Up and over the Taurus Mountains

I was lucky to find a last minute couchsurfer host in Tasucu when I arrived with the ferry at about 11 at night. And since Tasucu is a small town I managed to find my way through the dark. The next day continued on towards Marsin. The road was flat and I had a tailwind for the first time in a while, so I had a nice bike ride to too Mersin in record speed. The people that I had stayed with in Alanya had arranged for someone that I could stay with in Mersin. On my way in to the center of town I met two other cyclists who showed me the way to a bike shop so that I could by some new brake pads and have a look at the chain. I stayed there and waited for the guy that I was staying with to show up. I had tea and met some nice people while I was there. One man gave me his phone number and told me to call if I needed anything. At about seven a clock the guy showed up and told me that he was too busy to host me. But he bought me dinner and then showed me a place where he thought I could set up my tent for the night. It was a narrow park between the water and a big street. There were a lot of people in the park and I didn’t really feel comfortable setting up camp there. So instead I called Ulas, the nice guy that I had met in the bike shop and he was happy to host me. I cycled on for a while and found his place where I was welcomed by him and his family. I had a great time with them, got some advice on what roads to take and had nice conversations in to the night.

The road between Mersin and Tarsus was really bad. A lot of traffic and most of it was big trucks going by fast. But after passing Tarsus I cycled on a smaller much nicer road that headed up towards the mountains. I cycled on for a while up the hill before setting up camp on a little hill. The “road” up to where I set up my tent was rocky and bad, but it was worth it and I had a great night’s sleep and prepared for the big hills in the morning. The road would go up to 1370 meter, but I thought it would we worse than what it was. The road was good all the way up and the weather was great with sunshine and a light breeze in my back. I met some other cyclists on the way, but they were not going all the way up. But it was nice to have some company for a while. And the funny thing was that they had heard of me through Ulas since they were also working at the university.

I reached the top sooner than expected and from there the road went down for a while towards the town of Pozanti. I set up my tent not far from there in a valley. It was hard to find a nice flat surface in a place where the road goes through a valley since there is not much space on the sides. The only problem with the place I was sleeping at was that the railway was just next to it with many trains passing by. And it was also the coldest night in the tent for me so I had to put on extra clothes and a hat for the first night.

The next day I thought it would be easy cycling. But the road just kept going up more and more. The scenery was just beautiful with the big snow covered mountain so close. By midday I was at the top at 1600 meters with snow by the side of the road. And after that it was downhill to the Anatolian Plateau and mostly flat landscape with mountains surrounding it.  

After a cold night in the tent it was great to know that I had a couchsurfer to stay with in Bor. I arrived there earlier than him and waited in town for a while. While I was there more and more people came by and after a while I was surrounded by curious people who were trying to figure out who I was and what I was doing. Some of them knew some words in English, but not at all enough to have a conversation. But it didn’t stop us from having a nice time and as soon as I finished my tea more was on the way. In the afternoon I met up with my host and could wash off three days of climbing uphill and sleeping in a nice and warm couch.

Finally leaving for Turkey

The first thing I did when arriving in Girne two days ago was to go to the port to find out when the ferry was leaving for Tasucu. The answer I got then was that it was leaving at 23:00 the next day. So I went to the hostel and in the morning I walked to the tourist information to double check the time for the ferry. The woman there made a phone call and told me that the ferry for Turkey was leaving at 14:00 and that I had to be there two hours before. But I had some time before then and went with Daniel, a guy I met at the hostel up to the castle on top of the mountain. He had a rental car so we could get up there and back before noon. It was an impressing place with an amazing view of Girne a long way down by the sea and the mountain right next to it.

When we got back I went down to the port where I was told the ferry was leaving at 3 or 4, so I sat down and waited for it. But when the clock was 3 and I was the only one in the departure hall I knew something was wrong. I talked to someone who told me that the ferry had already left and that it wasn’t for passengers, only for trucks and cars. I was told that the passenger ferry was maybe leaving the next day and that I should come back in the morning to check with them.

I cycled outside of the city and found a beach restaurant that didn’t look to have been used in a while. The door was open so I took a beach bed and a mattress and made it comfortable inside. After a great night sleep I cycled back to the port and got the good news that the ferry was leaving. And right now I’m sitting in the ferry and was glad to see that the wi-fi was working fine. I would prefer to leave at midnight as I did on my way to Cyprus, because then I arrived in the morning. But this time I will be stepping off the ferry at night and will have to find somewhere to set up my tent in the dark. Maybe the park will do fine.

Two weeks in Cyprus

Last time I updated the blog I was in Tasucu waiting for the ferry to take me to Cyprus. And this time I’m also waiting for the ferry but on the other side of the water. 

Two weeks ago I got on the ferry at midnight but had to wait another two hours until the ferry left the port. But I had interesting company with Earthian, a man on a peace mission. He had managed to get himself from England to Cyprus including a trip to Iraq without spending any money. He is strongly against borders and only showed his passport as a last resort. We had interesting conversations on the trip over to Cyprus and had a little lunch together before I had to get going because I wanted to get to Larnaca before sunset and the clock was already 11.30.

Visit Earthians blog to read more about his epic journey. http://earthianblog.wordpress.com

The day started with a long uphill with a strong headwind. And it felt very strange cycling on the left side of the road for the first time. But after the climb the lad flattened out and pushed on towards Lefkosia. The plan was just to pass through the capital but it was difficult because a minimal amount of signs showing the way. I had to ask around to find my way over to the south side. Eventually I found the checkpoint to cross over and it felt a little strange cycling through a big city and suddenly finding yourself at a checkpoint. But they let me back in to the EU and I continued on towards Larnaca. I just managed to make it in to the city as it was getting dark. Even though I had a flat tire just 20 km outside of the city. My couchsurfing host Nicola met up with me and showed me back to his place where I had my own guestroom with a big bed. I stayed there two nights and had a nice time with good company and some advice on what to do on our vacation in Cyprus. Nicola also had another guest the next night from USA. Chris was on a one week vacation in Istanbul and squeezed in a trip to Cyprus also.

On Friday I left Nicola and headed down to the sea and to the hotel my parents had booked for us. I checked in and couldn’t wait until they would join me. Eventually I heard some familiar voices outside of the door. It was amazing seeing them again after almost seven months apart.

We had a great vacation together with a lot of good food and just the fact that we were together. We wanted to see more of Cyprus after a weekend in Larnaca so we rented a car for four days. As a cyclist it felt like stepping over to the dark side, but it was a great way to see more of the island. And at this time of the year a rental car is really cheap. I had driven a car on the left side before in New Zealand, but that was eight years ago so it took a little time to get used to. Our first day on the road we went to the capital Nicosia or Lefkosa, depending on what side of the border you are on. It felt even stranger crossing the checkpoint this time when we were walking down the main shopping street and suddenly having to show our passport and enter the Turkish side. We walked around inside the castle walls and visited and old cathedral that was turned into a mosque. And of course we had to eat a kebab before crossing over again. I was happy to be out of the big city which was a little stressful when I’m not used to drive on the wrong side of the road and in a city where you sometimes have to guess where to go because of the lack of signs.

The next day we drove up in to the “Troodos” mountains and after pushing the KIA up the hill we came to the top of Mount Olympus where the ground was covered with snow. Not at all like back home but it was still nice to see some snow again. After Olympus we drove to Kykkos monastery not far away. It was a beautiful place but in my opinion to much gold and bling bling when the church claims to be helping people in need, they could do so much more.

The next two days we took trips along the cost and had a good time seeing Cyprus. But as all vacations do this one also came to an end and my dear mother and father had to catch a flight back to Sweden. But they are already planning for the newt visit which might be in China.

And I was also back in the “office” cycling towards Famagusta where I had an invitation from a couchsurfer. I hadn’t looked close enough on the mat and ended up at a road that was closed off by military. In front of me was the part of Famagusta called “The Ghost town”, an area full of houses and hotels abandoned and closed off in 1974. So I had to turn around and go around to another road where I could cross over. Again it felt very strange cycling past military areas, British military camps and seeing UN vehicles passing by. Just as I entered the Turkish side the sky opened up and it started to pour down. I found cover and waited for the rain to stop before continuing into Famagusta and the university to meet up with my host. My host Mohsen is a PH.D student from Iran. And since I’m going there soon it was great to get some good advice on where to go and what to see. The next day me, Mohsen and his girlfriend Vofe got on our bikes and cycled outside of the city to an ancient site. After that I went back into town to the beach to get a better look at the ghost town. There where military lookouts right at the beach but you could walk to the edge of the closed off area and look at what once was a beautiful place full of hotels right by the ocean. Right next to the sealed off area new big hotels and casinos where up and running like nothing had happened next door. I also went for a visit in the old town and another cathedral that was converted into a mosque. The old town was completely dead with just me and a few others walking around. And the reason was a massive sale on the city where I met up with my friends who were in the middle of some serious shopping.

Yesterday I left Famagusta and cycled into a terrible head wind. First I planned on cycling longer on the Karpass peninsula, but the wind was too much and a man who invited me in for tea told me there was road work up ahead. So instead I went to the north cost and set up my tent away from the wind. Today when I woke up it was raining so I slept a little longer since I didn’t have much longer to cycle today to Girne. I arrived here at the hostel earlier today and tomorrow night I’m leaving on the ferry back to Tyrkey.

I have had two great weeks here in Cyprus and from here awaits a lot of uphills towards Erzurum.

Leaving Turkey for a while

The night I arrived in Bozyazi and to my German-Turkish host I got a message that my new pannier had arrived in Finike. So the next day the guy at the hotel would put it on a bus heading to Bozyazi. Inge also hosted another traveler, a girl from Japan. It was nice to meet someone else travelling to get some advice for countries to come. The next day we went around the little town of Bozyazi and saw the beach which was pretty much all there was to see. But it was nice and a good place to relax and charge the batteries. Later that day I and Aya got to follow Inge’s daughter Danyel to her music lesson where she sang and played the saz for us. We also got to try it (for a photo), and it looked really hard. 

At one a clock at night the next day I and Inge went to the bus station to collect my package, and finally after waiting so long I got it in my hand. And with a pleasant surprise when I opened it and saw that they had sent me two new bags.

Yesterday I left Bozyazi and headed for Tasucu from where the ferry leaves for Cyprus. I thought I would make it there in one day, and I could if I had wanted to. But I found a nice place to set up my tent for the night and since the ferry leaves at midnight the next day there were no hurry to get there. It was nice to be back in the tent after sleeping indoors since leaving Finike. But it was also a bit cold during the night.

Today I only had a short 30 km to get to Tasucu. And after only one big climb I could roll down the other side and make my way into town. I have gotten my ticket for the ferry and now I have to wait until midnight for the ferry to leave for Girne. I was lucky it was a nice and warm day today so that I could wait outside in the sun. But from now on I’ll spend my time at a restaurant for the rest of the night.

Finally

It now feels like a long time ogo that I was cycling fast on a crappy road in Hungary and later discovered that one of my back pannier had broken. I managed to continue with it by fixing it to the bike with a wire lock. I contacted Vaude who makes the bags, but they didn’t want to send me a new bag and insisted that I contacted some company that sold their products. It wasn’t easy to find on my way until I came to Athens and found a company that was very helpful and contacted Vaude for me. But it still took a long time until I got the news that they were sending a new bag to the company in Athens. By that time I already had a ferry ticket going to Chios. So when I found the nice apartment in Finike the Greek company sent me the bag with post. There I waited and waited without any package showing up. So last week I couldn’t wait any longer since I had to be in Cyprus this coming week.

But two days ago the package arrived in Finike and yesterday the guy at the hotel put it on a bus that was passing Bozyazı. So finally it looked like everything was going to work out just great. But I couldn’t be sure until I had it in my hand. So at one a clock last night me and my very helpful host got up and met up with the bus to collect the package. And after a little dispute with the bus driver who wanted more money for bringing it to me, I finally got it.

And in the package there was a surprise when I saw that they had sent me two brand new bags. So now I don’t have to think about this anymore and just enjoy life on the road.