Woke with a bit of a 'thick head' after a few too many beers and some Bulgarian spirit that was apparently very strong - its taste was as close to 'pocheen ( the irish stuff) as I have tasted..
They cut our 'all inclusive' wrist tags off and we were in the van and away; an earlyish start down the Black Sea coast road and then in land. Writing about how crap a road can possibly get can not capture just how bad it was......a few stats and facts.....Susan doesn't get car sick; she did and the van was duly stopped whilst she went around the back......we did 18 miles in one hour - you could cycle faster on a decent road !! This was a border crossing road that was pot-holed, overgrown and just not really used - this southern part of Bugaria is heavily wooded and hence is very low on population, cars, horses and carts....anything. The van's suspension was being trashed as I weaved from one side of the road to another trying to avoid the massive holes...
The Bulgarian Turkey border crossing was remote, high in altitude and interesting.....many many badly built concrete buildings rotting and overgrown no doubt the legacy of more stringent border controls from the past. .......the contrast was still stark between the disinterested Bulgarian side ( exiting) and the bureaucracy of the Turks( entering). Its all out of the van and into a vast concrete horror of a building - passports and visas at one booth then over to a different booth to check the car insurance and log book.......
Before travelling, I had been assured that we did not need a Green Card for any of the countries we were visiting. Susan showed them the insurance document that stated that we were covered for all EU countries....the woman shook her head......'Turkey is not in the EU' .......
All not lost, they will sell you a green card for a month for 35 Euros, a lot less than expected !.....another booth, another person, another eternity as they meticulously enter all sorts of info into the computer.....We are at the border post for 40 minutes and only 4 vehicles had passed through...not sure what happens when it gets busy , if it ever does, but glad we did not have to experience it. However one lady working there took a liking to Charlie and he managed to leave with a kiss and a biscuit.
Turkey ...large sweeping roads, patchworks of fields, Storks, no ATM's ....Burger King for lunch !!..we drive down to Eceabat arriving in sunshine after massive thunderstorms. campsite with pool and beach......BBQ time and sunset on the Aegean sea for the 1st time
There is a visitors centre which was full of visiting young Turk Soldiers presumably getting' their education'...we are there only shortly before we decide to go and see.....
'Futility' is the oft written word particularly about the 1st World War and here you can see why it so over sued....I didn't really know much about what happened here but you learn quick as you read all the info as you move from cemetery to monument to cemetery...The land is low grade......largely scrub, there are few people around and it is very quiet and peaceful......it is as you would expect, pretty moving
Tomorrow it is back into the EU ....Greece.....you live and learn :-)
Day 25 Arkutino ( Bg) to Eceabat ( Tk) 386 km Total 4597 Km
Day 26 The Gallipolli battle fields and cemeterys 67 Km Total 4664 Km
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