Into Olympos

Day 158 - 162

By the eighth day in Antalya and the seventh in Hassan's tiny apartment I was definitely ready to hit the road again. 

The cycling along the coast was undulating but not too bad. The weather a little grey, but warm enough. Neil is stoked to be in a place so warm that he can wear shorts and sandals. 

By early afternoon we had a decision to make. The offlinemaps that Neil and I both use showed a dirt road alternative that leads to Olympos. We checked with a local and were told 'no problem' for the bicycles. 

A quick stop in a village for some beer and food for dinner and we set off. Although the road was a little muddy we had no problems. The hills were a little steep and I had to push in places. 

A couple of hours of very scenic riding later and I found my self skinny dipping at a very secluded beach. Dinner that night was pesto chicken pasta - quite possibly the greatest camping meal ever, made even better by the ideal beach campsite and pairing it with an Effes Malt - my favourite Turkish beer. 

After our morning coffee and porridge we packed our tents and headed up hill. The Turkish coast was proving to have some very tough cycling, climbing steeply before descending back to sea level and repeat. To make matters worse the road quality was declining. On one particularly steep section I found myself walking my bike downhill, glad I wasn't going the other direction.  

At about lunchtime we make it to another beautiful beach and only about three kilometres from our destination. Unfortunately it was also a dead end. The map definitely shows a road but all we can find is a hiking trail, too rough and steep to even wheel the bicycles along. An old row boat offers a tempting solution to our predicament but is nixed when we find a massive hole in the bottom. 

Finally we decide to turn around. No cycle tourist likes doing this and the thought of going back up those hills made me feel a little sick. We are urged to make haste by the forecast of rain tonight. The terrible roads will be much worse once they turn into sticky mud. 

Of course this is when things start breaking. Neil's rear rack has broken, been welded and broken again. Now it has decided to completely give up. We spend half an hour figuring out the best way to tie his panniers onto his trailer. Now we are off. Only for 100 metres though before his trailer tyre gets a flat. 

We set off again and push our bikes up the hill. It is tough. This is one of the worst roads I have 'cycled' on. Super steep and large loose rocks. Sweat drips from the end of my nose. 

Despite the terrible road we are making ok time and should be back in the village on pavement by the time it gets dark. Then Neil has another flat tyre. We fix it and move on thinking, it's ok, we will get there tonight. And then it starts raining. 

The light drizzle gives us a sense or urgency. I do not want to get stuck in the mud. Unfortunately by this stage we are all out of snack food, thinking that we would be in olympos by lunch time. Hunger has set in and before long I will be Hangry. 

Despite these challenges we make it to Tekirova just as darkness falls. We go straight to the supermarket, grab a loaf of bread, dip and some soft drink. As we sit on the step outside, shovelling food into our mouths it starts pissing down rain. We made it just in time. 

The willingness to camp has been washed away in the downpour and we find a cheap pension to stay in for the night. It's a total dive but at least we have a solid roof over our heads. 

The weather is still dismal in the morning.  We only have to cycle about 30km to get to Olympos, where we can stay in a nice hostel until the weather clears in a few days. 

I layer merino thermals under all my rain gear and set out into the downpour. This isn't just a light drizzle. Within 30 minutes my 'waterproof' gloves are soaked through. I have a puddle of water inside my shoes. 

A dog has followed us from the village and has a great time playing chicken with the cars on the highway. It makes us very nervous. We do our best to chase the dog away but cycling uphill for two hours means that it can keep up with us easily. 

We turn off the highway and descend down a windy road, there are great vista of steep hillsides, covered in pine forests and patches of mist floating around. 

We continue into Olympos, a village that seems to exist only for tourists. Pensions and 'treehouse' hostels line the road. We head for Kadir's, reccomended to us by locals in Antalya. 

On arrival we are ushered inside to the common room, given a cup and told to help ourselves to çay. We meet a few climbers and hear a rumour from the staff about other cycle tourists from Belgium. 

After settling into our dorm and realising that solar hot water heaters don't make hot water during rainy winter days I wander through the grounds of the hostel and meet Hadeil and Joachim. They have cycled from belguim to Istanbul with their two year old daughter Lhasa. 

Over a cup of tea Neil and I get to know this lovely family better and arrange to cycle together once the weather clears. 

The following day the five of us set off. Not on our bicycles. We pack a lunch and hike past the ruins of Olympos, down the beach, through Caleçi (another village that seems to exist only for tourists) and up the hill to the eternal flames of Chimera. 

These are apparently the same flames used for the first Olympic torch. They are fueled by methane that seeps up through the rocks. It was quite an interesting place to visit and I wished I had some marshmallows to toast. 

The weather prediction or the following day was heavy rain and storms. We decide to stay another day. Apart from fixing my stove, I didn't do a lot. I am sure I drank a few cups of tea but other than that the day is a blur of laziness. 

5/12 Antalya - near Atbuker: rode 56km, ODO 5060km

6/12 near Atbuker - Tekirova: rode 25km, ODO 5086km

7/12 Tekirova - Olympos: rode 25km, ODO 5111km

Van

Days 114 - 117

Van was like another mini holiday. I arrived quite anxious about the upcoming winter and fairly exhausted from the previous few days. I also wanted to drink beer. Van was perfect. 

The first day I head to the local hospital where Levent, my warm showers host works. While he is busy working I take over his computer and do the usual catch up of emails, Facebook, news and blogs. Lunch is a kebab at a nearby restaurant followed by çay in the doctors lounge. It turns out that Levent gets an hour and a half for lunch!  He then finishes work at 3.30pm. A little different to the hours I see the doctors working back home. 

That evening we catch up with Selçuk and a couple of other friends and have beers at a bar that overlooks the lake. This is followed by dinner with different friends and more beer. 

I head out of town on a bus the next day to Akdamar island. There is a beautiful Armenian church on it that was built about 1100 years ago. I spend quite a few hours wandering around the church and the island. If it wasn't for the snow capped mountains surrounding the lake it would be easy to forget about the crazy snow I went through just a few days ago. The sun is out and it feels like a very cool brisbane winters day. 

I spend the following morning at a western style cafe, paying far too much for a coffee but also using their wifi for two hours.  

In the afternoon I move all my stuff to Selçuk's apartment - Levent's girlfriend is visiting and he understandably wants the place to himself. After the move Selçuk and I head to the castle. On the way we visit some cats that have an interesting mutation and can only be found in Van. We wander around the castle and then watch the sunset over the lake. Awesome. 

That evening a few of us go out for dinner. I have my first Pide (pronounced piday, not pied as I thought!) and it does not disappoint. Dinner is followed by beers with more people at the smokiest bar I have been to in years. 

Saturday is the day I have been waiting for, the famous Van breakfast. Levent, his girlfriend, Selçuk, Özgen and I head out on our bicycles to a hotel that overlooks the lake. 

Breakfast is a smorgasbord of many different dishes, bread, cheeses, honey, jams, olives, dried fruit and endless cups of çay. I feel like I am about to explode.  Someone may have to tow me back to town on my bike. 

We sit in the sun on the deck, admiring the view for a good couple of hours. We eventually ride back to town, through the back streets, pick up some beer and go to the castle. It's a perfect afternoon lazing in the sun, enjoying the view. 

My plans for a quiet night and a small dinner are abandoned once we head to Özgen's house for dinner. A quiet dinner turns into a dinner party followed by a party proper. I drink far too much red wine. 

That night I say goodbye to many of my new friends. I plan to catch the ferry to Tatvan the next day and won't see them. I am very sad to say goodbye to this great group of people that were so welcoming and showed me a great time. 

Total cycling van: 99km, ODO 3567km

Last days in Iran

Day 109 - 113

The bus ride from Shiraz is about as fun as a 20 hr bus ride can be. I hop off the bus in Tabriz and all of a sudden realise that winter is coming. It is drizzly and cold. My sandal tan had been progressing very well but I think it is as good as it's going to get this year. 

I find my couch surfing host and spend the day eating, visiting the museum and bazaar and eating some more. I have the nicest baklava I have ever tasted. 

We have dinner at my hosts parents house and eat an amazing meal.  I continue to be overwhelmed by the hospitality given to me. Also the food is delicious, my favourite Iranian meal.  

The weather is a little better the next day and after buying some food, including bread straight out of the oven I head toward lake Urmyia and the Turkey border. 

It is only about 190km to the border but I know that it is uphill so I give myself three days cycling time and one day to spare. I don't want to see what happens if I overstay my Iran visa. It seems a little excessive at the time but it turns out I made the right choice. 

The weather is cool with the occasional drizzle of rain. Iran continues to deliver more boring, flat riding, with the occasional head wind for good measure. 

I find a pretty nice campsite next to the old, unused highway. There is even a pile of hay for me put my tent on. My tent flaps in the wind all night. 

I continue on in the morning, into the head wind and eventually cross lake Urmyia - a salt lake. 

After a cup of tea (I love my new thermos) it starts raining. I have lunch in a shelter in the town of Urmyia. Just as I pack up to head out of town I am invited for chai in the office of a trucking company. With the miserable weather It doesn't take much convincing. 

I eventually muster up the motivation to head out. A couple of hours later I pitch my tent near a village. I had tried to find somewhere under cover to camp but everyone is hiding inside. 

The rain continues and I forfeit a hot meal for a picnic inside my tent. I have a restless sleep and it rains all night. It is also cold. 

I lie in my tent and the day slowly grows more bright. As it does I realise that my tent looks as though it is about to collapse. Turns out all that rain last night was actually snow. Outside it is a winter wonderland. This would be great if I wasn't camping in it and my shoes weren't frozen and my gloves soaking wet. It's not nice, dry powdery snow. This is wet snow. 

I manage to pack my panniers and take the pegs out of the ground before my hands stop working. I wander up to the village and a very kind man notices me. He has a confused look in his face. 

I mange to invite myself/ get invited inside and I defrost my hands and dry my gloves next to the stove. He eventually figures out where I came from and together we finish packing up my tent and move my gear to his house. I am plied with chai and bread and eggs for the next couple of hours. 

During this time I am wondering what to do, continue uphill to the border? Go back to Urmyia and take a bus? For the first time during this trip I turn back. The weather is horrendous, my shoes and gloves are soaking wet and I do not want to spend all day riding uphill in the snow. 

The ride back to town is horrible. My toes goes numb. It feels like a am continuously having a slushie thrown into my face. 

An hour and a half later I stumble back into the office where I had chai the day before. I take off my soaking rain gear, shoes and socks and gloves and I am given a chair in front of the heater. Also countless cups of chai. Amazing. 

It turns out there is no bus to Van, my next destination in Turkey, but a truck driver can take me to the Turkey border and from there I can get a bus. 

We drive up to the border and I am so glad I am warm and toasty in the truck. The snow is continuing to fall and pile up next to the road. Once at the border town of Serov we park the truck next to about 50 other trucks and head out for my last Iranian kebab. 

The Turkey border is closed to trucks so my driver, John, is spending the night in Serov. It is late and I still have one day left on my visa. I spend the night in a bunk in John's truck. It is awesome. And dry. This is the most bizzare place I have slept since leaving home. 

The following morning John is still stuck in Iran and unable to cross the border. I load up my bike and thank Mother Nature that the snow has stopped falling. I cycle the last couple of kilometres to the border and leave Iran. 

The Turkish customs is in shambles but I manage to get through after about an hour. Two buses and about four hours later I find myself in Van, waiting to meet my warm showers host, Levent

That evening Levent, two of his friends and I sit around drinking beer and eating delicious kebab that Levent cooked. I even indulge in a shower beer.  My new Turkish friends have never ears of this concept but promise to give it a go. After nearly a whole month without beer this is bliss. 

17/10 Tabriz: rode 17km, ODO 3278km

18/10 Tabriz - lake Urmyia: rode 85km, ODO 3364km

19/10 lake Urmyia - village: rode 84km, ODO 3444km

20/10 village - Urmyia: rode 18km, ODO 3462km

21/10 Serov & Van: rode 6km, ODO 3468km