Down to the coast.

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Saturday March 17.
I left Merzifon at 8 am. The road is flat at first but then become hilly. Some of the hills are very long. I pushed my bike for at least two hours up these hills. I stopped along the way for tea and bananas. I do enjoy their tea houses. Eventually I reached the top and it was a dramatic downhill to Samsun and sunshine! I booked into a good hotel, Otel Fuar. I had dinner at a fish restaurant and watched Bolton lose to Man United. They know much more about the Premiership than I do.

Sunday March 18.
It has been the best day since leaving Vienna. The sun shone, almost the first for 3 weeks, it was mild, the road is flat and in excellent condition. My decision to come down to the coast has been more than vindicated. I was averaging 23 kms/hr and at times doing 27 kms/hr for long stretches. The road is very new and follows the coast with an occasional tunnel as it cuts inland. It then descends to Ordu.
The Turkish people are unfailingly kind and courteous. Their road driving on the open road is better than in Eastern Europe, however not so with their urban driving.
The children often practise their school English with me. Today I had a tea and some school children came into the café to chat. On had ginger hair and I told the teahouse that as a child I had the same hair now grey. They all laughed.

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