I enjoyed breakfast again at Ada Camping as it gave me a chance to relax, enjoy the peaceful location and plan ahead for Gallipoli. I reviewed a few of my saved Wikipedia documents relating to the places to see on Gallipoli, and also Troy which is on the way.
I also looked up a few options for accommodation and decided, without booking in advance, on a place I thought sounded pretty good. (I decided not to book in case I got to Canakkale a little too late and needed to stay there instead).
I was slowly organising myself to depart when both of the German fellas (Thomas and Kurt) had packed up and were ready to depart. Kurt was looking forward to moving on to Izmir so that he could get his starter motor fixed and also part with some excess baggage. He was adamant that he would be shedding a fair bit of stuff to make life easier. (Kurt ended up getting the starter motor fixed in Izmir and dumped 20kgs of gear.)
Kurt - Full (over) Loaded - braking caused a bit of discomfort......
Thomas - the bare essentials - seemed happy to be moving on to
continue his travels around Turkey.
After both of the Germans had departed I slowly sorted myself out to head off in the opposite direction. Once loaded and dressed in the recently washed, and soon to be sweaty, riding gear I settled the bill and was ready to go.
I mounted the GoPro for a few images on the way out and headed off for Gallipoli via Troy and Canakkale.
Just out of Ada Camping
The end of the 20kms.
You can view the full sequence here.
After some decent stretches of highways after leaving Ayvalik there are some wonderful roads along the coast again before you need to head inland and up the mountains before dropping back down towards Troy and Cannakale.
I stopped to fill-up and have something to eat at a little roadside fire grill in Kucukkuyu.
Spiced lamb and coke. Time to press on.
Took the turn-off to Troy at about 4pm ish. I got to the gates, considered the time, considered the price and considered the time again. I was out of time to see the Troy ruins and still make a ferry at a reasonable time to cross to Gallipoli to see if I would be OK for somewhere to stay. I decided I would be better off making it to Gallipoli to sleep the night rather than spend a night in Cannakale. I may see Troy another day.
I made the Cannakale ferry location before the 5pm ferry and looked forward to crossing the Dardanelles to Gallipoli. I was a little concerned having my bike parked on the side stand so close to a scooter on one side and someone's car on the other. Although it is a short trip, and the water was fairly flat, I would have dreaded the consequences if my bike slipped and fell.
All was fine.
Riding my bike from Cannakale to Eceabat at 8km/hr.
I was straight off the ferry and following the GPS to the coordinates for The Gallipoli Houses, which by all reports, and based on their location, would be a great spot to be out of the way and be able to see the historically significant areas of Gallipoli. The GPS ran out of roads about 3km from the coordinates so proposed the usual straight line through the paddocks option regardless of smaller roads. I followed the nearby small road and soon found The Gallipoli Houses.
Although I arrived out of the blue and unannounced without a booking the hosts were able to give me a lovely room for my stay. I continued to be in luck when I was offered a lift to/from Eceabat for dinner with fellow guests. I was soon showered and changed and had finished filling out the paperwork as a guest and ready for dinner inside 15mins.
The Gallipoli Houses was a very comfortable and quiet place to stay.
I joined Gerry and Cecilia (Americans) with their driver and guide for dinner in Eceabat by the water. It was great to spend dinner talking about a range of subjects and also gain an understanding of what it can be like to have a travel agent organise a holiday that includes everything for you - i.e. itinerary, pick-ups, drop-offs, car, driver, guide, accommodation, almost every meal, history lessons plus more. It was obvious that both Gerry and Cecilia would have benefitted from being a little more hands-on in the planning, design and preparation for the trip.
The 5 of us had a tasty meal by the water and it was great to meet some fellow travellers and their entourage.
We were back to The Gallipoli Houses accommodation reasonably early. Gerry, Cecilia and I agreed we would finish off the evening with a quiet drink before retiring for the night. Cecilia asked for "a glass of red wine" while Gerry and I were happy with a beer each. It seems I almost got myself a summer job after I helped open the wine for Cecilia's glass.
It had been a long enough day, and tomorrow was going to be intense sightseeing around Gallipoli, and I was ready for bed.