NL 20, 15 of May 2022, Back on bikes, Steppe FM.
Sorry for the delay, we skipped a Newsletter, it was a bit complicated to write without a computer... and yet a lot has happened in a month!
And sorry to those who felt concerned by what I said last month, that was absolutely not the objective. The only purpose was to share my disappointment that ecology is so little taken into account when it concerns us all.
Istanbul :
Rico left Istanbul a few days before me, by bus to Romania. He was lucky not to have to leave this huge city by bike! My plan was simple, just 25 km into Istanbul to catch a ferry and find myself on the other side, away from the monstrous traffic... but that was without counting the problems on those first 25 km!
My bike is loaded, the cart tied up in front of Murat's house. I'm already sweating without having made the first pedal stroke. Here we go! I had forgotten how heavy it is... and with Jehol in the cart (I don't take him out in Istanbul, too much traffic) it's even worse. My legs are mad at me from the first climb. Slalom between double parked cars, horns behind my back because I'm too slow but I can't go any faster. In short, everything goes well until a huge roundabout where a car... crashes into the cart! Jehol jumps out, I stop, catch up with Jé, turn around to see the car leaving as fast as possible and the wheel of the cart completely twisted... Great. I must have had it for 10 days. Right. Find a bike shop, unveil the wheel, see that it only works halfway, tell myself we'll fix it better later, miss the first ferry, finally arrive at the port to take the next one. Being refused entry to the next boat because they don't want dogs inside. Next departure tomorrow at 7am.
I set up in a nearby park to spend the night. A lot of people come to talk to me or play with the dog. Two of them tell me that it sucks to sleep in this area. One asks a mosque if I can sleep in the garden, the other asks the police. Both refuse. It's not the most relaxing night... a lot of strange people around. Fortunately, Jehol is there to growl at anyone who gets too close. I don't sleep much for sure but in the morning, everything is fine. We can finally take the ferry and leave Istanbul.
On the road again :
The first day is difficult. I clearly didn't get enough sleep, and my body is not used to it anymore. Despite a long nap in the middle of the day, I set up camp in a field about forty kilometers from the arrival port. One twelve-hour night later, I set off again. After these few days in Istanbul, Jehol is delighted to finally be running free. The days go by, the sun is shining, the landscapes too. There are many watering holes along the roads, Jehol dives into them to refresh himself. In several villages, I am stopped and invited to drink tea. This was enough to revise my Turkish vocabulary and to fill up on sugar (in the tea). There were even two times when some octogenarians sitting at the café, made me stop with the very particular sign (miming in the air to have a spinner to stir his tea) to invite me to drink a tea: I put the bike against a wall and go to see their table, they invite me to sit, ask me questions but there is no tea. We are in the middle of Ramadan. So I am twice invited to drink tea without tea... everyone around a table! You don't change your habits, you adapt them apparently.
The fact of being alone allows me to meet a lot of people. In ten days of cycling, I only pitched the tent four times. The rest of the time, when I ask for water, or a space in a field or a garden, people offer me to sleep inside, in a garden shed or an empty room.
Izmir and the border:
I found accommodation at the last minute in Turkey's third city, proving that travel and Erasmus Facebook groups can be useful even for accommodation when the usual options don't work (warmshower's website in particular). And fortunately, because it's the last big city before Cesme, the port where I plan to take a ferry to Greece, and therefore where I'll finally be able to repair the cart properly and do the necessary paperwork to get Jehol back to Europe!
So I spend three nights there. I stay with a retired teacher who has the project to create an autonomous community in the mountains, so we get along well!
It takes me almost a whole day to repair the wheel of the cart. As it is a bit unusual (20 inches, 20 spokes), there is always something wrong with it. A dozen shops later, I finally find a compromise that seems to work quite well.
I spend a day visiting the city and its huge promenade along the waterfront and go to the vet the next day to fill in the necessary document (international welfare certificate). It's midday when I arrive at the vet's who tells me that it's not his job to fill in the paperwork (contrary to what the ferry company had told me on the phone) but an annex of the Ministry of Agriculture which is open today until 3pm and will only reopen in four days... Great. So I rush to get my bike from the teacher, put Jé in the cart and ride as fast as I can for about ten kilometers in the middle of the city to arrive in time. I have an hour before closing time, so that should do it. After getting lost in the corridors with the dog on a leash, I finally find the right office. They are very nice and take care of my case. They ask me questions, a lot of questions... look at all the dog's papers, it takes a long time, I start to stress saying to myself that maybe a document is still missing or something like that but after fifty minutes it's good, they finally fill in my document, print another one and add an official stamp... In short, the dog is expensive at the border but at least he can go back to Europe!
Chios, the island of wasps!
The last few days of cycling to Cesme were not a problem. We were able to board the ferry after spending two hours in the customs queues, trying to manage the queues as best we could, drawing a zigzag with a bike as they wouldn't let me through with the cars. 40 minutes later, we land on the island of Chios and it's the turn of the Greek border. This time I'm luckier, the official veterinarian had been warned about the dog's arrival, he comes to check my documents, and as he's very nice and likes Jehol, he calls one of his colleagues to make me cut the whole queue, check my passport and get out quickly! It's barely 11am, we are finally in Greece. I take a little tour of the city, which is very pretty with its alleys and stairs, but it's a real hell on a bike. So I ride along the coast to visit as much as to find a nice camp. My choice is a terraced field of olive trees overlooking the turquoise sea. There are worse places to be! There is even a small stream where a clear stream flows.
I set up my tent under an olive tree, and find a stick system to fill my 6L water bag with the thin stream, which is actually infested with wasps. I go back half an hour later, when the bag is full, except that this time I'm not careful not to make any sudden moves, and as a result I get stung in the middle of my forehead. 1-0 for the wasps. I more or less run back with my full water bag, light a cigarette and try to dissolve the venom by the temperature. 1-1. Well, it doesn't hurt too much and I have water. I spend a quiet afternoon by the water and even have the luxury of a campfire on the deserted beach to cook. I go to bed serenely.
And the next day... Impossible to open my eyes! After a quick swim I manage to open my right eye more or less. I take a picture of my head with my phone. Gloups... I think I have an allergy! 2-1 to the wasps! I can't drive like this, I can't see anything... I decide to take the ferry the next day and wait for the swelling to go down a bit. Anyway, I'm not bad here, especially as there is water, even if this time I'll wait for the night and the wasps' departure.
The next day, I manage to open both eyes, it's not so bad. I set off in the early afternoon for the ferry scheduled for this evening. I arrive early enough at the port to have a long coffee and especially to ask for ice cubes! When I take off my sunglasses, the waitress takes a step back... and gives me some ice! 1h later, I'm a bit less like an elephant man to spend the night on the ferry!
Athens:
I arrive in Athens at 5am and take advantage of the early hour and no car to make my way to the place I found to sleep. Once again thanks to Facebook, I meet Prokopis and his dog Kuro who are going to put me up in Athens for the next few days!
At the same time From Aymeric's side
It's been almost a month since I left Istanbul on my bike. There's no need to say it: travelling alone is different!
Once my bus arrived in Bucharest, I discovered a new country, Romania! It presents itself for the first time with its capital, cut into large avenues and large block-shaped buildings. I enter an unknown country but with a familiar Latin language and in search of a roof for this evening.
This roof will be offered to me by Paul, probably the craziest meeting I will have made during my trip! Paul is in his forties, speaks impeccable French and knows the geography of France and its medieval history like the back of his hand, even though he has never set foot there. He lives on the sixth floor in a flat with his three cats, whom he calls Mme la Présidente, Mr. le premier ministre and Mme la ministre des affaires étrangères. I don't understand how one can master the language and geography of a country without ever having set foot there. He then explained to me that in his youth, he studied French at university and to make a little money he had a job on the side. This job was hosting French erotic chatrooms in the 90s, still in the days of the minitel! Our bearded Romanian was pretending to be Natasha or Céline, living in Le Mans or Avignon. He explained to me that in order to build plausible stories he had studied French geography! In the evening, Paul will take me to a clandestine bar that he has set up with his friends. From this evening I will remember a Romanian folk concert, an exceptional debate on Depeche Mode's albums and an after party with my new friend listening to Brel, Joe Dassin or Greco!
Once out of Bucharest I head towards what I dreamt of most in Romania, and the reason I wanted to cross this country: The Carpathians. These are small mountains with breathtaking birch and oak forests... I head for the dirt roads. Unfortunately it starts to rain, and the clay soil sticks to my wheels until my bike stops completely. Fortunately I will be welcomed by Alexei. He goes down to Bucharest but he leaves me his little hut in the woods, with a stove and electricity. I will stay 5 days without internet or phone, in the middle of the Carpathian forest, walking to try to see bears, preparing a garden for Alexei when he comes back and reading in front of my stove... For the Carpathians I couldn't dream better !
Some adventures will follow. Hanz, a crazy geotraveler, invites me to his Fatbike transformation workshop, I sleep on top of a hill in the open hut of a radio antenna, I celebrate Easter with a family of 20 Romanians who pull me out of a storm with gusts of 120 when the tyre of my bike has just been punctured! I will finish my Romanian epic in a campsite in the city of Cluj where I will help Adrian to prepare for the opening while waiting for a package from France.
Today I am in Hungary, soon at the Budapest Gate. My next adventures will take place in this city and maybe also in Wien and Munich!
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