Well its, done...its over for another year and we are back in "Broken Britain"
We've brought the good weather back with us, apparently...and by good that means anything other than rain so if you are out in Kalkan now make the most of the lovely sunshine, don't complain about it being "too hot" because its not picnic weather back in the UK.
If you are getting ready to leave for Kalkan, I hate you
Our last day was spent soaking up the sun by the pool and on the roof terrace and saying goodbye to "The Brown House" which we notice has been snappily renamed on Owners Direct as Starlight Apartment...? Go figure. We'd already decided that our last night was to be steak and therefore it was an easy decision to return to Alternatif - making it our number one restaurant of our stay. Our favourite meal was at Salonika but they don't have fillet steak on the menu. We popped into Moonlight for our final pre-dinner drinks and then back in there for post-dinner drinks and to catch the last half of the football - sadly Iceland could not repeat their heroics. We had seen Thelma and Louise, minus their inhalers, earlier on in the evening - it was lovely to meet them both and I have to say I was very envious of their week ahead - wished I could swap places, although BH was ready to go at this point.
We had amended our pick-up time to factor in the long delays we had heard about on the approach road to Dalaman Departures - leaving even earlier the next day was kinda heartbreaking. No time for a breakfast and a last look at Kalkan, we would be up and gone by 9am
We were lucky that there were maybe just 6 cars ahead of us when we got to the Security Gate on the run-up to Departures. Our driver had put his foot down on the dual carriageway to overtake a couple of minibuses and a coach - we were so glad he did. At the gate there is a very heavy armed police presence, stopping every car, opening the boot, checking the passengers, looking at what bags you have with you - it takes around 3 or 4 mins but then we are waved on. At the entrance to the Terminal building, more armed police but less obvious and extra security around those initial x-ray machines. We were through in no time and arrived to see our flight was delayed...! At the Boarding Gate there are more checks - random passengers were chosen to have their bags searched (me!) and power up all their electronic devices (me). I had an iPhone, iPad, blackberry, laptop and iPod - well you did ask nice security lady
. Before I knew it we had touched down in Manchester - albeit later than scheduled - and the dull weather reflected my dull mood.."make sure you pick up your iPad" I said to BH as we disembarked.
Some final thoughts1. When we arrived Kalkan was quiet and I mean QUIET! Deserted bars and restaurants was a sad and sorry sight to see and we spoke at length to many Turkish business owners - some we count as friends - and their worry was palpable. Towards the end of our stay, the numbers had risen by some considerable margin but still not you would expect for the time of year. I fear some businesses may not survive.
2. Stick on bras seem like a good idea, but with a combination of heat, perspiration and after-sun they tended to detach themselves rather too readily and usually when I least expected it. I had a couple of comedy moments were I resembled Les Dawson's gossipy neighbour holding up my busom en-route to emergency re-attachemt in the ladies loo.
3. Our bag that we leave every year had been rifled since our owner departed and we lost a few things that we were able to replace - with the exception of the water hammock
. At first I was philosophical..we've had it years, I hope it brings someone joy etc etc. Fast forward a week or so and we are in the midst of a stonking heatwave and I want to kill whoever took my water hammock. Yes, we saw the ones by the harbour but they didn't have the all essential wire frame so I refused to purchase one and wallow in my bitterness instead. When the temperature returned to June as we know it...I forgot all about it. Blame the heat, menopause...whatever. As an aside, I think there's money to be made with a storage facility in Kalkan. With so many repeat visitors who dont own, this is an ideal solution. Pay monthly, pay up front..either way I'm in.
4. I only read 5 of my 7 books. I blame the heat, menopause...whatever.
5. I only wore 7 of my 8 pairs of sandals. I blame the heat, menopause...whatever.
6. We spent a long time searching for a new rental property for next year and saw some fabulous apartments and villas - I wish I could stay in all of them - but we decided after much deliberation to remain at HanInn - albeit with different owners on the complex. We've also booked a couple of nights in the Happy Hotel, just so we can spend some time in Kalamar Bay which has so much more to offer these days. We always intend to go there but for some reason we don't know how to turn right when we come out of a night, only left. Yesterday, I booked our flights and changed my countdown App - a mere 338 days to go
7. We won £3.20 on the Lottery. Won't even buy an Efes
8. The terrible terrorist attack at Ataturk made our family and friends contact us in their droves checking we were ok - even those who know the size of the country and the proximity of Istanbul to the Mediterranean coast sent messages of "stay safe". This awful loss of life - more than half of them Turkish nationals - will sadly impact further on Turkey's tourist industry even after President Putin lifted the flight ban for Russians. It was sad how this awful incident was not reported in the UK the same way as the similar attack in Brussels earlier this year....the lives of those poor victims were no less important than those in Belgium.
9. We tried a couple of the new places, Golden Plate and Old Town Cafe. I think both of these places are great additions to Kalkan. As a coeliac, the Old Town Cafe's gluten free cakes were like heaven on a plate. I could have bought a gluten free loaf in Migros, but it cost a whopping £5 and if you've ever tasted GF bread you will know its not worth it. The smell from the bakery - which continues all day - is divine and I took deep breaths to get my fix whenever I could. Migros also sells "light" Ice Tea in cans, and you can get the sugar free still lemonade in many more outlets this year - it remained my vodka mixer of choice for our entire stay with a slice of lemon straight off the tree.
10. I need a better remedy for Kalkankles and Kalkan Calf Pain - my feet still resemble a pork joint ready for the oven and its not even hot at home
So overall, the harbour/beach looks a million times better, and other changes are less dramatic than in previous years...maybe Kalkan has found its settling point - who knows. We love it, we cant wait to get back there and I am soooohhh jealous of all you lucky people who have your holiday ahead of you.
As it says at the top of the page Enjoy Kalkan!
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