http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/Team-ColJen/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Team ColJen en-us Mon, 21 Dec 2009 06:30:47 +0000 Mon, 21 Dec 2009 06:30:47 +0000 This was one of the highlights of our trip a chance to step back in time and witness the last monument of an absolute monarch from centuries ago the links below give the full history of the statues and how they got to the summit of the mountain. We had to set off about 4am to ensure we got up to the summit and it was worth it sunrise was awesome with the sun rising on one side of the mounta http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Turkey/Southeastern-Anatolia/Mount-Nemrut/blog-331877.html httpwww.kapadokyaballoons.comhttpen.wikipedia.orgwikiCappadocia http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/blog-331862.html And so onto Cappadocia a region of Turkey famous for its amazing landscape parts of Star Wars were filmed there there will be plenty of pics to follow We travelled along the route of the old Silk Road the trading route that used to exist between Europe and Asia and we got the chance to stop at some of the caravanserais that still stand on the route. These were stopping points every 2030km http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Turkey/Central-Anatolia/Cappadocia/blog-331854.html The highlight of getting back on the Fez Bus was being reunited with our original tour leader Kerry who had been with us on the first 2 sectors and was by far the best Fez leader on the circuit. A large part of her appeal was that she appeared completely scatterbrained mainly because she said everything as she thought it so where others would try to maintain an aura of calm regardless of what w http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Turkey/Mediterranean/Egirdir/blog-331355.html Too soon we had to get back on the Fez Bus and head for what we expected to be yet another highlight of Turkey Olympos and its treehouses. A fairly uneventful journey was followed by an exciting arrival as we caused unintentionally caused controversy. We arrived at the ldquoHouse of Fezrdquo in Olympos a place called Kadirs which we werenrsquot staying at because we had heard that it was http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Turkey/Mediterranean/Olympos/blog-331354.html After a couple of relaxing days in Fethiye we were on the road again for a while at least. We had only just left Fethiye when the driver decided that the bus needed a quick service it seemed to be running fine so we pulled into a garage the mechanic did his thing and the bus broke and would not start. 5 days on the Fez Bus now 2 breakdowns and 2 days with no aircon we were starting to feel http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Turkey/Mediterranean/Kas/blog-331352.html Fez Bus Sector 4 Koycegiz to FethiyeThe next day was very exciting and started with yet another sales room this time carpets. Frist they showed us how they get the silk from the worms and then how each carpet is hand woven some taking 4 years to complete and comprising 400 knots per square inch mad Then there was a long demonstration in the show room where about 6 staff threw carpets aro http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Turkey/Aegean/Fethiye/blog-331349.html Fez Bus Sector 3 Selcuk to KoycegizAfter 3 nights in Selcuk it was back on the Fez Bus for the journey to Koycegiz pronounced Coogies obviously. To be honest the first half of the day was a complete waste of time with us only actually travelling about 30 miles from Selcuk and instead visiting a variety of sales rooms. We started in a gorgeous little village called Sirence where we sampled t http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Turkey/Aegean/Koycegiz/blog-331347.html Fez Bus Sector 2 Canakkale to SelcukThe next day was very hot and very long and for the most part we were stuck on a bus with no aircon. We set off at 8am and stopped soon after for a tour of Troy now I have never really thought about it but if anyone had ever asked I would have guessed that Troy and a number of other amazing sites was in Greece but Turkey is actually home to a huge number http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Turkey/Aegean/Sel-uk/blog-331345.html Fez Bus Sector 1 Istanbul to CanakkaleWe had booked the Fez Bus a hopon hopoff tour of Turkey so that we could see as much of Turkey as possible with minimum hassle and maximum flexibility and we had a month to fill with only a vague idea of what our itinerary would be. It was very exciting We got on the bus expecting a mix of nationalities and ages and were right on 1 of those counts. http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Turkey/Marmara/Gallipoli/blog-331344.html IstanbulWe caught a bus from Bulgaria to Istanbul and were pleasantly surprised at the luxury this entailed not only did we have business classworthy leg room but every hour or so we were given a glass of coke a cup of tea or water and a bun to keep our strength up over the long journey 7 hours including a 2 hour border crossing all for free It was a very pleasant journey apart from the f http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Turkey/Marmara/Istanbul/blog-331332.html Well we had 3 weeks in the resort of Sunny Beach staying in a gorgeous studio apartment which cost us less per night than camping in Bohinj about 15 mins drive from the mayhem of Sunny Beach resort. We had it all... glorious weather up to 37 degrees one day more swimming pools than we could ever hope to swim in including the wave pool that our studio overlooked a balcony with a fabulous http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Bulgaria/East/Burgas/blog-321874.html Visited Countries MapHi allThis is an entry showing all the places we've visited on our travels separately and together. We've created another map above which shows where we've been on our current trip in 20082009. We'll update this as we go along so you can see where we've been.Enjoy http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Slovenia/Upper-Carniola/blog-313814.html Soon enough it was time for us all to get on the road again Carrie Debbie back to the UK and Jen I had decided that we needed to get back to the sea but this time it was the Black Sea we decided to head for Bulgaria to be exact. So back to Ljubljana to prepare for a 25hr 4 country train journey across the Balkans. To be fair the journey itself wasnrsquot that bad the train from http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Bulgaria/West/Sofia/blog-313821.html From Vienna we travelled to Innsbruck where we planned to spend 6 days sightseeing hiking and generally enjoying the great outdoors Alas it was not to be as apart from a few sunny spells in the first few days we were subjected to almost constant rain. Believe me there are few things worse than camping in the rain. Everything is damp all the time and even though the tent put up a good fight http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Austria/Tyrol/Innsbruck/blog-313609.html Well we arrived in a cold and rainy Vienna after an uneventful train journey from Ljubljana and luckily the rain stopped for long enough for us to erect the tent. We headed straight into the city centre to explore in the rain and werenrsquot disappointed mainly because one of the first things we found was a cinema showing original English version films We knew it was time to start acting l http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Austria/Vienna-State/Vienna/blog-313421.html Well after a very relaxing and hot week on Korcula on Sunday it was time to pack up the tent and head for the ferry terminal to catch the Marco Polo to Rijeka and then on to Krk Island in the north of Croatia. We got on the ferry ok and as we had a cabin we got the VIP treatment escorted to our cabin and we thought we were in for something special on this overnight ferry maybe a last bas http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Croatia/Istria/Krk/blog-301944.html Weeks 3 4 Dubrovnik the mothership has landedOn Saturday 14th June we finally left the ldquocomfortrdquo of the Tamara and headed south to Dubrovnik. I was especially excited as my mum had arrived the evening before and had texted to say how beautiful it was. To get to Dubrovnik we took a 5 and a half hour bus ride along the Croatian coast passing more of the stunning scenery we have http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Croatia/Dalmatia/Dubrovnik/blog-298399.html Week 5 Korcula RocksWell wersquove just spent a week on the island of Korcula and what a week it was euro raves acrobats sun lounging sword dancing you name it Korcularsquos got it We got here by ferry from Dubrovnik on Sat 28th June and got ourselves settled into our campsite in Kamp Kalac we wouldnrsquot recommend trying to put up a tent in 33 degree heat but we got it do http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Croatia/Dalmatia/Korcula/blog-296608.html Jen Colrsquos Guide to having a good time in KorculaStep 1 Get up when you are to sweaty to sleep any longerStep 2 Put on swimming costumes and sun blockStep 3 Hire sun lounger and move it into a shady spot on the Crazy Golf courseStep 4 Swim in beautiful clear blue waters of the AdriaticStep 5 Lounge on sun loungerStep 6 Repeat steps 5 and 6 until lunchtimeStep 7 Eat hot dog with ketc http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Croatia/Dalmatia/Korcula/blog-296610.html