Today's travel is a transfer from Izmir to Bandirma, no cycling and no real adventures.
We spent a long time trying to figure out how to cross the 300km between Izmir and Bandirma. It's a hot, mountainous region with very few towns, so we didn't really feel like cycling it.
There are trains, but they don't allow bicycles. There are buses, but they don't allow bikes either. In the end we hired a 16-seat minibus with leather seats and a driver. Luxury!
Looking out of the window confirmed what we thought - this is not good cycling territory. We passed countless stalls selling melons at the start, then endless fields of wheat, sunflowers, olive trees and the odd vineyard.
Along the way we passed four police roadblocks, two of which we had to stop at. They didn't care about us, but our driver had to produce a bunch of paperwork.
We're staying in a hotel right across from the ferry port, hopefully it will be straightforward to get our 9am ferry tomorrow although we haven't been able to get a definite confirmation we can take our bikes onboard.
Love, Kat & Mat x
We spent a long time trying to figure out how to cross the 300km between Izmir and Bandirma. It's a hot, mountainous region with very few towns, so we didn't think we could cycle it. There are trains and buses, but they don't allow bicycles. In the end we hired a 16-seat minibus with leather seats and a driver.
Last night we stayed in a hotel full of suites and the owner couldn't have been sweeter. He upgraded us to an even bigger suite and carried our bikes down to the basement for safe keeping. In the morning he gave us each a hand-made key ring!
Bandirma is a bustling passenger ferry port with a huge bus station and festive nightlife. We stayed in a hotel right across from the ferry port.
