Day 14; Bogazcik
I wake feeling refreshed after a night in the tent. It had been a hot and airless evening so definitely no need for my sheet sleeping bag. I awoke at midnight and heard rummaging over by the café. After transporting myself to the Apalacian Trail in America and thinking it was grizzly bears about to rip open my tent for biscuits I realised it was foxes by the noise they made. Phew!
As I did extra walking yesterday today should have been fine but despite a carbohydrate loaded free diner and supermarket sweet things today my legs/body/mind/heat-tolerance failed me and I struggled for the last 5km. Really struggled. Luckily my unbooked accommodation plan has space and I take to my bed in exhausted state though only after a beer of course. I have in the past puzzled at these strange types who walk then collapse into their dormitory bed in the late afternoon and now it was me.
I had in mind a beer for breakfast and though I had a 5 minute opportunity by the time I was packed the café was closed again.
Yesterday's post may have published late as I was in a rare spot with no WiFi or mobile signal.
I usually say more about the wildlife. The goats stink as they do everywhere. April is a good time to do this walk as the April flowers are out. But at this time of year when everything is dry something magical happens, a bulb whose leaves have withered and died puts up a flower spike from the dry and stoney ground. They are about three to four feet tall and grow in abundance.
My main news is that today I encountered quite a few people - two couples and a group of 12 German walkers - all going the other way.
Spectacular scenery as ever.
As I did extra walking yesterday today should have been fine but despite a carbohydrate loaded free diner and supermarket sweet things today my legs/body/mind/heat-tolerance failed me and I struggled for the last 5km. Really struggled. Luckily my unbooked accommodation plan has space and I take to my bed in exhausted state though only after a beer of course. I have in the past puzzled at these strange types who walk then collapse into their dormitory bed in the late afternoon and now it was me.
I seem to have been blighted by misinformation on this trip though I only have myself to blame for not double checking. I thought the clocks went back at the end of September as they do in the UK but Turkey now stays on Turkey Time all year and has done so since 2016.
My story for this trip is that the current Turkish language was created soon after the Republic of Turkey was founded in 1923. Indeed, the old Arabic script was replaced with the Roman alphabet in 1928. And it's true!
Dinner smells delicious and as my host appeared keen that I should shower and rest I must get to cleaning myself up though frankly I can hardly stand.
On arriving in the village the school bus pulled up and seven infant sized children got out. They went to a water dispenser and helped themselves to refreshing chilled water using a metal cup provided. Not a plastic bottle in sight. The Turkish villages I have passed through will have a Mosque but the village itself can be quite spread out with a mix of old and new buildings. Here there is a new playground and a smart outdoor gym alongside some farm machinery and an old cistern. Two hours after being dropped off from school the children are still playing in the street outside.
All of my accommodation so far has been en-suite with European style plumbing. Today is more traditional with a squat toilet and shower that comes with a water saving jug.
The temperatures cool over the next few days then rain comes on Sunday and Monday. Given the state I was in today I have a broad plan on how to continue without killing myself, still seeing Turkey, and not having to change my existing bookings. Part of that includes a trip to Myra which my original plan missed. Yes, a bus may be involved though I need to work out the details.
