Nothing for it, it’s back to Europe then!
After 2 extra nights in our lay-by watching it rain and the dolphins consider becoming land species we decided it was time to head back to Europe. So, 40 minutes later we were jostling for positions at the Turkish border with a dozens of other vehicles. On the way to the border we past miles and miles of parked trucks. As we edged forward one car space every 5 minutes or so we thought it must take weeks for those lorries to cross the border. It was in the end pretty painless especially on the Georgian side but as usual the Turkish controls were bedlam. Once again as we crossed the line on...
Read MoreHold tight… Ooops!
After a lovely night in our roadside plot up by the crashing waves of the Black Sea we were just having our customary tea in bed when the heavens opened in what can only be described as a storm of apocalyptic proportions. Within a few seconds the water was coming through the air con unit as if someone was pouring a bucket of water straight into the van. Clearly our tiny roof drains were totally inadequate and it was all hands to the buckets. It is hard to imagine how much water was gushing into Taffy but suffice it to say I never want to go into a submarine! Quick thinking was required...
Read MoreThe Black Sea coast
The drive along the coast to Trabzan is lovely. The road passes through numerous towns, some of which looked much nicer than Unye with promenades along the sea shore and cafés in parks with plenty of trees and grass. It is certainly much nicer than our guide book lead us to believe. It was in fact nice to be driving as today it is so humid and hot its almost unbearable. Putting the electric cable away this morning I had sweat running down My face in just a couple of minutes and was glad to retreat to the air conditioned luxury of Taffy. Its not the heat that gets you its the humidity. We...
Read MoreRain RaIn go away!
If the rain in Spain falls mainly on the Plain, then the Torrents in Turkey target Taffy! By the time we reached Unye poor Taffy was black. The rain has followed us each day and even now on a lovely little campsite overlooking the Black sea a thunderstorm is passing by. The drive from Istanbul took 3 days and we are now about 2/3rds the way across turkey. It is a very big country. The road here is currently being dualed and we have driven over 500kms in non stop roadworks. We will never complain again about English ones. The towns are all modern clusters of flats and don’t look very...
Read MoreLast stop in Europe – Istanbul
We loved Istanbul. It is everything the guide books tell you and more. Being able to walk into the city in 5 minutes was excellent, though our plot up beside the sea sounded a lot more idyllic than it was. The car park was where the local lads brought their dates each evening until about 2am. They seemed to think the best way to impress them was to deafen them and the van would vibrate every time one of the more amorous lads drove past. When they had finished for the night the resident pack of dogs would hold extensive barking sessions. Fortunately sleeping pills, air con and walking for...
Read MoreOhrid – the Cinderella Town
Lake Ohrid is another UNESCO site being one of the oldest lakes in the world. The town of the same name also a UNESCO site, has a large dominant castle overlooking the dozens of bars restaurants and Yarmouth sea side tack shops heaving with thousands and thousands of people. The walk up the hill to the fortress weaves it way past exquisite churches, a roman theatre and a large excavation of a byzantine church and by the time you reach the summit the number of visitors could fit in a mini bus. It crossed our minds that many of the visitors to Orhid may not even know of the existence of the...
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