Now I've always been the kind of person that doesn't like to trespass, but sometimes you jus

Well, It’s been about two weeks since I’ve last updated this, and it’s not for lack of anything to write about! The last two weeks have been pretty full of cycling and exploring.

I left Fethiye without knowing just how good I had it. The hostel I was at was amazing! I had three days on the road covering about 300km to reach Antalya. Along the way I had a few pretty big, soul crushing hills, some gorgeous winding sections of road caught between azure waters and rock faces. I did cheat a little on one hill - I had a guy pass me in a tractor and motion for me to grab ahold and he would tow me up the remainder of the hill! It was a welcome break on my legs, but my left arm was feeling a little sore from being dragged up the hill!

On the second day out of Fethiye I ran into a retiree from Germany on the road. i was stopping to take off my sweater as the morning chill began to dissipate, when he invited me to his home for coffee! The offer of coffee very quickly turned into an offer of a place to stay for multiple days - I kindly declined, but accepted the offer of lunch. Once a maritime engineer, Kunu Harms has now settle with his Turkish wife in the countryside halfway between Kas and Demre! If I didn’t have some plans to meet up with a couple American women I had met in Pamukkale I could see myself spending a night or two in their company. Kunu is about the same age as my grandparents, though, much more chatty. Over the course of my three hour break I learned just about his entire story in addition to the origins of the A4 paper size and how you can divide an A4 sheet of paper to achieve a standard postcard size, or a business card size. And, that when you multiply out the A4 paper size you eventually get to one square meter. 

A second reason not to linger too long with Kunu and his wife was that it was forecast to rain all day on my last day to Antalya. The forecast was entirely correct. I was able to get packed up in the morning before the rain began - It is always a real hassle to dry everything out later in the day. I spent about 3 hours cycling in torrential rain while making my way up the coast from the south. By far my wettest day on the bike yet! I also suffered a flat tire on my way out of Kemer, ~45km from the elusive warmth of a hostel. Following a puncture I am always a little neurotic with fear that I didn’t change the tube properly, or in this case, that the patch on the tube I had just installed wouldn’t hold. Fortunately it did hold, and continues to hold air with no problems! I spent four nights in Antalya in total, two nights in two different hostels. Not an ideal situation to move from one place to another, but in this case it turned out for the best because the first hostel I went to was a little gross. The bathrooms weren’t really cleaned, and the cleanliness of the bed linens could probably be called into question as well. 

I spent the majority of my time in Antalya in and around the old city/harbour area, but did venture a little further afield to visit the Antalya Museum (the most statues I’ve seen since visiting the Louvre), a number of coffee shops, and the Duden Waterfalls. I really enjoyed Antalya - especially the walkways along the cliffside looking out towards the mountains in the south-west. I left Antalya on the 25th with plans to take the ferry from Tasucu to Girne on the 28th. The first day out of Antalya was unexpectedly rainy and windy. I had hoped for better weather, but sometimes it just doesn’t work out that way. I found some gorgeous looking camping spots along the coast across from massive resorts left empty over the winter, but decided to continue cycling until I could find some water for making soup for dinner, and for coffee the next morning. I wasn’t able to find any taps for over 10km. After cycling that distance I had no desire to backtrack, so I continued further down the road. I came to a little section of forest just off the main highway and decided to go a few hundred meters up the road to find a spot for the night. I passed a family and their goats on the road off the highway. They were kind enough to hold back their 5 large dogs and allowed me to pass up the road. Once in the forest the dogs left the sides of their owners and found me scoping out places for my tent in the forest. They were not happy to have me in their neighbourhood. The first dog started barking from the road, then three more came within 25 feet of me and continued to bark. Fortunately one of the owners came, saw me, and tried to get the dogs to come back with him and the goats to their home around the corner. All I could do was sit there in the forest and wait for the dogs to move on. After 30 minutes the last dog left and I gathered the courage to move again and find a spot a little deeper in the forest - as I did, I saw the Jandarma (military-like police force) turn down the same driveway the goats and dogs disappeared down. I didn’t have the most restful sleep that night, but at least I wasn’t forced to move.

Cycling on the 26th I ended up meeting another cyclist on the road! Mathieu from Switzerland was also on his way to the ferry in Tasucu. We rode together for an hour or so out of Alanya, he had to make a stop at a little shop and I elected to continue riding (I am a little faster than him in general). In parting I did offer to keep an eye out for a camping spot fit for two tents in the afternoon. I came close to giving up on him that night, I had found a spot but didn’t want to linger around on the road too long before going to set up my tent and start dinner. He came around a bend with just two minutes to spare on my deadline.

Mathieu and I have actually been together since then. We cycled the remainder of the way to Tasucu, had a brief pit-stop at Bayram’s house (warmshowers connection) before taking the ferry on the evening of the 28th. The ferry was delayed for around 4 hours do to the high winds on Sunday - this actually worked out well because our arrival time in Cyprus was delayed until 9 in the morning, rather than 4 in the morning!

From Girne we cycled into Nicosia to find accomodation for a night or two - the first place we tried was on the Greek side of the divided city. It took a little detouring, but eventually we got to the youth hostel building. Upon arrival we discovered that the hostel has been closed for 3 years - It is now occupied by EU volunteers. The women who were living there were really kind, they invited us in for a coffee, helped us find alternate accommodation in Nicosia, and invited us out for drinks in the evening as well! We spent the afternoon getting settled in a hotel and exploring the greek and turkish sides of the city. In our wandering we ran into another cycle tourist! Blagomyr from the Ukraine was out and about in the city, leaving his partner and newborn child at the place they are housesitting. The three of them are cycling around the world together, but taking a bit of a break in Cyprus before continuing through Iran.

Nicosia was a little expensive, especially after coming through Turkey - we headed west through the north to reach Polis after two days, then south across the Akamas Peninsula to reach Paphos yesterday afternoon. 

On the whole it has been nice to have someone to share experiences (and expenses) with. That said, travelling with someone does add a level of complexity and detracts a little from individual freedom. I can’t necessarily go wherever I want, or do whatever I please, when I am travelling with someone. Even something as trivial as what to do for dinner becomes this slightly awkard dance - me not wanting to impose anything on him, but at the same time, not desiring to feel any pressure to do anything that I don’t want to do. For the most part it’s been good though! I spent this morning walking around the Paphos Archaeological site - it has some stunning mosaics! Tomorrow the plan is to cycle together to Limassol and spend two or three nights there. Mathieu is then heading back towards Turkey, and I am continuing east to my home away from home in Paralimni for four weeks! 

I just want to take a quick moment to comment on the weird dynamics that exist in this divided country. Cyprus has been separated since a failed US-backed greek cypriot-lef coup in the early 1970’s which drew the invasion of Turkish forces in 1974. The north and south have been divided since then, only opening border crossings between the Republic of Cyprus and the Turkish Republic of North Cyprus in 2003. Divisions are still firmly drawn, with both sides still seemingly bitter with one another over the 1974 skirmish and continuing occupation(s). What little I have read about the history, both recent and ancient is fascinating! There is also a British enclave here - land not given up to the state of Cyprus after their independence beginning in 1955 - land taken from the Turks in the wake of the First World War. I’ve crossed the Green Line a half dozen times since arriving here. Each time I cross this demilitarized, UN patrolled zone, I have to show my passport to leave one side and again to enter the other. Visa restrictions may be the only thing shared by the two sides. 

That’s the latest from me! I’m going to get back outside and enjoy some of the Cyprus sunshine with all the UK retirees and expats!