Wow, so much has happened in the last 24 hours, so here we go.
As we were headed south to the Turkish border, about 35km away, we found the best road in the world (yes beating The Transfăgărășan Mountain Pass). This road weaved through a huge forested area of gentle hills, where we could see the entry and exit of nearly every bend, the surface was a good as a race-track and it was deserted when we found it at 8pm.
After about an hour of flat out fun of throwing our overloaded bikes through the curves, we finally reached the border.
Now the Turkish border was a game of queues. You start in the first one and get an entry stamp in your passport, then you go to the mandatory insurance booth and queue again while they make paying as difficult as possible. The computer did not have a Sinnis Apache on file, so about 30 minutes of shouting ensued before they decided it could be passed as a Honda CB125. I have no clue what will happen when I leave Turkey as the paperwork I have doesn't quite match the bike...
Anyway, then there was queue number 3 for computer input of my insurance, then quickly onto queue number 4 to meet the visa official who we need to be nice to as he owns the rubber gloves we all fear!
Finally we just had to ride around the side of the building to a checkpoint where they want to see all your paperwork again and add random stamps.
It was about 10pm after this whole ordeal, so we hustled off down to the nearest town and went searching for a hotel. Our luck was amazing; there in front of the main square was a hotel and better still, the bikes of Geoff and Mike!
A grateful shower later we were all in the restaurant over the road for much needed food.
The hotel was seriously bad; everything was broken - window fittings, bathroom, air conditioning and hot water - but the beds were soft and I was so tired that I instantly fell asleep.
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Tuesday 29/07
We all got up a bit late; the luxury of our beds was marvellous. after a shower in the filthy bathroom and a hunt for clean-ish clothes we all crossed the street to a kebab shop for breakfast (because that's what they eat for breakfast apparently!).
At about 11am we hit the road to Istanbul, but after only about an hour we were stopped under a motorway for the parting of ways.
Geoff, Mike and Lee were going on to Istanbul to apply for more visas, but sadly my schedule is too tight to lose 5 days, so I have to go on alone.
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| Can't wait to see you all again! |
I have only known these guys for a week, but already they feel like some of my closest friends; I suppose it's because our challenge is so great and we've already seen plenty of what can go wrong.
After we took the final photo, they rode off and I burst into tears - the lowest point of the rally so far.
This afternoon and night I have been pouring on the miles in the cooler night air in an attempt to catch up with Max and the lads who have just passed Samsun about half way to the Georgian border.
After midnight I had to give up riding as I was shaking with exhaustion and I have pulled into a small town to find a nice clean cheap hotel with wifi, hence tonight's update [which came through at midnight UK time cheers Dad].
I'm looking forward to a happier day tomorrow - there can be no minor complaints on the Mongol Rally; we all knew what we were signing up for - the longest and hardest bike ride in the world!
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