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With 6 friends in Kavala

The bus ride yesterday was was an exceptionally good one, met with Paolo, a young Italian with so much energy and great ideas to share. Enjoyed talking film, art from recyled materials and life in general while zooming through the landscape. The bus ride also called for a small bribe to the bus driver for letting me ride all the way to Kavala on a ticket that really only would take me across the border. Paolo helped me out with the money he had but I was still 20 liras short, the bus attendant, the right arm kept saying, “chief, big problem” insisting on mor money. I offered him my sweaty shirt to make up for the rest but he just smiled sacasticly and left us alone. On the bright side, some Indian “snus” donate to me by a Finnish customs officer on some kind of exchange at the Greek/Turkish border, a life saver. It was superior to see the bus driver hand over candy and sodas to the Turkish customs to make things run smoother.

So, back in Greece to pick up the camera that my cousin Nils Nyman sponsored me with for this expedition. Staying here with Theo, a guy a met at a bench in the harbour last time I passed thorugh Kavala, great man who is setting up a virtual tour of his home town @ www.kavalatour.gr.

More bright news is that I will have company on the road riding east through Turkey. I was contacted a week ago by Filip Wistrand, thought for a second, answered hell yes and now he is flying into Istanbul in a few days. We’ll be on the road for a month together. Hoping to do some high passes in the Mountains here before hitting the Kaukasus!

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happy

Friends, it has taken me a moment to settle here in Istanbul and to gather my thoughts. I have reached the end of my journey through Europe for this time around and I ready to head into Asia in a few days. This is where the adventure begins.

Just after a few days in Turkey I have been able to understand the it is quite a different country from what I had expected. Turkey is divided into two blocks, the European part, Thrace which is about 3% of the country and Anatolia in Asia which is some 97%. From what I understood, at least in this the European part, the former leader Ataturk is of fundamental importance to the people and their identity. This westernised leader claimed the country from the allied forces after the first world war and people say that without Ataturk, there would be no Turkey.

I really have felt the famous Turkish hospitality in small towns where people freely invites me to sit down for a cup of tea or at a
the gas station where I was invited to stay overnight and was later also treated to a dinner by the kind staff. I have met the smiling Turkish population with admiration and returning smiles. I have one question though. What happens to these people when they get behind the wheel of a truck. What once was a smiling world citizen becomes a brutal beast. Trust me on this one, it is crazy. The traffic in general is not a problem. But the trucks, they drive these beasts like there was no tomorrow. Several times on the route to Istanbul I found the only escape route was the ditch and so quite often.

I met up with a couple of Dutch bikers just before getting into Istanbul and we joined forces against the notorious traffic and the 8 lane highway. All was going well until the one Dutch biker in the lead goit tackled by a car at an exit and left laying on the ground while the driver took off without much more than a shrug of the shoulder. EDIT: vital information: the dutch biker is alive and kickin’ after the accident if still maybe a tad bit irritaded with the traffic!

This is the reality on the roads but this harsh environment is made up for by the life giving blessing of Turkish coffee and the grilled meat that is handed out for a small amount of money.

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