Olu Deniz Holiday - Week Two

Publishing a post yesterday made me feel so much better. I feel like I have got my blogging mojo back.

We spent a fair amount of time just chilling on holiday by relaxing by the pool, reading, sleeping and chatting together. It's the simple things in life that cost very little but pay back so much. One of our favourite day trips was to visit the Help Beach Bar & Yacht Club in Fethiye. We used to visit the Help Bar & Restaurant in Olu Deniz but found out via Facebook earlier this year that it had closed down and moved to a bay just outside Fethiye harbour. A little bit of research on line and I found they provided a free boat shuttle service in the morning leaving Fethiye harbour at 11am and returning at 6.30pm.

We did the trip twice and enjoyed it so much both times that it will certainly be on our list if we return to the area again. The beach was beautiful soft sand and was surrounded by a pine forest. There was Ibiza style chill out music playing in the background - not too loud to disturb my reading or a conversation but just loud enough to enjoy.

The food was as fabulous as ever and there was a choice of places to eat - under the shark infested wooden roof, on a wooden deck out front in the shade, directly on the beach in big squashy comfy settees or in the cabanas dotted around the cove and in the forest. We chose the wooden decked area on both occasions with the view out to sea.

At this time of year the beach became shady at around 5pm which was just perfect for moving to one of the settees and ordering a cocktail. My favourite was a Long Island Iced Tea whereas David just wanted a chilled beer. The sun was starting to set at 6.30pm and we got some great sunset views from the boat as we gently crossed over the bay towards Fethiye harbour on our return journey.

We ate at some wonderful restaurants with Mosiak Bahce in Fethiye being a favourite. We have eaten here before and love the city centre settings but the feeling we are out in the country as the tables are outside set under ancient olive trees. Delicious food, cheap but tasty wine and great service.

By the end of the holiday the evenings were getting cooler and I wore my short denim jacket over my summer dresses to keep the chill at bay. We found a lovely restaurant called The Festival which had a log fire burning inside and instead of sitting outside under the stars we plumped for a fireside table to toast ourselves.

In no time at all we were on our journey home and back to reality. This was our last holiday for this year (although we have one more weekend away booked) so I now have to wait until next June for my next dose of sun, sea and sangria with another family holiday to Tenerife.

Can you believe the day after we got home we were up early to go car booting? More about that in my next post.

If you can't wait for next post then you can follow me on Instagram @themrsdanvers. 

Olu Deniz Holiday - Week One

I have neglected my blog for so long that I actually feel embarrassed. I love blogging but have been tempted away by the new delights of Instagram and also I've been talking to family and friends via messenger and FaceTime instead of via my blog. I have felt a social media emptiness these last couple of weeks and realised that I have missed my blog, a bit like missing a dear old friend. I hope you forgive me, my trusted friendly blog.

So now for a catch up. We have just returned from fortnight holiday number three this year and enjoyed the sunny holiday delights of Turkey again. In June we visited our favourite Turkish resort of Kalkan and this last holiday was in Olu Deniz. We like this resort for October as we find that as the season starts to wind down that we need a fairly busy place to stay so that there is still some hustle and bustle around us. There are plenty of places to visit nearby and various sightseeing places to explore.

The weather was perfect for the first week although it was cloudy on Saturday and rained on Sunday in the middle of our break, but it was back to sunshine on Monday. The hot sunny weather remained until our journey home on Friday night. We expected this patch of cloudy weather and visited the ghost town of Kayakoy on Saturday with a fairly short bus ride away at a cost of around £1.75 return each.

Earlier in the week we had caught the local bus to the top of Babadag Mountain to watch the steady stream of paragliders jumping from the platform for their thrills. There are many tandem paragliders with the passengers paying around £50 for the experience. We are both too chicken to try it ourselves but this did not stop us having a chuckle at some of the novice's legs still running in mid-air once they had already taken off. Instead we lazily sat back with a glass of chilled wine and enjoyed the view and entertainment. 

Most people arrive by travel agency mini-bus but we were lucky enough to get on the local mini-bus as there are only two a day. We had to stand up as all seats were already taken and it was a long 40 minute journey up hairpin bends on a narrow road. Two ladies seated in front of me could not look out the window at times but as we have done this journey before with us sitting in the front seats next to the driver we know the road is safe. 

It is usually a fairly peaceful spot at the mountain top but this time there were three JCBs drilling away. On closer inspection I noticed that they are building a cable car called the Skyline to take the paragliders up the mountain and sightseers up and down the mountain. This is due to open around May/June next year. I think that if we holiday in the area again then this will be well worth a visit, although David is not a fan of cable cars and may have to be persuaded.

Our hotel is just perfect for us and I booked it in January this year at a good price with Jet2 Holidays. We have been using this company quite a lot recently after using them for flights this April to Tenerife and again for flights to Tenerife for June 2018. One of the draws is the 22kg hold luggage allowance and 10kg hand luggage allowance. Other companies give much smaller weight allowances and charge excessive amounts for additional allowances. The hotel is fairly central, has a lovely (but freezing cold - or should that be"refreshing?") pool and plenty of sunbeds with no early morning towel runs to bag a bed. We stayed in this hotel over two years ago and we were pleasantly surprised at the standard of accommodation and service given the fairly low cost. We have a large room with king sized bed, window settee and balcony overlooking the pool with views towards the mountains. We stayed in the room next door last time we stayed.

Well I'll post more about our holiday soon and sign off for now. Find me (and follow me if you want to) on Instagram @themrsdanvers and I use #themrsdanvers.

Week 2 Kalkan Holiday

One of the reasons I love Kalkan so much is the choice of cafes, bars and restaurants. There are so many to choose from and the prices differ wildly but you will always get a great meal. Unlike some of the more touristy resorts on the Turquoise Coast, you cannot get English, Chinese or Indian food but mainly Turkish food with some European influence. We have visited many of the eateries but not all. Some have come and gone over the years, while others have lasted and flourished.

We have our favourites, ones that we return to time and again and others that we have tried just the once. This holiday we have eaten everything from a 14 lira (about £3.10) chicken kebab wrap at Hunkar to a 90 lira (about £19.80) four course meal with wine at The Olive Tree. Now don't you think at these prices that they are both amazing value?

Many of the restaurants are on rooftop terraces with views over the bay and the sunsets over the headland. I finally gave way and ordered my first dessert of the holiday at the Sade Terrace Restaurant one night which was deep fried icecream with caramel sauce. The immediate taste reminded me of another food I had eaten but I could not put my finger on it until the lightening bolt hit - Butterkist toffee popcorn.

The village is full of little cobbled streets, some with tables outside the restaurants where it is lovely to sit and people watch while you enjoy your glass of wine and delicioius meal. We ate at Salonika one evening with musicians playing traditional Turkish music at the next table. The food was devine. I had a chicken casserole with bulgur side and David had the lamb version. A tray of dried herbs and spices was brought to the table for us to add to taste - chilli, cumin, mint and oregano. A wonderful evening.

We've spent more time lazing around on this holiday than any other and one day we walked to the Indigo Beach Club for a day of sunbathing (shade bathing), swimming in the sea and a lazy salad lunch with ice cold beer in icy frosted glasses. They bring around complimentary Turkish tea and Madeira cake in the afternoon too. Our unexpected treat was one of the staff telling us that we could order free drinks paid for by one of the shop owners who was eating lunch and had spotted us sunbathing. Now that is the Turkish approach to people. So kind, generous and friendly. He owns a brilliant bag shop which I may have bought just a few items from over the years... no need to say anymore on that!

We've wandered around the weekly market again as there is no chance of avoiding it as the entrance to our hotel is on the road where the market is held. We didn't buy anything but a stroll into the village afterwards led me to buy a clutch bag (from the shop mentioned above) and a necklace. We pay in Sterling and I had none with me at the time. Both shop owners insisted that I took the items and paid them before I flew home. They know me from the years of visiting Kalkan but how trusting and refreshing is this approach. It is not the first time they have done this either.

We spent a while at the Fener Cafe (at the lighthouse) yesterday and read the complimentary British newspapers while sipping chilled drinks and watching the shuttle boats going back and forth to the beach clubs. A sleepy cat and dog slept under our table and nothing would awake them from their sleep, not even the noise of another cat catching a bird and running off with it in its mouth hotly pursued by a waiter trying to save the little sparrow. Shame.

Today is another trip to Kas to wander around the shops, seek some shade in the central gardens and watch the paragliders land on the harbour side. It's all busy busy busy ....

If you don't like waiting for my sporadic blogging, take a look at my more frequent updates on Instagram #themrsdanvers