Legging it to Turkey

My plan this for this morning was to see mount Olympus, this being after all an Olympic year. I had thought I might be able to drive up a good chunk of it and them make a dash for the summit. Unfortunately, I was completely mistaken about the size of the task. The mountain is 2900m high and it does that straight from sea level. The road goes up to 1600m and so the possibility of me climbing another 1400m in bike gear in a morning was clearly nuts. Like climbing Ben Nevis in bike gear at 26C….clearly an non starter. Anyhow, the Gods decided it for me and sent a thunderstorm to bring me to my senses so I skirted the mountain, watched the lightening show and hit the motorway towards the Turkish border 300 miles away.



A long hot slog all the way to Thesseloniki for lunch to take a look at the Greeks clearly enjoying austerity like nobody else. The cafes and restaurants were heaving and everyday was getting on with the business of looking good. As an outsider looking in, the Greek ladies are pretty damn hot. Nobody here dares spoil a good look by wearing anything on a bike more protective than a t-shirt and a pair of ray-bans. Somebody spent a long time sticking theses pieces of paper to the ground in the name of art….



I camped on the Greek side of the border at the last big town as I didn't fancy crossing at 7pm, not knowing how long it would take to cross or what accommodation was available on the other side. It turned out to be a good decision in the end. The actual crossing turned out to be a bit of a saga in the end…
Step 1 -Show Passport and Green card to first checkpoint
Step 2 -Show Passport and Green card to second checkpoint, he tells me I need a Visa and directs me to Visa hut
Step 3 - Visa hut is closed 'cos visa man is taking a break. Wait 45 mins till he comes back. Shell out 15 euro and get Visa in passport.
Step 4 - Go back to second checkpoint, show documents agin and get stamp in passport
Step 5 - Advance to Customs checkpoint, wait in queue for 10 mins whilst the sports pages are checked for last nights results. Present Passport, Visa, Vehicle Registration documents and Greencard. Get more stamps in passport.
Step 6 - Advance to exit checkpoint, present all documentation again but guy refuses to stamp saying my stamp collection is flawed and need to see Customs supervisor for his contribution.
Step 7 - See customs supervisor who has the stamp to rule all other stamps and he does the business plus he signs my passport.
Step 8 - Back to exit checkpoint, all documents checked again and stamps the other stamps.
Simple really.

I crossed in to Asia at the Dardenelles at Gallipoli. Hee! Another continent! The ferries are quite small and take about 25 minutes to make the passage. These narrow straits connect the mediterranean and the sea of Marmara and then via the Bosphorus to the black sea. The ferry itself is full of local people and the occasional tourist like me and I seem to attract some interest. These ladies though couldnt care less and spent most of the trip talking to anybody but themselves.

I get stopped by the police a couple of km after the ferry and think bugger….I have finally been done…but they are just interested in seeing the bike and finding out who I am. I ask them about the speed limits in Turkey and the give me a sheet detailing them. Bizarrely, the speed limits for bikes are lower than for cars….between 10 and 20 kph lower and the police are sneaky buggers and have a lot of radar traps. What the logic is I don't know, but the effect is that every car seems to feel an urge to overtake you so drive right up your arse.

Tonight I am heading to stay with Peter and Filiz Cullip about 40k outside Izmir in a sleepy holiday village. I tell them I will be there just after 9pm….but forgot to adjust for Turkey time which is GMT+2 so arrive really really late.