15 September, Alaçam
to Sinop, 75km
Otel Gönϋl 110TL (breakfast included) (negotiated down from 120TL)
Half our day was easy, half was not. All
of it would have been a pleasure, however, had I not developed a “burning ring
of fire” compliments of my new saddle. This is actually my second new saddle since
my beloved Hamoc packed in. The cheapie, the only option available in Gϋmϋşhane, was replaced with a marginally better version in Tirebolu.
This I have coped unhappily with ever since, but two 70km days in a row were
more than my nether region could tolerate. Such a pity on this last leg to
Istanbul when we should be reaping the benefits of being on the road for over
four months. Initially our road ran flat beside the sea, then climbed on and
off to Sinop on its peninsula. Mid-morning we stopped on a bridge and looked
down on the Black Sea breaking on a pebble beach. In the quiet of a
traffic-free road we could hear the waves rolling the pebbles up the beach then
dragging them back again, inexorably grinding them to sand. During a brief
water break on a rural roadside we watched a cheerful black sheepdog see his
dad safely onto the local bus then take himself back home, confidently crossing
the four-lane highway and dashing away into the fields, ever so proud of
himself.
Between Alaçam and Sinop
Between Alaçam and Sinop
Between Alaçam and Sinop
Between Alaçam and Sinop
Between Alaçam and Sinop
Between Alaçam and Sinop
Between Alaçam and Sinop
Between Alaçam and Sinop