Day Sixty-Five

September 04, 2025

16/07/25 - Day Sixty-Five

The show must go on. I woke to my alarm at 0830, and soon realised there was no way I’d make the 0945 ferry to Yalova. I squirmed around in bed for a short while before getting up and at it. After breakfast and packing, I wrote on Erdinç’s wall like many cycle travellers before, and took a photo of the 3 of us. We said our farewells, and they wished me luck. I only just made the ferry, and only because it left late!

I caught up on the blog while we sailed. I stopped at the supermarket and then sat outside a mosque to eat lunch when I arrived in Yalova. A group of women started (trying) to talk to me. One was especially chatty, she spoke in Bulgarian, and the only thing I could make out was that she spoke Bulgarian and Russian but not English. Despite the clear language barrier, she repeated herself again and again, yet I still could not understand. I think she was saying she lived in the hotel, or that I should stay there. I mimed cycling and then listed some towns I was passing through, to varying reactions. Another lady joined and handed me a bottle of water! She then went on to invite me to be her guest - courtesy of Google translate. Unfortunately, she lived down the coast and a way off my route. I wish I had more time! I said my goodbyes and was back on the road proper.

My body groaned at me, it had gotten too used to being inactive already. By-and-by, it slipped back into the rhythm of things and I was making good progress up the first hill. I was tired from lunch, and so stopped again an hour and a half in. I scranned a whole pack of my new favourite sweet treat - a truly wondrous confection: A marshmallow sandwiched between layers of sponge, coated in chocolate. Now I’m not normally a fan of marshmallows, but the taste was hidden by the other layers. Its main purpose was texture, and oh boy did it hit the spot. Something about how it crumples when bitten into - the different layers each having a different “bite” to it. Remarkable, it really is. A joy to put down my ravenous gullet - even better washed down with a fresh brew of Turk kahvesi! One by one, the pack of eight was deleted. I read for a bit before cracking on.

Only a few miles down the road, it passed right by the shores of the big lake. I couldn’t resist a quick skinny dip to freshen up. The coffee had really perked me up, along with the swim, and I flew up the next climb. The gorgeous evening light was doing wonders on the charming road through the hills. The music was perfect, it was pure euphoria. I topped the climb and began to descend on good, meandering roads. Moments like these fill me with such joy, they epitomise the reasons for such a trip. A high for sure, one that I’m always subconsciously chasing, and for all the lows, they make them so worth it! Smiling all the way down, I then begun to search for a campsite.

After being heckled by a man in a village bar to put my top on, I snuck down the side of an orchard and set up next to the perimeter of the small airport. Maybe riding topless in Muslim countries was a bit disrespectful? I set my tent and was about to cook when a farmer came nearby and was inspecting his crops! I pretended I hadn’t seen him and hoped he wouldn’t move me on. I sat and admired the sunset colours, so was startled by his greeting. I mime asked him if it was ok for me to sleep her and he nodded, so I thanked him kindly. He went on trying to tell me something else but I could not understand what he was getting at. Something about the airport perhaps? He then left, and I began to cook - the old faithful: pesto pasta. Bed at last! A good day. Contentment.