Travelogue update number nine
-Madara to Istanbul
Day 59 Madara - Varna Tuesday 19/09/06
I was looking forwards to seeing the archeological site
in the morning, but unfortunately, when I woke up, the entire area was
shrouded in mist and clouds. It would have meant that I couldn't see a
great deal, so i decided to push on instead. The ride to Varna was nice
and easy, and when I reached the centre, I met up with Heidi and found
the hotel no problem.
Day 60 Varna Wednesday 20/09/06
Not much to report in the travelogue today as this was
a day off from cycling.
Varna is a nice enough city, with some great places to eat. (I went on
an eating frenzy!!). It also seems to be the main location for people
to come who want to buy
property in Bulgaria.
Day 61 Varna - Bjala Thursday 21/09/06
That will be the last time I see Heidi now, as our
trips go in different directions. Leaving Varna was simple enough, and
although there were some steep climbs, there was nothing too
outrageous. One of the country lanes I cycled along was where all the
prostitutes touted for business, and they were spaced out every 300
metres or so for about 6 kms, so the scenary was varied too. For the
next day or so I will be following the Black Sea Coast, and I stopped
off for the night in a town called Bjala, where I booked into a ten
pound
hotel for the night.
Day 62 Bjala - Kraimorie Friday 22/09/06
It started off raining today, and it just carried on.
And on, and on. Not the most enjoyable of cycling conditions given some
of the steep climbs as well, but thats life for you. With deadlines to
meet, there is no choice but to just get on with it. 80kms of being wet
and cold... lovely! Its a shame really, as some of the views of the
Black Sea Coast would have been spectacular. I passed through quite a
few areas that are being developed in the ongoing Bulgarian property
boom, some of which are just plain ugly. I could see the appeal of
buying a small cottage in a village, but not an apartment in some
huge complex, but I suppose people buy those as rental properties.
Anyway, I eventually made it to the hotel that I had prebooked and
dried out. I checked my email in an internet cafe, and was pleased to
see that my hostal and hotel booking website has earned me another
commission
payout. Income for doing nothing, thats what I like!
Day 63 Kraimorie - A wood somewhere again
Saturday 23/09/06
After a
big breakfast, I set out for the Turkish border. It was an overcast
day, but it thankfully only rained for a little while. The going was
hilly, and my cycling computer decided to work quite erratically,
although I couldn't trust the numbers it was giving out, so no boring
statistics update, which I am sure will be a shame for people
out there! I reached Malko Tarnova, the last town on the Bulgarian side
of the border where I had intended to stay the night, but the town was
so rubbish I decided to push on into Turkey instead. There was a steep
hill to climb before i reached the border, and then I left
Bulgaria and entered Turkey. I had to buy a ten pounds visa for Turkey,
but there were no major border issues. I caried on for an hour more,
but it was getting late in the day, and there was no way I was going to
reach a town with a hotel in time. Somewhere between Korukoy and
Demincihalil, I pulled over to the side of the road near a quarry and
pushed my way through trees until I found a clearing where I set up
camp for the night.
Day 64 A wood - Vize Sunday 24/09/06
It was
quite misty when I
woke up and set off, but soon cleared as I descended from the
hills. The first hour or so was good going,with woodedhills all around
and not much traffic. After that though, a tremendous wind picked up
which made the whole day into a long, hard slog. A couple of times I
almost got blown off the road, but I persevered until i reached the
town of Vize, where a hotel called me in. It felt good to have a
shower! My first impressions of Turkey are - Every town seems to have
some sort of army presence. The villages are similar to those in
Romania, but instead of churches they have mosques. The dogs are bigger
and fiercer than Bulgaria.
Day 65 Vize - Small town not on map near Kestalinek
Monday 25/09/06
Made the
most of breakfast, and set off on my merry way. No wind and much more
pleasant! Not a lot to report, although obviously things happened from
animated sign language/english/turkish conversations to dogs chasing
after me, but it's all in a days work. Finished up in a hotel 50kms
from Istanbul. Where yesterdays hotel was brilliant value for money and
good quality, this one was its oppostie. From the outside, it looked
like it should be four star, and on first glance the rooms looked
pretty good. It's only after I had been there for 15 minutes that I
realised that the entire place must have been built by Mr O'Reily, the
builder from Fawlty Towers. Oh well, life is still good!
Day 66 Small town - Istanbul
Tuesday 26/09/06
Breakfast
was as shabby as the hotel. Its a pity i couldn't find a garden gnome
(watch fawlty Towers!). I got underway, and stuck to my intended route
(20) to Istanbul, which was almost traffic free along quiet country
roads. About 20kms from the ciy centre, things started to change
however, and the chaos of cycling in Istanbul began. I found myself
laughing at some points, as I realised how ridiculous I must look in my
cycling shorts and top, riding a heavily laden bicycle through the
suburbs of Istanbul. I haven't seen another bicycle tourist in days,
but today was unusual in that I didn't see any other cyclists
whatsoever, although you would have to be crazy, insane, or Dave Briggs
to ride a bike into Istanbul. (There are plenty of other people who
have done/will do it though). Anyway, after 2 and a half hours of
cycling through dense traffic through a huge city which I have no map
for, sucking exhaust fumes and stopping to ask for directions
frequently, I eventually made it to Sultanahmet where I found my hostel.
So, this is the first stage of my journey, England - Istanbul, now
over. 66 Days on the road, but now I will take a week off to organise
visas, sort out my bike, and work out a rough route for the rest of
Turkey, Syria and Jordan.
.
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