Travel notes 2021

  24.6 kms, Oct 2, 2012 The last couple of Chapters of the Traveler's Journey have been intense. In each country the Traveler has been in, he's felt this pressure to try to understand and fully experience a very complex and unique culture in a very short amout of time. Trying to grapple with these complicated histories and conflicts has been deeply moving... but exhausting as well. Sometimes he wishes he could just wander for a while and not think too much. Not feel he's always on a deadline. Well, this next country will provide him with just that opportunity. Turkey is a large, inexpensive and wanderer-friendly country with good food and convenient lodging everywhere. It's a country he wants to stroll around in in a relaxed fashion—not feeling he needs to come up with an earth-shattering discovery every single day. He will spend a whole 5 chapters of his Journey here in Turkey, traveling across it from east to west... than east again... west again, until he has ex...

  7 kms, Oct 3, 2012 It's threatening to rain when he reaches Giresun , and he makes it a few hundred meters up the crooked streets and it starts to pour. A friendly shopkeeper invites him inside, and they chat the best they can. Finally the rain stops. Giresun is half surrounded by steep mountains covered with lush vegetation, with road climbing up them that beckon to the Traveler. But the castle built on a steep hill right in the middle of the city calls to him first. It takes a couple of failed attempts to get up there--ending up following a dead end alley that leads to someone's patio. But finally he reaches the top and is rewarding with a stunning 360 view of black storm clouds unleashing their fury on what look like jungle covered mountains... It's a surreal feeling-- Look to the mountains and you feel like your in the jungle mountains of Venezuela... look down and you see a typical Turkish city... look north and you see the endless Black Sea... He soaks in the e...

  18.5 kms, Aug 23, 2012 Ordu has a lively, big city--almost touristy feel to it, with a cable ride starting at the coast heading up to the mountains and a big, brand new park right along the shore. But what the Traveler finds as he heads up to explore the neighborhoods on the steep slopes is what puts a smile on his face. He sees houses... old, traditional Ottoman era houses, being painstakingly restored, one by one. This is heartwarming because it's very rare to see this in Turkey. Typically what he's seen all across the country is the beautiful traditional architecture either being left to slowly decay, or completely destroyed and replaced by the most boring, unimaginative houses and apartment buildings you can imagine. Time and time again he's arrived in an important historic city, only to be disappointed by hardly finding a trace of the rich historical past. I can understand Turkey wants to be quick an efficient to build a strong economy--razing buildings to the ...

  20.8 kms, Aug 22, 2012 As the Traveler approaches Samsun , older fellow sitting in his garden insists that he come over, and he gladly obliges. His wife brings some tea and the man gives him some fruit from his tree as they try to carry on a conversation--and actually do pretty well! Most Turks, if they find someone doesn't speak their language, give up on trying to communicate, but this fellow really tries. They "talk" about family (his sons have gone seeking work elsewhere), work... he has a body shop and shows the Traveler the totaled cars that he's salvaging, gravely showing with his fingers how many people died in each one... He reaches Samsun and is rewarded by a shady park, a cozy city center and a decent cafeteria style restaurant where he can "look and pick"--his favorite way of eating here in Turkey. Next he heads up to the Black Sea shore, where there's an enormous recently built park, with, again, fountains, an artificial waterfall, st...