Turkey is famous for its wonderful breakfasts, so I had been looking forward to our first delight! Well…I had been, until we arrived in our hotel….and feared that as the only guests in this decaying chintz…we might be lucky to get any at all!
I was half right!
A piece of tasteless luncheon meat, a slice of packaged cheese….some dry salad bits….one piece of bread…and some butter and jam were presented on a cling-filmed plate. And that was it! And a glass of black tea. Better than nothing…but not the Turkish wonder I had thought about when “breakfast included” appeared on the booking!
Iain had a sore gut…so did not have any at all. Probably wise!!
We made up for it however 45kms on….when we were both gasping for a coffee!! This wee gem looked completely closed! And it was only as we started to ride away that the owner appeared…and waved.
And out of a tent she somehow provided great coffee, spinach crepes, fried eggs and chips!! Delicious!
We were back on the motorway today. And whilst not the most scenic or interesting ride….the hard shoulder was huge…so for hours one never felt the wind of passing traffic. Indeed there was hardly any traffic at all!
And almost all of it honked their horns….and waved in encouragement! (We have seen no cyclists since that pair in Samokova!)
75kms down, and we finally left our motorway comfort zone…for a bit of off-roading…
….and 25kms on a ‘normal’ road…..with a steep 350m climb which popped out of nowhere…..before our hurtle down to the coast, to the lively wee town of Sarkoy, and a welcome beer.
Sunny today…but still not describable as warm really…but we needed some hydration! (Third time lucky…with the first two places not serving alcohol)
Our overnight stop was 13kms further down the coast…a stretch requiring very careful battery management! It was a great cycling day actually……but for the WIND! And it was surely that which sapped our power! We have been particularly unlucky with the wind direction…or maybe easterlies usually prevail here.
Upon arrival we immediately went to the little nearby supermarket…for some provisions…but very specifically for BEER! Tomorrow is election day! And the sale of alcohol is prohibited!! (Funnily enough Liz and I were here in Turkey for the election in 2014 when Erdogan won the presidency – having prior been prime minister! – but we were staying in a hotel which was happy to turn a blind eye to the alcohol ban!).
It is going to be interesting to see what happens! The polls suggest Erdogan is going to lose this time. But he is no loser….so I do wonder how the results will be massaged. There will certainly be a lot of unhappy people…either way…..and one cannot help but feel there will be trouble! Let’s hope it is not where we are!!
A pleasant end to the day…and it was certainly a bit more lively than the Greek coast had been!!.
….but we were both so tired…we opted for a takeaway…with no idea what we were getting!! No meat alas…but it was ok!
