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.
Before I get into the nothingness that was today, if you’re on your phone reading this, open your notepad, close your eyes and try and type ‘the sun is yellow’ without looking & cheating. How’d you get on? Nailed it? Thought so.
Anyway, today… this is likely the shortest blog ever.
We woke up around 7:30am, but just lay in bed. Jane got up around 9:30 to head down and onto the balcony, whereas I pushed on with my world domination of the Solitaire app, which due to my OCD, I have now completed each daily challenge for the last 2,736 days consecutively, and am at Level 1,314. Must make a note to update my CV & LinkedIn skills.
We’ve done almost nothing. It’s been brilliant! A bit of bread, cheese, tomato, coffee & ayran for me. I’ve yet to convince Jane to try the Ayranian delights of a slightly salted, slightly soured cold savory yoghurt-based beverage! Not sure why.
We did have a brief conversation about Lurchio who could have asked a mate to join us, but seems like he couldn’t be arsed with the faff.
As we listened to a medley of Pet Shop Boys Greatest Hits, Jane proffered the question about why he hadn’t brought one of his mates?
I adjusted my underpants (barely visibly due to the beer belly) which was my only donned clothing at the time, adjusted the crotch elastic, and chugged on a Bomonti beer to rinse down the Ayran, before answering “I don’t know. It’s baffling to be honest”. And then burped.
Pool time! Even Lurchio joined us at around 4pm, not that he conversed, but he did arrive, AirPods in, sunglasses on, and then lay there for half an hour, before heading off with a cool & cursory “I’m going back”.
We hung about longer, but the lack of a breeze did make it feel as hot as yesterday, so by 5:30, we also called it a day & headed upstairs for a chill-out, and then a shower & change for the evening.
We decided to go where we hadn’t the energy for last night and wandered down to Cazibe, a nearby tapas style cafe/bar on the lower road, just a bit further in from Shiraz, and the neighbouring Sandinos.
Once again, the welcome & service was superb, and the owner/host took the time to explain the menu, and advise that 3 dishes was probably a good amount per person.
Here’s what we ordered:
• Hummus
• Chinese chicken bites
• Smoky meatballs
• Babaganoush
• Cazibe Börek
• Cazibe prawns
• Mozzarella & spinach sticks
• Zingy Thai fish cakes
• Mini Chicken Kiev
Half eaten tapas! I’m not good at presenting food photographically. Sorry.
Special mention & recommendation for the very smokey babaganoush, the Thai fish cakes and the Mini (they were bigger than golf balls!) Chicken Kiev – all fab!
Not much more to say about a very slow day today, other than we are planning our biggest excursion so far tomorrow, with a Dolmus trip to Saklikent National Park, and the Gorge there tomorrow.
A Dolmus! Like a “Little Gem” for those from Manchester of a certain age.
So hopefully some better “content” tomorrow, albeit unlikely to eclipse the day we had in Pembrokeshire, where our poor dog expressed his loose bowels across a busy pavement, and a kid walked into me as I tried to shield it, and landed hands and knees down in ‘dog-do gravy’.
For folk new to this sort of diatribe, if you really want to suffer, my back-catalogue of previous holiday blogs can be found here.
Up with the larks today at around 10:00am. We had to be as Jane & I had booked in for Traditional Turkish Breakfast at Narli Bahçi – ‘Pomegranate Garden’ Restaurant. Another recommendation from our host, which we never managed to get to last year.
I’d figured it was a 20 minute downhill walk, so we set off just after 10:30 and headed down the hill.
Oh, I sort of feel obliged to mention that we have leccy, water, clear pool etc. All the stuff that may be interpret as a moan or downside – none were – all just things to navigate. I’m not mentioning them again, I hope.
Anyway, part of my hidden agenda for suggesting that we walked down, was I’ve yet to see a wild tortoise. I still haven’t. Lurchio has. How the hell does that happen?!
T’was hot, mind. Suspect they are of a higher intelligence than I, and made the sensible decision to stay in the shade.
We got there with minutes to spare. Not that the gates were going to clang shut and 1 second past 11am, of course, but I do like punctuality.
With a wonderfully friendly greeting, “Ah, Jane? 11am. Welcome & just relax”, we were seated in the loveliest of gardens, all set up with companion planting (where edibles are planted next to/near “showy stuff” that the slugs attack instead of the foody stuff).
We confirmed to the young lad, a family member, that then served us that we’d like the trad brekky. Well, without going all Frankie Howerd, we were taken aback by what then happened.
For the next 5 minutes all that happened was that food kept being brought to the table. Lots and lots of different foods, all (with a slight exception for the olives) looking really good.
First up was a shallow bowl to share of a warm lentil soup. Back when, if honest, I’d have passed on that. But I tried it and it was really tasty. And was a good reminder to give stuff a go, at least once. “More to learn when you fail, than when you succeed”, as a friend of mine recently quoted.
Then ‘stuff’ just kept arriving! Until our table was full!
Jams, fried eggs, cheeses, honey, Turkish tea, home made bread, watermelon, pastries, veggies. You get the gist.
What a feast! Left in peace, we just tucked in, relaxed & enjoyed the moment. Oh, until the rectangular slice of cheese. Which, on record, I would tell anyone was the cheesiest cheese on Planet Cheese! Even Jane agreed. And with the orange jam, it was properly tasty!
Jane also had an epiphany & as a devout non tea or coffee drinker (and don’t even mention milk unless it’s in a hot chocolate), found the Turkish tea, and I’ll quote her now – “refreshing”.
I could go on about pretty much every dish served, but instead I’ll leave you to imagine. Except for two things. After deciding what we thought it was “worth” and what the bill might be (we hadn’t confirmed), we asked the fella for the bill (Hesap, remember?). As he presented us with the bill, he asked, with genuine care & interest if we had enjoyed it. We had. We paid what we had thought it was worth, which was a lot more that the bill. That’s not us splashing cash, that’s us simply paying what we felt it was worth. Bear in mind, this is all relative – heavily tipping the bill is easier when the bill is £9/head!
The second thing is the OMG moment! We were served a home-made pomegranate tea. Holy moly! Looks superb, smells superb & tasted like the best bits of a warmed Vimto. What a drink!
Warm Vimto, served as Tea
Having supped up, we also bought a couple of pots of jam, as we waited for a taxi (no way I was walking back, up that hill in 42C temps!).
One last point about Narli. It’s family run, and Ramsay, the main chap, was so proud of what they do – veggies grown & then served, herbs, the same, really focused on delivering a really relaxed experience. Brilliant!
We had planned on going to K Bar or one of the places on the bottom road into Hisaronu, but tbh, we just couldn’t be arsed. So after a sesh around the pool, we WhatsApp’d a pizza & garlic bread to the apartment, which turned out to be really good & just what the good doctor ordered!
After the delivered scran, the pool had visitors! What!? Suddenly there’s were a few local lads in the pool bar, switching into their trunks & having a laugh. There are two other apartments here, although we know one isn’t occupied whilst we are here, so I assume they’re to do with Musti from downstairs.
Lurchio & I had some ‘chores’ to do, mainly putting bottles in a bottle bank. But then on the way home, also calling in for more soft drinks (& Corona for Lurchio). Our superstar at the corner shop 8h dusted on it being a free delivery, and belted passed us on his scooter before laughing at us on his way down, with me still trying to breathe in via my arse, on the way up! Top lad, that fella.
Getting back, Lurchio took the delivery up to our floor, whilst I headed down to the pool. And with a “Merhaba!”, I gave them a heads up on my arrival. I showed them where the pool lights were but also asked if they could please make sure they turned them off as they left.
I also told one to “get out of my way!” With a smile on my face, before opening the poolside fridge up and grabbing a beer. We came to an agreement that they were all mine. Had a laugh & I left them to it. Sure enough, they left shortly after, with all looking tidy and the lights off, bless them.
Pool visitor, having a slurp.
And with the tune, well words, (there was a tune, but it was entirely different to the one that matched the song), of “Aaand sooo, Sally can wait!” via a distant Karaoke, I bid you adieu for the evening!
After a bit of a faff last night, trying to figure out if our data sim had run out, I eventually managed to get yesterdays blog uploaded & published before heading to bed. Not sure why but we were all tired after getting back, so a big sleep was required.
Sit-Rep Day 8:
◦ Ellecy: not been off since
◦ Water: blasting out!
◦ Pool: crystal clear (not that we care)
◦ Heat: 42C peak
◦ Winds: gusty hot, but who gives a damn
By the way, speaking of ‘8’, it’s Independent Salford Beer Festival 8 in November. If you don’t know, it’s the ‘worlds best* beer festival’, held at Hemsley House, Salford.
[*according to me and a good few others]
But the most important details are that (not only does it have an amazing selections of special beers, ciders & a few gins) it’s all in aid of raising money for a wonderful charity called START Inspiring Minds. To read more about Jim, the main man’s raison d’etre, check out the link here.
It’s a cracking event, one I’ve been to now in three simultaneous guises – as a paying punter & drinker, a volunteer behind the bar & as a beer sponsor. If you fancy a try if something new, then have a gander & consider coming down.
Back to the hols!
Another day by the pool. As we’d been advised, it was already clear as a bell – that filtration systems had done its job!
Rightly or wrongly (and it’s “rightly”, and if you disagree, take it up with Jane), since seeing the Pet Shop Boys in concert a few weeks before coming away, there’s an obsession, and having found the funky little Bluetooth speaker, we’re now ‘Domino Dancing’ poolside on a regular basis.
Not only that, we made some planning decisions! Firstly, we’re having a late Sunday Lunch at the Marble Arch on Rochdale Road, on 13th August, if we can get a table, and secondly, I’ll be attending the #ISBF8 Launch shindig shortly after that.
But also, we decided to have an early tea at Turtle Restaurant this evening, so that we could attend a Turkish Breakfast down at Narlı Bahçe, Pomegranate Garden, which looks superb. 11am table for two (Lurchio free) booked for tomorrow.
Revelling on a decision-making high, we did a bit of “Monkey Business” (the last but one track on Smash, btw) and then headed off for showers.
Going to be honest, felt a little light-headed on the walk down to the head of The Turtle, because a) I’m fat & unfit, and b) have probably messed up the sun to water intake today massively. Will adjust tomorrow.
Fine dining smears
Anyway, I’m still here to write this, and the meal was really nice. The stuffed veggie snails (filled with chunks of garlic, covered with cheese) were, well, garlicky & cheesy, and my Chicken Rodri (ordered only because it’s a City player that scored a treble-winning goal in a Champions League Final, up the road in Istanbul) turns out to be stuffed coronation chicken, but that’s fine – it was tasty, and was served with two ‘smears’ and two sprouts, so classes as fine dining. Lurchio had the fillet steak, of course (I will remind him that I’m now unemployed), but Janes Mousaka was the star of the show – looks & tasted superb, by all accounts!
Moo Sarky.
A meander back via our main man down at the corner shop, for ‘circles of pink meat’, some more ayran, and soft drink tinnies for Jane. Oh, and another six-pack of Corona for Lurchio.
