'Out of season' in Kalkan...weather etc....5th Nov until 10th Dec...

[Babs]

You're starting to get quite insufferable now onelove!  only joking! It's good to get a Kalkan fix on a miserable damp November morning.....even if it is through someone else 

[Kalkan Magic]

The webcams look amazing this morning and the sea like absolute glass...lunch on the balcony would be perfect!

[onelove]

Yesterday was the Hottest day since we arrived 10 days ago, and the sun was out All day 

I was laying on a sunbed when at 15:25 my mobile rang and woke me, omg I must of fell asleep, I answered, 'hi' 'hi Peter' came the answer 'we are outside' omg, we had arranged with friends to be picked up at 15:30 to go to a Trout farm in the mountains behind Kalkan, 'can you give us 10 mins please', 'no problem'.......

So a (very) quick wash (and spray of aftershave for me) and we were ready.

I grabbed my tripod & telescope (why you ask, more later) and run up the stairs to the road level where our friends were waiting very patiently, 'no rush, no rush, there's no reason to rush when your retired' said our driver/friend, phew, that made me feel a lot better, so into the car we got to set off to Bezirgan where we stopped to take some photos and look at the beautiful scenery. Bezirgan's trees, unlike (very Green) Kalkan's, have a 'sort of' autumn look about them, with loads of beatiful colours    Bezirgan is a very peaceful place, old Turkey, maybe what Kalkan was like 50/60 years ago  One thing that was Very noticeable was the Drop in temp, def needed a sweater/jacket.

We left Bezirgan via the signpost pointing us to Akbel, after a short drive you do a Very sharp left to Islamlar, this turning is very easy to miss as the signpost for Islamlar is only visible if you are coming from the opp direction, 'Keep Calm' this is Turkey  .

We slowly climbed (the newly surfaced road) up the mountain road, twisting and turning round the hairpin bends until we pulled over and got out to look at the view of Kalkan and Snake & mouse in the distance. Another great view from this vantage point is Patara beach ( a long straight line that looks like the horizon ) and the Xanthos river with the sun shimmering of it as it snakes down to the sea.....in a word, stunning 

We arrived at the restaurant (Ciftlik) at approx 17:45 just missing the sunset  . Waiting for us were another 2 of our friends.

So the 6 of us sat down to a Fantastic 'Meze' meal that included....garlic prawns, Kalamari, shredded rocket with garlic, chips ( very Turkish ! ) sliced fried aubergine with stuffed peppers, halloumi, chesse borek, mixed salad, bread & yogurt dips all washed down with a couple of glasses of vino, soft drinks & water. When we were finished we were served comp Turkish coffee & cay.

The views from this family restaurant looking down on snake & mouse are amazing, well worth a visit for that alone, albeit the food & service are 1st class as well.

We got chatting to the dad/husband ( well the one of us that spoke Turkish did ) and learnt that this was the first Trout restaurant in the mountain opening in 1991 and the fact that all the other restaurants that are now up there all worked at this restaurant before opening their own.....the owner told us this with a big smile on his face and without any sign of jealousy 

I had to laugh when I was outside having a smoke seeing the youngest of the 3 sons, could only of been 7/8 years old, walking back from the local shop just a min up the road carrying a bottle of Efes that one of our party had ordered.....oh how I love this place 

We had already decided that on the way home we would stop at the same spot we had stopped off on our way there to 'star gaze'......I set the telescope up and fixed it onto the 3/4 full moon, got to say it was fantastic sight.  Only downside was that the moon was very bright which did not concur with star gazing    on the upside we saw 3 'shooting stars' what a great way to end a fab night 

Today.....is another beautiful warm / hot sunny day.......sunbed calling, so buy for now 

Onelove.

[kalkan4eva]

sounds fabulous, onelove. What a great life you have.
Is there anything at all you miss about UK? Other than Old Trafford, of course..

[onelove]

Yeah K4e not a bad life I must admit, we are Sooo Very lucky, and know it 

What do I miss about the UK...Mmmmm, not that much to be honest...just our kids, Grandkids & family, but can't have it all I suppose    FaceTime / Skype really helps with that.

Will always miss OT, albeit, Reds are here, Reds are there, Reds are every F**king where   

Very hot/warm again today 

Just got in from a lovely evening and meal @ Coast, more dogs than people on the harbour though

Still very very mild in the evenings......still in shorts & t-shirt 

Onelove.

[onelove]

It looks like it's going to be another lovely warm/hot sunny day here in paridise, it's 06:40 and Kalamar Bay is bathed in sunshine 

We had a Fab meal @ Coast last night and a nice long chat with Omar and his lovely new wife Elife ( hope the spelling is right ) they are such a lovely couple, I hope they can make it pay staying open as there are not a lot of people about at this time of year, albeit, I love it that way, so peaceful 

It's good news to hear that Coast is staying open all winter including Xmas & New Year, more choice the better me says 

Now off for our morning walk   

Onelove.

[kalkan4eva]

the fact that Coast is open throughout the Winter may well have caused the owners of Aubergine to change their minds. My understanding via this forum is that they were set to close this winter but are now staying open...?
I really hope Coast can make a go of the out-of-season opening, love it there. More choice for residents and out of season travellers can only be a good thing.
thanks for posting, onelove.

[onelove]

Yes, your right K4e, Aubergine is Staying open all winter and for New Years Eve....well, that's what I have been told anyway 

I had to call the Mayor this afternoon, not at all happy  , wtf is going on here in paridise.....we got to 14:00 and all was well, then........Clouds 

Onelove.

[Anne]

Sitting here at 7.30 pm and the weather has broken, constant thunder, the rain started a few minutes ago and just had the most enormous crack of lightening.  Still it is supposed to brighten up tomorrow and the weekend and can't complain about November to date.

[onelove]

Yeah Anne, what a fab lighting show we have just had. I'm not sure, but the storm seems to be blowing over...I hope I have not spoken to soon 

I hope the weather is better tomorrow as we planned to go to Kapatas beach for a swim and packed lunch 

[onelove]

.......not spoken to soon 

We have had thunder, lighting & rain All night, it's now 05:30 Friday morning and it's still going on.

Looks like a swim & lunch @ Patara will have to wait :-((((

[onelove]

After a wet morning the weather picked up, was cloudy nigh on all day, but still mild, albeit, there is a little nip in the air tonight 

Tomorrow is forecast to be nice and sunny in the morning  up to 12ish, then cloud & sun for the rest of the day with maybe a shower here or there....

[Blue Lizard]

I always thought a little nip in the air was a Japanese parachutist   

[onelove]

 Better than a Jap in the eye 

[Kalkan regular]

We love the Kalkan storms they are so exciting and visual rather than endless grey sky & drizzle. I do feel sorry though for anyone who is only visiting for a week though and were expecting and looking forward to sun and warmth.

[onelove]

No need to worry. 07:10 Sat morning and we have blue skies and brilliant sunshine........again 

[onelove]

We set off for our morning walk @ 07:50 and got back at just before 09:00, those hills don't get any easier and (still !) play havoc with my (our) calves, but I suppose they do get the blood pumping which is a good thing. The sun was out and we certainly got a good sweat on.

After breakfast we had to decide wether to 'flop' again  or get on with the gardening/pruning/cutting back of the flowers or whatever you want to call it  We decided we should really get on with the garden/planters. So at 10:00 we got the tools together and off we set.  Now, when we started the gardening a few days ago 'I' thought it would take a day or two, well how wrong can you be. It's going to take at least 5/6 maybe 7 shifts @ 4/5 hours per shift  . The amount of debris/cuttings is Amazing, and still got to be carted off to the bin ;-((  That Bougenvilla is Dangerous stuff my arms and legs look like they have done 10 rounds with a couple of alley Cats 

We did not stop for lunch so at just gone 15:00 we had had enough and were quite hungry, so we thought we would go to Fener for a late lunch early dinner.

Fener was Very busy with hardly a spare table. Not surprising really as it was such a lovely day. Table found we ordered our food. As usual the food & service was first class, 2 cokes, one starter, 2 mains & comp bread & cay......£17  the value never ceases to amaze me......and what a lovely setting....I sat and watched a few locals were fishing off the harbour wall, there were a couple of young lads (Turks, to Brown to be Brits) swimming and  2 ladies sunbathing in their swimming costumes.....Kalkan in Nov, I can highly recommend it 

Onelove.

Footnote : the sun is now setting behind the mountain at 16:20 and it's dark at 17:15.

[onelove]

Another lovely warm/hot sunny day, albeit, clouds appeared at approx 15:00, also a Very Very very light shower in the afternoon 

[kalkan4eva]

Beats a cold November UK day....and it's dark here at 17.15 too

[onelove]

A tad cloudy first thing this morning (unusual of late) but the sun was out by 07:45, in short another lovely warm day