Day 83 - Kaynarca to Saray

54.1 km - Total so far 4,328.4 km - Route pedalled.      Relive Video (with pictures)

Video of the day: Europe Day 83                         156 Left to pedal

We are safe and secure in Saray, Turkey.

We left around 7:30 to get a head start on the heat. We had spoken to Jim, from the UK, and he and two other cyclists had done just that leave very early but it turns out it completely messed up their sleep pattern. When we met him in Edirne, he was still having issues sleeping. I have enough trouble trying to get a decent night sleep due to my coughing so the last thing I need is to make things worst by getting up much earlier.

We started off on the main road with the idea of using the Sultans Trail route to get a break from the traffic. We skipped the opportunity at the first junction and stayed on the road. After our breakfast stop, we had enough of the traffic and decided to take the Sultans Trail connection. As expected, it was a dirt road which is okay but we also had an encounter with big and very unfriendly dogs showing upper teeth. We have an ultrasonic dog deterrent device but it does not work on all dogs in a pack. That was the second encounter of the day so we decided to go back to the main road.

We had many more than usual people honk their horns, wave and/or give us the thumbs up. That included folks in cars, large transport trucks and everything in between.

As we got to the top of a climb, we spotted a small building that we thought might be a fruit/vegetable seller on the other side of the road. It was a Jandarma  (police) station. They were waiving us to them. What do we do? We decided that it was best to go see them as it is nearly impossible to do a fast get away on touring bikes. As we joined them, they gave us water and led us to the back of the building where we found shade and a place to sit. They returned with a cold bottle of Fanta. Once done, we shook hands and took a picture. Another pleasant and unexpected encounter.

When we got to Saray we were famished. Hélène had identified a large park area and made our way there. We found a bench in the shade and a donair shop across the street. 

This lady showed up and started to speak English to us without hesitation. She was from Istanbul and went to school in Switzerland where she studied different languages. Rose chatted with us about her personal life and life in Turkey.