Ka Pai Kiwis

We have done a bit of planning. We have decided not to go to Iran, we just cannot risk being turned away at the border, we have a date to enter China that we simply must make. Bit sad as we were really looking forward to it. But it is what it is. On the plus side we can explore Georgia a bit more. We think we can still enter Turkmenistan so a shorter and more reliable ferry across the Caspian sea is a bonus also. So we followed the Black Sea coast almost to the Georgian border. At one point we stopped for a break and so I could have a paddle, wish I’d had my togs on, it was so warm. We were standing around and family nearby were having a picnic, next minute a lady and young lad came over to us and offered us a bun and a drink which we gladly accepted. They were travelling for a family party for a graduation presumably at the nearby Recep Tayyip Erdogan university. They were interested in what we are doing and wanted to know what a lot of people have asked us, "h...

Woke up to a cloudy day and as we packed up the bike it began to rain. So on with the wet gear. It got heavier and heavier as we moved into the hills and by the time we got into them it was torrential, thunder and lightening the works. This carried in for 200km. We left the hills and popped out to get our first glimpse of the Black Sea. Pulled in for a coffee and break and steeled ourselves for the remaining 150km. Quite industrial around Samsun but the weather looked promising ahead and as the towns became more pleasant, so did the weather. Quite a sight the Black Sea and obviously a go to destination. All the towns are apartments and shops and are on a narrow band of land between the sea and a large and steep hilly range. The hills are lush and thick with vegetation suggesting a warm climate and reasonable rainfall. We arrived at our destination Giresun and Tomtom tried to take us to the hotel, firstly a bus cut me off and forced me to take the wrong road, then its a series of n...

Well we’re into month 2 on the road now and our 7th week away. Time flies when you’re having fun! Big day today. Decided to go find this salt lake and see what all the fuss is about. In true Tomtom style it offered us an alternative after about 59ks. The road was bloody awful, twisting and turning and finally we reached a reasonable sized town and this was our destination..,,, only it wasn’t. Route recalculation got us back on track but only after a significant back track. A commission of inquiry will need to investigate what went wrong. I’ll keep you posted. Anyway we finally got to this large lake and eventually saw tour buses and and a full car-park so this must be it. Everyone off with their shoes and paddling around in 6 inch deep water or actually salt brine. Was it worth the effort to get there ABSOLUTELY not! Can you tell Mark is not so impressed. So we then set off for our destination for the night, a dual carriageway with no traffic and bumps that would ji...

Last night we had a really nice meal in clay pots. The staff were very friendly and were interested in where we were going. We woke up this morning to see the balloons above us again. We headed off in the bike today to visit the underground city at Ozkonak and the Sefe Golu a salt lake. Tomtom took us on an interesting route to Ozkonak through back roads and farmland. The underground city is a World Heritage site and at times housed up to 30000 people. Only a small part is open to the public but it is very cool. Explored all the nooks and crannies and many rooms were labelled as to their original purpose. Seemed to be an awful lot of wineries! One of the main reasons for this being underground was so they could avoid their enemies. There were some very impressive round stones still in the original position that could be rolled across a tunnel entrance to block entry. Not too many photos here, I got claustrophobic and had to go outside for a breath of air. Robyn ...

Up at 4:30 for our 5am pickup for our balloon ride. There were already many balloons in the sky. We seemed to be one of the last balloons to take off and the sun was well up by then. If you zoom in on the photo below you will see a person taking a photo of a lady - how she got up there and still looked beautiful would have been a challenge.  The caves were lived in, in the past. Some are still lived in today. Many have been made into boutique hotels.  We spent the rest of the morning and early afternoon walking through a lovely valley past long abandoned cave dwellings. Really cool but it just got so hot!!! As per usual our short stroll became a really long walk, but with amazing views.  Our hotel is way in the distance in the valley behind Mark. Quite hot by this stage.  Home for a cool shower and a lie down!

Our hotel surprised us this morning with a gift box of bread sticks for our journey, so that was nice. An uneventful ride, we are now in the flat lands with grain crops mostly as far as the eye can see in all directions. Pretty enough, sparse populations and only a few villages. The road is dual carriageway with pretty much perfect asphalt and bugger all traffic. After a bit of trial and error we found our hotel for the next three nights. Nice place with an amazing view of Goreme, did a bit of washing and bike stuff and also booked a balloon ride for tomorrow. A wander around, early tea and a bit of planning for the next few days. Stunning views from the terrace at the hotel. 

Another fabulous mornings ride through a beautiful basin surrounded by hills, some of which still have remnants of the winter snow. Only pulled over once today! This is not the real thing! They have these pretend police cars on the side of the road, with solar panels on top to make the lights flash. This is the orchard region with mile after mile of apple and pear trees. The road is excellent and after passing by an absolutely beautiful lake we began to climb and the orchards gave way to crops which gave way to forest trees. Into another fertile valley, we were in need of a break and in the distance saw the sun glinting off what looked like a chrome capped mosque. We turned off down a gravel lane which came out into a village square. We hopped off and had a drink of water and then came the call Chai Chai. So we had a repeat of yesterdays experience, this time with more confidence, we exchanged family photos and I found a new Facebook friend in Nuh.  Back on the r...