Turkish Delights

Well what have I been up to since Istanbul???  Lots!

Firstly, we got to meet Calypso (our truck) that will be our home for the next few months.  We were all really happy to see her and once we were loaded up we were off!

After a few hours we had a lunch stop and I was on the first cook group with 3 others so we quickly cut up some bread, cheese, salad for some quick sandwiches and we were on our way again.  We reached our destination of Eceabat after about a 6 hour drive and it was time to set up camp for the first time.  After a quick demo all the tents were set up pretty quickly - they are really easy to put up and take back down!

Back in Istanbul a few of the guys had been ill with what we thought was food poisoning.  Unfortunately that was not the case as it seemed to be some sort of sickness bug which, after 6 hours in a confined environment, spread through a number of us.  Thankfully, just to the right of the truck there was a bar with couches for them to curl up on and, more importantly, toilets!  Thankfully, I was in the healthy group and managed to stay that way and it seems to have passed us by now.

 

 

As it was my day for cook group I helped make the dinner of chicken and vege pasta - unfortunately not too many were eating at that point.  And before you say it, they were ill before eating my cooking!

 

It was windy and cold at Eceabat at night so a few layers were required as well as the sleeping bag but once in I was really toasty and warm.

 

The next day I went to Gallipoli. It was the ANZAC side that we visited and it was really interesting. The guide, Hasan, was really engaging and passionate about the subject and brought some good information and viewpoints. Here are a few photos (but don't worry Katie Nimmo, I have loads more!)

 

 Setting up for anzac day ceremony...

 One of the trenches..

 

 

After another night of camping, we packed up from Eceabat and got on a ferry (with the truck) to the other end of the peninsula and continued our journey on to Kusadasi. We had our first campfire....

 

The next day I headed into town for a wander about before going to Ephesus in the afternoon. It was pretty awesome, particularly the ampitheatre. Here are some Kusadasi and Ephesus pictures...

 

 

 

Yesterday after Kusadasi we packed up again and headed to Pamukkale, which was stunning....

 

 

You had to take your shoes off to walk up which at time was lovely but could be a bit sore on the feet!

Last night a few of us went out for a few drinks since it was Saturday night. We do have a bar in the truck which we have been making sure has been stocked up with beer and wine etc but it was nice to go out.

And some shisha for Teresa and Simon (our crew)

 

Today we are still in Pamukkale and I am having a quiet day doing the blog and chilling by the pool as the sun has now come out. Some of the more adventurous guys have gone paragliding over the Pamukkale pools which I'm sure they'll find amazing - a bit too scary for me!

I am aware that I'm not really in many of the pictures but there are a few with me kicking about so I'll get them from some of the others and try and post them next time.  Bye for now, will probably do another update next week some time (it takes ages to upload photos so I'll probably only do it about once a week).

Bye for now!