Beam me up Scottie.......and the ladies of the night (day)!

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And so I cycled into Istanbul on Wednesday 12 June 2013, 3.5 months after leaving the UK, my first major milestone on this cycle trip and I have been resting ever since. The past few days have been both physically and mentally challenging with the temperature rising, the mountains getting steeper and the headwind fiercer. For me the mental challenge has however been the greater of the two, with my patience wearing a little thin on occasions. I'm hoping that the next few days away from the bicycle will reinvigorate my mental energy as I commence the next leg of my tour.

During the past few weeks I have seen some amazing buildings, encountered plenty of wild animals, received some fantastic hospitality and encountered many hookers (the non rugby types).

After leaving Bitola in Macedonia, I cycled north to the capital Skopje. It was here in the hostel whilst speaking to the girl behind the reception desk that I discovered some of the traditions upheld in Macedonia.

Firstly, the best man is expected to buy the bride her wedding shoes. When she tries them on she will always complain that they don't fit her properly. The best man must then keep paying her bank notes which she stuffs in her shoes until they fit. Apparently they don't fit for a long time.

Secondly, when the groom and his best man arrive at the bride's house and try to enter, the bride and the bridesmaids will barricade the door until the men have paid them enough money to let them in. I think us guys are being taken for a ride again!

Finally, the last tradition, which made me chuckle, is that the groom is allowed to burn his mother-in-laws underwear on the day of his wedding. Not entirely sure why, but these are the traditions that have been handed down over the years.

Hospitality featured highly again in Macedonia, where I was put up by a family the night before crossing the border into Bulgaria. I asked a Gentlemen whether I could camp on the grass close to the river, but when his wife came out she indicated that it was far too cold to sleep in the tent and that I should sleep in their house. Their family of 4 all ended up sharing one room, allowing me to sleep in the other room. Amazing!

Macedonia also had it's fair share of wildlife, where I encountered my first wild tortoises, crickets, snakes and of course donkeys.

Prior to crossing the border into Bulgaria, I had been warned to be careful whilst cycling in this country, because of the number of gypsies living there. I have to say, that although I encountered many gypsies on their horses and carts as well as in more remote regions,where they were illegally chopping down trees in the forest, they all appeared friendly when I waved at them.

Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria was also a pleasant surprise for me with lots of parks around the city as well as the scenic mountain of Vitosha situated on the outskirts. A few days rest enabled me to conduct a bicycle tour of the city as well as a day hike to the top of Vitosha mountain with its beautiful waterfall.

The highlight of my cycle tour through Bulgaria was however the day trip to the UFO, a former communist building situated on top of a mountain 70 KM distance from Veliko Turnovo the old capital of Bulgaria. This tour organised by my hostel was truly amazing. The site is not officially open to the public and it takes a 4 wheel drive to reach it in the first place. On our arrival (there were only 6 of us there in total), we had the site to ourselves to explore both inside and out, with breathtaking views on the outside and amazing communist mosaics on the inside.

Even in Veliko Turnovo itself, we had time to explore an old communist textile factory which still had a large mural displayed from the old communist days gone by.

Moving on from Veliko Turnovo I headed east to the seaside city of Varna located on the Black Sea. A naval port, it was a bustling city with a lovely beach and a naval museum which featured some old style soviet helicopters and a Diver Swimmer delivery vehicle.

Leaving Varna was certainly a revelation. I avoided the main highway out of the city and instead took the quieter road to the south. This road predominantly drives through a forested area. Cycling along I was quite startled when I saw a Lady dressed in, should I say a rather short skirt which seemed out of character for this area. She certainly looked fit! Opposite was a sheepherder tending his sheep. 400 yards later another Lady appeared and this time she wiggled her backside at me. It all suddenly clicked! I was following the red light area out of Varna. Suffice to say I counted 30 girls in total as I cycled along this road. I greeted all of them with a big hello and a smile. Many smiled back and many gave gestures which I can't repeat on this blog, but they were all friendly!! Seemed quite surreal seeing all these girls on one side of the road, whilst an elderly gentlemen was herding his sheep on the other side!

As I have travelled further east on my travels, the time spent on bike paths (France, Belgium, Germany and Austria) has reduced to zero and I now predominantly cycle on roads, some quiet and some extremely busy. With the increase in traffic, there has also been an increase in the number of horn signals I receive on a daily basis which can be split into the following categories:

Beep from Car or Lorry Hello, I'm behind watch out.

Beep from Car or Lorry Well done fellow, you're doing well up this hill

Beep from Car or Lorry Get the !%*$ out of the way!

Things that I can't do without on my bike include my mirror attached to my cycling helmet, which allows me time to pull over if a lorry or car appears to be coming too close for comfort. Also my Camelbak drinking rucksack has been a godsend in the hotter temperatures.

My bike has held up well during the past 3.5 months, with my first puncture the day before arriving in Istanbul. And this was only because I carelessly pushed the bike over a piece of wood which had a large nail protruding from it.

In my first few days in Turkey I have again been overwhelmed with the generosity of the people. Both at a lorry drivers' stop (wooden shed with a couple of wooden benches) I plonked myself down next to these guys to sample some Turkish tea. I had been cycling a particularly challenging stretch of the road and needed some good old tea. I exchanged hello with the lorry drivers but that was where our language similarities came to an abrupt end. Suffice to say when I tried to pay for 2 lots of tea, one of the lorry drivers got up and paid for me. This has already happened on a couple of occasions with different people and their hospitality really is wonderful. I was a little startled when one Turkish lad said goodbye to me the other day and then kissed both my cheeks, but this is the Turkish way.

I am now in my hostel in Istanbul, two minutes walk away from Taksim square where the riots have been taking place for the past two weeks. So far 5 people have lost their lives throughout Turkey including one policeman. Tear gas is being deployed to break up the crowds and the street vendors are selling swimming goggles, diving masks and industrial face masks. Little do the public know how effective a dust mask is against tear gas. The day before arriving at the hostel, people who were staying in the hostel had to evacuate to their bedrooms, because the tear gas had managed to seep in through the window sills on the ground floor.

Last night I ventured out to see the square for myself and witnessed a large presence of riot police tooled up to the max with their anti- gas respirators and tear gas rifles. The crowds in the square were non belligerent and a peaceful protest took place. Despite this the situation could flare up at any time and tonight as the weekend approaches it will be interesting to see what happens. I'm hoping that things remain peaceful.

I now have 2 weeks in Istanbul as I replace worn tyres, purchase visas, catch up with friends and generally rest and recuperate before the next leg of my tour. I'm hoping to be granted approval to enter Iran, but if not will head in the direction of Georgia and Azerbaijan. The journey continues......

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Photos

Beam me up Scottie
Former Communist building in Bulgaria

Gypsies using donkeys and horses
Illegal wood chopping in the forests

Matka
Some Macedonian lads who looked after me when I visited Matka gorge near Skopje

Macedonian hospitality
The family all shared one room, so I could sleep in the other room

Comments

[Dancing Dave]

Well framed
May this pic give you strength for the journey ahead. Reckon you'll need to be tough as stone...determined as the clenched fists...optimistic as the eternal flames.