Kusmez Hotel Altinkum

I've always been proud of how infrequently I get sick and how resilient I am to food from other cultures. Traveled China and Ethiopia with little or no difficulty. But something is in my gut now and it's not happy! Moving hurts, and anything that I attempt to put inside is rejected immediately!

For 3 days now we've been laid up in this lovely hotel, where we've been stuffed full of tea until it leaks out our ears, trying to recover. The first ...

... the dog to bark enough to alert someone inside. Turns out there are no coastal roads and we’ll have to backtrack to Cesme and try to find an old road that shadows the bike-banning highway.

But that something that can be worried about tomorrow. Now we’re being led through a property to have tea while listening to booming Turkish music and watching the sun glint off the waves.

... ready to be hacked apart?

Where does the main attraction in town cost $2 to view?

Where do huge dogs roam the street and chase you on your bike?

Where do you eat olives for breakfast?

Where can you talk to anyone on the street and they will help you with directions?

Where can you buy a kilo of freshly roasted pistachios for about $10?

Where do your write down your ...

Destination 396

[Ferry]

According to the fact, that I already have travelled around Eastern Europe at the beginning of this worldtrip, there was little reason - or better said, little money left - to do it again. So it was planed to take one of those many ferrys connecting almost every corner of the european coast of the Mediterranean Sea.
Chios, Northeast Aegean Islands, Greece pajas

... fresh fruit and veg which was all served at breakfast. The room was nice and bright with 3 single beds and an en-suite. The downside to the room was the lack of any sound proofing which meant that the group of people in the chill-out area could be heard into the early hours and the high winds, which Alacati is famous for, howling through the night.

In town, we found a ...

Today we piled into a mini van and took off to explore the island from which my family comes from. Chios is a fairly large island here in Greece and it is located aprox 8 nautical miles from the west coast of Turkey. The island has a rich history of which played a pivotal role in my ancestors life. Chios is the only island in which the Mastique tree produces a hardened resin. Mastique trees in other areas of the island and in other countries produce a soft ...

... church. I thought I'd go over and climb to just above it and try for a photo of the town with the church framed in the foreground.

But, the framing wasn't to be found. However, coming back down past the church I heard some raucous voices emanating from an open window in the building just behind the church. Standing unseen beneath the window I recorded the voices from ...

This entry may be boring to those not interested in the mundane, nitty gritty, just nuts and bolts of travel stuff. But, actually, there is a lot: travel, coincidences, harried timing, crossing the sea and a border. A Day in the Life.

On Sunday, February 8th, I took an over-night train to return to Izmir after a couple of weeks on a "side trip" to Ankara. I needed to leave Turkey by Tuesday the 10th as my 90-day Tourist Visa was to expire on that date. One merely needs ...

... of the "Mother of Captains." The harbour has electricity and, intermittently, water. The village sits attractively on a steep hill running down to the harbour. The views across to Khios are wonderful and the harbour is very sheltered from all winds. Oinoussos is famed for its sea captains and wealthy ship owners who are native to the island. There is a maritime museum and a merchant navy college here. It has a number of very expensive mansions both ancient and modern which ...

... gave my second to the Sydney girls I shared a cab with. By this time Kristin was spending most the evening on the patio crying so we were taking turns trying to cheer her up and be supportive. The little bit of time I spent inside dancing and chatting with the other girls was fun. Kristin was gone to the bathroom for a while and I was sent to go check on her and found her just as she had come out (she had been sick). Back up to the bar and it wasn't long before she ...