back home

Well hello, I am back home and normal routines have resumed. I got back home from Turkey on Monday evening, just after 9 pm. Not too bad actually. So many flights to popular holiday destinations leave at ridiculous hours. I hit the ground running, with a large committee meeting on Tuesday morning. 

My holiday in Fethiye can be summarised in just a few sentences... it was very laid back with very few activities other than chatting, reading, going for walks, knitting and eating. I haven't felt as relaxed as last week all year, maybe longer! It was really lovely to catch up with my godmother, whom I had not seen for some time. She pampered me, and I loved being looked after. 

My visit was quite late in the season and while the temperatures were just right for me at around 23 degrees, it was rather wet, with some quite heavy rains, too. As a result, we experienced flooding around the house, water was coming into the garden and pool areas from the flooded streets and the pool, which was not winter-ready yet, also overflowed. Lots of wading through almost knee deep water (at peak flood) but the house was dry and cosy because it is elevated from the ground, the front door is four steps up. We constructed a wee bridge for the cats to come and go without having to swim.

We went into town once to visit one of those fabulous haberdashery shops where you can buy anything from pins to beads and threads. A lot of stuff that nobody needs, too. I had a short list of Gutermann thread colours that I wanted to buy, and buttons. I also got two boxes of glass head pins and a pack of wool darning needles. This was on the first rainy day, we came unprepared and had to buy rain coats. The kind that you might buy at a festival. Colourful and long, made of plastic. I wore that a lot over the next few days

The second trip was to a turtle research, rescue and rehabilitation centre, which was near Dalyan. On the way there we stopped for a wee wander around town to admire the Lycian rock tombs that were cut out of the rocks just across the river. I think they are dated at around 4 to 2 centuries BC. They were impressive, for sure. The turtle centre was interesting, particularly the video that explained a lot of the work done. There were only four turtles in the rescue tanks. They were all injured by boat engines, poor things. They can only be rehabilitated into the wild if they are able to move up and down in the tank and feed independently. Turtles take a long time to heal, much longer than people it seems. I had never seen a sea turtle before and seeing injured ones was a bit sad. I didn’t take any photos, it felt wrong. The location of the centre was next to a turtle nesting beach and volunteers make sure the hatchlings reach the sea safely. On the way back, high up on the hills, we stopped for a late lunch with amazing views (top photo). 

We mostly stayed in for dinner but had one meal out, which was most enjoyable. Evenings were peaceful and I went to be early and slept late. Perfect. 

I think my batteries are charged enough to last me to Christmas. I have another break planned in just a couple of weeks. I am going to a sewing retreat in New Lanark. I am really rather excited. Two nights in hotel, two days of sewing. I attended an online get to know each other meeting while in Turkey and now I know at least by name some of the fellow attendees. Watch this space. 

That’s it all for now. I have more photos from Turkey for another post (but no more stories, it was that relaxing). Thanks for visiting 😊