I didn’t realize how much I missed the ocean until I saw the Black Sea spread out before me, glittering under a sinking sun. I took in a deep breath of the salty sea air and instantly felt closer to home. I had just arrived in Amasra, a picturesque port town and the starting point for a tour along the rugged Black Sea coast. The burly big brother of California’s Highway 1, the road sports black, craggy outcroppings and steep slopes of verdant green. It’s narrower, its curves are tighter, and the drop-offs are more vertigo inducing than those of its sibling in the west – and its beauty is much more savage. My destination was Sinop, 320 kilometers to the east. While waiting for a bus that turned out never to come, I started walking.
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