I figured out I have 11 days left on my Green Card which means I have to have exited Turkey to the west by then. Otherwise, the men with the stamps will be upset and demand that I buy some useless insurance and generally make my life unpleasant when I try to go home. I resolve to make some miles and get within striking distance of the Georgian border today so I aim for Trabzon 500km to the east. As I leave, again at the crack of 1030am, there is a half marathon finishing just outside the hotel in 25c heat….yum. One guy collapses theatrically on the line and is interviewed by what seems like some local TV cameraman.
The road winds along the Black Sea coast and the book of knowledge tells me that it has a similar climate to the US Pacific Northwest. i.e. it rains a lot. This is because the mountains along the coast are pretty high, starting as low hills just north of Ankara and rising to a world class mountains (Kackars) by the time you reach the Georgian Border. Any moisture from the black sea is blown up the slopes and drops its load there and leaves a rain shadow on the other side.
The road itself is mostly dual carriageway and in good condition and quite dull because I am on the landward side of the crriageway. At one point the GPS say continue 332km before the next turn….Time for a good book on the IPOD to make that slip by. On the way, I saw the usual strange sights, vehicles driving down the wrong way down the carriageway, cattle grazing in the median and this....a moped towing a small dingy on a trailer....
I checked into the cheapest recommended hotel in the lonely planet guide and then discovered the catch…..I am about 60m from the Minaret of the local Mosque so 5 times a day, it goes off, starting at 5am. Some of the Imams have a good sound but this one needs a few singing lessons. To make sure I get a good sleep, I went to watch the Ireland Croatia match in one of the few licensed premises here. This is quite a conservative area so beer is not as widely available as in other parts of Turkey.
I figured out I have 11 days left on my Green Card which means I have to have exited Turkey to the west by then. Otherwise, the men with the stamps will be upset and demand that I buy some useless insurance and generally make my life unpleasant when I try to go home. I resolve to make some miles and get within striking distance of the Georgian border today so I aim for Trabzon 500km to the east. As I leave, again at the crack of 1030am, there is a half marathon finishing just outside the hotel in 25c heat….yum. One guy collapses theatrically on the line and is interviewed by what seems like some local TV cameraman.
The road winds along the Black Sea coast and the book of knowledge tells me that it has a similar climate to the US Pacific Northwest. i.e. it rains a lot. This is because the mountains along the coast are pretty high, starting as low hills just north of Ankara and rising to a world class mountains (Kackars) by the time you reach the Georgian Border. Any moisture from the black sea is blown up the slopes and drops its load there and leaves a rain shadow on the other side. 
The road itself is mostly dual carriageway and in good condition and quite dull because I am on the landward side of the crriageway. At one point the GPS say continue 332km before the next turn….Time for a good book on the IPOD to make that slip by. On the way, I saw the usual strange sights, vehicles driving down the wrong way down the carriageway, cattle grazing in the median and this....a moped towing a small dingy on a trailer....
I checked into the cheapest recommended hotel in the lonely planet guide and then discovered the catch…..I am about 60m from the Minaret of the local Mosque so 5 times a day, it goes off, starting at 5am. Some of the Imams have a good sound but this one needs a few singing lessons. To make sure I get a good sleep, I went to watch the Ireland Croatia match in one of the few licensed premises here. This is quite a conservative area so beer is not as widely available as in other parts of Turkey.
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