Shirl is Back in Town

[Babs]

Shirl.......I think you need to stop these posts.....they are seriously damaging to my levels of wellbeing! 
Your day sounds perfect.......I love that you spend days at hotels, I'd never thought of doing that, mind you I'd never drag OH away form the sea! Your moonlight picnic sounds and looks amazing. We've never done that either but then I'm not sure it would be such a good idea in October.
Look forward to hearing what you get up to next......well, work beckons!m

[Lizilu20]

Less than 2 weeks and I can bond with Scottie again...

[Trotter]

Thursday……….
No plans for the rest of the day, so after dropping our stuff back and a quick freshen up, we wandered down and stopped at the Meldi Hotel for lunch and a swim.  What a lovely setting it is, very friendly people and lunch was lovely.  The people we spoke to seem to visit year after year, and we understood why, because it is lovely there.  We ended up staying there all afternoon, it was so relaxing.
[/quote]

And were were hoping to keep the Meldi a secret! Seriously these are some of the reasons that we return, everyone from the owner to the staff and guests, old and new, are so friendly and we have made a lot of friends.
Thank you for your reports which remind me of why we enjoy Kalkan and help overcome doubts we have had this year due to the problems  and we return in 59 days for 2 weeks-staying at the Meldi of course.

[Bob & Jayne]

Friday ……….

We can’t believe that we have been here a week already! Been non stop but have loved every minute of it! It seems to be getting hotter by the day and am feeling a bit sunburnt so am definitely going to shade hop today.  The bites are still plentiful, but think the ankles are getting used to the heat now, or I am getting used to looking at them puffing up by the day!

Fresh tomatoes from the Market and poached eggs for us for breakfast today, we bought an array of both yesterday and are really enjoying our varied breakfast each morning. 

We weren’t sure where to go today, so packed up our towels etc and wandered into town thinking we may hit the beach again!  Stopped off at Kalkan Suites (used to be the Samira Gardens just down from Chillies), we stayed there a few years back. It’s really lovely,, spoke to the lovely Manager who is still there after all this time, such a lovely lady. We went in for a swim and that is where we stayed for best part of the day, it was lovely, very few people round the pool, but one family we spoke to remembered us from when we stayed there. 

On our way back we called in to see our friend’s son and girlfriend again at the Emir, and back home to get ready for our feast tonight!

We had booked the Buffet Curry evening at Bread and More tonight. We arrived at 7.45pm to a packed restaurant! And the smell as we walked down the road was amazing.  There must have been at least 70 people seated, and we were thinking how on earth is this going to work, but it certainly did, the food was excellent and plentiful, and we certainly did have a feast!! Jawad the Chef came out at the end and it was so nice to see him and his family, he certainly deserves to succeed.  The only thing I would say, is if you like Indian food, then you should definitely visit, it was fabulous.

We were absolutely full to the brim by the time we left, said our farewells and slowly and I mean slowly walked up the hill back home, it should have taken about 3 minutes, but I think it probably took us 10!!!

We retired early to bed tonight, it was just before 11pm, air conditioning and fans on, and I think I was asleep before my head hit the pillow!

Saturday………..

Well according to my Fitbit I had 8 hours 14 minutes sleep last night, wow the most I have had since arriving has been 6 hours 45 minutes, and a couple of nights just little over 5 hours! So am feeling very refreshed and raring to go this morning.  Two mugs of freshly brewed coffee, no breakfast for us today as we are off to Kas!

Mode of transport was the Dolmus, we had been told that it didn’t stop in town anymore, so we trecked up to the Bus Station, hopped on the 9.45am Dolmus, surprisingly just Bob and I on board and off we set! Not up to the D400, but down into town! Stopping at the roundabout, apparently they do go that way, so much better for us next time.  The fare was 6TL each! Couldn’t believe it, so cheap.  The journey took half an hour, and the views were beautiful as we made our way along the coast road to Kas with still just the 2 of us on board!

On arrival on Kas, we wandered through the side streets looking in a few shops, but we soon realised that it was far too hot to shop, so time for an early lunch as we were starving by now! We went to one of the harabourside cafes, can’t remember the name, and ordered a tuna salad for Bob and a cheeky hamburger for me, 2 freshly brewed mugs of coffee and we were sorted! We had a very slow walk up the hill and didn’t know which beach club to go in, there are quite a few along there, but decided on the one we went in last year, Sea View.  Shown to our sunbeds, we didn’t even need to use our towels as they were all provided.  There was a sea mist today, but the view was amazing right opposite Meis, so we had a perfect view of the boats coming and going all day.  We had lots of dips in the sea today, it was the only way to go, as it was so hot.  We left around 5.30pm and wandered back down to the harbour to choose a restaurant for dinner. We had a beautiful meal, humous and mezze to start with the most enormous puffy bread I have ever seen! a Mexican steak for Bob, and a chicken snitzel for me, with salad, rice and the forbidden chips!! washed down with a bottle of wine! It was all delicious.

Time was getting on now, so we made our way back to the bus station and caught the 9.30pm Dolmus back to Kalkan.  Another 6TL each and this time 6 people on the bus, including us! And half an hour later we were back, the driver even dropped us off by Yali supermarket! What a service. A quick wiz into Yali for a few bits and we were back at home by 10.30pm!

The obligatory nightcap on the balcony and off to bed it was.  A perfect day was had!

Sunday…..

No plans yet, but will be back soon 

Shirl

[msr]

Glad you found Olive Garden, it us our favourite. Value for money with traditional Turkish food. We were there in July and we visited three times and even in this difficult year they were full.

[msr]

Whoops! Ignore my ramblings, meant to post on welovekalkan thread. They were the ones who went to The Olive Garden!

[Bob & Jayne]

Ha ha no worries. Think we will be going now as it sounds lovely 

[Lizilu20]

Us too. It really does sound lovely there.

I like the sound of that dolmus to kas, especially when there's plenty of room and great that it stops at the bottom of town too.

You really are getting out and about. I admire your stamina!

Enjoy your day today and look forward to reading all about it later. 

[Chris_S]

Now the Meldi secret is out - we've booked for 2017!

They won't let us do 2018 yet…

[keith]

Yet another fabulous post.......it's what we've become used to.......can't wait for the next instalment ☺☺

[Skunk]

Olive Garden is definitely worth a try. It has been there since we first went to Kalkan in 2000. Lovely food and always busy. The day in Kas sounds great with a good dolmas service. That is a must for us! Hope you have a great day on Yildiz tomorrow. Love those boats. Another must for us during our stay.
Keep em coming! Makes me excited to be going!   

[joycie]

Lovely lovely report. I love the fact that you walk uphill to a beach in Kas and the bus ride between Kalkan and. Kas is fabulous. Brian and I once did it in a dolmas with an elderlyturkish gentleman fast asleep on his shoulder. Nearly wet myself laughing.

[joycie]

Should have added that five weeks tomorrow we'll be wending our way to Kalkan for a lovely three week break. We're meeting up with friends who introduced us to Kalkan and friends that we met at the Nur apartments a while ago. Can't wait.

[kalkan4eva]

Two perfect days, Jayne.
Public Transport is incredibly cheap and frequent enough to make use of - have to say I'm a fan. We haven't been to Kas for years - I try to like this place because I think I should but it just doesn't have the same friendly vibe for me and it feels very German  - maybe we've just been unlucky and should try a day at a beach club, for a change. I certainly love that wonderful drive...
Looking forward to hearing more about your stay, cant believe a week has gone by already but you still have loads more weeks ahead...you lucky things 

[Mayday1]

I think Kas has a very strange atmosphere.It does have a definite german vibe and generally,shops etc do not seem anywhere near as genuinely friendly towards Brits as Kalkan.......i like kas harbour,i like the marina,i like the peninsula,and i like the trip over from Kalkan with great views..........but i really dont see the attraction of the town itself,but others love it and thats fine........personal taste at the end of the day.
...

o direct    http://www.ownersdirect.co.uk/accommodation/p8154298

[keith]

We've always promised to be more adventurous but have never managed to drag ourselves away from Kalkan......maybe next time???........but I doubt it!! Kalkan delivers everything that we look for and has never let us down. We have looked at Kas as a possible day trip but, based on the previous posts, I don't think that we would be too disappointed if we don't make it on our next visit.😉😉

[Haybo]

Hay Shirl...are you having trouble with your red nipple?

[Bob & Jayne]

Ha ha Haybo, red nipple is working fine! Thanks for all your comments.

Sunday ……..

Day of Rest!

Slow start this morning, back to reality, I must put some washing on! A few clouds around today, but still a tad on the warm side! Turkish breakfast for us again, we certainly are getting through the eggs since we arrived, hung out the washing, and a wander down into town.  We still haven’t managed to look round the shops much, but that bag shopping has my name on it very soon.  We locked up and set off, and as we did, there seemed to be one of our large bath towels missing from the washing line! I took a double take, Bob said was I sure that I washed it, or having a senior moment! Yes of course I did I replied! There on the floor were the pegs but no towel! Went through the gate and there on the floor in the dust in a heap was our towel, and wagging his towel was the little puppy dog that now lives next door! So we guess it must have fallen off the line and he dragged it “out to play” if you get the gist! He is so cute though, I couldn’t help but laugh.

The beach was pretty busy today, so that is good, lots of people in the sea, still quite a few clouds, but it was pretty welcoming to be honest. We went into the Pirat for a drink, the view from there is stunning, quite a few boats out as well today.  Not sure whether it’s the heat, but was feeling quite hungry today, so lunch was beckoning! We decided to give Blue Marlin a try, having never been and hearing good reviews, and we are so glad we did.  It was delicious.  We ordered sizzling garlic prawns, crispy calamari, humous and cacik, all served with lovely fresh bread.  Talk about a scrummy lunch! Definitely would go back there. 

Went back late afternoon and Chris The Spark and Bernie had invited us round, was lovely to see them, had an early evening swim with them in their pool and a lovely catchup with a very welcoming couple of drinks!

We wandered back to ours, to the smell of Hunters Chicken which we had left in the slow cooker, having never used it yet out here, we were hoping that all was okay, but it certainly was.  Bob soon russled up the traditional green bean and tomato dish to go with it, with the added addition of some cubed  potatoes, it was yummy.

We’d had another relaxed day of fun in the sun, but were very tired so 11pm we hit the pillows!

Monday ………..

Yildez 2 today!

After a quick slice of toast and the lovely strawberry jam that you can buy out here, we were soon wandering down to the harbour.  We took the route via the Lykia Pavilion, such a pretty walk, we must remember to go in there for a meal one evening, the food sounds fab, and so does the happy hour that they advertise, which last all of 3 hours from 6.30-9.30pm! Just hurry up Lizilu, need someone to share a bottle with!! We arrived just before 10am, and Yildez 2 was already full with people, 16 of us on board, Bob and I were on the top deck with another couple, we had lots of space and thankfully lots of shade. 

Osman and his family as ever made everybody so welcome, coffee as soon as we boarded, and before we knew it we were one of the first ones to leave.  Out past the Town beach, and was it going to be Frank Bay for our first stop, oh no, we went left and off to Kaputus we went! We were so pleased, because usually whenever we go on a boat trip we don’t normally end up going that way.  Within 5 minutes of turning that corner, the boat slowed down and we heard a commotion, and there before our eyes was a pod of at least 6 dolphins. Could this trip get any better, it was such a fantastic sight, how lucky were we to see this. After ten minutes or so they disappeared, obviously to give someone else the pleasure of seeing them further along the bay.

Next stop Kapatus.  We moored very close in, and everything dived or jumped in the sea.  We were in paradise.

Our day was fantastic, lunch, well everyone will know, I don’t need to go into detail, how do they cook such fabulous food in that little space, and that cauliflower dish and chips....... We all had a feast.  There were a lovely crowd of people on the boat and everyone was having great fun. We arrived back at the harbour around 5.45pm, having had one of the best days. We went for a couple of drinks at the Pirat with a nice couple we had met on the boat, Reggae at the bar was very entertaining, and it was just the end to a perfect day at sea.  Taxi home around 8pm, and a quick chicken salad for dinner it was, as we were still full from lunch.

Tuesday ……….

Kekova again!!!

Well we wouldn’t normally do 2 boat trips in a row, but it worked out liked this, not quite sure why, but we were looking forward to our 2nd trip to Kekova today with Chris and Bernie.

Define tours collected us at 9am and off we went.  The normal beautiful drive along the coast and after an hour we had arrived.  Same boat, same lunch, same Captain and same swim stops as last week, all in all it was the same trip as last week, an absolutely fantastic day! We saw the huge turtles again, this week a lot more fish Bob saw when snorkelling though. The boys on the boat caught a few, we saw them gutting them, guessing they would be having them for dinner tonight. 

I didn’t make it up to the castle again! But who knows, we have one more trip to Kekova booked this holiday, so will let you know if I do!! Instead we stopped in the café for cold beers, coke and fresh orange juice followed by icecreams.

Back on the boat and one final swim before our short journey back to the harbour.  Back on the bus, just the 7 of us, but there seemed to be a problem at first with the air conditioning, it was like being in a sauna, but after a quick phone call by the driver it was working, and we were on our journey back to Kalkan.

Perfect day was had by all! We said goodbye to Chris and Bernie and back home we went.  A shower and plenty of aftersun for us tonight, feeling a bit sunburnt tonight after our 2 trips.  We had been told by a guy the previous day to put your aftersun in the fridge, weird we thought, but I tried it! And oh how cooling it was fab idea! Dinner was chicken guvec tonight, Bob manage to knock up this using up the rest of the green bean dish, another chicken breast with the added addition of some fresh tomatoes, and Eskine cheese on top.  It was delicious.

Anyway hope I haven’t rambled on too much!

Wednesday……

Jobs morning today!  Bob is fitting a new solar light, so fun in the sun won’t be until this afternoon……..  Will report back in a couple of days

Shirl

[Skunk]

Great report Shirl. It's lovely to hear about all the places and people you know so well.

[Lizilu20]

What a fabulous few days you've been having. Love the story of the little puppy - cheeky devil!

Don't worry Shirl, we are hot on your heels, watch this space...