22 October ’04, Friday. Believe it or not, but we went to bed at 8:30pm and didn’t get up until just before 8am this morning. For some reason we were just pooped… Our campground was supposed to have hot water for showers (according to our receptionist), but that just isn’t the case. We have read and experienced the campgrounds that have solar hot water and so far only one has had anything close to warm for us to shower in. Oh well, SWSWSW (Some Will, Some Wont, So What)….next. This morning it was cereal, toast, and coffee and then off for a long walk into ªile. With high clouds overhead, we were just hoping that it wouldn’t want to rain on us. Our goal today is to just explore the town and find the grocery store, bakery, and internet café. On our way into town yesterday we did see three or four grocery stores, a couple of bakeries, and one internet café, so I guess our work was done before it started. It was interesting to see about 20-25 men on the streets of the town, compared to 1 woman. There has always been more men present in the restaurants, but on the streets, you have always seen a higher percentage of women than what we have seen here. As we got deeper into town we heard a band playing somewhere ahead. Curious, we went looking for the source. It happened to be at the school (equivalent of our high school). All the students and facility were out in front of the school listening to a Turkish Army Band from Istanbul. Everyone was thoroughly enjoying the music. Louise and I found a location close to the fence to see and listen, but that didn’t last long, as we were approached by one of the school facility members. He couldn’t speak any English (and of course, we couldn’t speak any Turkish, darn it…), but he invited us up were the rest of the facility was listening, and wouldn’t take “No Thanks” for an answer. So up we went. We did find ourselves with better seats… Next to me was a man (school security officer) that did speak English and we had a great conversation. This school assembly was great, as the students were really enjoying the band music and, enjoying the opportunity to be entertained by the “Army Band”. When it was all over, we were delighted to see the interaction of the students and the army men. The girls especially were taken with them being there. Excitement over, we said our “Good-Byes” and headed back down the street. Luck would have it, as we walked into a huge bazaar/market going on just around the corner. One of the most memorable items at the market was the cabbage…Not just a cabbage, but all the HUGE CABBAGES !!!! They were beyond huge really. We had to take pictures. We did our shopping and headed out for lunch and then the walk back to “Bumble Bee”. Another great day in our many days of this journey…
Tomorrow…A little depends on the weather, but…
Tomorrow…A little depends on the weather, but…