Truly, Madly Kalkan

[kalkan4eva]

I posted recently that following surgery, I no longer look 6 months pregnant...scratch that!

Who knew eating and drinking with wild abandon could cause so much damage? Even with the walking and swimming we do, there's a lot more of me to drag around these Kalkan hills than when we first arrived....which by the way, seems like an age ago!

BH had promised me a cocktail at Patara and I watched him create one, pop it in a plastic bottle, bury it in a ziploc bag of ice and pop it in the freezer. When we get to Patara, he said, I'll dig a hole under the parasol and bury the bag; by late afternoon, your cocktail will be the perfect temperature for drinking. I knew I married him for a reason! My hero.

We arrived at Patara at 9.30am on Friday and it was already hot hot HOT, but the breeze here made it so much more bearable. We chose our beds, all the parasols were already out so we knew it wouldn't be too windy today but cooler than being in Kalkan. As we unpacked the bag and prepped our beds for the day I wondered where my cocktail was....! BH, looked crestfallen...its still in the freezer! At this point I could have thrown a toddler style tantrum, with tears and everything but I took the stoic line. Never mind, these things happen, lets draw a line in the sand (couldn't resist that one) and say no more about it.....then proceeded to mention it at every given opportunity.

At Lunch: Enjoy your beer..if only I had a cocktail waiting for me.
Early afternoon: Ooh look at those people with a cool bag and a bottle of wine, how very civilised.
Many times during the day: I could just go a cocktail now.

To be fair, Patara was the right choice that day, the breeze was perfect and despite the unbearable heat, we felt cool. If we'd been at Palm Beach I would have been sweating like a man eating a vindaloo, lashing myself into the sea at every given opportunity or hiding out in the restaurant drinking cocktails...oops I did it again! Mentioned cocktails!

We had already planned to walk from the beach into Patara Village and maybe have dinner. The walk would do us good and earn more cocktail points (although I hadn't had one obvs....I swear I have cocktail Tourette's!). On the way, a tractor pulled up and the driver jumped out. Patara? Yes but we're walking thanks. He spoke no English, but was offering us a lift in his tractor to the village and even though we politely declined, he wouldn't leave until BH had climbed into the drivers seat as "captain" for a photo...he duly obliged! We laughed so hard the rest of the way, I almost forgot about the missing cocktails......I know, I need to get over it!

Our first time in Patara village...I thought there would be more to it, but where wasn't. Very traditional and quiet...rustic if you will, but I spied Beanies...who sold, you've guessed it! I had three...the first two were protest cocktails and the last one was simply for pleasure. What a lovely place Beanies is..its the PTT with a coffee shop and a bar...selling rather good cocktails! I think this post wins the prize for the amount of times cocktails are mentioned! I'm done now, and be assured I am seeking the professional help I no doubt need as soon as we get home

We considered perhaps staying for a few days in Patara village next year. Olivia in Beanies helped us out with her personal recommendations and I wrote them down with every intention of looking them up the next day. However, I am now sporting no less that 12 new bites...all of them like tennis balls...and could only have got them in Patara. The mosquitos here are of the mean variety.....if prizes were given out for the fiercest mosquitos, Patara would definitley win, by a long chalk. We wont be staying next year!

Yesterday we walked into town by going up to Is Bank and through the back streets...rather than the straightforward route....those all important steps. We had bags, purses, phone covers and wash bags on our list so it would be a cake and coffee day. I had messaged Helen at the Old Town Hotel the day before to ask if there might be gluten free cakes available and she offered me a choice. This is like winning the lottery for a coeliac...you have no idea! The Junction has opened just under Migros and they also advertise GF and vegetarian food...exciting times for those who have to follow restricted diets.

We did our shopping and headed over to the Old Town Hotel...I was beyond excited for my GF cake. A white chocolate and raspberry slice of heaven...I almost cried when I tasted it, it was go good! You're my guinea pig, Helen said and I reflected on the fact that I would undertake that role full time in a heartbeat!

It was 40 degrees Celsius and not even noon.

The rest of the day was spent by the pool and a half-hearted attempt to begin packing. Soon it was time to shower and change for the evening.

Where are you eating tonight asked Muhitdin at Moonlight as we sipped our sundowners. Trio, I replied. Oooh special occasion, he said. It wasnt but maybe it should have been. Our favourite meal of the holiday so far...2 steaks, a beer, 2 glasses of wine, a millionaires cheesecake and a champagne sorbet for 340TL. No complimentary coffees or liqueurs...not even Turkish Delight with the bill but it still shaded it into first place for this holiday.

Today is our last full day and night, and I feel bereft that our trip has already come to an end. I'll post tomorrow and reflect on this visit before I have to bury my iPad deep into my case....in the meantime, I'm concentrating on getting my less than slim body into one of the 40 plus dresses I brought that are basically for a slimmer person...I blame the cocktails!

[keith]

What an enjoyable read K4E. Did you manage to retrieve the cocktail from the freezer on your return home? It is our last full day today.......it's gone far too quickly. The heat is quite unbearable today and so I'm looking forward to packing our bags under the cooling air conditioning. I think that we will be having pre-dinner drinks at Bezirgans and probably going to eat at Kaya. Enjoy your last day.

[Bob & Jayne]

Oh K4E what a fab post, OH and I have just laughed all the way through it, me reading on the laptop and him on his phone, he was reading a bit ahead and kept laughing telling me snippets before I got to the cocktail bits! Your holiday is coming to an end but thank you so much for sharing it with us all, thoroughly enjoyed reading your blogs! Safe journey home and will look out for your final summing up!

Keith enjoy your last day too, and safe journey home to you both as well.

J&B

[Chris_S]

FYI information:

The Weather Station at Kalamar reported a peak of 42C at 3-4pm yesterday (1 July)

Today (2 July) it was 42C at 2pm.

Sorry - I'm a Weather Bore!

[Babs]

40 dresses and I think it was 12 swimsuits.......
Thanks for sharing you lovely holiday with us!

[Lizilu20]

I can't believe your holiday is coming to an end.  I am really going to miss your reports and this one was a belter. So funny!
Hope BH is back in the good books by now and it definitely won first prize for the cocktail tourettes!

Thanks so much for sharing your holiday with us and I'm eagerly awaiting your summing up.

[kalkan4eva]

That last day, that last night in Kalkan...always feel so desperately sad to be leaving, I don't really enjoy it.

We packed mostly on Saturday, leaving a few things out for Sunday - including a choice of dresses for me as I was undecided, quelle surprise! A few last minute bits and bobs from town and I wanted to amble about with my camera, as you do! It was far too hot to sunbathe...which by the same token means its also too hot to walk around but BH bought it. We walked down into the old town and I stopped to take a photo of the new bell...the OCD in me cannot reconcile the positioning of the date signage, unless there's something else still to be added. At this point I realised I hadn't put the battery back in the camera after taking it out to charge it so I could take pictures around town. Oh! Brief lecture from BH followed and we made our way down to the front to say goodbye *sniff, sniff* to Osman and Adem before their boats went out for the day. We spied our friends boarding another boat...their 4th boat trip in 10 days. Its just too hot they said and we agreed to come and meet them off the boat for a farewell cocktail in Fener.

Up Cardiac Hill for maybe only the 10th time this holiday but now after arrangements to meet our friends in Fener, we knew it wouldn't be the last. You will think I am bonkers but I loaded the battery into the camera and went straight back out...BH cursing me under his breath. Photos finished with a cm'on David Bailey, I need an Efes. We passed our taxi driver friend, sitting near Kipa for the fourth time, he hadn't moved an inch, except to laugh at us!

The heat was so intense the pool was like a warm bath, but still better than trying to sit out in the blazing sun. For the weather bore, the old fashioned non-scientific thing that has worked perfectly well for centuries was stuck at 45 degrees celsius which means 113 blummin fahrenheit and I'm going with that reading irrespective of weather station readings...whats a few degrees between friends!

After meeting our friends for farewell drinks we headed back up Cardiac for the final time...a real effort after two Long Island Iced Teas I can tell you! After a shower and change of clothes,we headed down to Moonlight for our final sundowners, me in fairly high wedges . You're brave in those shoes with these pavements a lady said to me, and I agreed with her. What was I thinking? A broken ankle might extend our stay? I managed to get round in one piece and as we were only going as far as Paprika, I felt it was a calculated risk. We had Chateaubriand...absolutely delicious! Haybo and her friend shouted up from the street, having spotted us on the balcony. Lovely to see her and a tad jealous that her stay was just beginning...

On Monday morning, our Enes driver arrived promptly and the sad journey to Dalaman was underway before we could say görüşürüz, "I love you more with every breath, truly madly deeply do"

Final thoughts....

1. We got Netflix on our iPads for the very first time, no idea what's changed but it came in useful when it was too hot to sunbathe.

2. The mosquitos didn't really bother us in Kalkan, very few bites even though we didn't see a mozzie buster in the whole time we were there. Patara certainly made up for it, sadly

3. It seemed a bit busier in town, not just because of Bayram, there just seemed to be more people than last year to us and some places seemed to regularly enjoy good patronage whilst others seemed empty. I'm not sure if some places will survive perhaps a third bad season in a row and I do fear for some businesses who may still be struggling.

4. We shopped in every supermarket, big and small, local and national chain, prices weren't much different for most things. I was beyond excited that Migros sold Cadburys Dairy Milk and Carrefour sold GF Bread that didn't require me to sell a kidney to buy and was actually very edible. Also in Carrefour, salted butter! The best wine deals were from the "Off Licence" under Asian Gate and he also delivers Efes by the crate. I stuck to the sugar free still lemonade for my gin mixer, with a little soda water added for fizz, it was delicious. I then found pink grapefruit in the same line, not sekersiz, but with a fresh grapefruit slice in my Bombay this was my favourite rooftop sundowner, by some margin.

5. If you think something will work, because you desperately want it to work then think again. Willing my stick on bras to stay in place because I really really wanted them to is doomed to failure. They fool you into thinking they are doing a half decent job until you walk down the road. Simple as.

6. My favourite place for a cocktail this year was Fener... I might have said Patara Beach but, you know....!

7. I read 6 books, my favourite was A God in Ruins by Kate Atkinson, my least favourite was A Second Life by SJ Watson (bit disappointing after Before I go to Sleep). I wept buckets reading The Memory Book by Rowan Coleman and expected to weep buckets reading After You by JoJo Moyes but it didn't happen.

8. Trio was our favourite restaurant for food, their service isn't as attentive as other places - maybe that's their style - but you cannot fault their grub!

9. We stayed in much more this year, food is very good value if you are self catering and cooking for yourselves. Takeaways (Paket) are plentiful and varied - something for everyone. You can definitely do Kalkan on a limited budget, its all about the choices you make. I've said it before and I make no apologies for saying it again, Fener is excellent for price and quality if you want to eat at the harbour.

10. If you are having your eyebrows threaded, get them done on your first or second day...you know it makes sense!

Thanks for taking the time to read my ramblings....Kalkan is waiting for you, it looks beautiful and its so welcoming. Go forth EK'ers who have yet to arrive...and remember, the forum expects...just sayin!

[keith]

Brilliant last post K4E. Who knows we might eventually meet up one day?

Keith can.........enjoy reading K4E's posts whilst.........in Kalkan

[Babs]

Oh you really did have a wonderful time, can't wait to see some of those photos. Thanks for hints about stick on bras and eyebrows, have not tried either but there's already a first time!
Just to warn you.....we are thinking of June for our Kalkan jaunt next year for a change! 

[Lizilu20]

How bittersweet is that final post K4E. I was so eagerly awaiting it and now I've devoured it and it is no more. Your "ramblings" have kept me entertained for nearly 4 weeks and I'm bereft you are home.

Thanks for such entertaining and informative reports. Clapping my hands to read about salted butter in carrefour and thanks for the mixer tips.

4 weeks tomorrow and it will be our turn and I can't wait. Like Babs, I'm looking forward to those pics too.

 K4E and Babs in Kalkan next June  maybe Shirl and I and the boys should tag along too...

[joycie]

I'm 70 next year in June and so we are also thinking of June next year. It's the only place where I would love to spend my birthday but after spending my 60th there in June and it was so hot not sure what to do?

[Bob & Jayne]

Oh K4E what a fab post, only just got around to logging onto EK, and boy was it worth it!! Thank you so much for sharing your holiday with us all. 

June 2018 now there's a thought Lizzie, how fab would that be ladies! 

[kalkan4eva]

It would be like a Spice Girls Reunion Old Spice! Thought I'd say it before anyone else did.
Thanks for your lovely comments - meant to say the new water hammock was fantastic..buy!buy!buy!

[joycie]

Have booked our flights with  Monarch for June next year, Flying out Sunday 24th June and returning Sunday 15th July. Three weeks in our special place including my birthday can't wait. Still got this year to go yet three weeks in October for a change. Just can't wait!

[Babs]

Great Joycie.....we're planning to do the same! And we've still got this October to look forward to!