Hilary became the SWAMP THING

---

Yesterday we were shown round properties, mostly from the outside and were pleasantly surprised by the view from party roof house. Not an uninterrupted picture postcard, no sea view (it is 7Km away) but you can see the castle, the street, some mountains and plenty of sky. It is a varied view. Couldn't get inside though as owner in Bodrum. In the afternoon we went to Kirazli where we were made very welcome and given good advice from people who live there and write blogs. On the way back I got a haircut and Ashley got a shave. I badly needed a haircut and I am happy with the result. We ate in again and took a few beers in Deniz bar which is where we usually go when we are here.

Today I went and picked up my bank card. I need to go back and find out how to discover my PIN and what happened to my sifrematik.. We went walking. Took the dolmus to Zeytiinkoy and headed down past the lakes and the kucuk Menderes towards the beach and Pamucak. We tried several paths, all of which became impassable due to swampiness or just petering out. We saw lots of different birds, mostly heron-like (herons, cranes, storks, ibises) or swallows. We saw many, many frogs who jumped into the water as we passed. We saw snakes, mostly swimming. I saw a rat. We saw fish that a man had caught. Whilst we were walking we got a phone call t say we could see the inside of a house that interests us this afternoon so we arranged to meet there at three. We never did find the way down to the beach though we had a lot of fun trying. In the end we headed towards the road so we could catch a dolmus back n time for our appointment.

It was then that I became THE SWAMP THING. My foot slipped and I landed on my nose! Ashley found this most amusing. I was not hurt but I was very, very muddy. I was surprised they let me on the dolmus when we got back to the road and one finally came along. We got dropped off at the hospital (maybe the driver thought we were going there to have my swampificiation cured) then back to the Homeros for a shower and a change of clothes. Also dealt with the laquer from yesterday's haircut. Then on to see th interior of the house with the party roof. Kitchen is great – main flat is a little small but this makes it easier to heat ad the back flat is much nicer than it looked in September.

We hope to meet with the owner on Thursday – we may come under pressure to sign contract but we are not ready for that yet. We want an independent solicitor to check the deeds before we commit 10% of the purchase price.

---