Author: heulwen821948

Sunday 9th April

Abana to Abana
Distance: 0 km
Average Speed: 0 kmh
Fastest Speed: 0 kmh
Total Distance: 11560.82 km

Monday 27th March

We definitely had cycling plans for today but when we realised that it was cold and incredibly windy we decided a full rest day was in order.  So that was that.  Just one admin task still to complete – upload video clips from our cycle from Bodrum.  We’ve been inspired by Ed Pratt, a young Somerset lad, cycling the world on a unicycle.  Every week he publishes a video on FB.   Sadly (or perhaps thankfully)  we don’t have the IT to do this but we’ve asked Carl Broadhurst if he can weave his magic for us – so fingers crossed.

Tuesday 28th March

Kilitbahir to Gallipoli then Istanbul
Distance: 53.4 km
Average Speed: 10.47 kmh
Fastest Speed: 42.51 kmh
Total Distance: 11231.08 km

Much better weather this morning, not a cloud in the sky.  The wind is still blowing so it makes hard work of our cycle along the Dardanelles passage from Kilitbahir to Gallipoli. But it’s not too hilly, just a little dull.  As we leave Eceabat we visit one of the Turkish war grave sites from the First World War.

War memorial

After that we only stop in a one tea room village for a quick coffee stop.  As we cycle into Gallipoli there is a huge queue of trucks waiting for the ferry,  but we cycle past it and pop into the Otogar (bus station)  to see about getting a coach the rest of the way into Istanbul.

This will save us having to negotiate the famous Istanbul traffic. There are several coach companies that service Istanbul,  the first one we try says no when they see the bikes. But one of the other coach company touts sees this and says his will take us.  However the bus is in 10 minutes which leaves us no time to see Gallipoli itself. We could get a later coach, but a quick look at TripAdvisor and we decide not to bother with Gallipoli itself and so wait for the coach.  It’s a bit of a squeeze getting our trikes on the coach with so much luggage already on, but with a little wiggle and persuasion we manage. Time to relax and enjoy the scenery.  Mind you after our windswept day our faces are burning up on the bus!!

The coach is really great. There’s an attendant who brings free drinks, coffee for us, and snacks. He also keeps the coach spotless.  Each seat has a small TV and you can pick a number of films or TV programmes to watch (in Turkish!).  By the time we are rolling into Istanbul it’s dark, and the traffic is very, very heavy.  We pull into Istanbul international bus station; it’s huge. It takes a while for our bus to get to its slot then it’s time to unload.  

We have an audience, and one guy shows us how to get out of the station (such little gestures but so helpful).   Our route wants to take us on the busier roads but we need to stay off them so it takes a few fraught moments to ensure we wiggle through the back streets to our hosts’ apartment.  Thankfully they only live about 5 km from the station.  We finally arrive and after visiting two secure underground car parks we get the bikes safely parked.  Sahil and Yigit,  both students,  have kindly agreed to host us.  They cook supper for us and we chat. They point out places of interest for us to visit in Istanbul.   It’s soon past midnight. Time for bed!

 

Wednesday 29 March

Istanbul

We are up and ready for some sightseeing.   Yigit shows us where the tram stop is and how to buy the Istanbul card for use on the metro, buses and trams.  We jump on the next tram, they are very crowded,  people jammed in like sardines.   After about 7 stops we manage to extricate ourselves and we are at the Grand Bazaar.  But first breakfast and a coffee.

What follows for the rest of the day is a lot of walking and some glorious sights…

The Grand Bazaar

The underground cisterns

Gulhane Park

Views of the Bosphorus

The Blue Mosque

Hagia Sophia

Istanbul University Gates.

 

Our favourites were…

The Underground Cisterns.  This subterranean structure was commissioned by Emperor Justinian and built in 532. The largest surviving Byzantine cistern in İstanbul, it was constructed using 336 columns, many of which were salvaged from ruined temples and feature fine carved capitals. Its symmetry and sheer grandeur of conception are quite breathtaking, and its cavernous depths make a great retreat on summer days.

The Blue Mosque. İstanbul’s most photogenic building was the grand project of Sultan Ahmet I (r 1603–17), whose tomb is located on the north side of the site facing Sultanahmet Park. The mosque’s wonderfully curvaceous exterior features a cascade of domes and six slender minarets. Blue İznik tiles adorn the interior and give the building its unofficial but commonly used name.

The Grand Bazaar.  The colourful and chaotic Grand Bazaar is the heart of İstanbul’s Old City and has been so for centuries. Starting as a small vaulted bedesten (warehouse) built by order of Mehmet the Conqueror in 1461, it grew to cover a vast area as lanes between the bedesten, neighbouring shops and hans (caravanserais) were roofed and the market assumed the sprawling, labyrinthine form that it retains today.

We get back about 8pm (another crowded tram ride) and then set about teaching  Yigit and Sahil how to play Nominations (card game) and have a laugh and talk about life in Istanbul.  

 

Thursday 30th March

Istanbul

After yesterday’s mammoth slog around the sights we are taking it a little easier. We get the tram all the way across the Golden Horn. First Daz spots Besiktas Stadium and decides to send piccies and text to Carl.  Then there’s Dolmabahce Palace (closed today because it’s a Muslim holiday) and then to Taksim Square.  From here we follow the Siraselviler Street to the Galata Tower.

 

The views from the top are fantastic.   We walk across Galata Bridge; it’s a mass of fishermen with tubs full of fish.

Once on the other side of the Galata bridge we stop by the fish boats and enjoy a fish sandwich or two! It’s very popular and the ornate boats where they fry the fish on huge griddles are very pretty.  There are lots of hawkers here trying to sell you stuff, some are very persistent!  

All the sights of Istanbul are amazing and wonderful.  The people are friendly and welcoming.  There is a heavy police presence on the streets, most decked out in full combat armour and automatic assault rifles. Armoured cars sit at all the main tourist sights. But it doesn’t detract from the city.  Our favourites were the Cisterns and the Blue Mosque.  It was also amazing to see the 360 degree view from high up on the Galata Tower.  

Back at the boys’ apartment we go out for a bite to eat, in a very small shop where an old man cooks kebabs on an ornate charcoal grill that fills half the space.  Then it’s back to the apartment and the lads dig out the Raki, and lay on a spread of traditional Turkish snacks to be eaten whilst drinking said Raki! More chatting and distillation of life in Istanbul and Turkey ensues.

 

Friday 31st March

Istanbul to Toprakcuma

Distance: 9.45km

We sleep in (did I mention Raki last night?).  When we are up we go to the local hospital to see if we can get a Typhoid injection.  We pick one of the many buildings on the hospital site and ask. We get sent to another part of the hospital.  But no luck here either and they send us to another hospital.  Fortunately it’s only 2 stops away on the tram.  Both hospitals have been very chaotic and busy, the first had several cats walking the corridors.   We finally get seen by a doctor, but she says they don’t have any Typhoid vaccinations and we should go to a special clinic.  Unfortunately she can’t tell us where to find one! We give up and go to Cemberlitas Haman.  Hurrah, we’re having a Turkish bath – at last.  We are shown to our separate bathing areas and both enjoy a scrub and wash from an attendant whilst lying on the hot raised slabs.  The amount of skin and muck that comes off is embarrassing, fortunately we’ll never see our ‘scrubbers’  again!  After a couple of hours of pampering it’s time to head back to the apartment but first we want to look at the old city walls.

We head back, pack up and say goodbye to our fab hosts and hope we can one day reciprocate.

Then we cycle to the coach station.  Another ‘cheat’ to get out of Istanbul without facing miles of built up area and horrendous traffic.

Everything goes well apart from a small argument about having to pay ‘cargo’ costs for the bikes.  We set off about 830pm, half an hour late, and then spend the next 7 hours on the coach as it goes from station to station.  Very tiring. We aren’t even allowed to sit together as they only had single seats left.

 

Saturday 1st April

Toprakcuma to Agasi Dana
Distance: 31.40 km
Average Speed: 7.36 kmh
Fastest Speed: 54.86 kmh
Total Distance: 11269.88 km

We finally arrive at our destination at 5am, not the 3am we were told. We put the bikes back together and cycle out of the small village to find a campsite.

We soon find an excellent spot of grass off the main road and set the tent up in the dark.  There’s frost on the ground now we are up in the hills, the temperature is about 2 degrees,  brrrr.  Sleep.  We get about 4 hours sleep. The tent is warming up in the late morning sunshine. We go back towards the village for brunch, rice and beans, a little bland but filling.

Then it’s time to cycle to Safranbolu – a World Heritage site.  It take a couple of hours, but we are soon on a hill looking down on the village.

We cycle down and park up so we can walk through the centre.

The City of Safranbolu is a typical Ottoman city, with typical buildings and streets, and played a key role in the caravan trade over many centuries. The settlement developed as a trading centre after the Turkish conquest in the 11th century, and by the 13th century, it had become an important caravan station. Its layout demonstrates the organic growth of the town in response to economic expansion, and its buildings are representative of its evolving socio-economic structure up to the disappearance of the traditional caravan routes and beyond.  By virtue of its key role in the caravan trade over many centuries, Safranbolu enjoyed great prosperity. As a result, it set a standard in public and domestic architecture that exercised a great influence on urban development over a large area of the Ottoman Empire.

 

It’s packed with tourists.  We wander around the narrow streets filled with shops and people before sitting in the sun and relaxing with a coffee watching the world go by.  Then it’s time to get out, which means climbing. And climbing,  and climbing.  

We knew there was a climb so didn’t buy any food or water, thinking we’ll get it once we reach the main road.  But there’s nothing. No shops, just more hills. No food, no water.  We stop in a little hamlet and manage to get water from an old lady.  Then we continue to climb; culverts and storm drains preventing us getting off the road to find level ground to camp on.  Finally there’s a turning and we can get off the main road and find somewhere to camp.   It’s not sheltered from the wind, and it’s still close to the road but we are too tired to do anything else   We set up the tent.  We’ve got some emergency rations, packs of noodles, but we can’t be bothered sitting in the chill wind to cook them.   We share our last 4 biscuits and crawl into bed.

 

Sunday 2nd April

Agasi Dana to Abdipaşa
Distance: 51.01 km
Average Speed: 12.66 kmh
Fastest Speed: 56.16 kmh
Total Distance: 11320.89 km

A really cold night for me disturbed by a car stopping nearby and a group of lads finding some entertainment at 2am in the middle of nowhere.   I have no idea what they were up to but I was relieved when they finally drove off.  For breakfast we have porridge and then continue our uphill struggle.  We’re stopped by a car full of Turks who want to take our photo (all this attention is going to Daz’s head).

After 1 hour we’ve managed 3km.  At least we’re resigned to the climb and enjoying the beautiful countryside and lovely blue skies.  We finally think we’ve hit the plateau and we’re looking forward to some real progress when we’re enticed onto a camping area by a group of 8 Turkish friends out for a Sunday picnic (they’re from Karabuk).  After they’ve played on the bikes and taken a load of photos they invite us over for tea and food.  Who are we to refuse (especially after the lack of meals yesterday!).  They proceed to feed and water us and then we have a game of volleyball and a spell of Turkish dancing.

They’re a lovely group of people and great fun.  After a lengthy break we finally have to say goodbye. Thanks Fatma, Sema, Nese and the rest.  And soon we’re rewarded by the most incredible downhill along the Ovacuma river valley.  It’s probably about 15km.

Then we have a gentle downhill along the Gokirmak River before finally finding somewhere to eat.  The cafe is empty except for us but we’re served fresh bread with honey on the comb, salad and delicious fish with a lovely crispy skin.  We’re so stuffed I don’t think I can cycle another kilometre but I manage to make some progress.  We stop in the town of Abdipaşa for provisions and find a camping spot not much further on.  Once camp is set up we have a good scrub in the river.  A lovely day indeed.

Monday 3rd April

Abdipaşa to Inpiri
Distance: 44.31 km
Average Speed: 9.34 kmh
Fastest Speed: 61.47 kmh
Total Distance: 11365.2 km

After porridge for breakfast we manage to cycle the steep rocky path back to the road.  After a short climb there’s an easy ride to Bartin.  We had a warmshower host here but since it was only lunchtime we decided to push on for Amasra.  Outside Bartin we pick up 2 cyclists, Volkan a university teacher from Bartin and one of his students.

Despite a long and very slow climb they follow us all the way with frequent photo sessions.  Finally there’s a lovely descent into Amasra apart from the very cold dark 1 kilometre tunnel. In Amasra our cycling escorts say farewell and a group of Turks start chatting to us.  One lady, Belgis, particularly fluent in English asks if we need anything.  We say, ‘ yes, coffee’ so she takes us to a government cafe where the drinks are cheap.  We have a couple of coffees and learn that Belgis is a geography teacher with twins aged 13.  After coffee she offers to be our guide and takes us around Amasra.  She’s lived her all her life except for her university stint in Istanbul.

She takes us up Amasra island to show us all the flowers in bloom, the castle and shows us views of the 2 bays of Amasra.  It’s a lovely little town.  She offers to host us for the night but we feel we need to do a bit more mileage before calling it a day.  We soon regret our decision because it’s a hellish ride up out of town.  The road is so steep in parts that we lose traction on our back wheel.  But finally we’re pretty much at the top.  We follow the coast line; Daz pausing to make 2 live video feeds.  We pass Belgis’ new school.

Currently the school is in the centre of Amasra but the government decided to build a new one about 10km outside.   We stop at a market stall for eggs and then have a fast downhill. My trike flies over one of the numerous lumps in the Turkish roads and my water bottle shoots out of its holder into the road and I slam on the brakes, 61kmph to zero in about 10 metres!!! I then notice my bike computer has also fallen off so we spend 5 minutes walking back up the hill to find it!!   Sadly we’ve stopped at the bottom of the hill and we can see this is followed by another climb and since it’s already gone 6pm we decide to find a campsite.   We break into to someone’s hazelnut orchard (by break in, I mean we simply opened the gate and pushed our bikes in.   But in Turkey these precious orchards are their livelihood so it’s a little naughty to go in but we’re always careful and clean up our mess after)  and set up camp.  Hopefully the owner won’t be too put out.  Scrambled eggs for tea and time for bed!

About an hour later we have some guests.  Daz goes out with his ‘charm offensive’, praying we’re not about to be evicted.  It turns out to be the ‘muktah’ (the local head man) and the Orchard owner (we think).  They’re happy for us to stay but ask us not to touch the hazelnut trees and to make sure we secure the gate when we leave.  

Back to bed and Daz is soon in the world of nod, gently snoring and I’m just about to drop off when I hear voices; and they’re very close.  I do my usual, pretend there’s no one there but soon they’re right outside the tent. I gently nudge Daz who finally wakes.  Initially we both plan to ignore these visitors, after all it is late – 10pm!  Sadly they don’t leave so once again Daz goes out.  Actually it’s only one man who claims it’s his orchard.  The voices – either he was on the phone or he was talking to us! Daz tells him the ‘muktah’ said it was OK and we’ll be gone in the morning.   He asks if we’re hungry and if we’re warm (all in broken English and sign language) .  We say we’re fine.   He’s about to leave but his parting gift is to offer Daz the use of his handgun – bit like the Browning pistols we used in the Army.  Bizarre!  Disappointingly Daz says ‘no’.  Missed a fab photo opportunity!

 

Tuesday 4th April

Inpiri to Hisar
Distance: 29.46 km
Average Speed: 6.67 kmh
Fastest Speed: 60.9 kmh
Total Distance: 11394.66 km

After our late visitor we had a quiet night but wake to a very wet tent.  We expected this to some extent because as we were setting up last night the moisture was already condensing on our bags and jackets.  But everything is really wet and there’s no sun on the Orchard and the grass is wet with dew.  If we wait for the sun to hit the tent we’re going to be here for hours so we move everything out of the Orchard on to the road where the sun is already shining.

It takes nearly 2 hours to dry everything and have breakfast.  Once packed we hit the road.  Big steep ascent (3.3km) followed by big descent (3.5km), I fear this might be the pattern for the day!

Yep, I was right, we had another 2km 10% ascent in 33 degrees heat followed by the same going down the otherside.  Except it’s freezing as we dip down below the coastal cloud/fog level.  And that’s pretty much it for the day.  Up and down.

We do stop occasionally, once with a road crew who are drilling core samples for the coastal road. They invite us for tea and biscuits.  There is evidence of huge landslides as we cycle along, and they are checking the geology to work out how to stop the landslides. They’ve come from Ankara and will spend 4 days on the job here before going home.

We’ve barely managed half our normal distance, with a very slow average speed, even outdone by a tortoise crossing the road in front of us.  We finally descend into Hisar and have some dinner.  We then ask if there is anywhere to camp and they point to a concrete pad next to the river and a boat yard.  In full view of the whole village we set up our tent.  There’s work still going on in the boat yard, sanding, banging and all manner of noise.

Hopefully they will knock it on the head soon and we can sleep!  But there are public toilets and running water so we have a good wash; the water is so cold it makes my head hurt (brain freeze?).

 

Wednesday 5th April

Hisar to Kuscu
Distance: 53.25 km
Average Speed: 7.86 kmh
Fastest Speed: 60.04 kmh
Total Distance: 11447.91 km

Another tough day but after yesterday’s performance we start a bit earlier and don’t give in to the temptation to stop for coffee or chai or any other excuse we usually find.  But sadly it’s pretty much a repeat; relentless climb, drop, climb, drop.  Mentally and physically it’s tough.

We try to distract ourselves by enjoying the beautiful spring flowers, birds, country folk and the views but for most of the day everything is shrouded in a seamist (but at least it isn’t raining – the usual weather on the Black Sea).  We do pass Gideros Bay, one of the most beautiful bays in Turkey, but sadly not that pretty in the mist.  It’s surrounded by boxwood, chesnut, oak, beech and pines and their colours are reflected in the water (not today!).

By 3pm we’ve made it to Cide (35km); neither of us expected to achieve this today.  We stop for a late lunch and coffee.  After food we push on; a huge climb out of Cide is enough to make us wish we had stayed put.  But once we hit the top there’s a plateau.  There is so much evidence here of landslides and at one point emergency repairs are underway because a huge section of the sea ward side of the road has fallen away.  It all looks fairly recent – scary!

We reach a village and ask some workmen if there’s a shop, no nothing for another 10km but they give us water so we’ll be fine for the night.  We reach our magic 50km marker and I’ve seen a covered shelter on the next hill.  It’s probably one of the picnic areas the Turks are so fond of.  We get there and attempt to put the tent up but it’s almost flying away in the wind.  We are on top of a hill and sadly, although there’s a roof the sides are completely open; I’m freezing now so goodness knows how cold we’ll be later.  Despite the fact the tent is almost fully set up, I refuse to stay.  We pack up.   We’re just on the brow of a hill so we head to the bottom and soon (well, after a little procrastination)  find a nice grassy spot.  OMG it’s so much warmer here!!!

 

Thursday 6th April

Kuscu to Akbayir
Distance: 26.18 km
Average Speed: 6.47 kmh
Fastest Speed: 45.10 kmh
Total Distance: 11474.09 km

OMG tough doesn’t cover it.  10% climb followed by 10% descent.  Rinse and repeat.  It’s so exhausting and after 2 hours effort we can look across the the valley and see where we started our descent, hit sea level and climbed back up again.

Today there’s no sea mist so at least we can appreciate the views but it’s a double edged sword; now we can see the climb ahead and the miserable progress we’ve made behind.  This is clearly the area for growing hazlenut (they’re everywhere) but also there’s a lot of bay trees in the hedgerows and we often see sheaves of bay branches on the side of the road and the locals collecting them.  By Akbayir, after 4 and a half hours in the saddle I feel so drained that I call it a day.  We do a big shop and ask the shopkeeper if we can camp nearby.  He points to the beach but then says he has pansyion (small hotel).  We have chai and discuss with Google translate.   He has a room we can have (no charge).  OMG, a bed and hot water.  Bliss!

Friday 7th April

Akbayir to Inebolu
Distance: 60.75 km
Average Speed: 8.31 kmh
Fastest Speed: 54.72 kmh
Total Distance: 11534.84 km

A comfy night and without the need to dry and pack the tent we’re ready to go by 9am.  Our lovely shopkeeper even offers us cay and breakfast but we’ve already had our porridge.

There’s a lot of cloud and there’s already been a rain shower but fingers crossed it’ll stay dry.  But the bad weather has brought with it a strong wind that’s on our backs most of the day.  It’s still very hilly but we make much better progress than yesterday.

We stop in Doganyurt for lunch; it’s market day so there’s plenty of men standing around staring at us.  The clouds have cleared and it’s a sunny, warm afternoon.  Mid afternoon we hit a small village and a cafe.  The proprietor suggests ‘cay’, so we stop for a break.  Bless his heart he doesn’t even charge us.  We push on to Inebolu but then struggle to find somewhere decent to set up camp out of the wind.  We’re both tired and frustrated with trying to find somewhere.  We head out of town and spot a fire station.

They let us set up in the garage with their fire engines.  They feed us.  We shower and play backgammon.   What a super nice group of guys and our salvation.

 

Saturday 8th April

Inebolu to Abana
Distance: 25.98 km
Average Speed: 9.56 kmh
Fastest Speed: 48.11 kmh
Total Distance: 11560.82 km

The expected rain hasn’t arrived, but it did rain in the night.   We are up and have breakfast in the firehouse whilst the shift change occurs.  We say farewell to our new friends and thank them again.

After packing we cycle back into Inebolu to have a look around. We have a list of the top ten Turkish sights on the Black Sea Coast.  Inebolu is number 9 and we are totally underwhelmed. There’s a nice little market and we stop for pancake and a coffee before heading out.

But just as we start out it starts to drizzle. By the time we have done 15 kilometers it’s getting worse so we stop in a little village and plonk ourselves down in a tea room.  We chat to a few people over the next few hours, play cards and we even get given a tray of food from some construction workers.

By 3pm the rain has slacked off and we go to pay for our teas and coffees… but it’s all been paid for, more Turkish generosity!   We manage another 10 km and arrive in Abana cold and wet.  Time for a hotel – a real bed, a decent shower and some creature comforts – surely we deserve it!!!

Monday 13th March 2017

Bodrum to Milas

Distance:  53.97 km

Average Speed: 10.99 kmh

Fastest Speed:  63.20 kmh

Total Distance: 10579.14

Yesterday we had a lazy day as Bahar had gone cycling with her club and we had the house to ourselves.  A frenzy of TV watching ensues – namely series 1 of The Lucky Man with James Nesbitt.  Not bad just series 2 to watch when we’ve got a spare 10 hours.  Today we’re up fairly early (9ish) and head off to Eray’s lock-up to fetch the trikes only to discover the key is no longer held in the cafe next door and even worse there’s now a padlock and chain on the door.  Within 5 minutes a chap comes along with the key to the door but he has no idea where the new padlock has come from.

We ring Bahar, she rings Mine.  Mine arrives on her scooter but she has no idea where this padlock has come from.   She makes a phone call and after a further 5 minutes someone else turns up who actually has the key to the padlock!

Back at Bahar’s we start loading the trikes and Daz cooks up a huge saucepan of porridge… bleughhh! But it’s supposed to be a good cycling breakfast,  slow release energy blah blah and we still have over 2kg of rolled oats to get through!  Unfortunately I’ve never been a porridge fan and whilst this is about the 6th bowl I’ve managed to eat since my Mum brought over 2 x 2kg of porridge oats, the consistency of snot is vile and often makes me want to vomit!  

 

After brekkie it’s time to say farewell to Bahar. She has been absolutely fab, hosting us yet again and helping out with our admin. One day we hope we can repay the generosity.  And so at 9 minutes past 11 we cycle out under sunny skies for the first time this year.  We plan to keep our biking legs short so today it’s the main road from Bodrum to Milas,  just over 50km to our warmshower host, Alp, in Milas.  We climb out of Bodrum at a nice steady rate; we know we’ve lost our bike fitness over the last few months.   It’s a pretty route with rolling hills and views of the dramatic coastline.  Later we head inland and stop to get a closer look at some flamingoes wading in the shallow waters beside the road.   

After a couple of hours we get a little peckish and stop at a Kofte wagon parked at the side of the road.

The converted bus has got a charcoal grill and a few tables and chairs inside,  but we sit out in the sun to enjoy our ‘meat’ sandwich (it’s kokorec – grilled animal intestines) and salty yogurt drink.  After lunch we see lots of beautiful spring flowers along the road and thanks to the tail wind we’re making good progress.  

There are a number of pottery outlets along the main road, maybe it’s a local clay? They have a lot of windmills on display, all spinning in the wind.

The traffic isn’t too bad.  This is our first cycle ride in Turkey and we have many people waving, calling greetings, speaking to us as they drive passed.  We’re really pleasantly surprised.  Only a couple of trucks skim past a little too close for comfort!  Towards the late afternoon the sun disappears and we have a long ascent to Milas. We are a little tired as we roll into Milas, and also, as we realise later, a little sunburnt!!  There’s a nice new blue cycle path into the town centre and we stop in the town square.  We are accosted a couple of times by people wanting to practice their English on us.

After a short scout around, and a cake and cup of tea we cycle the last kilometre to Alp’s house.  Unfortunately our route takes us over a dual carriageway which we cross using a footbridge.

 Its got a great ramp, but the switchback corners are too tight for our trikes so we have to get off  and manhandle them around manually… 4 times up, and 4 times down the other side!  We finally arrive at Alp’s. He lives with his parents in a beautiful big house.   They retired from working in Istanbul as a nurse (mother) and radiologist (father) but instead of downsizing they upsized – in a big way.   

Alp is a keen cyclist, having cycled over 15,000 km around the Aegean and Mediterranean coastal areas.  After getting cleaned up we sit down to a fantastic family meal.  It’s delicious.  We chat to Alp and he acts as translator for his parents.   Alp also shows us his YouTube interview of a Belgian cyclist who visited him earlier this month.  But by 10pm we are yawning our heads off after our first day’s cycling and call it a night. Just time to write the day’s blog before we are soon snoring the house down!!

Tuesday 14th March 2017

Milas to Akbuk

Distance:  52.67 km

Average Speed: 7.02 kmh

Fastest Speed:  63.05 kmh

Total Distance: 10631.76

We’re up at 0830hrs and have a lovely Turkish breakfast with Alp and Sacide, his mother (his Dad has gone to Work).

We chat over breakfast but then it’s time to leave.  Alp brings his camera and tripod out and takes some shots for us and has a go on our trikes. He thinks they are very comfortable.

We head off into Milas. Our first stop is a visit to the Tomb of Gumuskesen.  Milas’ most famous monument is a late 2nd-century Roman tomb called the Gümüşkesen, a particularly unlikely name which means “silver-cutting” (or “silver purse” in some translations). A marble tomb with elaborate columns and a pyramidal roof, it was probably modelled on the much more famous Mausoleum of Halicarnassus in nearby Bodrum. The only problem is it’s at the top of a steep hill!

Then we cycle back down, into and around the market; no mean feat given how busy it is with only narrow walkways between the stalls.  I would have expected people to be annoyed with our presence since everyone has to get out of our way but everyone is incredibly friendly and shout greetings to us.

Considering we have been told Milas is Turkey’s carpet capital there was not much sign, well actually none, of carpets.  After the market we head out of Milas and after about 10km we turn off the main road onto a much quieter back road.  It’s so pretty cycling through these valleys with the spring flowers in bloom and the olive groves with a carpet of white flowers.  

We pass a field where grass is being grown for turf, Croquet anyone?

It’s sunny again today but sadly we have a head wind.  We’ve done about 10km when the hills start and from then on they never really stop.  It’s tortuous and probably a dumb route choice for day 2 but with such beautiful views.

 Also we’re really on quiet back roads and discover there’s no shops or cafes, in fact nothing.  By 2 pm, absolutely shattered and ravenous we stop and eat the aubergine pie given to us this morning by Sacide.  Thank God for it, I was about ready to chew off my own arm.  She’s saved our lives.  It barely touches the sides. We see lots of lizards basking on rocks. Some scuttle away as we approach, others don’t seem to mind.

Finally we find a shop but it’s woefully short of provisions.   We were hoping for bread, cheese and meats as a minimum but it’s only got drinks, crisps and biscuits.  

We decide to push on for Akbuk, after all it’s only 10km.  How bad can it be?  Well very, very bad! We’re exhausted.  Our knees hurt from grinding up hills; our backs, feet, bums and legs ache and burn.  We’ve seriously overstretched ourselves today.  Finally we make Akbuk and find a restaurant.   We then proceed to shovel down our food as if our life depended on it.

 And then, overcome by the toughness of day 2, we head off to find a real bed and hot shower (yup -not camping!)

 

Wednesday 15th March 2017

Akbuk to Soke

Distance:  57.35 km

Average Speed: 9.67 kmh

Fastest Speed:  45.38 kmh

Total Distance: 10689.11

After a wonderful night’s sleep, followed by breakfast we head off and follow the promenade out of Akbuk – and along the deserted beach.

It’s very pretty.  Then it’s out of Akbuk to the main road – nice new smooth tarmac – it would’ve been fast except now there’s a hellish head wind, but after yesterday it’s a doddle.  After a steady climb we drop down again and have some Kofte for lunch then head off the main road for a detour around lake Bafa.  On the way to the lake we see a man and 2 women sitting in an olive grove.  They wave us over, and although they speak no English,  and us no Turkish we have a cup of chai and share a bit of bread and cheese with them.

We also spot some young Kangal pups and manage to entice them over for a belly rub.

As we reach the lake we see some fishermen and stop to watch. They seem to be catching the small fish at a rapid rate.  From here we leave the gravel track for a rough dirt track atop a dyke. There are flooded fields either side with grazing cows.  We can see the lake off to our right.

Lake Bafa is encircled by the Beşparmak Mountains, aptly named after the “five-fingers” the range resembles, but known as Mt. Latmos in mythological legends. Lake Bafa is a 60 square kilometre landlocked lake that was once the Aegean’s inland reach. The lake is now 50 percent salt water, providing for both salt and freshwater fishing, which along with agriculture, consists of the region’s prime sustenance. It’s slow going along the rough dyke, but the scenery makes up for it.  

After about 7 kilometers we come off and then enter a village after crossing a large river. There’s a very old fording bridge, but luckily we take the newer one! 

After the dyke we find ourselves in a small village and try and pet some rather scrawny puppies. Then back to main road.  It’s straight as a rule now for the final 20km.  We follow the main road into Soke and navigate through the busy centre to a bike shop.  Our warmshower host has given us this location so we assume he’s here even though I could have sworn he’s a schoolteacher.   We are greeted and given coffee then there is a photo frenzy and testing of our bikes.

We sit around for a bit and then the guy looking after us takes a phone call.  It’s our host on the other end, who gives us his address.  Off we go but just as leave they present us with a Turkish flag to hang off the bike and some lights!!  At Ayhan’s house we’re greeted warmly and he finds the trikes very funny.  Ayhan has 2 folding bikes, a mountain bike and a new VSF steel framed touring bike.  He’s done a lot of touring in Turkey and whilst he prepares dinner we watch his bike touring slideshows and then finally sleep.

Thursday 16th March 2017

Soke to Selcuk

Distance:  50.93 km

Average Speed: 9.79 kmh

Fastest Speed:  50.84 kmh

Total Distance: 10740.04

Alarm goes off ( for the first time) at 0650hrs.  It seems Ayhan is king of the snooze button and actually falls asleep between each alarm blast.  Finally we admit defeat and get up.

After boiled eggs for breakfast we all head into town, with Ayhan on Daz’s trike.   He’s well impressed.  In town Ayhan heads off to his school where he teaches 10 year olds and we head out of town, stopping briefly for a caffeine hit.

We’re on the main road again and even with the head wind make reasonable progress.  Sadly the hard climbing from Day 2 has left Daz with sore knees and sore achilles tendons.  In addition he’s suffering from a mild case of ‘Delhi Belly’ for the 2nd day.  We’ve eaten the same food but clearly I have the constitution of a waste disposal unit whilst Daz is more sensitive.  Urgent road side stops have become ‘the norm’ when travelling with DD (Diarrhoea Daz)!!

We stop at Magnesia.  According to the legends and ancient sources, Magnesia was founded by settlers called as Magnetes who came from Thessalia (Thessaly) on Greek mainland, following an oracle of Apollo and led by their leader Leukippos.

The location of the first city of Magnesia is not known, but it’s said to be somewhere along the Meander river (today’s Buyuk Menderes river) near Bafa Lake which was a bay on the Aegean Sea back then so it was accessible by the boats. Due to the epidemic outbreaks caused by the continuous changing of the river bed of the Meander and for the fact of being open to Persian invasions, around 400 BC Magnetes moved their city to its actual location next to Gumuscay river.

After looking at the main site we even cycle up a rough track to the stadium.  Very nice.

On we go just stopping for the occasional snack or drink and finally arrive in Selcuk.

It’s still fairly early so we head off to Ephesus – more ruins. But very impressive ruins!

Located within what was once the estuary of the River Kaystros, Ephesus comprises successive Hellenistic and Roman settlements founded on new locations, which followed the coastline as it retreated westward. Excavations have revealed grand monuments of the Roman Imperial period including the Library of Celsus and the Great Theatre. Little remains of the famous Temple of Artemis, one of the “Seven Wonders of the World,” which drew pilgrims from all around the Mediterranean. Since the 5th century, the House of the Virgin Mary, a domed cruciform chapel seven kilometres from Ephesus, became a major place of Christian pilgrimage. The Ancient City of Ephesus is an outstanding example of a Roman port city, with sea channel and harbour basin.

The area is surrounded by peach orchards that are now in blossom, vivid pinks everywhere.

We get back to the trikes and head for where we think Adnan lives – our warmshower host.  This involves a very rough, rocky track but with the added entertainment of some sections fully submerged.  Fortunately it’s not too deep and so no need to back track. We get to the coordinates for Adnan’s house but it’s just a big field.  We phone him but get no answer.  We decide to find a cafe but then he phones and says he’ll meet us at the hospital in about 20minutes.  We’re a little confused and wonder if he actually knows we’re his guests.  However all becomes clear.  He’s been in hospital most of the day after falling from the roof of his ‘cycling house’ and hitting his head.  But he comes to greet us with a huge smile but very bruised head and cheekbone – he’s lucky it wasn’t much worse.  He takes us to his ‘cycling house’ – it’s a stop over and meeting point for cycling clubs and touring cyclists.   

Adnan is famous; I think not only in Turkey but further afield for his cycling exploits but also for his hospitality.   After cleaning ourselves up we head to Adnan’s home for dinner.  We meet his wife, mother and daughter and there’s also several visitors who have come to check on him after his fall.  It’s a delightful evening; the hospitality we’re receiving is incredible.   Soon we’re too tired to socialise longer and head to the ‘cycling house’ and bed.

 

Friday 17th March 2017

Selcuk to Izmir

Distance:  41.25 km

Average Speed: 11.03kmh

Fastest Speed:  29.44 kmh

Total Distance: 10781.29

After a great night’s sleep we start the day with tea and granola and then cycle through town.  We stop near the Old City walls, opposite a new metro train station that is under construction.  When it’s finished it will link Selcuk with Izmir.

As we cycle out of town we get a great view of the castle high up on a hill. This recently renovated castle was built during the time of the Byzantine Empire and later remodeled by the Turks. On the outside you will see the emblematic Turkish flag and the face of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, father of the modern-day Republic of Turkey.

Out of Selcuk there are more beautiful peach orchards with dramatic cliff faces beyond.  We are cycling along a wide valley, the sun is shining and the it’s easy going.  We pass a tractor trailer and marvel at the leeks piled high in the back, the smell is exquisite.

So far the road has been smooth new tarmac with two wide lanes and hard shoulder, excellent!  But soon we are back on old gravelly tarmac and our speed reduces significantly .  A van pulls in ahead of us and we notice we are being videoed as we pass, it then goes by and stops again and the driver gets out and greets us before passing us a large pack of Turkish puddings. We later find out they are mini churros in syrup, Google translate calls them pump dessert!! We also pass a coach parked up on the hard shoulder.   The coach driver has stopped to take photos of us.

Then just before Tomboli 2 media guys on a moped stop and take details and pictures.  We think they work for the town newspaper which has an online edition, so we will keep watching incase they make us famous!

In Tomboli the clouds have arrived and it starts to drizzle.  We’re here to catch the metro into Izmir.   We go down in a small lift; it takes 3 runs with the trikes and baggage.

However at the barriers the lady, she says no! It’s against company rules (although bikes are permitted).  She tells us to get the overground train. Back up in the lift, a repeat process. At the overground the train man also says no to bikes. By now it’s raining hard.  We wait to assess the likelihood of getting on the overground but when one arrives we realise that there really is no where to put the trikes.  Whilst we’ve been waiting we’ve petted a mummy cat who has her 3 kittens in a cardboard box.  So cute!

So now for a final strategy.  We can see we’d easily get on the metro and that there’s plenty of room but we think seeing both trikes and all the baggage can look overbearing.  So we lock up my trike and go down to the Metro with just Daz’s trike and bags.  One final attempt to get on the metro. We plead injury, rain, and a burning need to get to Izmir today… finally the woman makes us stand under a CCTV camera then phones her supervisor who can see the trike thanks to the cameras.  He says yes!!! But only one bike one train.  So Daz gets on and I have to wait 20 minutes for the next.  ( You should have seen his face – sheer panic at being separated)

We have picked a station name to agree to get off at. Then I get on alone, helped by all the train staff!! I’m daydreaming away when after about 5 stops suddenly Daz gets on my train.  He’d found out our agreed train stop is nowhere near Izmir – it’s 30km north of Izmir. Fortunately he jumped off his train at a deserted station, waited for my train and jumped back on.

As we near Izmir the train becomes very crowded and as we reach our stop it’s virtually impossible to get off with the trikes. But finally we manage to get everyone to move out of the way and let us off.   We cycle through town via the Culture Park (lots of statues and empty fountains) then grab some food.

With all the train shenanigans we missed lunch and we are starving, so enjoy a Turkish version of KFC. We then hit the seafront and cycle along a new promenade for about 6kms.  It’s Incredibly beautiful as the sun sets over the sea.

We arrive at our warmshower host and Mehmet welcomes us into his home.

We share dinner and raki and find out about each other. Mehmet used to live the high life in Istanbul but decided he needed a quieter life so moved to Izmir.  He now teaches in a Maritime school and has left his wild Istanbul days for dull, slow Izmir life! (His quote not ours; I think he misses Istanbul and his friends there).

After dinner we teach him cards – nomination whist.

 

Saturday 18th March 2017

Izmir to Outskirts of Aliaga, beach.

Distance:  19.81 km

Average Speed: 7.45 kmh

Fastest Speed:  28.72 kmh

Total Distance: 10801.1km

Mehmet prepares a fab Turkish breakfast for us before we set off to explore Izmir.  We had thought we might spend 2 nights here but Mehmet doesn’t think there’s that much to see, so we’re not going bother.  We cycle along the sea front and then head off to see the Asansor lift.

Asansor is what it sounds like if you translate it into French or Spanish; it’s an elevator! This elevator is very special to the people of Izmir and is a popular place to hang out with friends. It also serves as a means of getting from the lower town to the upper town. Plus many couples who get married or families for special occasions come here to take photos together. The reason is it gives the best view of Izmir and the Aegean Sea from an elevated viewpoint. It has truly stunning views!

Then the clock tower and mosque.  We then cycle down the narrow streets, busy with people, to the ancient Roman Agora.  

Our last stop is the  Kemeralti Bazaar.  Trying, and coming close to emulating the Grand Bazaar of Istanbul, Kemeralti Bazaar  should be on every Izmir visitor’s list. Just as in Istanbul, the place is crowded and packed floor to ceiling with an array of everything you could ever need and more

Izmir done we return to the sea front to catch a ferry to Bostanli. No dramas with the ferry, thank goodness.  

At Bostanli we cycle to the nearest metro station.  We’re hoping we won’t have the same dramas as yesterday but sadly their first answer is a resounding ‘No’.  However we show them photos of yesterday’s train ride and they immediately capitulate and then can’t do enough to help us (or perhaps get rid of us). 

The first train pulls in and the bike compartment is absolutely chocca so the train guard says we should wait for the next train which has more coaches.  Whilst we’re waiting he teaches us to count to 5 in Turkish.  The next train pulls in and he helps us get the trikes on whilst asking people to get out of our way.  The train terminates in Aliaga, about 30km north of Izmir.  Once off we head for the beach but get distracted by a large market.  It’s a huge indoor market with 2 floors; clothes and bric a brac on the ground floor and food upstairs.  We have a wander round and then stop for dinner, a chicken kebab sandwich.  

We pick up some provisions as we cycle through town then head to the seafront.  We’ve got our eye on a possible wild camping spot on the beach about 6km away.  It’s another lovely promenade and easy cycling.  We reach our target and sure enough we manage to find a spot of grass next to the beach.  Our first wild camping spot in Turkey!  Someone comes along in a while and tells us it’s not possible to camp here, but we tell him we will be gone in the morning and he leaves us alone.

Sunday 19th March

Outskirts of Aliaga (beach) to Bergama

Distance:  45.73 km

Average Speed: 12.24 kmh

Fastest Speed:  53.28 kmh

Total Distance: 10846.83 km

We enjoy a nice lazy start.  Porridge (yuck!) for breakfast by the sea.

After packing up we cycle out, it’s easy cycling again along the main road all the way to Bergama, another ancient site we have been told to visit. On the way we pull into a oe horse town by the name of Yanikent on the lookout for lunch.  The place is dusty and run down, but in the square there are a couple of tea rooms and lots of kids playing.  We ask if there is food and then the kids escort us around the village from food point to food point, but none are open to business!!

We end up back out on the main road at a petrol station stopping for ice cream and chocolate wagon wheels!!

 

We push on to Bergama and meet Cihan, our warmshower host at his apartment.  He is a nurse, and works the big MRI machine, but is studying to be an oncologist.  After a while another guy comes round- Erdam is an English teacher and has come to help Cihan with the conversation!  

We all go out for food and are shortly joined by more members of Bergama cycle club – a mother and daughter. Then after dinner they take us to a cafe for baklava and then on to another cafe to hear Turkish folk music where we are joined by more cyclists.!! As we chat with them we ask a bit about Turkish culture and religion.  The people are predominantly muslim and there are 5 calls to prayer a day.  Usually younger guys go once on a Friday.  It’s normally only the old men in the mosque 5 times a day.  Women however often just pray at home.  

For those that have jobs, particularly in the service industry there is often no day off. For example, the shop we eat baklava in stays open till 11 pm. She only closes the shop for 30 min prayer then reopens.  Even Cijan, a nurse in the government hospital often works 12 hour days six days a week, this in part due to a lack of trained staff.  It’s a great evening, but we can see Cijan is flagging and so are we, time to call it a night.

 

Monday 20th March

Bergama to Avylik

Distance:  75.69 km

Average Speed: 12.56 kmh

Fastest Speed:  30.02 kmh

Total Distance: 10922.52 km

Cihan is up and off at 8 am for work. But he says goodbye and gives us keys to his flat. Just lock up when we leave! So we cycle to the cable car that takes tourist up to the Pergamum Acropolis. It looks like it’s not running, but someone comes and lets us in and starts her up.

At the top we look around.

The ancient site of Pergamum should win an award for its stunning location alone. Rolling across the hillside, five kilometers from the modern town of Bergama, the Acropolis area was once the beating heart of a powerful Hellenistic city. The most striking feature is the 15,000-seat theater, set into the steep southwest slope of the hill and reached by a narrow flight of steps from the Temple of Athena. Adjoining the temple are the ruins of Pergamum’s famed library, built around 170 BC and once home to one of the largest libraries in the ancient world, with 200,000 volumes (later carried off to Alexandria by Mark Antony as a gift to Cleopatra). To the west of the library is the Temple of Trajan, built in the Roman era, with its marble colonnaded terrace. Below the theater, the Altar of Zeus was once decorated with elaborate friezes (moved to Berlin in the 19th century).

After we come down we head to the Red Basilica. This massive red-brick ruin was originally built by Hadrian (AD 117-138) as a temple dedicated to the gods Serapis and Isis. Later, in the Byzantine era, it was converted into a church and dedicated to the Apostle John, who had earlier called this grandiose pagan temple the throne of the devil.

Then we cycle to a Turkish greengrocer lady. Wemet us last night, doesn’t speak a word of English, but asked us to visit. We drink tea with her then pop over the road to a carpet shop for a snoop around.

Then it’s back to the apartment, pack up, a cup of tea and some pasties and set off once again.

It’s 12am already but the ride along the main road is easy. we come off the main road to go for lunch in Dikili, a seaside resort frequented by Turks rather than tourists. We let some young kids pose for pictures on the trikes then followed the road close to sea.

Finally we returned to the main road until a turn off for Kucukkoy.   A quick shop for dinner provisions and then we hit the beach again looked for a camping spot.  Finally we find somewhere “suitable”. Wild Camping next to a camping site in a lagoon area.

But the mosquitos are out in force so we in turn are forced to an early bed.  As we were setting up we were asked to leave, but again they relented when we told them it was only for one night.

 

Tuesday 21st March

Avylik to Akcuy

Distance:  51.13 km

Average Speed: 10.82 kmh

Fastest Speed:  54.00 kmh

Total Distance: 10973.65 km

This morning we wake up to an extremely wet flysheet for the tent.  We try to dry it whilst having a cup of tea accompanied by the guy that owns the campsite next door and who initially wanted to move us on last night.  He’s happy enough chatting to us whilst we pack up. We head off into Avylik for a full Turkish breakfast by the harbour.

A great start to the day.  Back on the road Daz snaps his bottle holder and wants to stop at any cycling or outdoor shop.  We spot an outdoor shop with a guy just about to leave on his folding bike.  Daz asks him where we can buy a new bottle holder and he only gives us his!

For 20km we cycle around the Avalik Island Nature park; it’s a nice quiet road with some parts next to the sea but the road surface is rubbish and it’s a hard slog.

Then we make better progress back on the main road for 20km before heading to the coast at Oren. We stop for a coke and some bread and cheese and an ex naval man starts chatting to us.  We’re trying to dry our tent and work out a route and mileages and this guy insists that we sit and talk to him.

We think he wants to show us a wild camping site and take us to his bar to drink Raki (but who knows???)!  He accompanies us out of town and seems really disappointed when we say our farewells.

From here we continue on the backroads and actually most of them are being dug up so it’s loose gravel and hard going.  At one point we’re told the road is closed but we’ve seen loads of traffic heading that way so we refuse to backtrack.  About a kilometre later the road is closed by a mountain of gravel but we manage to cycle over it whilst most of the cars have to backtrack.

We’re in Akcuy now and stop for provisions before looking for a wild camping spot.  We thought we’d find something on the beach and whilst we are close to the beach we end up in a semi constructed bar owned by Yilmaz.

He’s happy for us to put our tent up in the unfinished bar and we’re keen to eat, wash and get to bed but for the next 2 hours it seems like most of the village want to visit the construction site. It’s dark by the time they disappear and we grab a cold shower from a beach shower point. Clean at last after 2 hot sweaty days!  We’ve settled down for the night when a group of men appear, build a campfire 15m away and proceed to eat and drink.  They’re rather noisy and apparently don’t leave until midnight (Daz kept guard, I was dead to the world).

 

Wednesday 22nd March

Akcuy to Assos

Distance: 61.55 km

Average Speed: 11.33 kmh

Fastest Speed:  49.26 kmh

Total Distance: 11035.2 km

We were expecting to be woken early by the workmen but all is quiet.  We pack up and have breakfast and still no sign of them.  We leave at 0930hrs just as the first workmen pull up – excellent timing. We cycle along Akcuy beachfront and along the pier.  It’s very picturesque so we stop for a coffee.

Once again we’re stopped by a number of people asking for photos; we feel like celebrities! Out of Akcuy and onto the main road where we fly along with a lovely tail wind.  35km done and it’s only 1230hrs. We stop for provisions at Kucukkuyu before leaving the main road to handrail the coast to Assos.  It’s beautiful; olive groves on both sides with views of the sea.  We stop at Yali for lunch, peanut butter and jam sandwiches, whilst looking out over a beach.  A perfect lunchtime stop.

On, on we go. It’s been gently undulating and then we hit a big hill and spot a group of cyclists coming the other way.  There’s 4 of them, all from Istanbul,cycling to Izmir.  We stop for a quick chat and a trike test ride.  We’re just about to head off when a lovely black dog appears.  It’s only followed them from Assos campsite.  Poor thing must be knackered, and thirsty; it’s 28 degrees today.

Finally over the huge hill and it’s not long before we see Assos; yup you guessed it, up another hill.  We take a stroll around admiring the incredible views from the hilltop.  Assos was founded in the 700s BCE by colonists from Lesvos. Aristotle came here and married King Hermeias’s niece, Pythia, before sailing over to Lesvos.

Atop a hill surrounded by olive groves are the ruins of the Doric-style Temple of Athena (530 BC) surrounded by crumbling city walls and an ancient necropolis (cemetery). Nearby is the 14th-century Ottoman Murad Hüdavendigar Mosque. The hill offers spectacular views of the Aegean Sea and the nearby Greek island of Lesvos.  Down the steep seaward side of the hill at the water’s edge is the hamlet officially named Behram, but actually called İskele (Dock, Wharf) by everyone, with old stone houses now serving as inns, hotels and restaurants. It’s hopelessly charming and picturesque. The small pebbly beach is less of an attraction than the boat tours and the picturesqueness of the hamlet itself.

Finally we head out of Assos and soon find a wild campsite for the night. Scrambled egg for tea.  Yummy.

Thursday 23rd March

Assos to Tavakli

Distance: 39.30 km

Average Speed: 8.58 kmh

Fastest Speed:  58.46 kmh

Total Distance: 11074.5 km

A great night in an idyllic spot.  Porridge for breakfast and then we hit the road.  It’s a beautiful route but a little tough – it takes us an hour to do 5km but it’s worth it to be in this beautiful countryside, on a quiet road with barely any traffic.

We push on, and after some effort reach Tuzla, a busy little village. We stop for a proper workmen’s lunch, which in Turkey is rice, beans, stew and chicken.

Fortified we head on, back towards the coast line, but during our stop the wind has picked up and you guessed it, it’s a head wind.  Just out of the village we come across two cars beside the road.  The drivers point up the hill and mention a hot water pool.

We walk up to investigate and it reminds us of Iceland.  It is in fact a geothermal pool, murky, but hot.  There are also little rivulets running down the hill with scalding water in them.  But no skinny dipping for us.  We push on, either up hill or into the wind. At about the 40 km mark we spot a shop just up from the beach. We decide it’s time to get tonight’s provisions because we’ll definitely be stopping soon.  Then the shop owner says we can camp on the beach, he has showers, toilets and hot water.  He wants 20 Lira and after seeing the facilities we drop him to 15 Lira.  So an early stop after a tough ride today in beautiful scenery.  Time for a cold beer as we sit in the sunshine on the beach… shame about the wind.

There’s also a bar and a puppy, an obvious place to spend the evening.

Friday 24th March

Tavakli to Troy

Distance: 52.46 km

Average Speed: 8.84 kmh

Fastest Speed:  43.8 kmh

Total Distance: 11126.92 km

Wne think the wind has died down after a gusty night in the tent. We get back on the road, but not before Hels tips her trike on some adverse camber as we join the road! Thankfully all is OK and she only lands on her bad arm (horse ride incident) again.  We soon realise the wind hasn’t left us alone as we continue and it’s another headwind.  Factor in the rough asphalt and it’s slow going for most of the morning.  We do spot a tortoise – or is it?

We pass ancient Alexandria, but it really is ancient.  Just a few piles of stones and one area of old housing.  The notice says free entry, but the gates are locked and nobody’s in!  We drop into Dalyan and follow signs for the ‘antik harbour’.  It’s not much to look at, but we stop for coffee and sit in the sun for a while.  Then it’s on towards Troy, or the village that now stands next to ancient Troy.  On route we stop for a roadside lunch of tomato, onion and bread salad drizzled in the olive oil we were given in Crete.

The roads after this are mainly downhill and better tarmac’d, that is until the last 12 km.  We turn onto a gravel road that goes across flat arable fields on a raised dyke.

The wind is fierce on this exposed road and it’s a hard slog for about an hour until we turn off it.  Just a couple more kilometers to go now.  As we head into Kalafat Hels spots a big kangal dog ahead and is nervous enough to suggest we arm ourselves with stones (first time we’ve taken this precaution).  Then a shepherd and his flock appear.

The dog starts barking at us, and coming towards us.  We expect the shepherd to take some action as we have now stopped cycling and are standing up hoping to intimidate the kangal.  No such luck and the shepherd seems happy with the kangal’s behaviour.   The dog, by far the biggest we have seen, with spiked collar glinting in the sun, stands between us and the flock.  As the flock moves ahead of us on the dirt road the shepherd calls the dog, but he stays to the rear, Barking and keeping an eye on us.  We follow at a safe distance ready to take evasive action if necessary .  Then the flock go off the road into a fenced field.  We try edging past but the dog is growling and watching us intently.   We’re not feeling the love!  after My goosebumps are piled on top of each other.  We try creeping forward but we really don’t want to antagonise this beast.  We’ve heard that a trained sheepherding kangal gives no quarter when his flock are threatened.   By this time the shepherd decides to take pity on us.  So far he’s stood in the field with his sheep with his phone out, taking pictures of us or perhaps waiting to video us being ripped limb from limb by his gangal.  He has waved us through a few times but we’re not taking any chances.  He walks to the track and by now his kangal has flanked us and is on the other side of the track.   We’re between him and his sheep.  The shepherd says ‘it’s OK, it’s OK’ but as soon as we start to move the dog starts growling and coming towards us.  The shepherd shouts at it with absolutely no effect and so resorts to throwing stones at it as a deterrent.   Why am I not reassured.  Finally we creep nervously forward,  Hels asks him, “Kangol?”,  “yes” he replies. “Friendly?”, “No!” is the answer!  At last we’re passed and give a wave goodbye.  Two more kilometres and we are in the village of Troy; our finishing point.  We enter the village and cycle around most of it until we find the shop.  Provisions purchased and we ask if it’s OK to camp in the village.  ‘Yup no problem’.  They point us to a grassy area just beyond the town square.  It even has toilets and a shower (cold water though!).

 

Saturday 25th March

Troy to Canakkale (Kilitbahir)

Distance: 38.31 km

Average Speed: 9.55 kmh

Fastest Speed:  53.00 kmh

Total Distance: 11165.23 km
It’s a very slow and lazy start today because we are waiting for the Canakkale Bisiklet Turu.  There’s a bike festival in Canakkale and the first organised ride is from Canakkale to Troy and back.  They’re stopping here for lunch and a tour of Troy before completing the return leg.  They aren’t due in until after 12 so we take our time packing up.  We get a visit from a couple of young men from the village who are happy to play on the trikes.  We grab a couple of coffees in the village square then cycle over to the site of Troy itself.  The road in has a large Jandarma presence and as we arrive at the gates we see lots of flags, banners and an inflatable arch to welcome the cyclists.  

There are also food wagons, tea wagons and music.  We go through the arch, we are the first cyclists to arrive!  We park up and help ourselves to some of the free food then sneak into the back of Troy without paying the entrance fee!  Troy isn’t as impressive as Ephesus or Bergama, but then it was from a much earlier period, as far back as 3000BC!  There are mainly a lot of bastion walls and a few palace walls, oh and a wooden replica of the famed Trojan horse which you can climb up into.  

We head back to the cyclist area and soon the cyclists start arriving, a few to start with but very soon there are hundreds and hundreds.  We later learn there are over 3000 cyclists involved.  The area we are in is soon awash with parked bicycles and people in a huge queue for the food.  

We hear an exclamation in English and turn to to meet Dan Ham.  He has also cycled from the UK but is heading south around Turkey as we go north.  We spend a while chatting with him as we stand in the food queue.  We also give him 3 spare poles for his tent as he has broken 2!  We know what that’s like from earlier experience.  The place is really buzzing and we get lots of interest in our bikes, being the only recumbents there.  Dan is leaving the tour here as he will continue south and we are going to ride with it back to Canakkale so we say goodbye and wind our way through the masses to the road out.  There are already people setting off.   We we were expecting it to be a big group start, but it looks like some are getting a jump on everyone.  We are worried that we will be slow so we follow on.  We cycle out to the main road to Canakkale and are disappointed in the route to begin with as we cycle along the dual carriageway hard shoulder.

But then the Jandarma are ahead and we see they have closed one side of the dual carriageway and we filter onto the closed section.  As we climb a long steep hill with a few cyclists passing by occasionally we look in our mirrors and see the main pack behind us.  Soon we are being passed by the horde.  It really is great fun.  

Then we turn off the main road and descend a very steep hill back down to the coast and a quiet road into Canakkale.  By the time we are cycling into the finish it’s getting late, but still more people are coming in behind us which makes us feel good.  

We grab a coffee and soak up the atmosphere, rappers on stage, bike stalls, kids doing tricks on bmx.  Then we spot Cihan and Ebrar from Bergama and we catch up with them.  Cihan, bless his heart, even tries to arrange accommodation for us in Canakkale.   He is amazing, but we don’t want to put him to any further trouble.  He cycled here in one day from Bergama and then did the ride today… he must be knackered!  We end up booking ourselves a room for 2 nights in a hotel, a rare treat so far.  This will allow us to join all the cyclists tomorrow for the Gallipoli memorial ride, this time without all our baggage.

 We catch the the free ferry over to Kilitbahir and are soon ensconced in a comfortable room with hot water and cozy bed!

Sunday 26th March 

Kilitbahir to Eceabat to Kilitbahir

Distance: 12.45 km

Average Speed: 11.19 kmh

Fastest Speed: 40.21 kmh

Total Distance: 11177.68 km

We had a great sleep last night and today we are having a rest day… sort of!  We have breakfast in the hotel then head out on our unloaded bikes to Eceabat, 5km up the coast.  This is where today’s Gallipoli memorial ride starts.

 Eceabat.

When we arrive the streets and market Square are jammed with people and bikes.  We get lots of attention from different groups of cyclists who have come from all around Turkey to participate today.  After a lot of announcements there is a ‘last post’ bugle call followed by a rousing singing of the Turkish national anthem.

Then it’s mayhem for a while as everyone starts moving off, cyclists funnelling through the start banner.  We are surrounded by everyone and soon cycling down the main road, chatting with everyone that we pass or pass us.  At times there are bottlenecks where cyclists have crashed or had a puncture and had to stop suddenly.

 Then

 

 

We are soon cycling back through Kilitbahir,  past the big castle and out the other side where we stop at a huge statue monument to Seyit Ali Çabuk (1889-1939), usually called Corporal Seyit (Turkish: Seyit Onbaşı) who was a First World War gunner in the Ottoman Army. He is famous for having carried three huge shells to an artillery piece during the Allied attempt to force the Dardanelles on 18 March 1915. 

 

We sit in the sun looking out over the water and watching all the cyclists pass. So this is our rest day, we’ve only done 10 km and once everyone is gone we go back into the village and the hotel.  For the remainder of the day our ‘rest’ consists of updating and publishing the blog, updating the blog map, cleaning and maintaining the bikes, laundry, kit admin, throwing out clothes we never use and generally not resting!  But at least we’re not cycling.

 

Sunday 29th January

Today it’s market day in Göcek.   We don’t hang around this morning.  One cup of tea and then we’re up and about; feeding the animals, rubbish bags into the car, laundry into the car, laptop and electricals into the car and we’re off.  We stop off at our closest neighbour so we can tie up Lina and Aussie but also because he likes to visit the market.  Unfortunately there’s no one in.  This could spell trouble with the dogs.  They’ve already followed us down from the house (as we expected) but if they’re not tied up they might follow us all the way down the hill.  We’re just debating driving back to the house to tie them up there, when they suddenly spot something and start barking and running into the undergrowth.  Whilst they’re distracted we drive off.  I’m still watching my rearview mirror expecting any minute to see all 4 of them chasing after us.  Fortunately we make Göcek without a doggie escort.  At the Göcek house we get the laundry on, start downloading some movies and then head off to the market.   It’s bigger than on our last visit. Last time the wet weather had deterred many stall holders.  There’s plenty of choice in vegetables; almost half the market is made up of fruit and veg but there’s only one meat stall and that’s just chicken and one cheese stall.  We stop and have our breakfast – potato pancakes with pickles and Turkish tea.  After a couple of circuits of the veggie stalls we have enough to start our own farm produce shop, but we will definitely be eating healthily this week.  Let’s hope the resultant wind farm doesn’t blow the new house windows out!

We head to the supermarket for the odd few items we couldn’t buy at the market.  We really wanted some fish but there was a tiny selection at the market, nothing in the supermarket and nothing in town because all the fishmongers are shut.  

Shopping done and it’s back to the Göcek house.  We need to publish the blog, do another wash, download another movie or 2, answer emails etc.  The internet via Daz’s Turkish Sim card is only good for the most basic stuff up the mountain and sometimes even that’s a struggle so we’re trying to get it all done down here where the internet is pretty good.   Finally we’re done and we head back up the mountain.   We manage to get there before it gets dark and all the animals are fine and waiting for their dinner.   After unpacking the car and having dinner, we treat ourselves.  It’s movie night, The 9th life of Louis Drax and a bottle of red wine.  Daz sold this film to me ‘Hels it’s got Jesse from Breaking Bad and the guy from The Fall – James Dornan’.  He knows I think both these guys are hot.  It’s an excellent movie although Jesse plays only a minor role.

Monday 30th January

We had hoped to take the dogs out this morning but there’s a fine drizzle.  Instead I make up some more sawdust bedding bags for the dogs and cook up some dog food with the meat we bought in the market.

I attempt our third cake – carrot cake.

At last a success.  It’s really good and looks and tastes like it should unlike the last 2.  Dinner is mushroom stroganoff.   Movie night 2 is a disaster – Silence with Liam Neeson. We manage about 40 minutes before the boredom becomes too much.  Even Minature Whiskey (favourite cat) is bored but still overwhelmingly cute.

Tuesday 31st January

Today we head off to find a new walk.  We head for the gorge that sits below us on the mountain and then walk / climb up it, until an hour later, we finally hit the ridge line.  Once at the ridgeline we see there’s a track just below us.  We start following the track downhill and realise we’re coming round the back to the fireman’s lookout.  So now we can just follow the road back to the house.   A challenging circular route.

 Back at the house, after tea and cake, we decide to find some chores to occupy us.  First we get some wood from the wood pile by the other house but the chickens roost here and there’s chicken muck everywhere.  We wonder if we can tempt them into roosting in the pen so we create some perches in there and we plan to feed them here from now on.

Once that’s done we head off to try and clear the paths as Tayip requested.

Tonight’s dinner – Braised Coconut Spinach & Chickpeas with Lemon.  This evening’s viewing – Planet Earth.  Absolutely stunning.  

Wednesday 1st February

We have some visitors this morning.  They’re here to do some pruning and trim back the vine on the trellis outside the old house and prune some of the olive trees in the Orchard. They don’t like Lina so we have to tie her up until we head off for a walk.  A nice circular route passed Tayip’s uncle.  

We stop and wait for the mobile shop for our milk purchase whilst Lina takes a dip and then Daz pasteurises the milk and makes his yoghurt.

In the afternoon we do some more work on the paths and go up the hill to collect some logs for Daz’s woodwork project.

 

 

We are achieving greater success in attracting all the chickens into the pen at night.  

At least this reduces the ‘shitting zone’.  Dinner is warm potato, egg and tomato salad.  Another success.

 

Thursday 2nd February

Today we drive to Göcek once we’ve tied Aussie and Lina up at the neighbour and asked if he wants to come into town.  We need more dried food for the furries so we need to visit the vet.  Then we do some laundry, some shopping and post a letter.  We download some more films and research local tourist attractions.   My mum is coming out soon so we’ll be able to do the touristy sightseeing things with her, which will be a much needed relief.  Cabin fever is already setting in.   

Back at the house we bake another coffee and walnut cake (using a different recipe) and it turns out well.  Dinner is broccoli and stilton soup which turns out to be rather disappointing.  

Friday 3rd February

We’re both a bit apathetic this morning so we don’t do much.  We play a couple of rounds of Gin rummy. The weather has been cloudy or rainy for the past few days so we can’t work a sweat up as there’s no hot water from the solar heater!  Well that’s our excuse anyway.  

Saturday 4th Feb.

Another quiet cloudy day.  We take the dogs walking and Tayip’s brother visits with some friends, but they don’t stay long.  

Sunday 5th February

Market day again, so we skip breakfast as we are looking forward to pancakes at the market.  Down at the market we buy chicken carcasses to make the dogs’ food and then our vegetables, cheese and eggs we will need for the week’s recipe list.  We also buy a halibut and ask him to fillet it for us so we can make Zanzibar soup.   Then we have our pancakes, a potato filled one to start then a lemon and honey one to finish, all washed down with Turkish tea. Yummy.  We enjoy sitting at the pancake stall watching the locals go about the market.  

Monday 6th February

At last we have some sun, but it only lasts about half a day so the much delayed shower is only about 32 degrees, but beggars can’t be choosers!!  Daz cooks a lovely roast chicken dinner and I bake another carrot and walnut cake…scrummy!

 

Tuesday 7th Feb

We’ve booked a horse riding lesson today and the sun is shining as we drive down to the coast and along to the stables.  We haven’t ridden in about 18 months and that was American style, so rather than going out for a nice hack along the beach we thought it would be better to have a lesson first.  The stables are very nice and we meet Yusif, part owner and instructor.  After an obligatory cup of Turkish tea he soon has us saddled up and riding around the arena.

 We do some easy trotting and moving around the arena and slalom poles, but after an hour we are both hot and aching in places that haven’t seen any action in months!  The stables are near Fethiye, so we have arranged to meet Dave and his partner Bev, from Calish Beach.  We then go out for a lovely walk in the sunshine, taking them geocaching around the local area and beach.  To finish off we have a bite to eat and drink in a beach front restaurant.

 

 

It was lovely to see Dave again and to meet Bev and to introduce them to geocaching although I don’t think they’ll be converts.

 

Wednesday 8th  to Monday 13th February

The last few days have been pretty mundane.  We haven’t done much as we’re saving our sightseeing trips for my Mum’s stay.  However Daz has been creative.  There’s his woodworking project –

and his kitchen creations.  One is spinach and mushroom plait, the other?????????

 

On Monday we’re up early to feed the animals as we need to be at Dalaman airport for her arrival at 0815hrs.  It’s still dark when we do the feed and even the chickens are a little confused and don’t want to come down from their perches!  Fortunately the airport is only a short drive away and we are there just in time to greet mum as she walks out of the arrivals’ hall.  She might be getting on in life (she’s 85 this year), but she has flown overnight via Istanbul to see us once again (her last foreign visit was to us in Iceland) – amazing!  Daz picks up her suitcase and nearly falls over with the weight!! She’s brought us some goodies from England, hence the excessive weight. We are soon back up the mountain, drinking tea and relaxing.  Mum’s in the new house, upstairs with an ensuite.  Fantastic views.

As it was an overnight flight we don’t have anything planned other than a short walk around the property and land.  The rest of the day we spend catching up on gossip, playing cards and an afternoon snooze.

Tuesday 14th February

Happy Valentines Day!  We are off to Fethiye today to show Mum around.  We walk along the harbour looking at the boats and trying to spot a turtle but with no luck.

Then it’s off over to the weekly market.  It’s much bigger than the Göcek Sunday market and Mum is soon parting with her Turkish Lira on gifts for people back home.

 We have to drag her out of the carpet shop as Daz definitely won’t be able to lift her suitcase to go back home!  Mum is amazed at the choice and size of the market and thoroughly enjoys the hustle and bustle.  We pick up some provisions and then have a lovely lunch at a waterfront restaurant.  We also manage to speak to a couple of boat captains about a boat trip.  We are particularly tempted by Tom who promises us a day’s trip with fishing and a BBQ on board.

We will check the weather for the next few days and make a plan.  Mum is very impressed by Turkey especially the incredible view across Fethiye harbour to the snow capped mountains on the horizon backed by incredibly blue skies.  She chats to several Turks and tries to memorise ‘hello’,  ‘good morning’ and how to say thank you in Turkish!

Wednesday 15th February

Today we just spend the day at home, walk the dogs, read, play cards and relax.  It seems we’ve unleashed a ‘card shark’.  It turns out Mum is another card counter and as competitive as Daz.  His winning streak is at an end.  She even beats him at backgammon (Hee hee).  Apparently Mum was a keen card player as a child and we introduce her to Gin and Sergeant Major and whilst claiming ‘Beginner’s Luck’, she just keeps on winning.  

Thursday 16th February

We’re off on a sightseeing trip today.  First we head to Iztuzu beach, a beach visited by nesting turtles but they are not due for another couple of months, then it will be longer still until the baby tutles hatch and make their run for the sea as seen on “Planet Earth 2”.  

We are alone on the long sandy beach and we have a nice walk before checking out the turtle rescue centre.  But unfortunately this is also devoid of turtles and is in fact closed. Any stricken turtles should call the next nearest rescue centre!! After the beach we head around to Dalyan town.  This is a lovely town on the banks of the Dalyan river and overlooked by some amazing rock tombs from the Lycian Era.

We have a wander by the river then head into the town centre for lunch.  We enjoy a kebab and ‘mixed toast’ which is basically a mixed beef  sausage toasted bun.  The proprietor is very friendly and tells us there is a festival on this Saturday,  the Sea Bass festival.  There will be some fishing, where the person who catches the most seabream is crowned festival king, and then feeding (BBQ sea bream obviously) and singing. Apparently the singers are both local prodigy who are famous in Turkey and will be returning for a concert.  We may have to come back!  We then head out of town and catch the car ferry across the river.  It’s a small ferry, only 2 cars but we are the only customers at this time of year!  Across the river we drive around and up a hill to Kaunnos, an ancient Roman archaeological site.  

There is quite a nice view from the site down to the sea and mum is very impressed by the theatre and other relics.  There’s even a geocache to find!  From here we head to Koycegiz lake and a renowned mud and swimming bath area that is popular with the summer tourists.  Just as we set off we come across an indigenous tortoise crossing the road, no it’s not a joke and there were no chickens crossing either.  

We stop to say hello.  He’s a speedy fellow for a tortoise and not unfriendly,  staying out of his shell for the occasion.  Pictures taken we carry on.  The drive through the pine forest is lovely and we pick up a geocache on the way too.  When we arrive at the mud baths on the lake shore it’s actually got some customers, but only in the swimming pools that are heated by a geothermal source.  The smell of rotten eggs (sulphur!) is strong and the mud baths do not look at all inviting.

Darren is disappointed that all the bikini clad women covered in mud are absent.  From here it’s time to head home, so we catch another little ferry across the Dalyan river and head home.  Darren cooks pancakes for tea, yummy!

Friday 17th February

Another quiet day at home.  We drive up to the fire lookout ( we tried to walk it the other day but it’s too tough for mum).  The views are stunning and mum’s suitably impressed.  

Then we walk down with the dogs whilst Daz takes the car back.  Now Mum and I can have a lovely stroll downhill with the dogs.  Daz meets us halfway to finish the walk and is sitting on the roadside with his new friend, Eric, the tortoise.   Our second wild tortoise spot. Sadly after a long downhill,  the last stretch is up hill, back to the house and I remark it’s a shame Daz didn’t leave the car here. Mum keeps stopping to catch her breath and I assume Daz has gone ahead to make tea but then the car appears.  He’s only gone back home to fetch the car to get mum up the steep drive.  Favourite son-in-law is definitely getting serious brownie points in the bag!  Back at the house we’re just in time to see the peacock display.

Back at home it’s time for lunch and a round of cards.  Sadly he might be favourite son-in-law but Mum’s not averse to trumping him at every opportunity – most entertaining!  

 

Saturday 18th February

We are off to the fish festival!!  It’s a cloudy day, so the festival will cheer it up hopefully.  When we get to Dalyan we notice the market is on so we do the obligatory market sweep and pick up some Turkish biscuits and walnuts.  

Mum has another holiday gift spending spree and buys some more pashminas for people back in the UK. We then walk along the river towards the town centre where crowds are gathering.  We can see people wandering around with fishing rods, so it’s obvious the fishing part of the festival is over.  Once we get into the crowds we can see huge queues of people all being served up fried fish, chips and a bun.  We join a queue and are soon enjoying the fish, not only is it delicious it’s free too.  You wouldn’t get this at the village fete back in the UK!  

As we sit enjoying the food there is some prize giving going on at the nearby stage.  Then we hear the crowd clapping and whistling for the first of the famous singers.  It’s a man, but that’s about all we know.  The music is good though and gets even better when the female vocalist starts her set later on.  There are lots of families out with their children and it’s a great atmosphere.  

Daz enjoys a few beers (I’m designated driver 🙁 !!) and the female singer but then it’s time to go home.  A lovely day and amazing that they must have fed more than a thousand people bread and fish for free… not since Jesus have we seen such a generous festival council!!

Sunday 19th and Monday 20th January

A quiet couple of days, apart from Market day on Sunday in Göcek we take it easy, enjoying the sun and mountain air.  Favourite cat is still being spoilt rotten and the ‘card shark’ is still winning most games.  We’ve even introduced her to ‘Hand and Foot’ ( a form of Canasta).

Tuesday 21st February

Another road trip today.  A drive out to Tlos ancient city and Saklikent Gorge. The weather is anything but nice up on the mountain as we set out but soon we are on the coast and the sun is shining.  Tlos is an ancient Lycian settlement on a hill range about an hours drive away.  It has been further settled by the Romans, the Byzantine Empire and latterly (19th century)  by the Ottoman empire.  As well as the normal Roman amphitheatre,  stadium and necropolis there are ancient burial tombs from the Lycian Era cut into the hill side and sarcophagus dotted around the land.  It’s an amazing site and although on a rocky hill we manage to drag mum to the top.

We are all very impressed with the views and the ancient relics.  From here we take a drive through the gorgeous countryside to Saklikent Gorge.  This huge cleft in the mountains reminds us of Ha Gorge in Crete. But at least here there is a raised walkway that takes you part way into the gorge so mum is able to enjoy the sights too.  

The river rages below us as we walk along and soon we come to an area where the river comes directly out from underneath the rock face to join the main confluence.  It’s an amazing place and in the summer when the river isn’t at full flow you can wade across and carry on up the gorge for a couple of kilometers to the first waterfall.  We think from there you would need rapelling equipment again, so we won’t be doing it with mum!!  There are 2 guys with backpacks who seem determined to go upstream despite the deep, fast flowing river which they will need to cross.  Good luck to them, it’s going to be cold!  

After lunch we head back to Fethiye to pick up some fish (sea bass) from the market for tomorrow’s dinner.  We also get talking to the proprietor of a carpet shop and he soon drags out lots of carpets, ancient and new, for our consideration.

They are incredible and each tells a tale of the creator.  Many are the work of young girls trying to prove their suitability to their future mother in law.  The proprietor explains the different patterns, symbols, materials and the quality (knot number) and how to differentiate between hand and factory made.  It’s very interesting.  Mum is very taken with one carpet although I’m convinced I saw it first.  We’ll see who decides to actually make the purchase , but I think Mum is very keen.   A great day out!

Thursday 23rd January

Yesterday was a quiet day at the farm with baked sea bass for lunch.  

Today another road trip.  This time we are heading for Karakoy, a deserted village that was abandoned around the time of the first world war and Oludinez beach, mecca for paragliders landing from Babadag mountain.  

We decide to drive across the mountains from our house instead of going straight down to the main road.  It’s a lovely drive and there are quite a few villages that seem cut off from the world. It’s a very primitive way of life, something we aren’t used to in the West of Europe,  but everyone we see has a smile on their face and a friendly wave. We reach Karakoy, the abandoned village.  It’s now a tourist attraction sitting on a hilly peninsula above Fethiye.  We enjoy a nice walk around in the sun, looking at the old dilapidated houses and churches. The village was abandoned between 1915 and 1925 when there was a period of population exchange between Turkey and Greece, mainly to swap out the Christian communities (Greeks) for Muslim communities (Turks). After we stop in a little eatery.  We order pancakes and the old woman comes out and lights a fire in the fireplace then starts rolling the pancakes.  We are soon tucking into delicious potato pancakes and decide to follow it up with a lemon and sugar one.

All served with spicy pickles and Turkish tea.  After food we head out and drop down the otherside of the peninsula to Oludinez.  This is a beautiful beach and lagoon. The waters are very blue and we can see the draw that brings in huge numbers of tourists in the summer.  Even though it is still winter the beach is littered with sunbathers catching a few winter rays.

No sooner have we pulled up than we are badgered by someone trying to sell us a paragliding tandem ride.  This guy is quite chunky and purports to be a seasoned pilot with over 12000 jumps.  Later we learn he is nothing more than a tout for other pilots!  Although the price he quotes is attractive we would rather go with someone we trust! We sit having a drink on the beach front and another pilot shows us his pictures and videos, he seems more professional so we take his number and tell him we will be back next week once mum has left. It’s been a lovely day of sunshine and sights.

 

Friday 24th February

Boat trip day!  We are off out early today as we are meeting a man with a boat, Captain Tom and the Summer Breeze, for a day out on the high seas.  Well we are going bay hopping and fishing.  The weather, unlike yesterday is cloudy and chilly,  great! Mum is quiet this morning and it’s not until later we realise he was worried about the boat trip. Last time she went on a boat she was ill, but that was over 50 years ago. But the sea is calm and she soon perks up.  We spend the day motoring around the coast, dropping anchor occasionally for a spot of fishing.  Even mum has a go, but yet again the ‘competition’ is eventually won by Daz the seaoned cheat fisherman with a score of 7 fish to 4.  Mum didn’t catch one.  But we enjoy a fab barbecue which Captain Tom cooks on a small grill at the back of the boat, served with an assortment of salads.  Later we ask to visit one of the islands, Sovalye.  It has a geocache.  We are soon rock hopping looking for it, this time I find it first and claim the win. It’s a small island with no roads but lots of pricey houses looking out over the hills or beaches, very nice.  A spot more fishing and then it’s back to Fethiye harbourfront.  A nice day, if a little chilly with Captain Tom!   

Sunday 26th February

Finally it’s time to say farewell to mum, she flies back today.  We certainly think she won’t forget the wonders of Turkey in a hurry. Last night we had a final walk around the Göcek seafront and then she treated us to a lovely meal in the number one (TripAdvisor) local restaurant, West.  

It was definitely worth the number one spot and was absolutely delicious.  A fabulous treat. We drop her of early at the airport then the rest of our day is normal Sunday Market routine.

Monday 27th February

We pop over to Calis Beach today to meet Dave and Bev who have some mail for us. Brett, a colleague from our Army days, and good friend has sent us a great Christmas present,  a new groundsheet for our tent. It will add another layer of protection to the tent base and will also allow us to put up the tent in the rain!  It also extends the life of our tent which is not to be sniffed at.  He’s also included some cyclone proof tent pegs (does he know something we don’t)  and some para cord – very useful.   Bonus, thanks Brett. We take a walk with Dave and Bev down the sea front to Fethiye from Calis and see some motorised paragliders.

 I’m still hoping for a turtle sighting, and even though the walk is 5 kilometres I still don’t spot one, but we do find another geocache.

We enjoy a nice lunch on the front near the Marina and at one point I think I see a turtle’s head pop up in the water over the road, but I can’t call it a real sighting as it’s gone very quickly… who knows in my fervour to see one maybe I’m starting to hallucinate turtles!!!

Wednesday 1st March

Today it’s tandem paragliding day.  We head over to Oludinez beach and drive up Babadag mountain to our takeoff point with our pilots from Reaction.  Daz of course is completely relaxed whilst I’m pretty damned nervous which only seems to entertain my pilot.  I’m not sure how I’m going to feel but once the take off is done, I relax a little and enjoy the incredible views.  We’ve picked the perfect day and my pilot is keen to extend my torture by picking up some thermals and going higher.  I’m OK except when we try to do some fast turns (very scary) and when my kite is right next to Daz’s or my feet are on his canopy (I hated this bit, really hated it but my pilot just ignored me!!!).  The landing, like the takeoff, is a doddle.  I’m so glad we did it and Babadag is one of the best and most popular sites for paragliding in Europe; the views are stunning.

 

 Back on the ground we meet a local recumbent enthusiast. 

Back in Fethiye we have a lovely lunch and then Daz treats himself to a haircut and a Turkish shave.  The guy is incredibly thorough.  Daz is given two shaves with the cut throat, 2 shampoos, a blow dry (Hee hee), burning off of remaining facial fluff, ear and nasal hairs and a shoulder and head massage.

 And he looks great for it, with the softest skin.  Our last stop in Fethiye is a return to the carpet shop we visited over a week ago.  Mum decided not to buy the rug we both loved but after extended discussions Daz and I have decided a beautiful Turkish rug is the perfect momento of our time spent in Turkey.  We ask to see some others but it’s the first one we still love.  So an expensive day and now it’s time to head home.

Friday 3rd March

Yesterday was a morning of torrential rain but that meant it was another planning session.  Tayip is back next week (7th) so we’ll be heading back to Bodrum and then north to Istanbul.  We’ve been doing a lot of research not only for Turkey but also Georgia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan so that we have some idea of places we’d like to visit and how we’ll manage with the timing constraints due to visa restrictions.  It’s also a baking day because Dave and Bev are coming to visit the mountain and we want to treat them to lunch after they’ve looked after us so well. Arghhhh – best do some cleaning too includes removing the vile ticks from the cat – arghhhhhhh! Gross.

We head down to Göcek to pick up Dave and Bev, they’ve picked a beautiful day to visit.  Back at the house we show them round.  They love the new house and the idyllic spot.  They’ve even brought treats for the animals.  After a tour we stop for coffee and carrot cake.  

Then we walk up the mountain to the fire lookout.  Bev even spots another tortoise – apparently they’re coming out of hibernation now and are a common sight unlike my precious turtles.  After our walk we have lunch; warm potato and egg salad followed by a lemon tart.  We then head down to Göcek for a walk along the Marina and stop for a beer.  We sit on a jetty out over the water enjoying the sun until it sets behind the coastal hills.  Then it’s time for Dave and Bev catch the bus back to Fethiye.   It’s been a great day and Dave and Bev are a super couple, and we’ll definitely stay in touch and perhaps meet them again in Turkey, one day.

Sunday 5th March

Hi it’s Daz, my turn to blog today.  We are off to the market his morning, but it’s not a big shop as we only have a couple of things to buy.  Then we head over to Yanikular for a horse riding lesson followed by a hack out.  On the way we stop at a beach just outside Göcek which is popular with the locals. Even in early March there are lots of families out having picnics and barbecues.  We also pick up another geocache on the headland just  couple of kilometres from the riding stables.

We have our lesson which is quite sedate, and watch the locals having a Sunday ride/walk experience in the arena with us.  They pay 20 Turkish Lira to sit on a horse and be led around the arena 4 times.  It might sound strange but it’s very popular.  Then after a rest we head out on the hack.  It’s a beautiful sunny day and we make our way along a small road to the beach, with a little trotting along the way.  There’s me and Hels then another man and woman and the instructor/guide.  We get to the beach, part sand and part pebble.  We walk our horses through the surf, past fishermen and more families picnicking.  Then we head round the back of a cafe onto a sandy track at the rear of the beach.  There are two large dogs chained at the cafe but they’re barking and pulling at their chains trying to get to us.  The horses seem fine as they can see the threat, but no sooner are the barking dogs behind us than the horses start to get skittish.  Mine makes a bolt for it, and it takes me a few seconds to get its head turned around and get it to stop. Unfortunately Hels is now in big trouble and she can’t get her horse under control.  Her horse has bolted and I watch as she hurtles along the grassy area to our front, then my horse starts playing up again and as I settle it.  By this time Hels is in full on screaming mode.   I am really worried now, but still struggling  with my horse.  The next thing I see that Hels is down, near a tree and I fear the worst.  I dismount and run with my horse over to her.  As I near a few people from the beach have reached her.   She is still lying on the ground, in a patch of brambles, making a pathetic mewling noise.  I tie my horse to the tree and race to her side.  She’s conscious, but badly shaken.  I ask her if she is OK, and listen as she tells me in some pain that she doesn’t know. Moments go by, I can hear the locals asking about ambulances as I worriedly gaze down at Hels.  She has numerous scratches from the brambles and is covered in dust and sand. Finally she manages to sit up.  She’s in pain, but we think nothing is broken. ( Hels:  I’ve never been so terrified and by the time I entered full scream mode,  I was just mindless with panic.  My horse was heading towards a deep ditch on the left and when I finally turned her, she was heading straight towards a large tree with low branches.  At this point I decided I needed to leave company with the horse rather than hit the branches at such speed.   All I could think was ‘ how do I stop this horse and I wish we had some insurance!  The shock and pain of the fall was horrendous but possibly worse the locals who were first at the scene were desperately trying to get me to stand up when I was still lying in a quivering agonised pile!!!)   We decide to walk the horses back to the cafe at the beach and get a coffee so Hels can settle her nerves.  But she is still very trepidatious about getting back into the saddle.   But as the old saying goes, it’s better to get back on the horse that bucks you (maybe!!) ( Hels: Actually it’s ‘get back on the horse that threw you!’).  We ride back towards the ranch, no more trotting or white knuckle gallops thankfully.  However our guide does divert from the path into the river.  It’s a great photo opportunity with the horses walking up the shallow river bed and we stop for a group photo when all of a sudden my horse gets on its knees, sits down and rolls over in the cooling water.   Thankfully I somehow manage to dismount in this process and only get soaked rather than squashed!  My horse then gets back up and starts pawing at the waters madly, finally it settles and I can remount, now soaked through!  So an eventful ride, and that’s why I am writing today as Hels is really sore and achey from her terrifying ordeal.

 

Monday 6th March

Happy birthday to me, happy birthday to Daz, happy birthday you old git you…. Happy birthday to you!  Did you all sing along? Yep it’s my birthday, but it’s a very quiet affair.  After yesterday we are both very tired, and Hels is still in some pain and still picking bramble splinters from various parts of her body.  48 years old today, I even have a shave to celebrate.  We spend some of the day tidying up as Tayip is back tomorrow and it will be the end of our stay here in the mountains.  A great birthday activity – NOT!

Tuesday 7th March

We have a lazy morning, Hels is still stiff and sore, but slept better last night.  Then we head down the mountain to pick up Tayip who has returned from Thailand.  We enjoy lunch in Göcek then bring him back up the mountain.  He is soon busy unpacking.  First he says hello to all the animals then unpacks his suitcase and bags which are full of cuttings from his travels in Thailand and Vietnam.  

He’s collected mainly Fig, but also mulberry and a few other bits and pieces. We sit and have a glass of wine with him in the evening, chatting about his plants, and his travels.  He explains grafting and shows us some of the techniques he uses with his cuttings.  He is amazingly enthusiastic and loves ‘The Fig’.  He doesn’t like to be known as a Turk but simply as ‘The Fig Man’.

Wednesday 8th March

Rain rain rain. It’s been raining during the night and the day looks grey and dismal. But we are up early as Tayip is going to give us a lift to Mugla, about 2 hours up the coast, where we will catch the bus to Bodrum.  We say goodbye to all the animals and then head off.  

On route we stop at a roadside stall for freshly squeezed orange juice and Tayip chats to the stall ower about grafting prickly pear.  

Later we stop for a typical Turkish breakfast in a tent, on a farm, in the hills before Mugla.  

It’s a great breakfast, all the produce is from the farm it is served at.  Even the bread is freshly baked on the fireplace.  By Mugla Tayip has already collected 2 lots of fig cuttings; one lot from a tree on the breakfast farm and the other from a dying fig tree on the roadside.

In Mugla Tayip shows us around the old town and then sadly we have to say goodbye at the bus station.

He has not stopped talking about the flora of Turkey and his plans for figs.   There may even be a book to write in the future he thinks.  We wish him and Deborah well in their future endeavours in Turkey.

It rains for most of the bus ride to Bodrum and the bus is full, hot and sweaty.  I can feels Hels stiffening in pain at every jolt in the road and think we might have to postpone the start of cycling for a few days rest in Bodrum.  Mind you, I have some parts to replace on the trikes, and that means a major mechanical overhaul. It could be days before they are rideable again!!

Thursday 9th to Saturday 11th March

Thank God for Bahar (our Bodrum friend and host) because the weather is so vile we’re not going anywhere in a hurry.  Tayip has run into terrible floods on his ‘fig’ trip.

In fact some days we barely make it out of the house especially after a particularly raucous, over indulgent sesssion at the quiz night. We have been to check our trikes but realise we don’t have the right tools for the required modification.

Finally on Saturday the clouds clear and it’s safe to go forth and enjoy a fabulous Turkish breakfast;  locate a 10mm Allen key to get the trikes sorted and organise our biking gear.  The forecast is looking good so I guess our procrastination must cease.   Sunday or perhaps Monday we will hit the road again.

 

Trike modifications complete.

 

 

Sunday 1st January 2017

Makry Gialos to Sitia

Distance:  33.71 km
Average Speed: 10.56 kmh
Fastest Speed:  52.27 kmh
Total Distance: 10525.17 km.

It’s a new day, a new year!! We slept really well last night (our last sleep in Villea Village, Makry Gialos) and it’s actually a good day weatherwise.  The sun is shining and the wind is not blowing a gale.  

Yesterday there was a huge deluge of rain and hail in Sitea and we’re praying there’s nothing like that today whilst we’re on our trikes.  It’s time to get up and sort out the last few bits and pieces before leaving.  Clean out our room, feed the cats and then we are on our bikes ready to go.  Nobody is there to see us off (apart from the 3 cats, ohhh we’re going to miss them) not that we were expecting anyone and after 6 weeks it’s good to be moving again.  

The sun is soon obscured by cloud, and an occasional spot of rain that fortunately leads to nothing.  And it’s warm. Well it’s warm for the first 14 km as it’s all uphill. But then it’s bitingly cold as we descend the rest of the 16 km into Sitia and we have to stop to don coats, hats and Daz borrows my mittens as he only has fingerless gloves.

We arrive at the firestation and they have an empty Iso container for our bikes that’ll keep them dry in the night… brilliant!   We walk back into town commenting on the big black clouds overhead and before we know it there’s a huge downpour fortunately we’ve just ducked into our favourite coffee and cake shop, timing is everything!

Christine is coming to pick us up and once she arrives we have a quick drink with her then head home to her house and Dionysis Village for the night.

We spend the evening with her, enjoy a lovely meal then roast some chestnuts on her roaring fire, bliss.

Monday 2nd January

Sitea to Athens via Heraklion

In the morning we enjoy a lie in whilst Christine takes the dog for a walk.  Then Daz phones the travel agency to see if there are any delays with the ferry and it’s bad news again… another cancelled ferry!!! What is it with trying to get off Crete!  OK, so plan C hastily hatched is to try and get the coach to Heraklion in time to catch the 9pm ferry to Athens tonight.  It’s a 3 hour bus journey but better than waiting for another unreliable ferry.  This one was cancelled due to mechanical problems so it might well be fixed in the next day or so!  The only problem is whether they will let us take the trikes on the coach and all our luggage.  We leave Christine’s house and today the sun is shining and everything looks pretty.

Christine takes us into Sitia and we speak to the bus company and they say it’s not a problem, but it costs us 32 euros for our tickets and a further 20 euros to put the bikes on!  We’ve got a couple of hours until the bus leaves so we pop up to the fire station to collect our bikes and baggage.  Pavlos is on duty today so it’s good to see him and thank him for helping us out and allowing us to dump our gear at the firestation.  We pose for pictures and he and another fireman even have a go on the bikes. They’re hugely entertained by our trikes and seem impressed by the design and comfort.

 Then it’s just a matter of waiting for our bus. We say goodbye to Christine and thank her for coming to our rescue, she’s by far the most generous and welcoming Expat we have met in Crete!  

Fortunately even though the bus is quite full the driver seems unfazed with us putting the bikes in the luggage hold and they are soon crammed in with all the other luggage.   It’s a tight fit, but we breath a sigh of relief as we set off for Heraklion.

Thank God once this phase is done the rest should be plain sailing.  We arrive in plenty of time in Heraklion and after a quick coffee in town we cycle to the harbour and board the ferry early and camp ourselves on some comfortable seats for the night.  Tickets were 76€.  Total travelling cost so far 128€.  

Even though we’ve found some nice seats where we’ve kept enough room to lie out there’s still the staff here who seem determined that no- one should sleep.  They keep coming round telling us we can’t lie on the seats, that we shouldn’t sleep until later and generally being a complete pain.  We do manage a few hours of snoozing before finally at 6 am we arrive back in Pireaus.

Tuesday 3rd and Wednesday 4th January

Athens to Bodrum via Kos

We disembark from our ferry (having just spotted a most unusual bike) and cycle round the port and then spot a Blue Star ferry office.  

There’s a ferry at 3.30pm to Kos but it costs 105€.  Total bill now stands at 233€.  This puts us well ahead of our original schedule but it arrives in Kos at 2am.  So we have about 8 hours in Pireaus, so after a quick early morning recce of the departure port we settle down in a nice cosy patisserie/coffee shop and wile away the hours.

Loading onto Kos ferry

Sunset at sea.

 

The Kos ferry is much smarter than our Piraeus ferry and the staff are OK about people trying to sleep.  It stops at quite a few of the Greek Islands so there are lots of announcements interrupting our attempts at sleep!  After 2 overnight ferries we are getting tired and know how awful it is to be in a town in the early hours with no where to go so we pre booked a cheap hotel room in Kos for our late arrival.   We’re actually a little late and don’t disembark until 2.30 am and we cycle along the  impressive castle walls to our hotel and sleep.

 After a lovely sleep we get up about 12am and have a wander around Kos town. It’s very pretty and quite busy compared to our village in Crete.  The castle is magnificent in the daylight.

​The castle of Kos, better known as the castle of Nerantzia (castle of the sour orange tree), is the most important part of the fortifications constructed on the island by the Knights Templar at the end of the 14th century A.D. It ows its name to the many sour orange trees that were planted in Kos during the late years of the 14th century and the early years of the 15th century, when the whole city came to be called by this name.

The castle consists of two fortified curtain walls. The inner curtain wall is the oldest. It is rectangular shaped and on its corners boasts 4 high towers. A wide moat (ditch) seperates the two curtain walls which are connected only by a single inclined road on the eastern side of the castle.

The castle of Nerantzia along with the castle of Saint Peter on the opposite coast of Ancient Alicarnasus (today’s Bodrum Castle) controlled the sea way towards the holly lands during the period of the crusades.

There’s also the plane tree of Hippocrates in Kos, Dodecanese: In the centre of Kos island in front of the Castle of Knights stands a huge old plane tree, known as the Hippocrates plane tree. It is claimed that Hippocrates used to sit under this plane tree and teach his students.

As the tree is 500 years old, it is obviously not the one that Hippocrates planted, since he lived around the 5th century BC. This plane tree has a perimeter of twelve metres, which gave it the reputation of being the largest in Europe. The island’s authorities have taken some measures in order to preserve it. A short surrounding wall with a metal railing prevents it from extending excessively and keeps people in proper distance. The wall has Turkish ornaments on one side of this wall, while on the other there is a historic white engraved tap in Arabic language, put by a Turkish governor. Water can be taken from it, even in our days.

After looking round Kos and having breakfast it’s time for our Bodrum ferry. It only take 4 cars and about 100 foot passengers, but today we are the only vehicles on it. It’s a bit of a queue though as we have to pass through customs before leaving Greece. Tickets –  38€.  Total cost €271 + overnight hotel.  291€ Total cost to escape Crete.  

We’ve been following the weather and working out our plan to get from Bodrum to Göcek.  The next few days are supposed to be 100% chance of rain, thunderstorms and high winds. So we aren’t sure if we will be cycling for the next couple of days. However today the weather is fine and the crossing to Turkey rather picturesque.

We’ve managed to contact a few cyclists from Bodrum, and one of them has very kindly agreed to host us for the night.  As it turns out one of her friends is on the ferry too and says hi and gives us directions to her house.  At last we arrive in Turkey, another queue for customs and visa checks and we are in.  As we sailed into the harbour we could see a large castle overlooking the harbour and many beautiful wooden sailing ships moored up.  It’s all very pretty with lots of Turkish flags flapping in the wind.

Bodrum.

It’s getting dark but fortunately Bahar’s house is just around the corner from the harbour and after some navigation errors we find her lovely home. Her house used to be a bar but now it’s a cozy 2 bedroom cottage with a lovely log fire and across her courtyard is the kitchen, bathroom and toilet.  All the floors have the most beautiful tiles and the bathrooms have incredible fittings.

She is so friendly and welcoming and we have soon got our bikes tucked away in her courtyard and bags unloaded for the night.  Later we pop out to her friend’s restaurant, he’s another cyclist and we enjoy a meal and drinks whilst chatting and finding out about each other.  Bahar belongs to the Bodrum Bisiklet Kulubu, she’s actually the Co-President. They have over 4800 followers on Facebook and about 500 have ridden on their social rides or multi day tours.  Whilst we are out we mention that we cycled the Camino Santiago in Spain, Levent, the restaurant owner has just walked it too with a friend.

There and then Bahar and Levent decide to organise a tour for their group to the Camino to coincide with the Easter celebrations in Spain. We can only imagine how fab that will be!

Thursday 5th January

Today we have some admin to sort out, and Bahar has kindly offered to put us up for another night and help us out.  We’ve realised that we made a mistake with our Turkish visa.  We thought it was granted for 90 days out of 180 days but that we could just extend after 90 days.  WRONG!  We have 90 days and after that we should leave Turkey for 90 days before returning or apply for a short term resident’s visa but it’ll be difficult to fulfill the residency criteria.  So after our first ever Turkish breakfast Bahar takes us to the harbour to question the customs police about extending our visa beyond the 90 days.

He actually tells us just to overstay our visa and then pay the fine when we leave.  Interesting advice from the police?!  Then we introduce Bahar to geocaching and we all walk around Bodrum’s castle.  

There are splendid views from the battlements of Bodrum’s magnificent castle, built by the Knights Hospitaller in the early 15th century and dedicated to St Peter. Today it houses the Museum of Underwater Archaeology (Sualtı Arkeoloji Müzesi), arguably the most important museum of its type in the world and a veritable lesson in how to bring ancient exhibits to life. Items are creatively displayed and well lit, and information panels, maps, models, drawings, murals, dioramas and videos all help to animate them.

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Based on Rhodes, the Knights Hospitaller built the castle during Tamerlane’s Mongol invasion of Anatolia in 1402, which weakened the Ottomans and gave the order an opportunity to establish a foothold here. They used marble and stones from Mausolus’ famed Mausoleum, which had collapsed in an earthquake, and changed the city’s name from Halicarnassus to Petronium, recalling St Peter. By 1437 they had finished building, although they added new defensive features (moats, walls, cisterns etc) right up until 1522, when Süleyman the Magnificent captured Rhodes. The Knights were forced to cede the castle, and the victorious Muslim sultan promptly turned the chapel into a mosque, complete with new minaret. For centuries, the castle was never tested, but French shelling in WWI toppled the minaret (re-erected in 1997).  Bahar is totally in love with geocaching so we go to Myndos Gate to find another one (sadly there aren’t many caches in Bodrum).  The only surviving gate of the 7km long ancient wall that surrounded the city of Halikarnassos, was built by Kind Mausolus in the 4th Century BC.

The tower’s original height is not known, but they were built out of andesite stone blocks.  The moat was dug for defensive purposes in the 4th Century BC. It measured 56 metres long, 7 metres wide and 2.5 metres deep, and surrounds the southern tower from west to south. The moas defended the gate protecting the towers and walls against attack by catapults, chariots and battering rams. According to historian Ariannos, during the siege of Halikarnassos laid by Alexander the Great in 334 BC.  Bahar soon finds her second geocache!  Then it’s a visit to the immigration office to explore any possibilities of extending our visa.  Of course Bahar does all the talking but he tells her that when our visa is almost expired – say 83 days, visit an immigration office and ask for an extension.   So in response I say so we’ll come back to you in mid March and you’ll extend it??? “No, not me, you need to go to Izmir or Istanbul where they’ll do it!!! “.  

Finally a visit to the bus station because we really don’t want to cycle when so much rain and thunderstorms are forecast.  We had hoped to get half way to Fethiye by bus and then cycle.  After lots of back and forth between bus companies it looks like either the buses are too small to take our bikes or the big buses are too full.  So we decide to leave our trikes here with Bahar, as we wouldn’t be using them on our workaway in Göcek anyway.  Bahar is a real star!  In the evening we go to another restaurant, run by another cyclist.  Eray and Mine join us for some Turkish Raki and we are also joined by Bahadir.  They all make us feel so welcome.

 

We hatch a plan for the next day to all meet at Bahar’s house for breakfast and then let everyone have a cycle on our trikes before geocaching.  Eray also offers us the use of a lock up he owns to store the trikes whilst we are in Göcek.  

Friday 6th January

This morning Daz gets up early and pops to the bakers for some lovely treats for our group breakfast.  I’m feeling the effects of last nights Raki so enjoy a little more time in bed!  It’s another windy day and we are glad not to be cycling in it.  Eray,  Mine and Bahadir all come around with more breakfast treats and we all sit by the log fire and have a fun breakfast trying out a traditional Turkish breakfast.   

Then we let them loose on the trikes!! They all love them and are soon whizzing around the pedestrian area in the centre of town.  We cycle over to Eray’s lock up and store our trikes.  We probably won’t see them again until March.

After dropping off our trikes we wander around the huge market in the town’s covered market area.  The smells and colours are amazing.

Bahar is flying to Istanbul tonight, weather permitting.  But again has generously offered to let us stay.   We are really thankful for her hospitality.   We agree to come back after our Göcek stay and go cycling and geocaching together.

Saturday 7th January

Last night we were woken at 1.30am by someone knocking on our window.  It was Bahar.  Her flight to Istanbul was cancelled due to heavy snowfall there.   As a result we all have a long lie in this morning but eventually go into town for more sightseeing.

Sunday 8th January

This morning we head to the bus station to buy bus tickets for tomorrow to Fethiye.   There are so many town dogs in Bodrum, many lying in the sun.  They’re all well fed and friendly and clean.

 

After coffee and breakfast we head to Windmill hill and Gumbet peninsula in search of 2 geocaches.

It’s very cold and windy especially up on the hillside but we manage to find both geocaches and head back to town.   Bahar has gone off to a town further down the coast to play ping pong, so we pop to Eray’s restaurant for lunch then retire to the warmth of the log fire back at Bahar’s. In the evening when she returns we sit chatting and putting the world to rights!

 

Monday 9th January

Today we are catching the bus to Fethiye.  We pack up, but leave the tent and camping gear at Bahar’s.   

She has been so generous and we hope we can repay her with a guided tour of London one day!  We all go for breakfast and then to the bus terminal to catch our ride. Bodrum is unlike many other Turkish towns in that its bus terminal is in the centre of town so we don’t have far to go.  We are the only passengers on the bus and after saying farewell to Bahar we are off.  The bus should take about 4 hours to reach Fethiye, with a stop off in Mugla for a 15 minute break.  We pick up more passengers here and soon the bus is full.  Dave, who we will be meeting in Fethiye,  has given us instructions to get off the bus at Calis Beach Road, about 15 minutes outside of Fethiye.  Daz has marked where he thinks it is on the map and has told the bus driver where we want to get off in Turkish, as he speaks no English. We soon pass the turning where Daz thinks the bus driver should stop.  But OMG the driver keeps going and Daz is building to full scale panic!  The bus driver keeps nodding and saying further, further! After a couple more km we see Dave at a bus stop waiting for us, so manage to get the driver to pull over, Daz can stop having kittens now!  We greet Dave and catch another bus to Calis Beach.  We stop about a kilometre shy of the beach by Dave’s house.  Dave’s partner Bev is in the UK and won’t be back for a couple of weeks.  They have lived in Turkey for 8 years and love it.  We pop out to a beachfront bar and have a drink and watch a powered paraglider strafe the beach as the sun sets.

Tuesday 10th January

It’s another rainy day but we decide to brave a visit to Fethiye.   We wait until there’s a break in the cloud and catch a bus with Dave into Fethiye.  We want to buy a Turkish Sim card so we will have data and internet when we get to our workaway.  But when we get to the shop it turns out we need our passport to buy a Sim card! Doh!   Never mind, we’ll be able to pick one up in Göcek hopefully.  After a lovely lunch of Turkish Pide (Pide is like a pizza/calzone),   we go for a walk along the harbour in search of sea turtles.   

Apparently it’s not unusual for them to be lurking round the fishing boats, but sadly we have no luck. There’s another torrential downpour so we decide there’s really no point trying to see Fethiye (which is a real shame) and instead head back to Dave’s.  

 We’ve spoken with Deborah, our workaway host, and she has asked us to come over to Göcek today, so we need to catch a bus this afternoon .  We thank Dave and promise to come and see him when Bev is back.  Once we arrive in Göcek there’s another horrendous downpour but fortunately the bus driver takes pity on us and drops us near our meeting point, otherwise we would have been soaked walking from the bus station.  Very kind.  

Having found Deborah and introduced ourselves we sit and have coffee. Deborah is married to Tayip, a local Turk, who has parents, siblings, uncles, cousins all in Göcek or up in the mountain.  Sadly Tayip’s brother died last weekend after complications from a heart operation.   He was only 53.  As a result Tayip, who had already started his winter break in Thailand, is coming home.  He should be here in the next few days.  Meanwhile Deborah is preparing for her winter trip, 3 weeks in India and then 3 in the UK.  We’re not sure how Tayip’s return will impact on our stay because he may decide to stay at home for the rest of the winter.  The original plan was that we stay and look after the house and animals until Deborah and Tayip return in early March.  After a chat we head to the Göcek Turkcell mobile shop, this time armed with passport so we can buy a Sim card.  Then Daz drives us up into the mountains to Deborah’s house. The drive, about 30 minutes, is mainly on gravel road with many switchbacks as we gain height rapidly.  By the time we arrive it’s dark, so we will have to wait until tomorrow to see the lie of the land.

 Over dinner and a glass of wine we get to know each other some more and talk about what’s required during our stay.

 

Wednesday 11th January

Today we get up to glorious clear blue skies and sunshine.  The views are incredible, we can see for miles around and down to the sea.  It’s very beautiful.   Deborah and Tayip have lived here for 3 years, having moved up from Göcek, on the coast.  Originally they lived in a 2 room stone house, which is currently our home.  It has a large bedroom with a wood burner, a large kitchen and a bathroom.  

At the beginning of December Deborah and Tayip finished building their new home.  It has 3 large bedrooms, 3 bathrooms and a large kitchen.  It has huge picture windows giving it stunning views out over the mountains.   It’s taken 2 years to build with the help of workawayers and local skilled tradesmen but Tayip has been the main protagonist.  

 He’s incredibly talented both with woodworking and with his orchard husbandry.  He’s planted nearly a 1000 trees up here; fig, olives and mulberry.   Deborah provides the design ideas and turns their produce into something delicious to eat.  Her orange marmalade and sour cherry jam are delicious.   They have 4 dogs (2 from puppies, Aussie and Lena, and 2 recently acquired strays, Pixie and Basil), 8 cats, 2 peacocks and a hen, lots of chickens, one turkey and a guineafowl!  Our job is to feed them twice a day.  After going through the feeding routine we take the dogs for a walk ( our other main chore).   Deborah takes us on her usual walk further up into the hills.  When we crest the top, there’s a firemen’s lookout post and we can see over to the snow capped mountains on one side and down to the sunny coast on the other.  

On a sunny day it’s going to be fabulous exploring all the trails around these hills.  On the way back we stop at Deborah’s neighbour.  Deborah often pops in to say ‘hello’ because this elderly couple are so isolated and the husband is poorly,  suffering from depression, diabetes and high blood pressure.   

He won’t get out of bed and his wife won’t leave him unattended in case he falls out of bed.  It’s very sad to see.  Apparently a few years ago this man was the most outgoing, sociable person you could hope to meet.  We’re all welcomed into their bedroom where there’s a wood burner kicking out some heat.  We’re soon given ‘chai’  and then out comes a Turkish breakfast for us all to share.  Such generosity!  The old man is here too, lying fully dressed in bed and with his cap on.  Best dressed patient I’ve ever seen.  We sit and eat and chat.   They don’t speak any English, but fortunately Deborah is a fluent Turkish speaker! After thanking her for breakfast we head off again but stop short of the road up to the house as we need to wait for the mobile shop that comes once a week.  He soon arrives and opens up the back of his van to show off all his wares .  

He has pretty much everything ; bread, milk, vegetables,  snacks and cigarettes.  We buy 5 litres of fresh unpasteurised milk, some bread and local butter.  

Back at the house Deborah shows us how to pasteurise the milk.  We just need to bring it to the boil.  We keep half for drinking milk and the rest is made into yogurt! We wait for the boiled milk to fall to about 30 degrees. Then we added 3 tablespoons of live yoghurt, wrapped in towels and then left it in a warm room for 8 hours.  Result – yoghurt.  It’s like something from ‘the good life’ up here!  Since the sun has been shining today there’ll be hot water to shower from the solar panels.  Up here, no sun = no hot water unless we want to heat it on the wood burning stoves.  In the afternoon Deborah deserts us, heading down to Göcek.  We’ll have to fend for ourselves as she needs to return to Göcek to meet Tayip from his flight.  She’ll be back up tomorrow.  In the evening we manage to get the feeding done and then the rain starts again, but by this time we are freshly showered, fed and safely ensconced in our accommodation with a hot fire to keep us warm.

Thursday 12th January

It’s still raining this morning so I have to brave the wet and mud to feed all the animals whilst Daz gets the fire going and puts the kettle on.  With nothing else to do we sit in bed reading until the rain stops at about 11 o’clock.   We then jump to it and get out for a long dog walk before the rain starts again.  Today we pick a route Deborah pointed out but end up on someone’s land with our dogs upsetting their sheep.

 The lady there isn’t too happy with us (not surprising really) so we put the dogs on leads and make a hasty withdrawal, passed her husband and back onto the road.  It’s days later when we discover we inadvertently strayed into the one place we’d be told to avoid, – “dog haters territory!”.  Apparently the man here has shot a dog for straying onto his land.  Fortunately he doesn’t shoot our 4 dogs – imagine how crap we’d look if we lost all the dogs on day 1. Fortuitously the rain holds off and we get home without further mishap.  Having walked the dogs we have a late brunch and then spend a few hours reading, writing the blog and doing some admin on the internet.  But soon the black clouds return and the rains and thunderstorms turn the day miserable.  We really were expecting better weather this far south, and normally it would be, but a weather system from Siberia has changed all that, not only here but in most of Eastern Europe.   Although it’s not as bad as central Europe where there have been numerous deaths.  We go indoors and light the fire… at least we aren’t cycling!

In the late afternoon Deborah and Tayip come home with company.  Tayip has brought his cousins and brothers up to the house to share a whiskey and show them around. But they don’t stay long and we are soon left alone again.

 

Friday 13th January

 Today is another beautiful day, so after feeding the animals we are straight out on a walk.  We head up the hill and then try pathfinding through the woods. Sadly the tracks that looked so enticing lead nowhere so finally we end up back on the road.  Sometimes the dogs disappear for long periods.

 The main micreant is Pixie, a terrier cross, who spends the entire walk racing through the undergrowth whilst the other 3 are generally content to walk with us along the road.  Occasionally a new scent or Pixie’s yipping tempts the other dogs and off they all go,  trotting through the forest around us, having great fun.  After an hour and a half we finally get back to the house. Time for our breafast and a lovely cup of tea! The rest of the day is occupied by tidying up, reading and showering.  On sunny days we hang out in the new house because the sun warms the big bedroom so there’s no need for a fire.  We only return to our place in the evening when we’ve had dinner.  It’s OK! Friday the thirteenth has passed. Nothing bad happened on this ominous day. And we didn’t meet a single Jason!

 

Saturday 14th January

It’s another nice day so we follow our usual timetable.  Up at 0830hrs to feed the anmals (it’s still dark up until this time). Then back to bed with a cuppa to read for a while and then out for a walk.  We try another track up in the hills but again it doesn’t go anywhere.   We’re hoping to find some good circular routes.  In the early afternoon Deborah and Tayip come back and we finally get to sit down with Tayip and chat. Well we would chat but he’s busy unpacking his suitcase from his Thailand trip. There’s no sign of clothes, it’s just hundreds of cuttings he’s brought back from Thailand, to grow in his orchards.    Going out to Thailand this suitcase was full of cuttings and seeds for the Thais.  He sells enough to cover the cost of his flight.  Deborah is a trained chef and she has made marmalades, jams and sweet jellies from all harvests; sour morello cherries, Seville oranges and quince to name a few. Daz particularly likes her Quince syrup flavoured with rosemary and chilli.  She uses it on roasts but Daz likes it neat on toast!  In the evening Daz makes falafal burgers from chickpeas he soaked the night before, served with a fresh salad and Deborah makes a lovely tahini sauce to go with it.

 

Sunday 15th January

Today it’s market day in Göcek. So after we share a Turkish breakfast (no plates, just bread to pinch bits of cheese and egg or honey and jam to scoop into your mouth) we jump into the car and head down the mountain. On the way Tayip points out where his parent’s  and uncle’s farms are.  He stops by one neighbour who are harvesting Carob pods and lets us try some.  They are very sweet.  We eat the pod and would discard the seeds but of course we have to save the seeds so that Tayip can plant them later!  He also tries to show us a Kangol sheep herders dog, but it is not in its normal sheep paddock.  These huge Turkish dogs grow as big as a Shetland pony and are fiercely defensive of their herd and owner.  The shepherd raises the dog so that it only knows him and the sheep, but Tayip says if they are brought up in normal surroundings they are a loyal and placid dog.  Daz has shown me a cyclist blog about a couple who were cycling through Turkey and came across a pack of dogs up in the mountains including a Kangol. Suffice it to say that they aren’t cycling now and the man needed alot of stitches. Not worth thinking about!  At the market there is lots of local produce from the fields as well as cheeses, olives, chickens, eggs, pickles and other homemade goods.

 We get our shopping and taste locally made cheeses (they all taste rather similar and are very salty).  We stop and sit down at a small stall selling cooked Turkish pancakes stuffed with potato or ‘greens’. We also have a cold yogurt drink flavoured with salt.  All very tasty.  

In addition to our shopping there’s meat to make homemade dog food and two 50kg bags of chicken feed.  There is a local football match playing next door and Daz watches for a while.  The pitch is waterlogged and the players look cold and bedraggled, another reminder that the weather is not as good as it should be!  After the shopping we head to the Göcek apartment.   This was Deborah and Tayip’s home before they moved up the mountain and if we want civilization we can come down from the mountains and use the internet.  Tayip heads off to run some errands and whilst he is doing that Daz and I head to the Marina to find a geocache.  

It’s very pretty here, and even in the summer it’s not too busy with tourists.  Back at the apartment they show us the washing machine (there isn’t one in the mountains) and we try downloading some films from Plex to watch in the mountain house but it takes hours to download.   Finally we decide it’s time to go.  We’re leaving Deborah and Tayip here.  Tomorrow they’ll fly to Istanbul and then Deborah will fly off to her yoga retreat in India.  So we won’t see Deborah again until she returns from India and London on the 7th March.  Tayip will go to Istanbul for a few days then return to the house for a week and then he has decided to return to Thailand.  This is good news for us, we’ll have the run of the place in the mountains.   We drive back up into the hills, stopping occasionally to take in the scenery.   We unload all the provisions, including the 50 kilo sacks of grain (Daz huffs and puffs alot!!) and feed the animals.  It’s late now and getting dark but we want to move our gear and bedding into the new house, as it’s much warmer than the old stone house we’ve been using.  I attempt to cook a tea brack loaf, but the oven is too hot and it doesn’t turn out great.  Mind you, with enough butter slathered on it goes down a treat!

 

Monday 16th January

The room we are sleeping in has huge picture windows on 2 sides and we are woken by the flash of lightning and the rumble of thunder.  Another rainy day!!  There won’t be any dog walking today!  We have to brave the weather to feed the animals and then to prepare our ‘home made’ dog food.  In between chores we sit in our big bedroom watching the rain fall outside.  Even without a fire this room is far warmer than the other house.

In the late afternoon we make Thai red paste for our Tom Yum soup this evening.   We’re extremely pleased with the results – very tasty.  

I also make a dog bed. All the dogs are fond of a sack that contains some sawdust.  There’s always one of them using it as a bed.  Unfortunately by the time they ‘paw’ it and push it around most of the sawdust comes out because one end is still open.  

So I put in a bit more filling and just do 5 anchoring stitches along the hem to secure it.  We’ll see how long that lasts!

 

Tuesday 17th January

More rain.  Sadly another day without a dog walk.  In the early afternoon we’re in the midst of yet another thunderstorm and this time it seems something important is struck by lightning because immediately after the strike there‘s a power cut.  We have gas for cooking and candles for light but then realise there’s no water from the taps.  Ah there’s an electric pump that pushes the water through the system.   Fortunately there’s an emergency bowser outside the other house.   The electricity returns about 8pm, thankfully.  During the night there’s continuous thunderstorms, setting the dogs off into a barking frenzy when the clap of thunder is too close.

 

Wednesday 18th January

At last, a day of sunshine.  We find a new circular route with the dogs and our only misfortune is to meet ‘dog hater’ en route.  We think he’s telling us off about walking the dogs without leads (although he could be talking about the weather – it’s all Turkish to us!).  Even though he knows Lena and Aussie, they make him nervous.

The Turks are generally scared of big dogs but actually Lena and Aussie don’t like him very much and so keep barking at him! Shame they don’t bite him too.  We also meet Tayip’s uncle on this route.  Back near the house we wait for the milkman and his mobile shop.  We all sit / lie in the sun and Tiger Lily (my favourite cat) and another of our tabbies come to join us.  

Lina is the Alpha dog and hates it when the other dogs or the cats get our attention.  Especially Baz – he’s always getting chased off at mealtimes and if we try to pet him!

We collect our milk and head home.  Breakfast at last!  Then it’s time to pasteurise the milk and have a clean up.  

Tayip is coming home tomorrow and we’re heading off to see some of the relatively local sights of Turkey.  

 

Thursday 19th January

We’re up and about by 0830hrs only because we don’t know what time Tayip will be here and also because we need to prepare the house for his return.  

We’re just finishing breakfast when he phones.  He’s down in the next village, Inlice.  Can we come and get him.  Daz goes and I finish my chores.  For the next few hours we chat, drink coffee, and complete some chores.  We measure 2 of the window units that should be a sealed double glazed units but are not; instead there’s condensation between the double glazing.  

These need replacing.  We also chat to Tayip about his fig interest which is bordering on an obsession.

 He will collect more fig,mulberry and cacti cuttings (apparently the fruit of the cactus is very tasty) and buy young olive trees for the Thais.  He also gathers various seeds for them to grow.  In return, because Thais have been ordering fig cuttings from other countries including Australia,  Tayip will bring these back to his Turkish mountain.  Once we’ve learnt a little more about figs we take a walk around his land; we’ve suggested that we get some work done whilst Deborah and Tayip are away.  He suggests we clear the pathways that criss-cross his land. Whilst he’s showing us what needs doing, he also points out the fruits of his labour.  Young olive, fig and mulberry trees;  young sage, lilies and other young plants all planted by Tayip.  Some are barely visible but Tayip seems to remember everything he’s ever planted and where.   

Finally we’re done at the house but Tayip needs to visit Fethiye to register the car.  On the way we stop at a nursery where he buys about 25 young olive trees.  We remove the soil, wash the roots and wrap in newspaper.

 We also stop by some huge cacti plants and take a bag full of cuttings.

 Then we head into Fethiye where Tayip shows us his car mechanic and then heads to the car registration office.  He bought this car from his brother and it needs a change of registration plates but it seems he’s failed to complete this task in the alotted time; what the implications of this are we have no idea.   It’s time to say our farewells.   Hopefully we’ll see Tayip again in March, when he returns from Thailand.  We head off to Denizli.  We have to drive up through the mountains where there’s been a lot of snowfall and the temperatures are down near freezing.  On the way we stop at Kibyra stadium.

The ancient city of Kibyra is located in the township of Gölhisar on the southwestern part of the province of Burdur.  The settlement is situated on hills just to the west of the modern town. To the west of the city are broad pasturages and Akdağ mountains while the fertile plain of Gölhisar extends to the east, with the stream Dalaman running through it. The Lake Gölhisar and the Mount Koçaş to the east of the plain presents a wonderful sight from the ancient city. The surroundings of the city was located on the crossroads of the ancient Phrygian, Carian, Lycian and Pisidian cultures and of commercial routes running east-west and north-south directions. The modern Gölhisar town is similarly located on the crossroads of southwestern Anatolia.

We have a wander around the ancient Roman stadium which is incredibly well preserved.  We also look for a geocache but we can’t find it in the snow.   The views from on top of the hill are stunning.  We then head of to Denizli where we are staying with a warmshower host.  This guy is incredible; he’s a traveller’s saviour.  If Murat sees hitchhikers, backpackers or cyclists he immediately heads over to see if they need help or a bed for the night!  Whilst this sounds incredibly generous we can’t help feeling that if we were approached by this man initially we might feel a little freaked out.  

We go out to dinner with him and his son and chat away.  Murat is keen to share with us the improvements wrought by the current Turkish president (not something we are used to hearing) and his various interests.   He’s a keen traveller, an avid follower of politics who frequently writes articles under the byline ‘Political heart’.  He’s also has a social conscience so if he sees areas that need improvement ie poor road junctions, poorly maintained roads, ineffective water systems he writes to his local MP (or his Turkish equivalent)  with his suggested improvements.  Interestingly all his letters are taken very seriously and the changes he suggests are actually made.  We’re impressed by this!  After dinner he takes us for a drive around town and he wants to show us a park where we meet his Iranian friend.  This is most odd especially since it’s raining and about 1030pm at night.  

Finally we head back to his apartment and he shows us some of his articles and photos of traffic ‘hotspots’ that he’s thought to improve.  In the end we have to beg off as it’s very late now and we are tired, but I am sure he could have carried on talking into the wee hours!

Friday 20th January

In the morning we get up and head out. Murat doesn’t get up until about 10am because he spends much of his night policing a nearby family owned apartment block occupied by students. He said his goodbyes last night.  He has been a fabulous host who wants travellers to see only the best of the Turkish.  We head to Pamukkale – one of Turkey’s most famous landmarks. Pamukkale is a marvelously surreal natural wonder with a series of semi-circular travertine that ripple out from the natural hot water source.   This pure-white mountain, set among the green farming fields, makes for some bizarrely beautiful photographic opportunities.  Also up on the summit lie the remains of the Roman spa town of Hierapolis, with the renowned hot spring pool, where you can do as the Roman’s did and bathe away your aches and pains.

The dazzling white calcite cliff of Pamukkale are created by calcium deposits from the area’s hot springs. In the same way that stalactites form within limestone caves, the deposits grow on the steep slopes, gradually fanning out to form natural terraces. Pamukkale means “cotton castle,” and the blinding white color of these travertines do look like a bizarre natural fortress of sorts. The best way to do your sightseeing here is to walk (barefoot only) from the base of the calcite mountain up the entire cliff ridge. The terraces at the upper levels hold pools of water, which you can sit in and there is a long channel of rushing hot water running along the ridge.  

We sit and dip our feet in the warming waters before heading over to look around the Hierapolis City Ruins.  First founded by King Eumenes II of Pergamon soon after 190 BC, Hierapolis was originally a fortified military colony. The original city was destroyed by an earthquake in AD 60, and it was after the rebuilding that its glory days began. The city enjoyed its greatest prosperity during the 2nd and 3rd century when, with its on-tap natural hot springs, it became an important spa center.   There’s still a thermal bathing pool today.

The remains of a grand colonnaded street runs parallel to the travertines below for just over one kilometer, extending between the necropolis to the north and a Byzantine church at the southern end. From the church, if you take the eastern path, you come to the Temple of Apollo and its famed Plutonium (a cave beneath the temple that was a source of poisonous gas). Here, the priests would consult the oracle, bringing in birds and small animals killed by the rising gas. Today, nothing much survives of either. East from the remnants of the Agora is the octagonal Martyrium of the Apostle Philip, built on the spot where the saint and his children were supposedly martyred after he remonstrated with the pagan-worshippers of Hierapolis.

On a slope above the rest of the Hierapolis ruins is the mighty theater, with its facade over 100 meters long and two tiers of seating, each with 26 rows. Built during the reigns of the Roman Emperors Hadrian and Septimius Severus, the theater is incredibly well-preserved. It has retained much of its original detail, with the imperial boxes (where VIP guests would have watched the entertainment) and some decorative panels along the stage still surviving. There are fine views from the top seating tiers.

It’s amazing walking around this huge area taking in the massive building blocks and ruins that were built before the advent of modern machinery.   The Romans sure did know how to build!  

Having spent a few hours here we search for a few geocaches before heading out towards Laodikeia.

Lovely Laodikeia was once home to Cicero. This Roman commercial center was a bustling city of industry, medicine, and trade. As Christianity began to take over from the earlier pagan religions, a large population of Christians and Jews lived here. The ruins, though sparse, are highly photogenic, and there’s an interesting mix of remnants from the temples and theaters of early Roman settlement to the later Christian early-Byzantine era. It’s a bit off the normal Pamukkale area itinerary (which usually just visits the terraces and Hierapolis), so if you have this on your things to do list, you’re likely to get the entire site to yourself.  Whilst we were there we also picked up a nice geocache on one of the aqueducts.

Finally we head to our final Denizli destination,  Kaklik Cave. It’s about 25km away and is one of the lesser known places among visitors in the Denizli region. Kaklik Cave is usually referred as the Underground Pamukkale and it’s easy to understand why. The cave has the same travertine structure as Pamukkale. The difference, however, it’s smaller in size and it’s inside a cave. The cave is formed by an underground river and came to light after the collapse of its roof. After opening to tourists in 2002, Kaklik Cave started to earn visitor traction.

The water that comes out in the cave contains sulphur and high amounts of sodium bicarbonate. This water is used for health purposes as well as agricultural irrigation in the area. Because the water contains sulphur, there’s a smell in the cave which explains the name that locals gave for this location, Kokarhamam Pinari (which can be translated as Smelling Bath Foundation).  Basically it smells of rotten eggs.  The deepest point of the cave is 14 meters from the entrance point and the total length of the cave is about 190 meters.  We’re the only visitors here to admire this cave and this underground river which is swollen after the recent heavy rains.

Sightseeing done for the day all we need is food and a hotel for the night.  We get a late lunch in a local truckstop and find a hotel near our next destination, Lake Salda.  

Whilst eating Daz realises there is a shortcut to our overnight stop.  Rather than going back around to Denizli and down the main road we can take a mountain road saving us about 50 km. Brilliant!  Our hotel is on the shores of Lake Salda where there is also a geocache trail of 19 caches around the southern edge of the lake.  So we leave our late lunch location and head out on Daz’s shortcut.  Initially all is well and we’re still on tarmac roads but soon we’re heading into the hills and passing through farming communities and small isolated villages where the roads are awash with deep mud or are just mud.

We’re driving a 3 year old, Suburu XV automatic which laughs in the face of a little mud.  But soon this road gives way to a track through the hills, a track upon which there’s been a considerable (in my opinion and I’m driving!) amount of snowfall.  Initially it’s some snow but still one set of muddy tyre tracks (clearly even the locals know not to use this route) and so there’s still plenty of traction.  But as the climb continues the snow increases until there’s just a set of snowy tracks.  I cope OK initially but as the incline increases I seriously begin to doubt the car’s ability to make the top with me behind the wheel.  However when I raise my doubts Daz says we will be fine.  The road is deathly quiet, as we wind up into the hill.  We are the only buggers stupid enough to be out in these conditions.

Finally we reach the top and I breathe a huge sigh of relief and start to relax – it’s all downhill from here!!! Sadly my relief is premature.   The snow is much deeper on this side of the hill and whilst I am trying to stick to the 2 deep tyre ruts the car is grounding on the untouched snow in between.  The car has a mind of its own, ignoring the accelerator and my steering attempts.  On more than a few occasions we think we’re going to get stuck but each time the car rights itself and we push on. Another concern is our lack of fuel.  We had sufficient for this route but hadn’t bargained on this high octane off road experience (and neither had my blood pressure).   Finally the snow gives way to mud and we reach the village at the bottom of the hill.  Now it’s safe for Daz to admit how worried he was since he picked this ‘shortcut’!

We’re soon on the road around the lake and I suggest we do the geocaches this side of our hotel.  So we park the car and walk down to the lakeside.  The coordinates suggest the cache is in / by a lone tree.  We search and search, check the spoiler picture and search some more.  

No luck.  This is so annoying.  We decide to give up and we start to walk back to the car and I pat my pockets looking for the car key.  Bugger,  it’s gone.  We both search my pockets – yup no car key.  OMG this is a disaster and I start to panic.  We walk back to the car, another pocket check and get out our headtorches.  Yup fortunately I didn’t actually lock the car otherwise we’d have no light for the inevitable search.  It’s getting dark now so Daz searches from the car and I search from the lone tree.  I’m searching whilst creating various unpleasant scenarios whereby we have to phone Tayip and somehow get the spare key.  OMG I’m really starting to feel sick.   Daz arrives at the lone tree but within about 10 seconds he’s found the key.    OMG the relief is immense!  It’s cold, dark and we are still about 6km from the main road.  It would have been a long cold walk in the dark, but thankfully we are good to go again!!  What a day – living on the edge.

We just need to get to our hotel, shower and get an early night.  No more excitement today thank you.

Saturday 21st January

After breakfast we pack up and head out.  Initially we follow the main road round the lake, stopping every kilometre or so to find a cache. Then we realise we can drive to the remainder along the dirt road that runs close to the lake.  More off roading, how fabulous.  This car is brill but now very filthy.    It’s great fun and we are soon at the final one which takes us up a scree slope onto a rocky outcrop looking out across the crystal blue waters of the lake… fab!!

Lake Salda is a crater formed lake that is said to be the second clearest lake in the world and the cleanest lake in Turkey and also the deepest at 196 metres. This claim is not exaggerated, hopefully in some of the photos below you can see just how crystal clear the water is.

The white hydromagnesite mineral found along its shoreline form a claylike substance ( which looks harmless but is like quicksand and prevents us paddling) and the distinctive white sand is said to be very beneficial for treating dermatological complaints.  The lake is surrounded by Black pine forest that is popular with hunters.   

Geocaching over it’s time to head to Antalya.   

Antalya, is the Turkish capital of international tourism.  Situated by the Gulf of Antalya, the city of Antalya can be traced back in history as early as the 1st century BC when, as the legend has it, upon discovering this land, king Attalos II told his men that “this must be Heaven”. Today, the tourist blurb states that tourists who come here from all the corners of the world say that only after seeing a sunset at Antalya can one say they have seen everything a man is allowed to see in a lifetime.

Apart from its cuisine (which we didn’t experience) Antalya also boasts golden beaches (Konyaalti and Lara) and foaming milky waterfalls (Düden, Manavgat).  We head to the waterfall at Düden.  Sadly this means driving across Antalya on a busy Saturday afternoon but it’s worth it.  But it’s a spectacular sight.  30 meters high the waters of the Duden River surging down the huge Taurus rocks in a foamy embrace with the Mediterranean.  The sunlight creates a beautiful rainbow in the watery mist.  There’s also a beautiful walk along these clifftops and many Turks lying in the sun relaxing or enjoying a picnic.  

We head back into the city centre and the old town, Kaleiçi, and our hotel.  

The historical part of the city, Kaleiçi, is also the tourist centre of Antalya: hotels and clubs, restaurants and bars are the edifices that the modern tourist world has raised next to the Yivli Minare, a symbol of the restored historical city centre and to the Kesik Minare, a former Byzantine Pangalia church, later converted into a mosque.  Our hotel is in the middle of a maze of narrow streets, many blocked by parked cars.  If there’s something I enjoy more than a deep snow off roading experience, it’s reversing 100m down a very narrow lane while other road users barrel pass me, disregarding the fact that there’s no way through, thanks to some inconsiderate car parking!  Arghhhhhhh.

Finally we find our hotel, unpack, get some advice and head into town.  We head to the harbour and walk along the harbour walls watching people fish or just sit about enjoying a chat and a bottle of beer before the sun sets.  The harbour is full of old wooden ‘pirate’ ships, apparently the pirate tour is very popular here.

 From the harbour we take the lift and take a leisurely stroll to the clocktower and to Hadrian’s gate.  The old walls of the city are very impressive and there’s a lovely feel to the city.  We find a lovely bar with a roaring fire,  good music and enjoy a glass or two of wine.

 j

Sunday 22nd January

Another early start today as we are off camel wrestling, well spectating anyway!

Camel wrestling (Turkish: deve güreşi) is a sport in which two male Tülü camels wrestle, typically in response to a female camel in heat being led before them. It is most common in the Aegean region of Turkey, but is also practiced in other parts of the Middle East and South Asia.

We’d heard about camel wrestling before arriving in Turkey and had been eager to find a Camel wrestling venue.   We need to drive out of Antalya, down the coast about 100km to Kumluca.  We’ve been told the coastal route between Antalya and Fethiye is very beautiful and it’s certainly very mountainous.  We debate going up the cable car to Mt Olympus on route but decide it will take too long. We’ve even driven the 7km up the mountain to the cablecar station and bought our 25€ each tickets.  But there’s a large Russian?  walking group in front if us and with only one cable car every 30minutes, it’s going to takes ages to get up and back down.  

Fortunately we get a refund on our tickets and head back to the road.  We do stop for a couple of caches though.  We arrive in Kumluca where the wrestling is taking place and stop at a little garage to ask directions…  the lad looks at us with a smile and points over the road to the stadium opposite!! Well that was easy!  We park in a building site opposite the stadium, beside a mosque that is being renovated and wander over to the stadium.  

We are immediately assaulted by the sight and smell of the camels! My God they really do stink. We pay our entrance fee and wander into the ‘paddock’ where all the camels are tethered.   They are decoratively fitted out with ornate saddles and all have woven baskets over their muzzles but this doesn’t disguise the foam and spit that’s issuing from their mouths – pretty disgusting and here, the smell is eyewatering.  We wander through into the stadium in search of food and soon spot the cooking smoke.    Ummmmmmmm lovely barbecues everywhere.  

There’s spicy camel sausage, beef koftes, chicken kebabs.  We haven’t has breakfast yet so we would happily eat it all!  We settle for beef Kofte in bread with salad, grilled onion and chillies and a fiercely hot pickled chilli condiment.  Delicious.   People are eating, drinking and taking in this fine spectacle – it’s certainly a big social event.  Whilst we’re eating, the natives suddenly go quiet and stand up.  Daz said it was the ‘last post’, followed by the Turkish anthem.  Well it certainly wasn’t a last post I recognised and as for the Turkish anthem, it clearly has more complex lyrics than ours because all the crowd could produce was a strangled, tuneless murmur!  We wander back into the stadium and take a couple of seats up in the shade. We seem to be the only tourists here, and stick out in our bright clothes against the drab browns and blacks of the indigenous tribes people (well they are just the local Turks really!!).  

The camel wrestling could be charged under the trades description.   To be honest the owners put more effort in than the camels.  In some cases instead of ‘wrestling’ the camels are content to just nuzzle whilst on other occasions the best option seems to be to run away. In all cases the owners, judges and safety staff are covered in the massive quantities of camel spit flying through the air.  

We see only one good ‘wrestling’ match which receives the support from the audience.  We sit and watch the entertainment.   At one point there’s an interval and a group of dancers come into the arena with drums and swords and start their routine.  They clearly preparing for their finale when they’re thrown out of the ring, making way for more stinky, dribbling camels.  

There’s a guy selling ‘rock’ to the audience.   It looks pretty popular even amongst the adults so I ask for a piece.  It’s only a bit of hardened sugar, after all.  But the vendor has been dipping the end into a bottle of liquid.  We’re guessing it’s some sort of peppermint essence.  Whatever it is, one sniff of the vapour burns all my nasal hairs away and clears away 50 years of sinus muck and makes my eyes water.  Daz thinks this is hilarious.

We decide we’ve seen enough camel wrestling so we continue our coast road exploration.  Our next stop is Myra, Demre.  The main attractions at Myra are the large theatre which used to sit 13000 people and the necropolis Lycian rock tombs. Even though we were not allowed to walk around the rock tombs, you can still get a feel for the ancient Lycian culture and their beliefs.  Lycian tombs were always placed at the top of hills or on the cliffs as there was a belief that the dead would be transported to another world by a wing liked creature.  

We’re tired and decide to head to Kas for our last night away.  According to the Internet, Kas is:  With its postcard-perfect harbor, Kaş is a favored yacht mooring destination in the Antalya Province of Turkey and one of the best places for you to head out onto the sea for some laid-back sightseeing of the many secret coves and islands along the coastline. The town itself is crammed with cute boutiques and lovely cafés, where landlubber tourists can chill out and shop ’til they drop.  

Sadly in January they appear to have decided to dig up all the streets and everything seems to be undergoing a winter renovation.  But we found a bar in the main square, overlooking the harbour, with a lovely log fire burning in a brazier outside.  

We also met Leah, originally from Cornwall, who has been living in Turkey for about 13 years, is married to a Turkish architect and loves it.  

 

Monday 23rd January

Our last day and we had planned a walk up Saklikent Gorge but Tayip thinks it might be dangerous after all the rainfall or completely unnavigable.  Instead we head to the peninsula to find another geocache.

 Then we head home.  Our last stop is the UNESCO site of Xanthos.  Made up of two neighboring settlements located in the southwestern part of Anatolia, respectively within the boundaries of Antalya and Muğla Provinces, Xanthos-Letoon is a remarkable archaeological complex. It represents the most unique extant architectural example of the ancient Lycian Civilization, which was one of the most important cultures of the Iron Age in Anatolia.

The two sites strikingly illustrate the continuity and unique combination of the Anatolian, Greek, Roman, and Byzantine civilizations. It is also in Xanthos-Letoon that the most important texts in Lycian language were found. The inscriptions engraved in rock or on huge stone pillars on the site are crucial for a better understanding of the history of the Lycian people and their Indo-European language.

Finally we’re back in Göcek,  with just enough time to do a bit of shopping, get a wash done and get home before it gets dark.  Tayip left the mountain last night so we reckon the ‘gang’ will be pretty pleased to see us.   And they’re all ready, waiting for their dinner.  Sadly there’s also a dead chicken.  

Fortunately it’s been a sunny day so after seeing to our chores, unpacking we  can have a lovely hot shower.  A great ending to a fabulous road trip.  Tuesday 24th January

Today the sunny weather comes to an end and the rains return.  Actually we’re glad of the bad weather as it gives us an excuse to do nothing.  So that’s pretty much what we do although we do attempt to make a coffee and walnut cake (not a resounding success)

and watch ‘Girl on a train’ which seems to have mysteriously moved from London to ‘somewhere’ in the States (weird).  

Wednesday 25th January

Another wet day but it’s also milkman day so Daz has to venture forth to fetch our milk quota ( he takes the car) and then pasteurises the milk and makes his yoghurt.  Then I prepare a red lentil Thai influenced dish for dinner.  Hopefully it’ll be more appetising than our cake efforts!  

Thursday 26th January

This morning Lina and Aussie don’t even hang around for breakfast.  I don’t know where they’ve gone but they’re away for a few hours.  Murat,  a neighbour, turns up on his motorcycle looking for his dogs.   I imagine they’re all together somewhere, playing hopefully.  We’re expecting Lina to come into season shortly so we really do need to be a bit careful.  

This morning we tidy away the wood that was delivered whilst we were away and clean and tidy the house.  Then we clear a path by the chicken pen.  We also scrape the paint stains off our bathroom floor.

Once that’s done we decide we’ve done enough.  For lunch we have the Thai red lentils blitzed into a soup and for dinner sag aloo with a fried egg.

Friday 27th January

Today all are energetic plans are cancelled because there’s a bitterly cold wind blowing down from the mountains.  All the pipes are frozen and we have another power cut.  Another reading day methinks.  Daz is happy, he’s reading the Universe according to Alex Woods, and often has a little chuckle.  Me, I’m struggling through a Terry Goodkind.  It elicits no chuckles and I’m lucky if I can stay awake!

Culinary masterpiece today – roasted tomato and red pepper soup.  Very tasty.

 

Saturday 28th January

More frozen pipes this morning and we‘re lucky to get one cup of tea for breakfast.  We need to start storing some water for this eventuality.  At least the wind has died down today so we take the dogs up the mountain for a walk.  Today’s culinary experiment – mixed bean chilli.

 

 

 

Monday 12th December to Sunday 18th

Monday we’re both so tired this morning after our walk yesterday and Jac’s visit that neither of us want to get up.  But finally we manage it and after fighting heavy Monday morning commuter traffic and long queues I return to the basement to finish painting.  Daz returns to block one;  patch painting, caulking and removing mold on pipes.  

Tuesday we’re shattered again.  The wind has really picked up and the shutters and windows were rattling so much it was tough to sleep.  Today we both work in block one cleaning aircon vents, electrical sockets, sweeping the patio of leaves and our last job in the block – to ensure the crockery, glasses and silverware in each room match.  We stupidly thought this would be straightforward but it’s anything but.  We move from room to room and then on to new blocks trying to find matching glasses etc.  Finally block one is complete and we check blocks 2, 3 and 4 are all OK after the heavy rain.  Tuesday evening I visit the dentist – teeth cleaning time.  Fortunately he doesn’t spot anything else that needs doing.

Wednesday Daz starts on block 5 whilst I check blocks 6, 7 and 8.  Then I start matching crockery etc in block 5.  In the evening it’s quiz and bingo night.  Our team mates are John and Glynnis.  He turns out to be the infamous cat man.  They have 28 house cats!  OMG we find our 4 a handful enough.

Thursday it’s more work on block 5 and matching crockery in 4.  Yes our days are routine with no excursions; we’re recouping after Jac’s stay, trying to save our pennies and preparing for Gav’s flying visit.   Remember the incredible Ha Canyon and our hope to go canyoning?  Well after several enquiries, including asking our incredibly knowledgeable host Vassilis, we thought we had no chance of achieving this adrenaline adventure but finally one company that I emailed has come back with a positive result, so fingers crossed.

Friday, normal jogging.  Saturday we popped out in the evening for food at a local kebab joint then to the Cavern for a beer.  We were expecting a quiz too but missed it by a week, it was last Saturday!!

Sunday we’re at work as Gav is arriving tonight and we need to pick him up in Heraklion and then we’ll some time off whilst he is here. As an added bonus we definitely have some guides that will take us to Ha Canyon including Gav!!  We get a message that his flight is delayed, so decide to make dinner before heading to the airport, but just as Daz is starting to cook he says he has been put on an earlier flight and will be at Heraklion at 9pm!! We chuck everything in the fridge, and head out as it’s a 2 hour drive to the airport. We arrive just as he’s walking out of the airport!!  On the way back we pop into a kebab joint for a late dinner and then have a few drinks into the small hours down in a beachfront bar as we catch up on all the gossip!

Monday 19th to Wednesday 21st December

Monday morning we have scrambled eggs for breakfast then head to Sitia with Gav to show him around.  We also want to pick up some ferry tickets for our journey to Rhodes at the end of the month.  So once in Sitia we head to the harbour in search of a ticket office and get an amazing sighting of a kingfisher.

  It’s a lovely sunny day, if a tad windy, and as we walk along the harbour we stop to watch a fishing boat being manoeuvred onto a trailer to bring it out of the water.  They try several approaches and there’s a lot of shouting but unfortunately the wind keeps pushing it away from the trailer and in the end they give up!! Bizarre!

 We speak to the harbour master’s office and they say that the ferry has got some problems and is laid up in Rhodes.  We should go to the agent in town for more information.  Fortunately the agent reckons the ferry should be OK by the end of the month, but even then he cannot guarantee it will arrive as there may be more problems, bad weather, strikes, mechanical problems etc etc!!! Well we buy tickets anyway and we will have to cross our fingers.  We then decide to take a trip to Vai beach where there is the only palm forest in Europe.  On the way we stop for a geocache up the side of a hill, but after much scrambling we realise we have approached from the wrong side of the hill and only Daz is able to climb the last section to find the cache…  he can’t find it and we can’t get up without a long detour so we give it up.  It’s actually been quite an extreme ascent (see the photos) and both Daz and Gav are covered in scratches and scrapes.  Another time maybe!!

As we were searching, Christine who we met on the cave walk, rings us.  We had planned to meet her but had missed comms, however she had finally got our message and so we agree to pop over to see her, luckily we are right across the road from her village, Dionysou!  She shows us around her village, which was specifically built as a tourist resort funded by EU money.  With hotels and 365 apartments/ houses it was designed to attract foreign interest in Crete.   With a communal pool and shops it was supposed to be a paradise holiday resort. Unfortunately the management company ran off with all the money and now, in winter, it looks rather forlorn and dilapidated and only 3 or 4 apartments are occupied year around.  Alot of the houses on the seafront are falling apart from the sea air and neglect.  The pool was half full of green water and the area was abandoned.  Christine did say that in the summer months it’s a very different place and the previous summer some work had been done and the pool was open and everything is tidied up and cared for and it’s a delightful place to be.  It’s just hard to imagine now the village is closed for winter but this has been the story for all of Crete for us!  We need to visit again but in the spring or summer.  

After a cup of tea we all head off to Vai; Christine is our expert tour guide and in exchange we introduce her to geocaching.  Vai, or more specifically the palm forest of Vai, is one of the most popular sights in Crete and one of the most beautiful and special places in the whole Mediterranean.  Vai draws thousands of visitors each year. They come not only for its wonderful palm forest, but also for the large sandy beach spread out at its foot.

Vai was “discovered” by hippies who were turned out of Matala in the early 70s and sought a new refuge in the area. By the early 80s, Vai had become a permanent campsite and been transformed into vast rubbish tip.

It’s deserted and we can imagine how packed it will be in the summer, Christine says they arrive by the bus load from Heraklion.   Apparently the palm forest came from when ancient pirates discarded date stones after meals, either way the resultant forest is very impressive.  

We climb the hill overlooking the beach in search of a geocache.

Chrstine then takes us to an ancient minoan settlement where we can still see the walls and street layout from 3000 years ago.  

Our final stop is at Topoli monastery and we are fortunate that a monk lets us into the church to marvel at the artwork. And there’s another geocache opposite.

It’s been a fab visit to the north east side of Crete and thanks to Christine we saw so much more!!  We bid farewell, but she has suggested we join her for Xmas dinner at a taverna in Kato Zacros.   We’re back in time for a beautiful sunset before heading to our favourite taverna, Paradise.  Unfortunately we decide to visit the Cavern and many beers and ‘killer’ pool games leads to a messy ending to the day.  Oh why do we never learn?

Tuesday morning we are up very early as we have a date with Ha gorge.  We’re all feeling a little fragile and manage to forget to take most of the things we were told we’d need.  

We’ve arranged to meet our guides, Simon and Manos, at the bottom of the gorge by a small church.  Once dressed to impress we can leave our dry gear and car at the bottom and all drive up to the top in Manos’ pickup.   Manos and Simon are experienced canyoneers and climbers and soon have us kitted out.  Unfortunately due to a lack of wetsuit sizes Gavs is too small tight and Daz’s is too big.  Mine is fine!

 Gav getting ready with Ha gorge in the background. 

The suits have all seen better days with rips and repaired tears all over!  Oh well, adds to the fun.  We arrive at the top and after a short walk start descending a very steep grassy and muddy slope to get to the gorge proper.  It’s quite treacherous and a sign of things to come.

Finally in the gorge proper we don our harnesses and helmets and Gav gets a lesson in abseiling and for us a refresher.

And so we begin…Ha gorge here we come!

The entrance to Ha gorge is very narrow, about 3m. Its width in many parts is only 30cm and in others no more than 3m. To the left and right stand huge stone walls 200m to 400m high. The length is about 1km.  Ha is one of the most demanding and technical gorges on Crete.  We’ll have 27 abseils to complete, the highest 35m, so this would be impossible without all the climbing gear brought by Manos and Simon.  In the last third of the gorge, a waterfall of 215 meters height comes in from the left which increases the amount of water in the gorge. This is often the problem point for canyoning because up to this  point the Ha is dry, but from here it can have large amounts of water. The waterfall is the highest in Greece and is located at the end of Mastoras sub-gorge. Fortunately (or unfortunately) for us there has been no real rain on Crete this year so Mastoras waterfall isn’t running.  Unfortunately this means the slides and jumps won’t be possible.  There’s no running water on the slides just slippery algae and the jumps into deep, clear pools have insufficient water depth to be safe and the water is a stagnant, fetid,  frigid foul pool of murky stinking water. (Apologies now, lots of photos!) 

Initially all the abseils are dry and in the lower half of the gorge we’re abseiling into fetid,  frigid foul pool of murky water.  The smell is disgusting and we even see bones floating in the water and hate to think what is in the water with us.  For those of us feeling slightly the worse for wear after last night’s excesses (me and Gav), this proves to be our undoing, much to Daz’s entertainment!

It’s still quite slippery, especially on some of the damp mossy areas and we all end up sliding down the rock on our arses at one point or another.  Gav does so well.  This is his first experience of abseiling and canyoning and this is extreme.  By the end of the day we are all weary, cold and wondering if it will ever end.  By the time we descend into the final pool it’s gone 5pm and the light is fading. Just in time!  7 hours of abseiling and walking down the gorge. An amazing experience for us all so huge thanks to Manos and Simon for their patience and coaching and a huge well done to Gav who,  whilst often out of his comfort zone, still kept us laughing!   We start to get changed, but then have to wait whilst Daz drives Manos back to the top of the gorge.  Apparently this drive in the dark, on some very steep windy roads, was more scary than the canyoning! By the time they get back it’s 7pm and we load up the kit and say farewell.  We stop off in Irepetra on the way home, too tired to cook so we enjoy 3 large pizzas with garlic bread and Greek salad!

Wednesday: The next day we all ache from the yesterday’s exertions and I’ve got a really itchy skin rash.  I think it’s from the foul water.  Fortunately no one else has it.   But it’s time for Gav to leave Crete, so it’s back in the car and off to Heraklion and the airport.  We go up early so that we can do some sightseeing seeing with Gav around the historic fortress walls of Heraklion.

By the time we do drop Gav at the airport (including having a laugh at his expense by swapping his boarding card whilst he visits the loo!) and get back to Makry Gialos we are ready to drop.  No quiz and bingo for us tonight!

Thursday 22nd to Friday 30th December.

Despite being absolutely shattered we didn’t sleep well last night.  There was a huge thunderstorm over Makry Gialos.  It was so close we thought the windows were going to smash.  The storm front finally moved on but another followed in its wake this morning.  With the high winds came hail.  We’re going to have to check all the rooms for damage and clear the hail and standing water on the patios and corridors.  

We also manage to fit in some vaccinations we had ordered at the pharmacy; Hepatitis A for both of us and Daz also gets a Polio, Tetanus and Diphtheria booster.  The young assistant has downloaded and printed a massive document about which countries require which vaccinations.   Initially when we tell her where we going she says ” can I come?”.  Then Daz adds “on bikes” and she says ” forget it!”.  She confirms the need for Typhoid but this is only available for purchase in huge batches so it’s only held by hospitals.  And Rabies?  Well it’s still a ‘no’ for rabies.  We will have to check in Turkey.  These 3 vaccinations have cost us 76€.  Daz also visits the dentist again for some remedial work on 2 old fillings (80€).  He still has another tooth that needs work.

Christmas Eve we had planned a sightseeing trip but the rain is persistent and heavy.  Instead we find ourselves in a taverna in Ierapetra recommended by Vassilis enjoying some food and some rather bizarre Greek Xmas carol singing.

Christmas day.  We’ve arranged to go to Kato Zacros on the east coast for Christmas dinner, so after a little lie in and a lovely breakfast cooked by Daz we drive over the mountains early so that we can do some geocaching and walk some of Deads Gorge before lunch.  

The gorge is so called because the caves along the gorge walls were used as burial chambers during the Minoan period.  It’s a lovely day if a tad windy and we enjoy a lovely walk up the gorge for a couple of kilometres to find a geocache.

Back in the village we arrive at the taverna to meet Christine, a German couple – Gerhart and Brunni,  and Stavros for Christmas dinner.  We are a little late, but soon settle down and enjoy a lovely meal whilst chatting to the German couple about our travels and theirs. Christine has even bought us a Xmas present, our only one!  She’s given us a travel adapter suitable for 120 countries and some mini toiletries.  Such a thoughtful and useful gift!  After the meal a quick visit to the minoan palace ruins, (3000 years old) stalked by a dozen ‘bruiser’ cats rounds off the day.

 Zakros Palace in Crete is one of the last vestiges of the ancient Minoan civilization that was unearthed in our time. Zakros Palace is the last of the Minoan Palaces that has come into light as a whole.   The palace itself covered an extension of 4,500 square meters and crowned a flourishing urban centre with an area of over 8,000 square metres as a whole. However Zakros Palace is only a fifth of the size of Knossos, the latter being the largest of the Minoan palaces in Crete and the centre of the Minoan civilization in general.  After admiring the ruins and enjoying the narrative by Christine and Stavros (both very knowledgeable)  we bid farewell and make the lengthy drive back up over the mountains in the settling dark.  We are soon tucked up in bed, a glass of wine to celebrate the day and watch some TV… bliss.  Whilst the cats come for a cuddle.  Their not interested in the vast expanse of bed……….only Darren.

It’s Boxing Day but we are up and back at work.   Daz is still cleaning door and window handles in block 5 and whilst I do some paint stippling on the tile floors (to disguise all the chips in the tiles)  and cleaning electric sockets with earbuds in block 5!! Oh the joy!! Tuesday more handle cleaning and stippling.  Wednesday we start sorting out our kit and looking at our onward journey.  We’re planning to catch the overnight ferry from Sitia to Rhodes and then we hope the Rhodes Catamaran will take us to Marmaris.   But we’re really not confident; the first weak link is the Rhodes ferry which is often delayed or cancelled; the Marmaris catamaran is a passenger ferry.  In a phone call they said no bikes but in an email they said yes to bikes.  Of course our use of the term ‘bikes’ is probably disingenuous.  If the catamaran plan fails then there’s a vehicle ferry to Kos and then another to Bodrum.  We did think these ferries ran daily but now the website suggests otherwise.  So to cover all bases I’ve contacted all the warmshower hosts between here and Rhodes – Marmaris – Fethiye and all those between Rhodes – Kos – Bodrum – Fethiye.  To be fair there aren’t that many.  We’ve also been checking out places of interest to visit along the way!  Whilst we’re both looking forward to a change of scenery, we’re both feeling trepidatious about Saturday and cycling to Sitia.   It’s only 32km but after 6 weeks off I’m pretty sure it’s going to hurt.  Thursday we finish block 5, stipple in blocks 3, 4, 6 and 7.  Move all our work gear and basically prepare to handover.  

Friday 30th December

Daz and I always laugh and say a plan never survives first contact with me.   Well today, supposedly our last day in Makry Gialos, our carefully crafted plan has collapsed around our ears.  The ferry company rang to tell us that tomorrow’s ferry from Sitia to Rhodes has been cancelled.   We have no idea why.  It won’t run until next Saturday,  6th January.  This is a complete disaster!   We need to be at our workaway in Turkey for 11th January.   Our host has booked her flights for her holiday.  And perhaps if we leave Crete on 6th January we might well make it to our host by 11th but there’s no margin for error so if next Saturday we get a phone call to say the ferry is delayed due to bad weather, we’ll be well and truly up shit creek without a paddle!  Our stress levels go through the roof and the bickering increases exponentially.   How do we get off Crete before next Saturday???   The obvious answer is get back to Haraklion (a 3 day bike ride) and take the ferry back to Piraeus, Athens and then take a ferry to Kos and then to Bodrum.  The downside to this is the 3 day bike ride; the weather is horrendous ( extremely cold, windy and either raining or hailing), and the expense because there’s no way I’m camping in this weather!  And then we spot a decent alternative.   The internet suggests there’s a ferry from Sitia to Pireaus on 2nd January.   Finally after several hours on the internet and numerous phone calls we think we’ve cobbled together a new plan that gives us the wriggle room we need and puts us in Bodrum on 7th January.

New Year’s Eve

This morning we catch the bus into Sitia with 90% of our gear.  We are so fortunate that Pavlos, the Aussie/Greek fireman who we met on the group walk to the cave, has said it’s  OK to leave our bags and tomorrow our trikes at his firestation.   We  also exchange our Rhodes ferry tickets for Piraeus tickets.   Fingers crossed that this ferry isn’t cancelled too! The last cancellation was due to the weather.  We head back to Makry Gailos,  we planned to have a quiet New Year, maybe popping out for a couple of celebratory drinks just before midnight, but by the time we are tucked up warm and fed we don’t feel like going out again, so celebrate together with a few glasses of wine.  It’s our 2nd New Year since we’ve been travelling and also 2 days shy of 2 full years of travels.  It’s been an amazing time and we are looking forward to what 2017 brings and especially to travelling out of Europe towards Asia. Happy new year everyone!!

 

Monday 21st to Friday 25th November

Now that Mary’s gone we need to get on with the checklist for each apartment. The jobs include cleaning door handles, cleaning and painting A/C vents and extractor fans, replacing caulking around the bath, patch painting walls, repairing doors and shutters then painting, mattress checks and furniture checks.  We need to decide what needs doing and what doesn’t.   This keeps us busy for the next few days. Before starting on this we complete the hangar colour grouping.  In addition we do general chores; carrying waste cardboard to the recycling bins,  sweeping the paths of olives, trimming hedges, pruning geraniums and planting geranium cuttings, repairing the inside of the apartment doors (first Daz sands the cracks and then fills with putty) and updating the spreadsheet.



 

Monday evening we have a doctor’s appointment ; Vassilis has kindly phoned the doctor about our vaccination requirements.   We have listed what vaccinations we need and off we go.  Initially he tells us that he can’t advise us and we should visit the relevant embassies for information.   We explain that we know what’s required and that’s what’s on our list.  He looks at our list and says Typhoid and Rabies aren’t possible (we don’t know why) but says others are available.   He writes a note for each of us with the vaccine name on it and says we can start with the flu jab.  He sends us across the road to the pharmacist where we get our flu jab (6€ each).  We need to return in December for Hepatitis A and tetanus.   We pop back to tell the doctor that we’re done and he charges us 30€.  We have no idea whether that’s for a consultation or whether the note he wrote for us is in fact a prescription and I guess we’ll never know.

 

On Tuesday Vassilis takes us to Sitia; it’s market day and we buy lots of lovely fresh, local fruit and vegetables.   In the evening we walk to the harbour in Makry Gialos, there are actually quite a few bars open even though the tourist season is over.  We pop to the dentist and book a thorough cleaning for the 2 of us (40€).  It’s 2 years since we’ve had our teeth checked although I did have to visit a dentist in Portugal when I lost a bit of tooth and filling. On Wednesday evening it’s quiz and bingo night but we don’t do very well at the quiz or the Bingo.

 

Saturday 26th and Sunday 27th.

 

We actually take some time off.  We cycle to Staoysa beach and snorkel.

 It’s fabulous; we can’t believe we’re swimming in the sea and it’s nearly December and there are plenty of fish to watch.  

   

After our swim we head back into Makry Gialos and stop at the Cavern.  It’s owned by Ian and Shazza and definitely attracts the ex-pat crowd.  We return in the evening because there’s a quiz and music night.  

The music is excellent but the quiz?  Well it’s beyond obscure, verging on the ridiculous and with a quiz master who refuses to use a microphone,  instead addressing each question to the nearest team.  Daz gets so annoyed, constantly asking him to repeat question we haven’t heard!!!  Sunday we have a lazy morning and continue our cat socialising scheme.  There are 4 cats here, a cute multi coloured tabby, now known as Baby Spice who has cat flu so comes to our room twice a day for medication (and food), Ginger spice the ginger cat, a big tabby now known as Sporty Spice and Mr Mistoffelees (black cat) now known as Black Spice who is very anti social and needs therapy!! We encourage all the cats to come to our room so Black Spice (Mr Mistoffelees) will become calmer and more trusting.

Baby Spice

From left to right – Ginger spice, Sporty Spice,  Black Spice and Baby at the front.

 

He and Sporty Spice will be visiting the vet shortly to be spade and we’ll need to catch them and get them into their cat boxes.  After cat therapy we head out with Vassilis for a walk up Perivolakia gorge.  There are wild herbs in abundance – wild asparagus, oregano, marjoram, sage, rosemary and thyme.  Also we find mandrake in flower (everything’s flowering too early due to lack of rain) and several lilies including the Dutchman’s pipe, also in flower.  Then we spot the vultures.  Vassilis has pointed out the nests of the 3 pairs in this gorge but we don’t see any birds.   And then suddenly we see them.  But there’s more than the 3 nesting pairs.  Our final count is 24.  We even spot new nesting sites further up the gorge with large family groups flying into them.   Several years ago the vultures disappeared from this gorge.  They returned a few years later but it’s great to see their numbers increasing here.

Vassilis is incredibly knowledgeable; he points out the Oleander bush which is very poisonous and tells us the myth behind the mandrake.  Zeus caught another man with his wife and planted him into the ground and made him a plant, hence the mandrake root is shaped like a man!

 

At the head of the gorge we walk to the abandoned part of Perivolakia village, there’s a geocache here somewhere and we want to show Vassilis.   After a successful cache retrieval we head into the village for Sunday lunch.  

Outside the restaurant, which is actually like someone’s home, we’re met by one of Vassilis‘ friends who we met at the raki night and he’s with 2 Norwegians. One lives in Pefki and the other, Anita, is visiting.  It’s her first time in Crete and being a professor on goddesses she’s totally blown away by the archaeological importance of Crete.  Apparently wherever you are on the island, you’re never more than 5km from an archaeological site.  Vassilis knows everyone and has contacts for everything and over lunch he makes several calls and arranges a visit to the Institute of Archaeology at Pachia Ammos for them all.  All archaeological finds on Crete are sent here for categorisation.   Lunch is delicious, various meat and vegetable dishes.  

 

Monday 28th November to Saturday 3rd December

Monday the beautiful weather is replaced by high winds and rain.  Crete has had barely any rain this year and is desperate for water so the few days of rain that follow are more than welcome.   Work this week: painting walls in the basement, more geranium pruning, door repair, patch painting, caulking around the bath and Mary’s given us more room checks to complete so whilst we do these we also check the rooms are OK after the wet weather, run the taps and flush the toilets in each room.  I also dig over a bed in the garden which is only possible because there’s been so much rain.  Before the ground was like concrete. Daz cleans door handles; he removes them, puts them in vinegar then rubs with wire wool.

 

 On Tuesday evening we take a walk into the village and return to Paradise, the restaurant we visited the first day we arrived in Makry Gialos.   

We’ve been told her Meze is excellent and the trick is to order only drinks and then the food will come.  And it’s so true.  Our first visit cost us 26€, this visit is 12€ and we have plenty of different dishes to try with our wine.  It’s delicious!  Wednesday afternoon we go to the olive pressing factory in Stavrochori with Nikos. He’s been harvesting his own olives and those around the hotel and this afternoon they’ll be pressed.  At the factory the olives are stacked in hessian sacks in batches belonging to each farmer.  A batch is emptied into a hopper and fall onto a conveyor belt where the leaves are separated from the olives.

  Then they’re washed and weighed and then crushed.  The crushed mulch is then poured into a tank where it’s constantly agitated by a corkscrew, this is called malaxing.   

The mulch is then passed through 2 centrifuges to produce pure oil, and separate out the vegetable water and solids which are dried and compressed into animal feed or fire pellets.

 The olive oil is then either poured into 48kg plastic drums if the owner wants it or into a retaining tank if they don’t.   The factory takes 12% of each oil production.   Each batch is tested for acidity.  Apparently a Ph of 0.009 is only good enough for cooking.  Nico’s batch is 0.007 but even this is far more acidic than previous years.  

Vassilis tells us that tests have been conducted in the University of California that proves Greek olive oil is the best in the world.  Apparently the variety of olive tree grown in Greece produces an olive, which although rather small, yields a high percentage of oil but also the oil can contain anything from 200 to 500 phenols and is therefore medicinal in its properties. It’s considered good for healthy aging, as an anti oxidant and in cancer prevention.  Sadly these phenols will fall by half over a 12 month period so the oil should be consumed young!  Those farmers that leave their oil at the factory can request that it be sold at a specific time and receive the spot price available at that time.  At the time of our visit a litre of olive oil is fetching about 3.20€ but only 2.90€ with a Ph of 0.009 or higher.  

We watched 5 batches go through the process and get tested.  The factory, during a good olive year, will be open from November to February / March.  It’ll take 4 to 5 months for the olives to be harvested.  In Greece the olive harvest still requires a high degree of manual intervention unlike other countries where it’s far more mechanised and large crops will be harvested over many months or the farmer might want to wait until his green olives have ripened to black.  It’s been a fascinating visit but it’s well past our lunch time so we visit a local taverna for a meze.  A lovely treat from Vassilis.

Finally we return home and do some more work before the quiz night.  We actually win the quiz although there are only 4 teams (and to be fair Vassilis knows about 98%, he only needs very occasional help!) and then it’s Bingo time.   We can’t decide whether to participate because it’s actually our dentist money we’ll be spending if we play (budgeting sucks!), so of course we play.  Daz is busy stroking Ginger Spice; she’s been on his lap all evening.  He only needs one number and he actually gets it.  He’s won 17€ and takes Ginger Spice up with him to collect his winnings.  Then the game continues and he wins ‘house’ too.  He takes Ginger Spice with him again to collect his 88€ winnings.  Now everyone wants his lucky pussy – even the girl in the bakery.  

Daz and his lucky pussy!

 

Daz thought she was asking for his card ie phone number but she actually wanted his cat!!   Friday Daz visits the dentist for his teeth cleaning appointment.   The dentist does an excellent job (40€) (although in the Army we enjoyed this treat for free).  He tells Daz he has 3 teeth that need attention ; one has a cracked filling, one a filling with gaps around the side and one tooth has 2 holes.  Later we pick up our hire car which we’ll have until the end of our stay.  Saturday evening we head to Heraklion to pick up a friend, Jac, who’s visiting for a week.  We’re so looking forward to seeing her,  we’re very excited!

We drive to Heraklion, pick up Jac and return to Makry Gialos.   Sadly there’s nothing to see because it’s dark.  In Makry Gialos we drop off Jac’s bags and head to Hari’s to meet Vassilis and have some food.   Our poor decision is deciding to rely on only meze dishes and so we drink copious amounts of white wine and don’t actually have much food.  We leave Hari’s and on our walk home we spot Zorba’s taverna and it’s quite busy so we decide to continue the party.  In Zorba’s there’s a band and dancing so Jac and I join but sadly we both have 2 left feet so we’re pretty useless but it’s fun.

Sunday 4th December 

This morning we’re all feeling pretty rough.  Scrambled eggs for breakfast and Jac gives us all our goodies from the UK: bank cards, Daz’s gortex trousers, Son dynamo,  maps, teabags, shortwave radio and Caxton card.  It’s like Christmas come early – poor Jac had barely any room in her suitcase for her own things.  We want to show Jac the village so we walk to the harbour and stop for coffee.  

Then Vassilis takes us out for lunch at Stavrochori, but drives up the gorge to Pefki and then the back road which is beautiful and scenic.  There are olive groves and pine forests, one of the few not to be decimated by fire. There’s a hilltop village where only 3 couples remain.  Then we stop at Agios Stefanos to look at the intricate carving of local soap stone around the door.  The window and lattice work was all carved from one piece of stone.   Above the door there are plates stuck into the plaster.  

After the artisan stone carvers had finished their work they would plaster in the plates they’d be using for meal times and so it’s possible to see how wealthy the craftsmen were.  In Stavrochori we have a meze, a treat from Vassilis.   Sunday afternoon it’s siesta time and in the evening we watch a couple of movies.

Monday morning we work around the hotel, I continue pruning geraniums and gardening – sweeping round pool.  Jac kindly helps out.  Meanwhile Daz is still doing room jobs; cleaning door handles,  caulking baths and painting walls. Then in the afternoon we take Jac out for a sightseeing tour to Xerocampos on the eastern coast of Crete.  Vassilis has told us that once we reach a certain point in the drive there will be a jaw drop moment.  So we spend the drive in anticipation at each corner waiting for our jaws to drop.  We’re all having a laugh and joke about it when suddenly it comes… the vista before us as the road drops down to the coast is amazing.

We can see the road switchbacking down and down. The rocky coast and sandy beaches in the background.  It really is stunning.  We drive down the switchbacks and finally pull up beside a beautiful sandy cove.  Shoes off we paddle and enjoy the sand between our toes.  

 

There are some rock pools, but they’re not abundant with life.  After a pleasant stroll we head off in search of some food in Xerocampos,  but it’s definitely a summer town as all the shops and tavernas are closed.  We end up going back out up the switchback road to Xiros.  We find a taverna and order a drink.  The resultant meze that comes with the drink soon sorts our hunger.  Whilst we are there the owners are hanging their Christmas decorations and Daz helps out as he can easily reach the ceiling with his extra height. He also holds the chair steady for the young lady as she ties the baubles on, reaching up and showing way too much skin!! Oh well at least Daz enjoys it!

In the evening we take Jac to the Paradise taverna back in Makry Gialos.   She’s obviously a bad influence as we all have a little too much to drink, but she blames it on all the fresh air we have had today!

Tuesday, after a few hours work, Vassilis takes us to Sitea and we show Jac around whilst he sorts some chores.

Daz rescuing 5 frogs from the pool.

 We continue working on our return and then in the late afternoon we get our trikes out and cycle down to the harbour. Jac has a fab time riding my trike as I follow behind on one of the hotel’s mountain bikes.  Jac says she found it rather exhilarating,  it’s easy to look around, go fast or slow and generally fun fun fun to ride! A great endorsement.

In the evening Daz cooks a fabulous mushroom and leek risotto for us all and we say goodbye to Vassilis.  He’s flying to Athens tomorrow early and then on to Texas in the USA for Christmas.  We won’t see him again and we will miss his local knowledge and love for all things Cretan.

On Wednesday after a morning of work we go off to Ierapetra to drop a load of old clothes from the hotel at a charity shop.  Whilst there we walk around the old Venetian fortress and harbour.  

We then decide to go check out Mylonas waterfall that Vassilis had mentioned. We also notice that there is a geocache there too. Double bonus.  The walk up to the waterfall is beautiful, and for part of it we follow an old irrigation channel along the hillside. This was built in the 60’s to take water down to the local houses.  The waterfall is 40 metres high and is the largest streaming waterfall on Crete.

How it can look if there’s been rain.

With the lack of rain we’ve had it’s barely a dribble coming down the fall, but it’s pretty nonetheless.  We find the geocache, but only after using the picture clue as the rockface and gorge play havoc with our satellite reception.   Maybe we will come back if we get more rain!!  On the way home we stop to watch the sunset.

 In the evening it’s quiz and bingo night and without Vassilis on our team we aren’t expecting much, but who knew Jac Webb was such a knowledge hound! Another win for us on the quiz, but no luck this time with the Bingo.

Thursday and it’s road trip day. We’re going to see some more of the island and we’re heading to the far north western coast to Chania for one night then Efalonisi for the second before dropping Jac back at the airport.  On the way to Chania we stop at the Ha Canyon as there’s a geocache there and we have heard the gorge is spectacular.  Well we aren’t disappointed,  the Ha gorge is like someone has taken an axe to the mountains and cleaved it in two.  

It has 27 consecutive waterfalls and over a distance of 700 metres, there’s a drop of 325 metres in height.  A second branch holds more waterfalls including one that is 215 metres tall!! The gorge can only be navigated by an experienced team using ropes and specialised equipment.  An experienced 4 man team could do it in about 4 hours.  It’s really stunning so we might try and see if someone can take us canyoning down the gorge before we leave Crete.  Our next stop on the trip is the pretty Venetian port of Rethymno.  But on the way we decide we are starving so pull of the main road and drop down into the beach resort of Agia Pelagia. Well the beach is lovely but we realise it’s obviously a summer resort as all the beachfront restaurants are shut!  

We wander along the deserted front and meet a couple who ask if we are lost in this ghost town.  They tell us everywhere is indeed shut except for one small family taverna at the top of the hill! Hunger sends us on and we finally find it.  It’s very small but we enjoy a nice meal before setting off again suitably refreshed.  It’s a drive-by tour of Rethymno and its castle.

We reach Chania shortly after sunset, which was quite spectacular with the snow capped mountains in the foreground.   

It takes us a while to find the hotel in the old quarter of town but it’s all locked up, even though they rang us asking what time we would arrive.  Fortunately a local woman shows us the hiding place for the key (windowsill!) and we let ourselves in.  We find a room key on the bar and after a little search find our room! We then enjoy a very pleasant walk around the harbour area, another example of Venetian architecture.  Even the old lighthouse is still standing.  

We also manage to find a geocache after navigating up and down many old, narrow Venetian streets.   We spot a small taverna full of old men watching the football.  We sit under the TV and endure their stares!!  

An evening of food and drink; perhaps once again the balance is unfavourable to food.  At one stage we order a bottle of Retsina, OMG it tastes like pine toilet cleaner!! Well if I ever taste pine toilet cleaner I am sure that’s what it would taste like… disgusting! We’re told it’s better mixed with coke but it’s still foul.  

In the morning after a breakfast game of ‘who can remember how we got back last night?’ (A:  no-one), we head off to do some geocaching in a nature reserve at the end of the Chania peninsula. First we stop to admire the harbour by daylight and then checkout the market.

There are 3 near some old monasteries and the views as we descend into the gorge are stunning.  The first cache is by the Cave of the Bear a large cave with a stalagmite that resembles a crouching bear.  

It’s also a religious site and each year on the 2nd of Feb a festival is held in the cave with local food and wine and people staying overnight in the cave, sounds fun.  We descend further to another monastery that is built into the rock wall and is quite spectacular.  Just before it we pass the cave of Saint John the Hermit.

Unfortunately the route is getting very steep and tricky and after last nights shenanigans we decide it would be foolish to continue down for the last 2 caches as we will have to climb back out.  We didn’t bring any water and it’s very hot under the sun!! We drive back through Chania on the road now towards Elafonisi on the south west coast of Crete.  A quick stop at Lidls to give Jac an experience of one of our favourite lunchtime cycling stops and then it’s up into the mountains to cross the island. It’s another beautiful drive, very winding and picturesque.  We reach our accommodation in good time and after dumping our bags head off to Elafonisi beach for sundowners.

We cross the beach and fortunately the tide is low so there’s no need for Jac to get her feet wet.  Once on Elafonisi island we settle down in a sandy Cove to watch the sun go down.  

A bottle of sparkly wine and some nibbles keep us entertained as we see the sun slip beneath the horizon,  only slightly marred by a low bank of cloud in the distance. A super end to a fab day.

Saturday,  Jac’s last day,  sees us up early and back to Elafonisi island to pick up a couple of geocaches before the long drive back to the airport at Heraklion.

One more stop on the way… back to the hotel in Chania as Jac forgot her book and also stole the room key!  But we decide to have a meal on Chania harbour and enjoy sitting in the baking sun this late in December…  bliss.  One more geocache out by the lighthouse and that’s it, Jac’s flying visit and our trip around the island is over.

Just time to get her to the airport and then suffer the remainder of the drive home.   Alone again.  Thanks for coming out Jac, we hope you had a fab time, we certainly enjoyed seeing you!!!

Sunday 11th Dec

After yesterday’s mammoth driving session the last thing we want is to get up early to join the Sitia walking club but we must.  We drag ourselves out of bed at 0630 so we can have breakfast and drive to Sitia to meet the group by 0815!!  After a bit of confusion about the meeting place we manage to find the group.  The walking group is actually going to visit the cave of Pelekita on the east coast.  We follow in convoy to Kato Zakros where the walk will begin.  

Everyone in the group is Greek apart from one British expat, Christine, and it is a shock to see so many young girls out with the group.  In the UK the ramblers are all rather older!!!  One of the guides, Pavlos, is a Greek Aussie and acts as our interpreter.  We collect our helmets and headtorches then set off along a coastal path towards the cave. It’s about 3.5km to the cave along a very rocky path that climbs severely towards the end.  Once there we are told about the origins of the cave and some of its minoan history, before we don our helmets and descend into the darkness.   The cave descends past evidence of neolithic habitation to the larger limestone caverns below. There are huge stalactites and smaller stalagmites.

We climb down rock faces covered in bat shit and at times the going is tough.  We finally finish up in the lowest cavern, where we all sit and are instructed to keep quiet and turn off our lights!! The pitch black silence is all encompassing and it is impossible to see even an inch in front of you. Fortunately the guide soon has the light back on and we all breathe a sigh of relief.  Then we go through a couple of narrow fissures, using ropes to help our descent. Once we are all through we start to ascend again, climbing back up over the boulders and stalagmites. Again it’s tough going but when we reach the top and are back into the bright freshness of the day we all rest and have a small picnic.  Now it only leaves the walk back, but this takes over an hour as we are all tired and the path rocky.  As we walk we chat with Christine.  She is a retired civil servant who came out 2 years ago and bought a property near Sitia.  We pump her for information on other walks she has done and can recommend.  She tells us about her life here and about how hot it is in the summer.  We have a great time chatting with her and it makes the walk back go quickly.  

Once we are all back at the carpark it’s off to a taverna in Lagada for a roast dinner and a few much needed cold drinks.  We swap contact details with Christine and make arrangements to see her again before we leave Crete.  It’s been a great day; a beautiful walk, a cave and then a meal with a Greek walking club – once again a huge thank-you to Vassilis for organising it for us.  

 

Wednesday 9th November

Athens

We are awake after a good night’s sleep.  Fillipos has gone to work,  but we chat with Jean-Christophe and Fabienne about our respective travels. Daz pops to a bike shop with JC as they need more boxes to pack their bikes for the flight to Cyprus but when they get there it’s shut.  We’ve put a wash on and once it’s finished and hung out it’s time for sightseeing.  First we need to catch a bus to Piraeus.  We wait for quite a while then one turns up.  We board and try to buy a ticket but are told you have to pre-buy them in kiosks or shops!!  After finding a kiosk, buying the ticket (1.40€ per ticket, it’s valid for all buses and metros and lasts 90 minutes) and waiting for another bus we finally make Piraeus.  Here, using the same ticket we get the metro into central Athens.   We come out into the windy sunshine near the Ancient Agora.

The Agora of Athens was the center of the ancient city: a large, open square where the citizens could assemble for a wide variety of purposes. On any given day the space might be used as a market, or for an election, a dramatic performance, a religious procession, military drill, or athletic competition. Here administrative, political, judicial, commercial, social, cultural, and religious activities all found a place together in the heart of Athens, and the square was surrounded by the public buildings necessary to run the Athenian government. We don’t go in, entrance cost, but walk around the outside getting a good view of the Agora and the Acropolis beyond. Then we wander the streets of modern Athens taking in the Parliament where we see the end of the guard change and Daz gets his picture taken stood to attention with the guard.

 

We also visit the Olympic stadium,  the Metropolitan cathedral of Athens and the Temple of Zeus.   The temple of Olympian Zeus (6th c. B.C.), one of the largest in antiquity and close by Hadrian’s Arch (131 A.D.), which forms the symbolic entrance to the city.  From there, walking along Dionysou Areopaghitou Street (on the south side of the Acropolis) you pass the ancient Theatre of Dionysos (5th c. B.C.) where most of the works by Sophocles, Euripides, Aeschylos and Aristophanes were performed.  Continuing, you will reach the ruins of the Asklepieion (5th c. B.C.) and the Stoa of Eumenes (2th c. B.C.) and from there the Odeion of Herodes Atticus, which was built in 161 A.D. and is nowadays the venue of the performances of the Athens Festival.

 

 

Then we head into Plaka.  It’s a mass of narrow streets,  tourist shops and restaurants but it’s backdrop is the Acropolis so we get some lovely photos.  The “core” of the historic centre is the Plaka neighborhood (at the eastern side of the Acropolis), which has been inhabited without interruption since antiquity.  When you walk through the narrow labyrinthine streets lined with houses and mansions from the time of the Turkish occupation and the Neoclassical period (19th c.), you will have the impression of travelling with a “time machine”.  The wind has been gusting all morning and there’s a mass of black clouds.  The shop owners are busy moving their goods under cover and battening down their hatches and suddenly the storm hits.  There’s lightning and then the thunder cracks; it’s immediately overhead.  Then there’s the most incredible deluge of rain and hail and within seconds the streets are gushing rivers.  We’ve taken refuge in a watch shop where the proprietor seems more than happy for us to take shelter in her shop and we can watch the rain falling and the antics of other tourists in the dry.

We ask her if she can recommend a restaurant and when the rain abates we head off to find it.  We try 3 dishes; a spicy pork dish;  biscuit covered in tomato and cheese and a ham, potato and cheese dish.  The last is delicious, a mass of glorious stringy cheese.  The rainfall continues so we sit and play backgammon and even a game of chess. We’ve had a few glasses of wine and finally decide it’s time to leave.

We get the metro back to Piraeus and the bus back home.  Filippos visits his son on Wednesday so he’s only just come home but there’s more warmshower guests, Clemente and Isis, a French-Canadian couple with their 14 month old daugher Yaelle.

J-C and Fabienne have been busy preparing everything for their flight tomorrow.   They’ve even managed to buy some Chinese shopping bags for all their panniers.  Their stress is palpable ; flying with bikes is a huge pain in the arse.  The bikes need to be boxed but only after removing racks, pedals, brake discs (some do, some don’t)  and turning the handlebars.  But even after extensive preparation the bikes can still end up ‘trashed’ and of course everyone’s heard a horror story or 2, sadly no-one talks about a good experience.   J-C and Fabienne are using a woodburning cooker; it’s brilliant, no need to scour the shops for fuel and no fuel expenses.  It does produce a lot of soot though and is probably as slow, or slower than our alcohol burner.   It’s bedtime, we won’t see J-C and Fabienne again as Filippos is taking them to the airport before he goes to work.  They move their boys into the sitting room and sleep there, so Clemente and Isis can have the other bedroom.  Filippos sleeps on the balcony.  This guy is so incredible ; he’s hosting 6 adults and 3 children in his 2 bed apartment and tomorrow he’s driving 40km to the airport with J-C and his family and all his equipment.

 

Thursday 10th November

Athens

This morning we head into Athens and we walk up Lycabettus Hill.  It’s 277m above sea level and is the highest point of the city giving us incredible views. At its peak is 19th century Chapel of St George.   I’m so glad we saved this for today because the skies are clear instead of the black cloud of yesterday.  We walk down the hill, across Platka, finally find somewhere to exchange our Albanian Lec and up to the Acropolis.

We climb up to the sacred rock of the Acropolis, the site of some of the most important masterpieces of worldwide architecture and art, the most renowned of which is the Parthenon temple.  Apart from this, also impressive are the Propylaea, the temple of the Athene Nike and the Erechtheion, while you must not skip a visit to the Museum, located close to the Parthenon.  Moreover, from the rock you have an impressive view of the city.

Only 300m away from the sacred rock of Acropolis stands the impressive Acropolis Museum, one of the most important contemporary works of architecture in Athens. It is made of steel, glass and concrete and it houses 4,000 priceless finds from the Acropolis monuments that represent its history and function as the most important religious centre of ancient Athens.

 

Finally sightseeing done we head home after getting provisions.   We’re cooking dinner tonight; Zanzibar fish soup for us and Filippos and without fish for Clemente and Isis.  Clemente and Isis are Vegans.  They’ve been travelling for 9months with their little girl. Isis is breast feeding and is a diabetic who manages her diabetes without medication (except when pregnant or breastfeeding).  They are also both keen climbers.  They also use reusable nappies.  As a result of the above, they write various articles for various websites.  I’m in awe of what they’ve achieved.  Daz and I consider cycling adventure enough without throwing in all the extra elements of Clemente and Isis’ trip which is a sleep deprivation exercise.  We’re asleep by 7pm whilst Yaelle wants to play in the evening because she’s slept so much during the day.  

 

Friday 11th November

Athens to Lakka Kalogirou

Distance: 18.26 km

Average Speed :12.21kmh

Fastest Speed:  41.79kmh

Total Distance: 10,318.51

 

This morning it’s a nice lazy start and then it’s time to upload the blog, photos and update Fb.  All of which is hugely time consuming so we have lunch (left over Zanzibar soup), say farewell to Clemente and Isis who are cycling into Piraeus and finally pack and leave at 1430hrs.

 

 It’s lovely to be back on the trikes and it’s a relaxed ride to Perama to take the ferry to Palouki.   In Palouki we get some provisions for the weekend and head off to Steno for our last ferry crossing.   We sit and wait for the ferry to come in, watching the sun set and it’s only 1715hrs.

 The days are getting so much shorter, thank goodness our cycling is soon to stop otherwise we’d be setting up camp by 4pm and I’m not sure even golden duvet award winner Darren could sleep from 5pm to 7am, but he’d probably give it a good go.  The ferry comes in, 3 fuel tankers are loaded on and it leaves.  No-one else is allowed on – a safety measure we assume which is odd in a country where motorcyclists don’t wear helmets, children don’t wear seatbelts or use child safety seats and all drivers use the phone constantly whilst driving.  As a result we have to wait for the ferry to return and the light is going.  We land at Lakka Kalogirou and decide we should camp on the beach, only 200m away.  Tent up, dinner eaten and it’s bed time; only 7pm.  

 

Saturday 12th November

Lakka Kalogirou to Piraeus via Pachi aerodrome

Distance: 28.94 km

Average Speed :14.71kmh

Fastest Speed:  44.95kmh

Total Distance: 10,347.45

We had a few nighttime visitors, just cars driving down the beach, turning and leaving.  None are interested in our presence.  Around 5.30am there’s more traffic, the fishermen have arrived.  We get up and chat to the fishermen ; they have 3 to 4 rods each.

We’re not sure what they’re after (Daz sarcastically says “fish!”) but it’s for their dinner.  After breakfast we cycle to the aerodrome,  it’s only 4km, but then we need to wait for the low cloud to clear. By 1pm the skies are clear enough for Daz to do his first jump. He follows this with a second jump a little later.  Both jumps are plagued with winds at altitude which push him off course but he still manages to land in the DZ.  Unlike the guy who is on his 100th jump and lands about a kilometre away in a grove of olive trees!!

 

Sadly Daz is underwhelmed by his 2 jumps because he jumps at 9000m and then at just over 10k but this doesn’t give him much time to practice his manoeuvres before pulling his chute and then it’s an effort to get to the DZ.  In Seville he was jumping at 15000m.  After his 2 jumps the clouds have arrived and so that ends the day’s jumping.  We decide that we’ll try and get to Piraeus and bring our ferry to Crete forward by a day.  We cycle to the first ferry and whilst waiting a German couple on cargo bikes roll up.  

Oliver and Alex have cycled from Cologne in Germany and are going to spend a couple of months in Greece before cycling on via the far east.  We chat whilst the ferry is crossing but then it’s a race for the next ferry; it’s getting dark and they need to get to the centre of Athens where they have a hostel booked -:good luck!! We follow on behind and by the time we get to the second ferry it is dark.  We were hoping for a direct ferry to Piraeus but find out they stop running after 2 pm. So it means we cross to Perama and then need to cycle hard for another 10 km in the dark and with heavy traffic to Piraeus and our ferry to Crete.  However we make it in good time and change our tickets.

 Once aboard we grab a quick meal and a celebration glass of wine then a shower and bed.  Well, first we attempt to lay out our beds in the Pullman suite where we have seats booked, but we are moved on.  We find another clear carpet space but again we’re moved on.  Finally we’re shown an area on one of the lower decks (all the good places have gone).  We lay our sleeping mats and bags and pray for sleep.   Unfortunately the temperature on board is close to 35 degrees.  We’ve already been moved on several times so this ‘hotspot’ is probably the best we can do given that every other piece of ‘real estate’ is already occupied.

Sunday 13th November

Heraklion to Malia of In-betweeners fame

 

Distance: 43.85km

Average Speed :10.78 kmh

Fastest Speed:  52.14 kmh

Total Distance: 10,391.30

At 0630 the ferry ship docks and we’re tired and grumpy (we think we managed a couple of hours of sleep)  as we pack up our gear and join the queue to disembark.  We load our bikes up and trundle down the ramp onto Crete.

We cycle out of the port and towards the town centre.   There’s The Fortress of Koules which we explore.  The Venetian Castle of Heraklion is called Koules, which means fortress in Turkish. It is an impressive fortress that surrounds the harbor of Heraklion, Crete. The Koules Castle is a massive fortress with two storeys that used to guard the entry to the port.

 

The Castle was constructed by the Venetians in the early 13th century, when they conquered the town. Back at the Quay I think I spot a kingfisher.   My trusted companion scoffs heartily and surely not here where it’s all salt water.

I thought they liked fast flowing rivers with good banks for cover.  But it is a kingfisher flying from perch to perch on the boats watching for some fry for breakfast.  We head into town for breakfast and  chat with the off going staff of a nearby nightclub who are enjoying a post work coffee.

We then make our way out of Heraklion on the old coast road but it’s hard work. The lack of sleep, and the battering Daz received skydiving yesterday means he has extra aches and pains.  Strangely, for a quiet Sunday, we’re passed by a huge number of police cars, no sirens, just on patrol. It must be double time today.

We arrive in Malia (where they shot the In-betweeners movie) and stop at an English pub for a late afternoon full English breakfast and a glass of wine. Sometime later we drop down to the beach and the old port of Malia and set up camp. It’s very early, but we are knackered.

Two more days and we should make our destination for the next 5 weeks, Makry Gialos.

 

Monday 14th November

Malia to Istron

Distance: 48.62 km

Average Speed :10.53 kmh

Fastest Speed:  58.6 kmh

Total Distance: 10439.92 km

This morning we cycle out of Malia sticking to the coast road.  The beaches are beautiful and we also pass the archaeological site of Malia Palace.

After the Palace we turn back onto the old road and then we have a route choice dilemma – the old road which seems to have quite a few switchbacks or the national road which appears much straighter.  We opt for the national road.  There’s no ‘cyclists prohibited’ signs, the road surface is excellent,  the hard shoulder is really wide and the traffic relatively light.  Fabulous.   We stop for coffee and then continue soon thinking we’ve broken the back of the uphill.  We’ve just passed Neopoli when we see a traffic jam.  

 

There’s been a pretty horrendous RTA.   A white van and a bus appear to be the main protagonists,  the white van being the loser.  The front passenger side is completely mangled and the passenger has to be cut out.  Bizarrely there are no cordons to prevent curious onlookers walking up to have a good look.  The driver and passenger of the white van have both been stretchered onto 2 ambulances.  At this point we attempt to pass the accident scene and continue on our way.  However we’re met by a verbal onslaught – we’re not allowed on this road on bikes.  We’re sent back to Neopoli and the old road.  Ridiculously this is far more dangerous because it’s taking all the traffic being diverted off the highway and the road is narrow and the road surface is potholed to hell.  We stop in Limnes hoping to find lunch but every restaurant whilst looking open says they’re not serving food.  Having tried 4 places Daz loses patience and we head off.  Fortunately this delay has been sufficient for the RTA to be cleared because the road is nice and quiet.  We stop and cook a pasta lunch because we’re both starving.  We fry some salami, mushrooms and garlic and add it to our spaghetti, yummy. Then we have a nice downhill stretch into Agios Nikolaus.   

We cycle around the lake and through the centre.  After a coffee stop we carry on along the old national road until Istron. It’s here that we had decided we would take a road over the mountains as we thought we wouldn’t be allowed on the main road to Ierapetra.   Luckily we stopped for water as it was the end of the day.  We pulled into a business on the side of the road selling fences and garden ‘stuff’.  Daz goes to ask for water and then comes out and calls me in all excited.  The owner, Steve, is from England, and not just anywhere, but from Tamworth, Daz’s hometown!

He’s got his daughter, Ellie,  there too and both have the Tamworth/Brummie twang! They give us water, and when we ask about camping spots they tell us to go to the beach in Istron as it is very beautiful and they also recommend a pizza place! We thank them and cycle into Istron, spotting the pizzeria we are sucked in by the tractor beam that is Daz’s stomach and the thought of some good food.  Well we aren’t disappointed, the pizza was fabulous,  Riccardo did us proud!  

He also directs us the right way to the beach.  We get chatting with a Greek man and his Slovenian partner, Elena.  He’s a natural farmer and she’s a tourist guide.  He is very informative about the flora and fauna of Crete and it’s microclimates.   

He also tells us it’s a bad year for the olives as there were high winds when the flowers came out and they were all blown off the trees, hence not so many olives!  We bid farewell and cycle down to the beach, it’s dark now but we soon get set up in a lovely spot and shower using the beach showers, cold but invigorating!

 

Tuesday 15th November

Istron to Makry Gialos via Ierapetra

Distance: 51.54 km

Average Speed: 11.27 kmh

Fastest Speed:  49.84 kmh

Total Distance: 10491.46 km.

This morning we head out of Istron following the coast.  We then cut from the north coast to Ierapetra on the south coast using the new highway.   We had planned to use the old road but apparently it’s horrendously hilly whilst this road is pretty flat.   

We cycle into Ierapetra and spot a Lidl’s – ummmmmm more Stollen. Then we cycle into town and stop for coffee.  The couple on the next table are Brits, he’s an ex Royal Engineer and their son in law works at Army HQ. They’ve been living in Greece for about 12 years and live near Sitia on the north coast, they love living in Crete.   After a nice chat we head off. We follow the coast road east towards our destination.  The wind is strong and at times comes from all directions but we finally arrive in the beach town of Makry Gialos.  

We stop at the first taverna and get some lunch with a celebratory glass of wine. We’re going to be in Makry Gialos (which apparently means ‘long beach’ in Greek) for the next 5 or 6 weeks and we’re looking forward to the rest.  We find the hotel we are staying/ working at and settle into our room.  

We are due to meet our hosts later this evening.  It’s very nice, a proper bed, warm shower and good Internet!! At 7pm we pop down to the lobby and meet Mary. There’s a lovely log fire burning, so homely but so hot. Shortly Vassilas arrives and we all get to know each other before enjoying a fish supper together.  It’s absolutely delicious, with some homemade salads and side dishes followed by a scrummy chocolate cake.  Unfortunately it’s getting way past our usual bedtime and we soon make our excuses and retire to bed.  They don’t need us until 2pm tomorrow so we can enjoy a lie in!!

 

Wednesday 16th November

A lazy morning watching The Fall. At 2pm we meet Mary and she wants us to clean and tidy the kitchen.  There are jars and jars of Vassilas’ creations.  He’s a keen cook and this seems mostly his domain.

At 6pm we’re done.  We have our dinner and then join Mary and Vassilas for the quiz and bingo night.  It’s held every Wednesday for the ex-pats.  It’s very entertaining, we come 2nd in the quiz but win nothing in the Bingo!  We also meet some of the other hotel staff, Sue, Eva and Nicos.

 

Thursday 17th November

We take a leisurely walk around the village this morning. The beach is lovely and the sunshine is very warming.   We spot a hairdressers and we pop in and I get shorn.  Then it’s a quick kebab for lunch before we rock up for work.

Today it’s clearing out the storage rooms down in the basement and then we get to help Mary in the kitchen, baking cakes and making dips and tasty bites for dinner.  By the time we are finished sampling our creations we are stuffed.  Luckily dinner is being cooked by Vassilas tonight and it’s bound to be something healthy!

In the late evening, just as I have dozed off Daz wakes me… Earthquake! Luckily it’s only a magnitude 4,  unlike the recent New Zealand ones.

 

Friday 18th to Sunday 20th November

 

Friday morning Mary and Vassilas take us to Sitia.  It’s a pretty seaside town with a castle.  We do some shopping and then enjoy a coffee.  On the way home we stop at 2 cooperative olive pressing factories – Mary wants us to see and taste newly pressed olive oil.  

Unfortunately in both mills they’ve just finished work.  In the afternoon we clean and tidy the basement and make a foam inventory.  This evening Mary and Vassilas are going out to dinner so we’ll have to manage alone – it’s a shame because their meals are so tasty.  

Saturday we start the ‘hanger’ and towel rail jobs.  The hanger task is to collect all the hangers from all 68 units, group them by colour and then return to rooms.  In each room there’s 2 towel rails but strangely one is white and the other is a creamy beige colour.  These are to be paired so they’re the same colour.  Whilst doing this job we find the cat who’s been missing for 2 days, locked in room 105.  The poor cat is so relieved to be free but has wrecked a double mattress.  Mary has given us an extensive job list to work through over the next 5 weeks.  There’s plenty of room maintenance and gardening for us to do.  In the late afternoon Mary and Vassilas take us to Pefki, a small village at the top of the gorge that runs inland from Makry Gialos.   There’s a Kazani, the night the village runs a still to make raki (Greek moonshine) from the remnants from the grape pressing.  There’s a huge olive fire underneath the still and whilst the raki is being distilled, there’s a huge communal barbecue with pork chops, sausages, baked potatoes and other delicious treats.  We sit at a table with a great view of the still and barbecue and our table is soon covered in food, stuffed peppers, stuffed vine leaves, salad, and various cuts of meat.

 We drink raki and enjoy the delicious food which just keeps coming.  There’s a band playing traditional Greek music and as the evening progresses the dancing starts.  It’s a fantastic night – a real treat to experience such a typical Greek tradition.   

Sunday, despite all the raki we consumed, we’re both feeling pretty good.  Today is Mary’s last day, she’s flying out of Sitia tonight and will be home in Florida by Tuesday.  So it’s all systems go to ensure we get through the jobs she wants to oversee.  

There’s bulb planting, weeding the herb garden, watering plants, hanger grouping, tidying the basement and drawing the shelf layout of a planned display/book case on the wall.  Then we stop for dinner – there’s stuffed peppers and potatoes,  salad and some steamed prawns covered in a very tasty sauce – a truly delicious meal.  We say goodbye to Mary, we won’t see her again.  Vassilas will be here to keep an eye on us until 9th December and then he’ll join Mary in Florida, leaving us ‘home alone!’.