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Day 1: Istanbul to Gimlik Left the hostel bright and early, despite having drunk many pints with some British hostelers the night before. I missed the ferry i was aiming to catch because i had to unpack and repack Dreadnought just to get through security. (missing the early ferry turned out to be a very good thing!) While waiting for the ferry i chatted with Rick and Heather, a middle-aged couple from Winnipeg who were out here on business. I regalled them with tales of squat toilets, 75 cent kebabs and washing your butt with water rather than toilet paper. I don't think they'd ever left their hotel, where they enjoyed 200 dollar meals. I'd resigned myself to explaining the universe to them (astronomy is a great parlor trick) for the duration of the ferry ride but as i was embarking, an extremely pretty Turkish woman accosted me and asked if i was from Canada (i was wearing my Canada sun hat). I answered in the affirmative and she told me how she'd gone to Nova Scotia when she was 18 to learn english... G�l�in is a foreign relations consultant in Ankara and was on her way to visit family in Gimlik, which of course was right on my way. By the time we got out of the ferry there was no way she was going to let me bike away in the scorching heat, so after treating me to lunch she insisted that i take the bus with her to her parents' place. Well, if i've learned anything from cycle touring it's to follow the karma! So an hour later i was showered and (relatively) clean talking to her family through G�l�in and her younger brother, Frot, who also speaks English. I learned all i ever wanted to know about making Turkish tea ans Turkish coffee and ate an awesome dinner (of lamb liver, no less!). Needless to say, i never saw the Winnipeg couple again... Day 2: Gimlik to Karacabey When it was time for me to leave, G�l�in insisted that i pass through town to say goodbye to her father and brother. So as i left Gimlik i had the whole family waving me goodbye and wishing me well... and i'de only met them 12 hours ago!!! I love Turkey. Anyways, i was finally pedalling again, which felt pretty damn good. For lunch i had a bite at a road-side restaurant and the owner refused to let me pay. Not only did i get the meal for free, but the cashier came up to me and in a very cute/embarassed way gave me a gift of soap, towel, etc. Did i really stink that bad?!? Anyways, did i mention how much i love Turkey? Apart from that the day was pretty featurless, as it rained pretty much all day, which was a nice way to stay cool. I pitched my tent on what appeared to be an unused patch o' grass. Of course the patch of grass turned out to be part of a sheep highway! From dark until the wee hours of the morning shepards herded their animals with the help of dogs, passing to and fro right in front of my tent. The dogs were particularly funny since they would sit next to the tent and start barking furiously, clearly quite proud of themselves for "finding" me. The shepards would yell in Turkish, probably something like "yeah, that's a tent. now shuttup!". Day 3: Karacabey to Biga Pretty unevenful day. I biked, saw pretty hills and just barely beat the rain when it came time to pitch my tent. And this time i didn't pitch it on a busy patch of grass. That said there was an inordinate amount of bird shit on the tent in the morning... Day 4: Biga to �anakkale While i was eating breakfast/snack/lunch the owner of the market came out and chopped me up some fresh tomato to add to my bread & cheese sandwich... Oh, i don't think i've mentioned this before: the toilets here are awesome. Any cyclist will tell you that it is imperative to keep your butt clean, specially when you are riding long hours and liable to get saddle sores. Well let me tell you that nothing feels better on a sore bum that sprinkling water on it after taking a crap. My ass has never been cleaner than in Turkey! Anyways... i biked a bunch and enjoyed a decent tail wind for the last few dozen kms into town. I'm staying at a hostel for the night. Day 5: �anakkale to G�lpinar Left the hostel before the sun rose, and had breakfast at an over-priced joint in Troy. The ruins themselves were nothing special, though the archeology must be a nightmare: 10 layers of ruins, all in the same place! The cycling was by far the best so far on this trip. The hills were rolling, the views endless and the historical sights so plentiful that i often couldn't be bothered to pull out the camera to take a picture of yet another ancient greek column lying on its side in a field. As i stood by my steed in a small village, munching on Doritos and wondering if i'd be able to get a seat at the local tea house, i was accosted by a man who made the universal eating motion. Next thing i knew, i was sitting with him as he kept ordering more and varied foods. He kept refilling my cup with water and giving me more fresh bread to clean up the plates as i polished them off... i definately have to take a Turkish cooking class when i get back to Istanbul. When i couldn't possibly stuff another tasty morsel down my gullet, i shook his hand, as well as that of the restaurant's owner, and was off with Dreadnought. Although the food was delicious, i quickly regretted eating quite so much as i cycled through G�lpinar: the town is built on the side of a very steep hill and the only road is made of some very rough cobblestones. This was a hill that only Dreadnought could handle, as the Millenium Falcon doesn't have the low gears for it! A few miles outside of G�lpinar i settled down for the night in a pattented Turkish picnic area/dumping area. I was lulled to sleep by the ever-present cow/goat/donkey/horse bells as animals wandered around my camp. Day 6: After sending my previous email, i made it out of the crazy beach-resort sprawl just in time to pitch the tent before sunset. I was woken in the wee hours of the morning by some dogs that kept barking and howling. After first i thought they were making a fuss because of me (like the shepard dogs from a few nights ago) but then i realized they were howling at the moon, which was just setting. I would really love to know why dogs howl at the moon when it is rising or setting... Anyways, they shut up once the moon was out of sight, leaving me with a few hours of uninterrupted sleep until sunrise. Day 7: On the road my the time the sun hit Dreadnought's spokes. Had breakfast at a gas station and was rather taken aback when the owner kept insisting to get the money for the tea i'd drunk. This was very un-turkish, as most people here are very laid-back and never rush you to pay. That was when i realized it was time a for a shower and laundry... that's one of the trade-off in cycle-touring: when you're clean people figure you've got money and try to rip you off, when you're filthy they figure your a peniless vagrant! Anyways, i quickly veered off the main coastal road to Izmir and headed into the hills. These were *real* hills and i spent a good deal of time in my granny-gear sweating like a pig! Fortunately the last 20 km into Bergama were downhill! I've found a place to stay for the night (with a shower!) and will probably spend a day or so checking out the sights before moving on to Izmir. There's an Italian woman named Rosa at the pension who speaks little English but since she's a French teacher we're still able to communicate! |