To Cesme and the voyage

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Sadly the time came to say our goodbyes and leave Selcuk, at least for a time. The first part of the journey along the coast road was pretty and very enjoyable. Soon though, the coast turned into resort after resort with very little way of telling where one ended and the next one started. When the road went up the mountains away from the coast it did get pretty again, and the air full of the scent of thyme and oregano. After a while we linked with the Izmir - Cesme motorway which is a good motorway although it was very, very windy. Almost windy enough to blow Hilary off the back of the bike.

Cesme is pretty and not nearly as crazy hectic as we had feared. We booked into the Ridvan Hotel - air conditioned rooms and quite spectacular views from the balcony. Also inhabited by several people from the ferry including two or three couples on bikes. In the afternoon we visited the castle and learned about sea battles. We went to the office to check in at six - the process does take a while, then off for a drink at a seafront bar prior to a proper fish dinner - fish, chips, salad, garnish and beer all for well under 20 sterling for the two of us.

Cesme is famous for its cooling sea breeze - by the time we were enjoying our after dinner beers, it had become quite chilly. The air conditioning was not required.

Up early to catch the ferry - we managed to grab some early breakfasts. Outside we discovered that the back tire had been let down and the valve had been taken. Fortunately someone in the queue for the ferry was able to lend us a pump and we were carrying a spare valve. All this is a bit irritating but we have managed to deal with it and keep going which is the main thing.

The ferry is not very full. A lot of the people on it are living in Turkey so we are learning a lot about life for expats out here. The ferry has several odd rules, like they issue you a swipe card you need to use to buy food and drink on board. The weather has been interesting. We have watched thunderstorms in the distance and, just after lunch, we had to come in for half an hour to get out of the rain. On the whole though, we ar on a ferry, sailing past pretty islands and doing nothing. Nothing much else to do for the 56 hours at sea.

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