I forgot about the ‘Bellingham Clause’, so the best player on the pitch in the first half got subbed instead.
Gareth is a genius! Last gasp winner from Ollie Substitute! Fez Bar went wilder than it had been throughout most of the evening! Fireworks being swung around in the street by the bar staff, clapping, singing, hugging, dancing and drinking – lots of drinking!
We’ve booked the same table for Sunday. I’ll wash and wear the same clothes.
We finally got the dolmus back to upper Ovacik, and headed home, getting in at around 1:15am, way past our bedtime, and why today’s diatribe arrives at this time.
Annoyingly, I couldn’t turn my head off last night, for the first time in a while. Not sure why, and the whirring mind was all positive stuff, unlike the previous few years. But it did mean I watched the sun come up from behind Babadağ mountain before falling asleep, so that’s a plus.
When I did finally wake up, Jane was downstairs on the balcony having breakfast. Bread, cheese, “ham” and tomatoes, with a cafetière of coffee (Colombian, not Turkish for now – maybe later), for me.
Then, a stroll down the hill and the 20 minute Dolmus (bus) ride into Fethiye.
Down the hill…
Off at the final terminal, we then wandered down through the old town, past the spice stores, through the fish market and then narrowly swerving the very friendly chap looking to flog us some perfume (“English always in a rush”, apparently) and on to towards the harbour.
Felt cat slippers. Why not.
Having had a little glance in to a cafe that we’d been recommended, to spy out for later, we stopped and sat in the shade for a moment. Next to an e-scooter parking bay.
Needless to say, I downloaded the app, set up an account and then signed two scooters out on a group ride (I pay & am liable for both).
I began explaining to Jane how you “push off with a foot, then press the ‘accelerator’ thumb button whilst…”
I never got to the “covering the brake with your left hand” part. She shot off and, out of control headed for the nearest boats. Thankfully, intuition (& fear) kicked in and she regained her composure and her e-scooter.
We then had a fabulous half hour, riding the harbour side bike path, the 6.6km all the way to Çaliş Beach. It was great fun but not without its moments.
‘Half-Throttle h’Airey” seemed intent at stringing this out despite me repeatedly reminding her that we get charged by the minute. “Time is money”, but not for Jane – “half speed and a bend means a visit to the bushes”. She was fine, and it entertained the lady on the e-bike behind us (dog in front basket, obviously).
For me, it was a more chagrin experience, as the clutch began slipping, the motor overloaded and a “weight overload” message came on as I tried to ascend to slight rise over a footbridge.
After rolling down the other side, it seemed to recover, although never seemed as keen to shift forward afterwards. I won’t be using XC9VX again, it seems, and it’s unlikely anyone else will for a while.
We dropped the scoots off near where the pubic water taxi leaves for Fethiye, stopped the group ride on the app, took the required photo to prove we were responsible in our choice of parking and then went for a stroll.
A very hot stroll down the ‘prom’. Definitely a lot warmer down here at beach level, in my opinion. After mooching the beachfront for half an hour, we stopped for a snack and a beer at Nil Bar.
Not shaming anyone, especially not Jonny Vegas, when they’re switched on enough to bring their own glass insulators. Genuinely impressed.
As I checked my phone to see what time it is, I noticed a timer running. About an hour. Bugger! Seems when you ‘end a group ride’ you still have to stop both scooter rentals individually. And to do so, you need to take a photo. As Jane ordered for both of us, I ‘jogged’ back to the bikes and confirmed the ride end, for both bikes.
We paid 30 minutes more than we needed to. Even so, both rentals cost us £8 & £5 respectively, which was still value for the laughs & fresh air. Highly recommend having a go!
After an ‘all in’ omelette for me & jacket spud with bacon & cheese for Jane, we “Hesap, Lűtfen’d”, paid the bill and meandered back the long way to the water taxi.
“The long way” means we sussed out where the water taxi leaves from when it heads to Sovalye Island. More of that later in the week.
The water taxi is about a half hour trip across the bay back to where we nabbed the scooters from, so was perfect – cool breeze, nice views & 200Tl (about a fiver) for both of us.
From there we meandered back into the old town, and on to Büyükev Kitchen & Bar (remember the cheeky cats from previous years? Still here.).
Cheeky cat reaching for some punters scran. The black Lab sat opposite sorted that out.
I had to slake my e-scooter inspired thirst by ordering a Maß (glass version of a 1L stoneware Stein) of Bomonti Filtresiz (unfiltered, fyi) and we both sat & watched the world go by for 3/4 of an hour or so. That and an episode of Netflix Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders that they were showing on the big screen (allegedly).
Jane is tiny. It’s a normal size glass, honest!
From there, we headed the short walk back to The Mulberry Tree cafe for our tea. We weren’t that hungry, and knowing what we’re having for tea on Thursday, budget played a part. That said, wow! Brilliantly simple but top notch scran & service.
Jane had the lentil soup (hence she’ll be sleeping on the balcony tonight), whereas I had garlic creamy mushrooms (plate licked clean), served with the complimentary side salad, balloon bread, and some of the finest pickled cabbage I’ve ever had! Both of us had also ordered the Pide (“Pee Day”), which is hard not to describe as a Turkish version of a pizza. Perfect for our needs! It’s part owned by a lovely English lady, who also served us an apple tea (Jane), and Turkish tea (me), both of which were also spot on.
The ‘Hesap’ was daft value, so we did tip heavily to push the bill to just over £30 total, including drinks. We’d estimated what we would expect to pay, and so payed that, rather than what the bill said, which seemed a fairer approach!
Then, a stroll back to the bus stop and the Dolmus back to ‘Upper Ovacik”. A tired and slow walk back up the hill & a collapse on the balcony. We were both hot & sweaty and as such, tired.
After a quick FB messenger exchange with Jo & Serdal, tomorrow nights hosts have put a table aside in front of their big screen for tomorrow’s “entertainment”, down at the newly restyled & re-opened Fez Bar, in Hisaronu.
So that’s tomorrow and Thursday sorted. Both late nights (for us) so I have no intention of taking up the reins & nipping to the corner shop for bread, Ayran etc.
A windy night last night! Weather, not nether, just to be clear.
So, I got out of bed at half past ten, then phoned up a friend who’s a party animal. We turned on the news and drank some (pomegranate) tea. Jane agreed with me, we’ll do some shopping.
And that is today’s summary, basically!
A stroll down the hill to the corner shop, where the main man then whizzes the shopping up to our door on his little moped.
Some coffee, bread & tomato for brunch and then down to the pool to test drive the new layout. It’s fab! There’s a nice little shallow section where you can sunbathe and some steps that allow for a gracious exit from the pool. Happy days!
What a mix!
Around 5pm, we called time on the “Slow Cook Chris” and headed back up for a chill, then a shower & freshen up, ready to go on our now-traditional first evening meal at Shiraz.
After a short walk, we were greeted immediately by Suat, who welcomed us back & sat us at our table. I had to have the amazing Lamb Shank (with extra mint sauce!) and Jane had the Sea Bream. Food excellent, service impeccable, as it’s always been!
A slow “full as a bull” walk back up the hill and we’ve crashed out on the balcony.
The pool at night.
A much more dynamic day planned for tomorrow, so hopefully some more great experiences!
Well, I firstly apologise for anyone reading this thinking there’d be an improvement on my potential daily diatribe. Unlikely. Very unlikely. Switch off now, is the Doctors recommendation (the original, not the reboots and not Disney ‘New’ Doctor).
I’m sat on ‘that balcony’ again in Ovacik, Türkiye, pondering and remembering what’s gone on in the last 24 hours’ish & trying to put virtual pen to virtual paper.
(Hisaronu from Ovacik balcony)
Ve-ery different this year for us. Jane & I are here, as we have been for the third year in a row (thanks to our wonderful friends), loving the place & the people.
That’s where there’s a difference. This will be the longest we’ve been just ‘a couple’ since around 1996. We had Scooter (beautiful dog girl) and a vast menagerie, before stumbling into having a kid in 2005.
So I am aware. Loads of folks will have experienced this and will be ahead of where we are, as Charlie isn’t with us.
He’s at home. “Alone” (very unlikely). He has the house to ‘mind’ for a week on his own, and our favourite son, Toby (dawg) has been strategically re-sited for the next week or so, and has been given full access to all surveillance available (there’s a lot!).
“We are relaxed. We are confident. We are”…well, that’s the mantra. He will be fine, in all seriousness. It’s us as parents that are constantly adjusting to the ‘letting go’ phase (which I’m told by my Mum, never ends).
There’s a freezer full of ‘ping’ food. A cupboard full of pot noodles. The brewshed has been boarded up. All other accessible vehicles have had the distributor cap loosened. He’ll be fine.
He did get up to see us off the premises & thank you to Noz for the handover & taxi ride to the airport – very much appreciated!
The rest of today has been a breeze – flight on time & good, transfer (Ozgur Eser, Blue Lagoon is a legend), and now we (me & a Tuborg Filtresiz, as Jane is now in bed), are settled on the balcony writing this.
There may be more of this written effluent. There may not. As always, it just down to my head.
Well done all that made it this far! It’s been emotional! This will likely be my last blog of this holiday (maybe just some FB posts, maybe not), unless something screws up spectacularly between here and Cheadle Hulme.
Tomorrow should be a day of chilling, casual packing, a bit of clean & tidy & then something for a late lunch. Anything to avoid paying the McDonalds prices at Dalaman Airport, which has a reputation for taking advantage of a captive market, let’s say!
Out private transfer is booked for. 6:30 pickup, with an hour to the Airport, leaving just over a couple of hours to make it to gate assuming no delays on the flight.
So today, not unexpectedly for the regular reader, we’ve done bugger all, kind of. The usual getting up at the crack of 10am, then a relaxed breakfast. Actually, Jane did go into clean up mode and has done some washing of tea towels & other bits and pieces that we’ve used whilst here. Then breakfast.
Eeking down of supplies meant breakfast was a “half of whatever is left” type deal. Oh well, the sun was over the yardarm, so I rationed out a bottle of Bomonti to wash down the Aryan.
Summary for this year is as follows:
The first week was darn hot, to the point where we didn’t do some of the things we planned to do, but that just meant we did stuff we hadn’t planned on doing quite as much of – totally relaxing & enjoying ourselves! Doing stuff is over-rated sometimes.
The water issues created a few minor challenges, but Schlick happens, and it only really compromised us once (where we were too lazy & sticky to go out).
The Apartment is, once again, superb! The layout, the facilities, the location, the views. Fabulous! Thank you to our hosts for making it available again – we love it here!
The people we’ve been lucky enough to meet & interact with over here, as I’ve said, are so welcoming & friendly. I really do recommend visiting!
We discovered the Dolmus! Bloody hell, it puts out bus service to shame (no fault of our drivers and staff, imho). Every 5-20 minutes route dependent and great value. The little jaunt out to Saklikent yesterday was a definite highlight, part of which was down to the Dolmus rides.
The food is so good! I asked Lurchio this evening what’s the best about the holiday and his answer was the weather (not controversial having heard about what we are arriving back to), and the food. The food can suit all budgets and tastes, but I really recommend searching out some good local/traditional dishes, as well as the pizza, pasta, steaks etc.
So, today! We headed down to the pool to throw towels on sunbeds given we were now in a competitive poolside environment. First line captured and secured by the advance party (Jane).
After throwing a bottle or two of water into the pool to provide additional rations for the now-encamped ground troop, the final phase of our Blitzkrieg was put into action where I went for the Vernichtungsschlacht (utter & total annihilation) approach, throwing my towel across a sunbed and then establishing a base overseeing the enemy forces (on the other side of the pool), resulting in a unilateral victory in my humble opinion.
I knew this when Carl & Angela from Sale, with their daughter & son, leaned over their balcony, introduced themselves, said “hi” and we had a good old chinwag. Lovely folks. Might even go for a pint with Carl in the Volunteer when we get back – he likes a nice, malty amber ale.
He mentioned about setting off to the shops shortly, and would we like anything picking up whist he was out. We had won a battle and lost a war. What nice people. Therein an example of the futility of all wars. No one wins, you only lose.
Enough of these ridiculous and sketchy analogies! I’m clearly a Bomonti too far, and definitely a belly full of too much good food! Focus, Chris!
Carl & his daughter (Portia, I think), joined us around the pool later in the avo, and more chinwagging was done. So much so, that both Jane & I took our eye of our suncream regime. We now have some sunburn, but thankfully low level.
At around 4:30 we bud our farewell for the evening and headed back for cold drinks, cold showers and (sorry folks) on my part, some cold air-drying sat in line with the aircon.
We’d booked a table for uç (like the lemon alcohol from the 90s, “‘Ooch”), at 7pm down at Suat’s place, Shiraz, so with 15 mins to go, we set off, mini bags of rubbish in hand which were deposited in the “end of street” Mini skips, before dodging the traffic & crossing the upper, then lower road.
On arrival, and after drink we’re served (where it turns out Jane now has a penchant for ‘Sex On The Beach’ yet we never went to Oludeniz) the meal was predictably fantastic.
Lurchio had the chicken goujons, Jane the calamari, and I had the nicely hot & spicey prawns as starters.
Mains were a moussaka for Jane & then two portions of the Steak Pegasus – strips of fillet, in a herby spicy marinade. Properly tasty, and I’ll say this again, the steaks here are way better than anything I’ve ever had in France.
Mousakka (most was still in a dish off camera).
Towards the end of the meal, we got chatting to Suat, who does know our hosts well. The table behind had mentioned they were from Wigan & I heard him mention about having been there & Preston.
I inevitably therefore mentioned that I was a born Wigan’er, but now resided in “South Manchester”. He asked where, and if we were near Stockport, because he’d been. He’d been and had a meal at the “Church Inn, in Cheadle Hulme?”. About 3 minutes in a car from our house!
Great fella, great staff, food & location. We settled the Hesap, and bud our farewells “until next time”.
A walk home and the now obligatory corner shop stop for Lurchios imported beers (Corona). In the queue to pay, suddenly my ear tickled. A fly? I brushed it away. Nope. Ear tickle then a tap on the right shoulder. I looked – nothing. The lad serving us smiled, so I knew then. Turning to my left, our friend the shopkeeper was there smiling. I gave him a hug (think that surprised him, but hope it didn’t make him uncomfortable), wished him well and we arranged that next time I’m here, just to WhatsApp him and he will deliver two boxes of Bomonti, a pallet of Corona, a litre of Ayran and some Lurpak. Bless him, he knows us so well!
Home, up the hill for probably the last time this hols, and the conclusion of this years holiday blog.
Thanks for the positive comments & messages, folks. Although I do still try and convince myself that I’m just doing it for me, I’ve realised it’s a shared experience & the reader must also get something from these musings.
I was asked by one of my very good friends how I remember the detail. A great question, as it’s not my forte. But in this scenario, the act of diarising what we’ve done (or not done!), means I relive the day as I write, but also try to be more present during the day. More aware of details that on reflection, make you smile or grimace.
Hopefully the next sentence makes you smile.
Well done! It’s over – you’ve completed this years blog, so thank you for your tolerance of bad grammar, spelling an stuff!
One of the things from yesterday that went unmentioned, as we relaxed and became more ‘present’ & without wanting to sound poncy, was that we have been watching the birds more. Loads of doves. Not those massive lazy turd-machines we see in our back gardens, but some Formula 1 versions in a gaudy brown and black Benneton livery. Lithe, nimble, on it (“like a car bonnet”).
Hey Mum..
Those and the many, many house-martin type things zapping around – the bird equivalent of a Mk VI Spitfire. Way above the skill, awareness, agility & understanding of its ‘self’ of anything else in its class. Basically the ‘David Silva’ of bird-aero. Champion!
Whilst it may be the much under-rated, hard worker, with less of the grace but more of the Hurricane firepower, there’s a Dove nesting on a toilet window ledge between our balconies. I tried as best as I could to take a photo when ‘mum’ wasn’t there of the nest – two eggs! Looking good, and being cared for on her frequent returns.
Would make for a rubbish omelette.
We won’t be here to see any chicks fly the nest, and I hope they do, but I will enjoy the thought of their impending adventures!
Oh, we have downstairs neighbours! I think? Some folks arrived at around midnight, and looked very much like we did when we first came here – a bit bewildered and lost.
I decided it was time for bed (00:20) when the drum beaters from across the hillside seemed to think that Totos Africa was a good place to pick up their pace & volume.
So then to the alarm! Yes, I was so paranoid about getting up at the crack of 10am, I set an alarm! It scared the bejeezus out of me! But we got up, and, the big moment, knocked on Lurchios door, to see if he was actually going to spend any time with us.
The answer (20 minutes from setting off)? “I’ll let you know nearer the time”. As the key opened the door to leave, he announced his attendance.
We headed down to the bus stop to get the next Dolmus to Fethiye where the plan was to switcheroo onto a Saklikent-bound bus. 60Tl and about 25 minutes later we did indeed switcheroo.
Dolmus life
We got decent seats on a funky little Dolmus, and meandered our way through the Turkish countryside, which of itself was good to see. As we approached Saklikent, it became self-evident why this is a National Park.
If the mountains around us were transposed into the Lake District, we would never stop banging on about them, they’re that tall, imposing and impressive! The peaks are way, way above the tree line. Reminded me of Mont Ventoux (which I once rode up and down, but enough of that bragging).
We arrived at Saklikent Gorge, and first impressions were it seemed a bit, well, touristy. Which it is, kind of.
But very quickly, we realised it’s just busy in a good way, so they need restaurants, parking, Toilet blocks, and all the facilities to support this level of popularity.
We headed straight to a cafe/restaurant where once again, the manager engaged with us, asked about what ever happened to Manchester United, and just how good was it to see Stonsey play into midfield. Nice guy.
Three (uç) sandwiches each freshly made to order, with soft drinks for 410TL – about £11. No one here, it turns out was taking the proverbial. Prices all really good.
Which included our next purchase! £15/head for what we’d really come for – rafting down the icy-cold, glacially blue river. £10 for 45 mins or £15 for 1:30h. No brainier! What I didn’t realise was that Lurchio & I were the only folk that day, and most other days to venture beyond the 45.
Jane, her decision affected by the yelps from others as they entered the ice-blue water, decided to sit and sunbathe around the swimming pool.
They take safety seriously, so Lurchio & I donned ill-fitting helmets and, once they strapped two together for me, life jackets. Then the big inflatable pile-cushion/rubber ring, and some oars.
Safety briefing over, we headed down to the river to be gracefully launched.
But before that. You’ve all seen those sad news articles haven’t you? Where there’s a photo of a crowd of holiday makers looking mournfully at a whale that’s been washed up, grounded & therefore stranded in shallow water?
So, Lurchio got in, flexing his anaemic, stick-like limbs & went bobbing off downstream.
Tantastic!
My turn…immediately grounded, my guide tried to push me into the Thalweg (see Mr Geography Smith, I was listening!). He ended up red-faced and had to enlist his mate, who, when we all worked together, managed to tip me into the main river. As graceful as one of those videos of ships being launched side-on, rather than in their intended direction of travel.
Down faster than the Titanic.
After which, for the next 45 minutes or so, less about 5 minutes where I bottomed out again, we spent our time ambling down a (yes, icy cold) river that at its deepest was probably about 18”. It was really good fun. Even Lurchio cracked a smile!
Gorge…
We were syphoned off into a tributary, and then assisted to dry land, where for the rest, their rings, oars and selves were loaded into or onto a minivan. For Lurchio & I, we were offered fresh rings (why not) and oars, and asked to wait for 5 minutes.
In those 5 minutes, I was left with the impression that the elder chap was asking “who the **** allowed a 1:30?!”. After which there was further discussion, until eventually one young lad, now with a face like a slapped arse as it seemed he’d drawn the short straw, jumped on a ring, oar in hand and asked that we joined him.
We did. The next 45 minutes were a bit…different, to the first 45. I’ve never been, nor ever wanted to go white-water rafting. And whilst I’m being over-dramatic, the second half of our trip was much more “that way” than the first. Big boulders to be navigated, with the swirling dips after. Lurchio got stuck on the top of a rock at one point, not that we saw it, as my “momentum” seemed to whisk me ahead to the point where even our guide was only looking backwards for signs of the yellow-helmeted apparition.
We survived (we were never in danger) and in reality it was also great fun, and showed how little exhilaration we have experienced recently.
It took a while for the three of us to get picked up, but eventually the radically air-conditioned minivan arrived. Air conditioned because there was a hole in the roof, holes in the floor, and, as it seemingly was free of any exhaust system, had a good flow of “air” throughout.
We arrived back high on adrenaline and exhaust fumes and told Jane she’d made the right choice as she would have crapped herself. Never good when in a confined sea-going vessel, surrounded by others.
It was getting on, and we had noted that the Dolmus took more time than expected, so we headed back to our pal to buy cold drinks and water for the bus.
He thanked us, and before congratulating me on my Turkish, suggested that he felt it was time to give Oscar Bobb, McAtee and some of the youth team players a chance to make the first team. He seems to have seen more of the Academy than I, so I nodded in acknowledgement and bid him farewell. Oh, and he said Gvardiol was in the week before and was asking if the Turkish supermarket on Bury Old Road sold Ayran still. Wasn’t sure what to make of that.
The journey back to Fethiye was ace. We saw some wonderful things. A little lad with his Nan, who fell deeply asleep in a way only little folk can do, like a rag doll. Then, a moped passed us, both rider & pillion without helmets (not that uncommon) and both also about age 10. Then, as we approached the outskirts of Fethiye, Nan woke the little lad, as it was nearly their stop. He literally couldn’t keep his eyes open. It was a fabulous watch, only ended when little lad was carried off the bus, and another passenger had to help Nan offload her shopping.
After getting off in central Fethiye, we headed towards the Old Town, to find something for tea. On the way however, Jane fessed that she really, really needed a wee. My inbuilt satnav engaged and within seconds Jane was able to visit a loo. It just meant that we felt obliged to order a craft ale from the bar we were then sat in to ensure we met the ‘toilets for customers only’ criteria. And stroke cats.
From there, Lurchio announced he was about to die if he didn’t eat something, so we raced down to Genis, a restaurant on the harbour side, in a life-saving manner. What a drama!
Some seafood pasta, Italian style pizza & octopus starter later, I got distracted by a chap on a boat, with his apprentice/junior, welding up a new stainless guardrail on a fancy yacht. (TIG welding, I presume ?).
What a shambles! We watched him tack-weld in 3 sections, and then cut them out at least 5 times. My father-in-law would have something to say to him, for sure! Mainly, put the stuff together first, get a good fit, THEN tack-weld and neaten up. It got me so badly that I swore in his general direction and ended up offending the table across. Apology was offered.
From there, if you’re still reading, you’ll be delighted to know, we just headed back to the Dolmus, rode that home, and I’m now sat contemplating the last full day here tomorrow!
Where has the time gone?!
Right, I’ve about 20mins of faffing about to do to get this online, so see you tomorrow, you gorgeous people.
