Middle-aged flash packers

Plans are there to be changed.

Up early and on the ferry to Çanakkale by 9am. Took all of 15mins. Quite scary though, you seem much more vulnerable on a little ferry.

Because it was Sunday and most people weren’t working, it was easy getting out of the town and we were soon making good progress towards Yeni Foca,our stop for the night.

I kept seeing signs for “karadut suyu “and people selling dark coloured bottles at the roadside. 

I got Steve to pull over by one of the signs and woke the sleeping young man to ask him what it was. Mulberry juice was the reply. He gave me a cup to try and it was delicious so I bought a big bottle. Look forward to trying it later.

We made good time and before long we were only 9kms away from Yeni Foca.

I could see a huge oil refinery on the opposite side of the bay and as we drove along the road, industrial chimneys spewed out noxious looking brown clouds into the air. I could taste the chemicals and a thin,malignant haze hung over the surrounding area. The Lonely Planet guide described Foca as a typical Turkish coastal resort. Poor Devils is all I can say. It’s time to throw that guide book away, I think it might be out of date.

Basically Foca is a hell hole. When we were 3 Kms away we pulled over to get some bread and stuff for lunch. (Nowhere to eat of course due to Ramazan being strictly observed in this area). I broke the news to Steve I didn’t want to stay here. Luckily he felt the same and suggested we bite the bullet and head straight for Dalaman. The sat nav calculations showed we could be there by 6.30pm. Change of plan for the better!

60 Euros lighter (the cost of our prebooked accommodation) we took the ring road around Izmir which was an absolute blessing as Izmir is a gigantic sprawl and I couldn’t face even the thought of driving through it. 

This area of Turkey is industrial and ugly. There is no charm of any sort left in the towns and cities, just thousands of apartment blocks in unrelenting concrete.

Yuk. 

As we headed toward the Mediterranean coast of Turkey, the industry became less and the scenery more beautiful. Thank goodness! No chemical industries here – yet.

We had a couple of tea and wifi stops and eventually Dalaman was in our sights. 

Dally is not the prettiest of towns but compared to the hideous development of what we had left behind, it was gorgeous. 

Our house was a very welcome sight as were our neighbours sipping cay in their allotment next door. 

I unpacked my case for the first time in 2 and a half weeks. I went round the house, systematically reacquainting myself with its contents. I inspected the garden to see what was flourishing and what had disappeared.

A quick shower, change and ready for a stroll to the nearest eatery – at last, time to relax!

This will probably be the last blog entry for a couple of weeks until our return journey to the UK via Bulgaria, Romania,Slovakia,Hungary, Austria,Germany and France. Maybe.