Reality Bites!!!

Christine:

We are currently in a lovely little town called Ayvalik, on the western coast of Turkey. The people of this country are so friendly and helpful, its been great! We had breakfast at our hotel, the Kaptan Otel, on the seafront terrace. Breakfast was light, consisting of olives and cheese and veggies and bread with jam.

We have had to abandon our plan of going east to Cappadoccia. The distance is greater than I thought, the roads aren't fabulous and there are a lot of lorries, and the price of fuel is higher than the UK! We would just have to spend the next two days drivıng, whıch isn't much fun for either of especially Barry!

So far we've managed to stay out of the tourist areas and its been pleasant and 'real', but tomorrow we head to Ephesus, which apparently is tourist central, so it will be a bit mad. We've seen some lovely small villages along the way and some gorgeous scenery. The food has been lovely so far as well, and everyone unfailing friendly and helpful. The weather is hot and sunny - a far cry from the rain and cold we left in London! It cools down nicely at night, though. It is Ramadan over here, which means that the country comes alive at night. Everything is open and people are out walking around and eating and drinking until the wee hours. It's a great atmosphere and lots of fun!

Barry aka Driverboy:

I have become an evil Mad Max character, brought about by the insane Turkish drivers. After just 10 mintes, I learned never to indicate or give any sign that I was about to make any maneouver as this is just seen as a sign of weakness to be preyed upon!

But when they are not behind the wheel, the Turkish are lovely people, who will serve you a cup of coffee consisting of what they would normally tarmac the roads with. The scenery is good, sea is good, everything is good.