We now find ourselves in Bulgaria, and in a fabulous campsite run by an
English couple Nick and Nicky. Here they treated us to a wonderful roast dinner and a cooked english breakfast, anyone would have thought that we had been away from our favourite dishes for months the way we all salivated.
From our campsite in Bulgaria we went into town to visit the castle and it's ruins, and I also tried a spot of archery, and then after two days of enjoying the bulgarian sunshine and peaceful countryside, it was back in the truck for our journey to Instanbul,Turkey.
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| Andrea having a go at archery |
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| Ben imitating a statue |
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| Out sightseeing in Bulgaria |
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| Bulgaria |
The border into Turkey was an intersting experience, with the truck having issues with entering Turkey and CJ having spending 6 hours in discussions whilst we whiled away the day sitting on a pavement playing cards and chinese whispers. Eventually we were allowed through the border and then were able to make our way to Istanbul, arriving late evening due to the
delays earlier on in the day. We stayed in a hostel, which was centrally located to all the sights, and after our epic journey headed straight out for a kebab. We spent the next few days exploring Istanbul, visiting the Aya Sofia, Blue Mosque and the underground Cisterns. Kebabs were eaten at practically every meal, and we became very close to the kebab men who catered
for our every needs. So after four nights staying in dormatories and being in one place for so long, we all looked forward to a new scene and being on the truck again.
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| Drinking tea, Istanbul |
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| The grand bazaar, Istanbul |
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| The girls in Istanbul |
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| Fresh fish sandwiches from the Bosphorus |
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| Blue Mosque |
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| Aya Sofia |
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| The underground cisterns |
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| Susan on the hubbly bubbly |
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| At the Blue Mosque |
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| Aya sofia |
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| Our favourite kebab man |
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| On the road again |
Goreme was our destination, this time staying in an underground cave on a campsite. Most of the group stayed together in the cave, and it was an experience to say the least, waking up on my birthday with my fellow cave dwellers. My birthday then consisted of a walk into town, and then quad biking around Goreme for the afternoon, which was absolutely brilliant.
Having never quad biked before, I now want one! They are the best fun, and I wished it could have gone on for the whole day. The evening consisted of a meal out in town with the whole of the truck and a few birthday bevvies.
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| Our cave |
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| Goreme |
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| previously inhabited cave dwellings |
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| Church within the rocks |
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| Inside of cave church |
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| Fallick rock formations |
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| Birthday quad biking |
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| Birthday celebrations |
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| Unique landscape of Goreme |
The next day was an early one for most of the group as we went hot air balloning at dawn, which was an amazing experience. The landscape in Goreme is out of this world, with huge fallick shaped rocks jutting out of the ground, and empty caves that were once inhabited until the 1950's. After
balloning, it was a trip to an underground city which was not recomended for the claustrophobic, as it involved climbing down tunnels to different levels and into the caves, bent double with hundreds of tourists around.
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| Susan, Zoe and Emily in the basket of the balloon |
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| Ballooning at sunrise.......magical |
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| Ben and I in the basket |
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| We weren't alone! |
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| Great vantage point |
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| What a sight |
We all tried to do our laundry whilst we could at the campsite, as after Goreme, it's a couple of days bushcamping with no facilities, which could be interesting!!
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