Kusadası

We took a couple of our friends to Kusadası to pick up their residency permits on Tuesday. Their car is old and hasn't got air-con, so we took pity on them. The big cruise ships were lining up to dock, but even so, the town didn't feel too busy.

By the time we left there were 3 or 4 ships docked. We have a regular refreshment stop when we go to Kusadasi, a hotel on the sea-front that offers a buffet 3 course lunch for 7.50TL (about £3.00) including coffee, which even by Turkish standards is an absolute bargain.

Mooring Clashes

We have been experiencing some aggro down at the boat, where our mooring has been under threat from a couple of particularly careless Turks and their bigger boats.

Our boat in the centre has had some near misses with both the heavy wooden fishing boat (top left) and the one on the top right. Both of them would moor too close to "Gremlyn" and as the wind increased (as it has done for most of last month), the boats collide. With the help of some of the local Turks on Gaye 2, we have persuaded the top left boat to leave the area and the one on the right to put in his own mooring in a place where his boat wouldn't interfere with any other. To be honest, if each of the boats had stayed in the positions in the picture there would have been no problem, but at one point the fishing boat was moored BETWEEN ours and the one on the right. They just have no idea ..... never mind, at the end of August many of these holidaymakers will leave, and only the locals will remain.

An Alternative to American fast food

We have a new restaurant on the block - Mola (means rest or break)



It's just down Ataturk Boulevard from Arti and Roka, and provides really good food in comfortable and pleasant surroundings and is where we decided to celebrate our 34th wedding anniversary last night.



We had a very pleasant evening.
A couple of nights previous we had been into Arti's new café bar next door to Arti Restaurant. there we had a snack and drinks whilst listening to some pleasant Turkish folk music performed by a young Turkish lad singing and playing his acoustic guitar.

The Beginning of the End for Didim

As if Turkey can't produce it's own really good fast food outlets, producing şiş and gözleme and köfte ... finally the Americans have arrived to ply us with their version of fat-food. (not a mis-print!!)

Shame really, Didim becomes less Turkish and more like every other city in the world, and with each advance of these global companies, it's own peculiar sparkle is diminished a little more.
For those of you who are sad enough to be interested in it's location, it's in the old Carrefour café next to the supermarket (yet another global player).

Pearl Rock Retreat

We climbed the mountain to Pearl Rock Retreat again today to visit Mandy and Lawrence

They prepared a lovely lunch for us, and after we'd all caught up with the news, we all went up to the pool to cool off ..

Lovely setting isn't it?

when you're swimming it's like being in one of those infinity pools with the views across the sea ..

Lawrence, Eric and the one on the end
and Diane and Mandy enjoying the company and the sunshine

A Day Out

We fancied a day out, so we picked up a couple friends (Phil and Lorraine) and packed up a picnic and drove down the Coast and investigated the little bays from Akbuk down to Iassos and beyond.

This is us relaxing by the water's edge somewhere near Bozbuk.

That's a large shell that Phil is attempting to kill me with ....

The up-turned boats were quite useful, the scenery spectacular; what more could we wish for

a very relaxing day.

Rubbish - certainly an issue here in Turkey

The sign says "Domestic Animals are banned from going into the sea", but you can throw as much rubbish into the water as you like it seems!!!

Police Academy

Yet another trip up to the Police Academy; you can't beat the view and the food is pretty good now too!

Bougainvilla

Isn't this beautiful, the well-trimmed bougainvilla arch and the ball of bougainvilla in the background

Stuart's 60th

Today was Stuart's 60th birthday and to celebrate He and Pat decided to invite a few friends to the Didim Cafe for a meal.


We had a wonderful meal, one of the best steak meals we've had in Turkey since we've been here ...

and they even managed a romantic twirl!!1

Security

With so many burglaries occurring in Yeşilkent this year, Yeşilkent Sahil Sitesi have blocked off all but one entrances to the estate and are now installing a gate at the main entrance, monitored by cameras.



We are told that this will be a motorised gate ....

we will see what effect this will have on crime in the area, but meanwhile it makes it more difficult to visit friends on the estate and with all traffic now entering via Cadde 1, will make that road very busy!!

Mobile Haystack

A short while ago a solitary man came with a sickle and chopped down some of the vegetation that had grown up on the building sites and common land around us. We thought the council were cost-cutting again, but no, he was cutting it for his animals.


Then they loaded it on this pick-up, creating a mobile haystack.

Akbuk Market

Had a change from the ritual today and went to Akbuk market. Very hot, very busy but we bumped into a whole load of friends all doing the same thing.

Our Garden

Our garden is looking pretty as a picture at the moment so we thought we'd share it with you ..

As we sailed past LadyBird Beach (in front of Blue Restaurant) this afternoon, some of you may be interested to know that the sand has been levelled out in readiness for the summer visitors. Much earlier this year than last, thank goodness.

A brief sojourn in Akyarlar

Where is Akyarlar we hear you cry ... well if you turn left in Turgetreis when you hit the coast and travel about15Km along the coast road, then you will arrive in the pretty little village of Akyarlar. After meeting an ex-colleague for lunch in Turgetries and chatting about old times over lunch, we decided to take a couple of days here in Akyarlar and chill.



Our hotel was the Sunny Garden Nulifer, a lovely little hotel built like little houses that cling to the side of the hill around a swimming pool

From here we explored the coastline ... and found some fabulous views

as well as some camels on the appropriately named Camel Beach.

Sometimes a short break does you the world of good.