Iranian visa is a go!

Still on the Black Sea. Terrain is getting hilly now: lots of steep long climbs (getting 20% gradients at times) ascending 300 meters or so in height then dropping to sea level. My chain broke earlier today but that's no big problem, a spare link will do for now. The main news is in the title... Got authorisation code for my Iranian visa today! Didn't think I would get it.

Excuse me, mind if we camp on your beach?

Teamed up with an Aussie on his way home and Rob, a Brit on his way to Japan. We're working our way through the north of Turkey along the coast which is getting hilly. Camped on a village beach tonight a few miles short of a large town.

On the road again and into Asia Minor

Finally set off from Istanbul yesterday having spent a few days getting visas and carousing. Travelling with a fellow Brit for a few days along the Black Sea coast. In order to avoid the worst of the traffic we got a ferry to the top of the Bosphorus then headed out. Tried to follow a road that wasn't on all the maps (dotted line connection, no good ever came of them!) which was not a good idea... Road petered out to a track and less. Ended up camping near what would've been a perfect beach if it weren't for assorted rubbish. Woken up in the night by wolves howling at each other. In the morning we paw the paw prints of one a few feet away in the sand. Spent today slogging into strong headwinds and over a lot of hills. Currently camped up by another beach that we were directed to by some guys in a van. They had been heading to China but are now on the way to Africa. Nice chaps, cooked us a great meal!

Well there's a turn up for the books

It should be my final day in Istanbul today as I picked up my Indian visa this afternoon. This means I've got to stop lounging around and go and do things in preperation such as pick up ferry timetables (they don't go where I want when I want: curses!), get a new waterproof (only £6 as well, although the concept of breathable does not seem to apply), pick up laundry and so on.

Another chore for today was to refresh my reading material. Finish off the book I was reading (Tunnel Rats since you ask), swap it and buy a new book as well. Decided to go for a book by Orhan Pamuk, who is Turkeys best selling writer and winner of the 2006 Nobel prize for literature. I've read a lot of his work and was in a city centre English language book shop trying to choose what to get. Tough choice and in the end I decided that rather than get his latest, the only one I haven't read, I'd go for one I liked on a previous readıng, The New Life. As I ummed and ah-ed making this choice the assistant who'd pointed me to the right section said "Actually see that man who's just come in? That's him. You could ask him to sign the book if you like." Which I duly did...

Getting (things) done in Isntabul

Currently getting a couple of visas sorted here. First is the Iranian, and I'm starting to feel a little more optimstic with this one having met a truck full of overlanders who've aquired 20 out of the 23 visas they applied for, although to be fair they wangled them as an 'academic trip'. Still, getting the applicaion into an agency on another browser window right now.

The other visa is for India... just got ****** by the good old British FCO on that one. £63 for a 'Letter of Recommendation' that took all of five mınutes to produce. My ****ing gov't (and I don't just mean the politicos here) are a bunch of mercenary gits. Anyway, should get the Indian vısa on Frıday at which point I'll get on the road agaın. Spent far too much time here drinking with backpackers, overlanders and Aussies. Actually it's been good to have some company rather than just ranting to myself all day. Could do without the hangovers though. Also met an Aussie/ Canadian couple who are cycling from London to Austrlia and a fellow Brit, Rob, on his way to Japan after being made redundant. Now Rob I'd come across by reputation earlier in the trip as a few times people told me about another English long distance cyclist who'd inevitably passed through a day or two beforehand. Good to finally meet the chap!

In other news got conned by a taxi driver today on my way to get shafted by my own gov't (had to grab a cab to get there durıng theır short opening hours). When I went to pay the driver palmed the 50 I'd given him and showed me the 5 he said I gave him. Now a 5 and a 50 look quite similar and I was in a hurry so I chucked him 'the right money'. When I counted it later I realised the con... still, he took me for less than HMG!

Snakes!

As I was strolling back to my hostel this evening I came across a local TV crew doing some filming. I was intrigued so took a closer look. It was a young lady in a box being slowly filled with water and snakes... she was locked in and had to dual into the water to get the key to free herself. Each time she did so water and snakes flowed over the top with the later attempting to slither off to safety. Alas, no matter how many keys she tried she couldn't free herself! Oh no! The drama! The horror! 
Until out of camera shot a crew member slid the key down the water pipe to her that is. By this point I was laughing out loud. Unfortunately the photo does not do this spectacle justice.

Sight seeing in Istanbul

Busy day of touristing and doing bits and bobs. Still in aquire suitable maps but I have located a good bike shop (thanks Rich!) and done other chores. 
And sights wise got an unexpected bonus in the shape of a pod of dolphins playing by the bridge I was crossing.

On the road into Istanbul... nightmare!

If you read my Facebook status updates this will be old news. If not then for the record cycling into Istanbul is not a pleasant experience, involving some 40 km of dual and treble carriageway of fast moving aggresive traffic, long steep hills and when I did it stiff winds. 
If you're contemplating it I recommend nerves of steel and pulling a right straight before the airport. Personally I'm putting the bike on a ferry or train to get out of here.

My last shopska salad?

After a morning spent cycling up hills (what is the difference between mountains and hills btw?) I'm 10 km from the Turkish border. Time to take on liquids and have one last shopska salad which is a bit like a Greek salad only it's Bulgarian. And with less olives.

Forced to spend another day on a beach

Life is hard. I'll try for Turkey again tomorrow as the rain has cleared. Just have to endure another day of chilling, sun bathing and beer I guess.

How I discovered I'd lost my waterproof

I was intending to enter Turkey today, which involved about 100 km of mostly mountain. Got a little way in and now I'm intending to head back to the coast and try again tomorrow.

The Black Sea

Been chilling on the beach today after the nightmare of going through Varna yesterday (the Eastern European capital of package holiday hell). When I got to the campsite they told me my mar was out of date and a lot of the other campsites had shut now... people wanted rooms now they had more money. I don't think that's the reason at all. I think it's Central and Eastern European habit of being loud annoying ****s playing music at top volume and getting shouting drunk until the early hours. Just a thought. Mind, they looked surprised when I crawled out of my tent at 2am and told them "For goodness sake turn that down". Note to self: stop being so English and tell them to **** off next time.

Vegetarian pizza Bulgarian style

Finally of the course of the Danube after having followed it for about 3000km. A relatively quick and painless swing south and I'm onto the Black Sea coast. Had to get a room go the first place due to disappearing campsite syndrome (where they appear on the mar but not in reality - generally occurs after particularly long days in conjunction with rain). So. Got me a vege pizza! With, hmm, lemme see. The contents of a bag of frozen veg on top. That's baby carrots, broccoli, peas. It doesn't really work and to make matters worse the peas make everything else slide off. If I'd known I wouldn't have ordered the side salad.

Romania

Crossed over to the Romania side of the Danube to see what it's like. Poor for accommodation (€53! WTF!) but good for cycling is what it's like! Very friendly people, not much motorisied traffic, good quality roads. Very very poor though, with abandoned and ruined collective farms and heavy industry still in abundance. Something went horribly wrong here and the people are still paying the price 20 years later.

Bulgaria

Hit the first town and asked a kid the way to the tourist info office on my map. Kid said to follow him so I did. He then asked for money "for drink". At which point he ducked behind a car to throw up. He told me it was the drink that did that to him. And asked for money "for drink" again. I laughed and said no. He then showed me a property management 'office' and looked even more confused than previously when I said that wasn't what I was looking for. Then asked for money for drink again. I made my excuses and left. This did not endear the country to me although in retrospect maybe it should have. picture is of some quality road I went down.

Eurovelo 6 signs, Serbian style

I've posted on the Eurovelo route signs before, and how I wasn't impressed with them in Hungary. Well, I've got to say they're a damn site more useful in Serbia. When they exist... Still, it was only on my last day of using them that I noticed the small print at the bottom. The first that caught my eye were where there was a choice of routes and gave advice about the different roads. Cool. So I checked out the next one... which said "No matter how far you travel you will not meet that girl who smiles out at you from the brochure". I was hooked after that.