Leaving Safranbolu I headed north to Amasra to park up on a blustery afternoon on the parking area that also serves as the bus interchange. It was very cold and the strong winds caused waves to crash spectacularly on the nearby rocks but I'd tucked away in the lee of a cliff so all was well. I walked in to the empty town which curves round a bay and is linked to an island by a Roman bridge which also forms part of the huge walls that encircle the oldest part. Being Ramadan people do not eat or drink until dusk so although the cafes were open the occupants were just socialising and being off season for visitors many were closed up. The wind and rain eased later so I went back in with my Camping Gaz bung to source a cylinder with the correct thread and struck lucky at a shop that sold Aygaz cylinders although of course I paid for the cylinder deposit as well as the 2.5kg of gas so it came to about a tenner - still a fraction of EU let alone UK prices.
Back at the van I used my new technique with the two sturdy tent poles that I have devised to allow me access to the gas locker and WC cassette without having to remove the bikes : so much quicker and easier. The new cylinder has a protective bar around the thread which meant that I had to disconnect the regulator from its hose, screw it in and then reattach the rubber pipe, easy enough and everything worked fine. I will use local gas as much as possible and keep the CG for back up and may have to get a different cylinder yet again in the Caucasus.
After a night of heavy rain the morning dawned cold but dry and I noticed several minibuses had pulled up full of school children. It transpired that they were on an organised orienteering style race around the town and as I walked round they kept stopping to ask me if I knew the location of various landmarks......
As I left I gave the kiosk attendant 800 lire as his colleague the previous day had pointed to the tariff board and I expected to pay 650 but he handed 2x200 lire notes straight back and then gave me another 130 in change - so honest as I had no idea of the charging structure, or perhaps he didn't!
As I am in no rush I enjoyed the drive on a road that climbed, twisted and swooped paralleling the Ilglaz Daglari range that were covered in snow and before long turned down a steep tarmac track to a small bay that would do me for the night. Apart from a small ruined cafe there was nothing there and it was quiet and sheltered so I enjoyed some reading and had put the genny on for the afternoon as I want to drain it of fuel as it is unlikely to be used for a while now. It was sobering to think that the Crimea lay only 200 miles north where events continue to resonate globally.
Heading along the coast again I stopped for lunch at a small harbour where a hungry hound was grateful for half a loaf after which the road looped inland up in to the mountains where there was plenty of snow lying around before it dropped back down to the sea again. West of Turkey's most northerly point, Inceburun, I turned on to minor roads and then a gravel forestry track. This then dropped steeply and became very muddy but eventually popped me out on a remarkable place to stay. Short well drained grassy areas lay just above the beach and although the plastic waste was as dispiriting as elsewhere it was a superb location with a dramatic sky and a good internet signal. I had a peaceful evening and cooked using up the very last dregs of my food supplies as some have been around since Morocco a year ago. I was a bit concerned that the sat nav wanted me to go out the same way and that if it rained the muddy ascent would be tricky but fortunately a farmer came in from the east in a standard car and Google Earth seemed to indicate that tarmac lay just a mile or so that way.
It was so quiet that I slept until after 9am and was pleased to find the blacktop as hoped for followed by a few more lanes that took me out to the windswept Inceburun headland where a small farm clung to the rocky landscape and a lighthouse faced out to sea.
Beyond Sinop the road became a dual carriageway in places as it transitions in to the Black Sea Coastal Highway and became another remarkable route with fantastic views, long tunnels and surprisingly little traffic.
West of Samsun the Yali Karavan Park was of a high European standard and provided level gravel pitches each with power, water and waste connections and a laundry room with free to use washer and dryer all for a very reasonable £13. There were a couple of caravans in situ but no one else actually staying so I did two lots of laundry and used the dryer to good effect. The northerly wind blowing in off the sea kept the temperature on the low side but as always the van was warm and cosy and I had doubled up the down bags for the overnight.
A diversion inland to Unye Kastili found it locked up so I dropped back to the coast and carried on, noting the regular police stops - as soon as they spot my UK plates I am waved on feeling like royalty as tends to happen in Morocco.
Cape Yason provided another place to park up - I'm only driving 2/3 hours a day so I arrived mid afternoon with the weather still cold but a huge improvement forecast so I walked out to the headland passing a closed church and reading a board about Jason and the Argonauts who allegedly stopped here, hence the name.
So today did indeed herald a change in the weather with blue skies and a strong sun giving me a good reason to walk out to the headland again before heading towards Ordu where a cable car lifts you above the town up to the hill of Boztepe on the snow line. As it wasn't due to start running for another hour I went in to the town and found myself in a multi level shopping mall similar to those in the UK and elsewhere. I was in search of a new Bluetooth speaker and found a particularly naff example based on a Volkswagen camper which should at least provide some laughs at a later stage.
Back at the cable car foreigners pay 3 times the rate the locals do but it was still only a tenner for the return and as it was early days I got a pod to myself. Starting with a swoop above the town centre we then climbed steeply passing directly over mosques and houses and arriving at the lofty vantage point after a brilliant journey. Good views across the bay and warm sunshine added to the experience but I ignored the various souvenir stalls and was soon on the way back down.
So I am now near the large city of Trabzon on a parking area allocated as an aire and next to a park where there are the first two campers I've seen in over a week, two Italian couples travelling in convoy. I did pass a Russian registered camper earlier who is presumably heading home but otherwise there is no one else around and I doubt it will be any different in the Caucasus which I should be over to in about a week.
Before then as the wintry conditions have eased I'm going to leave the coast for a few days as the Dogu Karadeniz Daglari (mountain range) seem to have plenty to interest me which should drop me out near the border town of Hopa for the next leg of this journey.
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