28 October ’04, Thursday. Crickets are in full swing from a small stream about 40 yards to our left, the full moon rises out of the sea in front of us as we sit in our easy chairs under 4 large Pine trees. The surf is calm off of the Mediterranean with a slight breeze coming from our right. The temperature is hovering around 75 degrees and we are the only camper in town. Again, we seem to have the whole place to ourselves…well not quite, as there is a Turkish lady that lives here on the campground, and there is one other caravan that is here as well. After last night, we have found heaven. Last night started out OK, but as we started to settle into bed, a dog that we knew was next to us, started to bark and cry…ALL NIGHT LONG…. I really wanted to do something drastic, but… Anyway, somehow, we did get some sleep in between yelps and cries, but it was short.
I guess that if we are going to look for “Free Camping” in service stations, we are just going to have to put up with a little discomfort once in awhile. As it was, we did get some sleep and were out of there at 9am. Unfortunately, on top of all this, Louise has a case of the “Turkey Trots”…not good timing, but that type of thing never comes at the right time. Even tonight she is having a little difficultly. The road trip today took us on a route through some of the poorest parts of Turkey that we have seen yet. Life there was very simple to say the least. We have seen more of the “traditional dress” for the ladies in the last two days than we have seen for the whole trip. The head is covered with a printed shawl, the dress is dark and printed (in most cases), and is like “Sultan” or “Harem” pants…bloused at the legs and tight at the lower calf. Heavy socks are also part of the dress. One of the other sightings we have seen more and more of, is the small cart being pulled by a small horse or donkey. A lot of the time, we will see the whole family riding in the cart with some of the wood they have gathered for the day. With Winter coming soon, and with no central heating in any of the houses, wood and coal are the main stay for heat. Wood is by far the most used. Another note for the day…, the trucks. You would not believe the amount of trucks on the roads, and the heavy and over-sized vehicles are the norm. They stack these trucks so high and wide, that when they go down the road, they have a tough time keeping them in their lanes. And when they go through the smaller villages, it is full bore to the floor…Get the heck out of the way. When they go through the larger towns they take up so much of the lanes that it is tough to be beside them. Also, they blow the blackest diesel smoke you could imagine…EVERYWHERE.
Tomorrow…A new day to look forward too
I guess that if we are going to look for “Free Camping” in service stations, we are just going to have to put up with a little discomfort once in awhile. As it was, we did get some sleep and were out of there at 9am. Unfortunately, on top of all this, Louise has a case of the “Turkey Trots”…not good timing, but that type of thing never comes at the right time. Even tonight she is having a little difficultly. The road trip today took us on a route through some of the poorest parts of Turkey that we have seen yet. Life there was very simple to say the least. We have seen more of the “traditional dress” for the ladies in the last two days than we have seen for the whole trip. The head is covered with a printed shawl, the dress is dark and printed (in most cases), and is like “Sultan” or “Harem” pants…bloused at the legs and tight at the lower calf. Heavy socks are also part of the dress. One of the other sightings we have seen more and more of, is the small cart being pulled by a small horse or donkey. A lot of the time, we will see the whole family riding in the cart with some of the wood they have gathered for the day. With Winter coming soon, and with no central heating in any of the houses, wood and coal are the main stay for heat. Wood is by far the most used. Another note for the day…, the trucks. You would not believe the amount of trucks on the roads, and the heavy and over-sized vehicles are the norm. They stack these trucks so high and wide, that when they go down the road, they have a tough time keeping them in their lanes. And when they go through the smaller villages, it is full bore to the floor…Get the heck out of the way. When they go through the larger towns they take up so much of the lanes that it is tough to be beside them. Also, they blow the blackest diesel smoke you could imagine…EVERYWHERE.
Tomorrow…A new day to look forward too