And then there were none....
Not either of the Two Ronnies (thanks Lizilu), or more upsetting for me, no more days. And so for another year our Kalkan adventure has finished...here come the boohoos!
Our last few days were spent chilling and trying to get Daz/BH up to firing on more cylinders. We had come to the conclusion - thanks to Dr Google - that he'd had Heatstroke...thankfully not any other kind of stroke! Google, when not being used for a medical diagnosis, mentions that a new book indicates Bruce Lee died of heatstroke so more care was taken to ensure he didn't over heat in those last few days...seeing how it can affect athletic young men differently! I'll just leave that there....
We had watched the England game in Moonlight..finally getting it right in terms of their satellite channel, the place was rammed, Muhitdin's pad went into overdrive, the seats were rearranged and placed like some elaborate Jenga game and when there were no more seats left, chairs were taken from nearby restaurants and even Nuri's bag shop.
A small group of Belgian fans had a great night....just sayin!
We had not managed a beach club - it was all about the heatstroke - but we did manage the town beach. Daz spent a fair amount of the day under the parasol and in and out of the sea - the stones had been levelled off a day or two before but the high winds took it right back to square one. It was a lovely breezy day and the sea was choppy...so choppy that my graceful entrance into the sea was completely undone by my comedy exit. I fell awkwardly in my stupid stylish crocs and was sucked back into the sea (prone) whilst being battered by what felt like a hundred boulders. Luckily for me, it seemed only Daz saw this slapstick moment but failed to help me as he couldn't move for laughing...apparently. I thought I'd mastered the art of getting in and out of the sea at the town beach...I need to think again - or buy sturdy footwear!
Well Ertan wasnt able to come up with the bag, although he'll keep trying and contact me if he can...sending it over to the UK if he does. Such good service...! I bought a nice pale blue Gucci tote in the sale...a mere £50! It was my consolation bag as I was keeping the fund in its healthy state for the dream bag arrival...I live in hope!
Our last two meals were at Coast Tapas and Chata - both excelled in terms of food and service. Great to see Omer back in Kalkan, he certainly knows how to deliver a stylish offering - the renovation of this lovely old building has been very sympathetic and beautifully done! Chata's Chateaubriand was fabulous and at 180TL for the two of us, an absolute steal.
And before we knew it, it was Monday and our Kalkan Sun Driver had arrived to take us back to Dalaman...the dreaded journey. As we rose above Kalkan on the D400...that bit of grit found its way back to my eye.
Geri yakında, Kalkan!
Final thoughts:
Kalkan was busier than it has been for a good few years...not sure its recovered yet to 2014 levels but I hope with all my heart it continues to grow. Building work has definitely slowed down...almost to a standstill. There were no major new developments that we could see and some of the big developers over the past 10 years seemed to be conspicuous by their absence. Its a shame that the lovely old Asifya Hotel is still an empty ugly shell on Kalamar Road and Roberto's Beach Club continues to be a massive white scar on the beautiful landscape.
Portions have gotten smaller...some of our favourite restaurants were offering tiny fillet steaks with two chips and a smattering of veg...whilst it tasted wonderful, it was taking nouvelle cuisine a step too far! I'm happy to report the fillet steaks in Mussaka are twice the size of any others we had (same price) and still the same consistently high quality. Marley's ran them a very close second! The aforementioned Chata's Chateaubriand...try saying that after a few margaritas...was our favourite meal of the holiday.
Talking of Margaritas they are my yardstick measure of a good cocktail....I could not split it between Marleys, Coast and Fener for the best one in Kalkan. The best one of the holiday was in West Cafe in Gocek....divine! It was also the cheapest.
It was lovely meeting with some EK'ers - Bob & Jayne, Blue Lizard, Babs and Alibobs. Shame this forum has dropped in popularity over the years, I still love it! Love reading about everyone's holidays and Kalkan out of season. Please try and post if you can and keep it going.
I took 7 books and read just 5 of them...too busy being nursemaid. Case Histories by Kate Atkinson, The Break, Marian Keyes, The Girl You Left Behind JoJo Moyes, The Keeper of Lost Things Ruth Hogan and He Said She Said Erin Kelly are in order of preference.
Who knew that Chile isn't actually hot...? Note to self, when making an analogy do extensive research on the world wide web first
A shellac in Turkey is not the same quality as a shellac at home...in my opinion.
The 2M shop near Lime Bar is the best little shop in Kalkan, run by the nicest family. Our constant free turkish delight will have added considerable poundage to my frame...but it was impossible to resist. Also good to see the old Yali (Anka) back up to good stock levels and trading better than it has done for a good few years. Kalkan has a great selection of supermarkets - something for everyone and every budget.
I took a ring to Yardan for repair - I thought it was missing a diamond but my platinum and diamond eternity ring from Tiffany's had actually split. He checked over my other rings and found the claw holding the diamond on my engagement ring had twisted out of shape - also Tiffany's. I have no idea what I do day in day out to do such damage.... He repaired both and returned them to me like new in a matter of days for the princely sum of £70. Incredible!
Daz also took his prescription to Ibo at Kaptans...now Kaptan Optik. His glasses were prepared and fitted whilst we waited and were absolutely perfect. Boots Opticians...take note!
The election came and went and the outcome a foregone conclusion. The only thing we noticed, apart from getting less Lira for your pound, was the noisy - and I mean NOISY - musical campaign vans stopped. It was a blessed relief...give me Boris's Brexit Bus any day....I know it wasn't actually Boris's bus, it was the Vote Leave Campaign's bus, I don't want to get into semantics, call it poetic licence, if you will. Just don't think it needs to be corrected...!
Shall we do it all again next year...? Go on then!