I started the day with a late breakfast knowing I needed to pack my gear in readiness for departure the following day and before I squeezed in a cruise on the Bosphorus.
I will spare you the photos of my socks, jocks, toothbrush and paperwork and simply let you know I have too much stuff. After packing in Abu Dhabi a couple of times I thought I had a bit of spare room so I decided to bring an extra shirt and jeans (I was wearing them on the plane) and a few other things. It will be a tight fit……
Anyway, I did my best with the packing then headed off for a cruise along the Bosphorus Strait.
The Bosphorus is an amazing waterway linking the Black Sea to the Sea of Marmara then onto the Mediterranean. Massive container and oil ships pass through while local ferries and pleasure craft criss-cross the popular waterfront areas.
After completing the cruise I passed through the narrow streets behind the Spice Bazaar and managed to find L.P.G. and Ispirto (methylated spirits) for my camping - thank you Apple iPad where I had saved the PDF of the Trangia Names of Fuels in Different Countries document and English speaking Turks.
This is not where I bought the gas and methylated spirits - this is more colourful.
Later that evening I ventured out on the bike knowing it needed to be filled up ready to go. I thought I would combine the trip with another attempt at some camping supplies…….bad idea. Although the GPS was confident how to get to where I needed to go the barrier, fence, metre drop and one-way streets prevented an easy arrival. I tried to outsmart the GPS but the massive area of fenced off waterfront land prevented me passing back to where I needed to be. I conceded and followed the GPS again and parked on the opposite side of the major highway and took the pedestrian overpass.
The impassible highway of choking traffic
Once inside the store my lack of Turkish proved a minor setback once more and one of the customers tried over the phone with their friend while the young staff who speak some English tried their best…….no luck.
I returned towards the hotel filling up along the way - 150TL is approximately 6x more expensive than Abu Dhabi. I might have to roll downhill………...