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Published: September 21st 2023
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We had a bit of sleep in this morning because breakfast wasn't until 8am. We had to order off the menu so there was no syphoning any food off for later in the day either. Durusu Park Club Hotel was a little like a resort hotel but we seemed like the only people staying there. we were the only people in the restaurant last night and the only people at breakfast this morning so I'm not sure how they turn a profit.
We had a small climb up from the hotel onto the D020. It's a full on motorway now taking lots of traffic. If wasn't for the emergency lane there's no way we would be riding on it. The noise from the traffic as we ride makes it almost impossible to hear each other. About 12kmks into the ride we go past the airport. It is massive, we'll be back in just over a week when our adventure draws to a close.
While we're on top of the ridge Istanbul comes in and out of view. There are hills all around us now but the highway smooths them out for us. At the 26km mark I click over
4,500kms for the trip, a nice little milestone to put in the bank. We come off the highway at a town called Mimarsinan which has a very steep climb into it and we decided to stop for a coffee (and baklava in Jeff's case). The other thing we did was confirm our accommodation for tomorrow night in Istanbul, that had been a frustration for that is settled now. We're staying in a very nice apartment on the edge of the Old City.
We didn't leave the cafe until 12pm but only had 19kms to our hotel. It was probably the hardest 19kms we've ridden, we really had to earn our magnificent view of the Black Sea. There were very steep climbs and descents that we will have to back track over tomorrow when we ride out in the morning. Hopefully there'll be less traffic in the morning.
After we settled into the room we ventured out for a trip to the beach, you can't make a detour to the Black Sea without then going for a dip. The water was quite a nice temperature and the bottom was clean and sandy with no rocks. There were lots of
derelict beach boxes which give the feel the place was a lot more upmarket at some point but has fallen on slightly harder times lately. The view from our hotel taking in the pool and then the Black Sea behind it is very appealing and will provide a great outlook for breakfast in the morning. And for those that are wondering there is no reason I can see for it being called the "Black" Sea. Looks the same colour as any other sea I've seen.
Tomorrow is the big day, after 83 days and over 4,500kms we will finally ge to our destination of Istanbul. Breakfast tomorrow is from 8am so we'll leave before 9am and probably take our time and soak it in getting to Istanbul about 1:30pm.
Distance travelled today: 53kms
Distance travelled so far: 4,527kms
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