Good morning!
Another awakening that reminds me why I enjoy camping, and truth be told, the conditions for camping are substantially better than they were a few years ago. Two-second tents (even though in reality they take a few more seconds to set up, it’s a bit like taxes, there’s always something more), blackout and fresh tents, sleeping bags for warm, mild, low, and very low temperatures, air mattresses, sleeping bags with built-in mattresses… The offer is endless and clearly increases comfort.
Adding to this is what I enjoy most and always try to find in a camping ground, nature and the ability to set up the tent on the grass. Grass is nature’s best mattress… so if it’s available, take advantage of it.
Heading North to Istanbul
Back on the road, back north towards Turkey and the megacity of Istanbul as the first stop. The city is estimated to have around 20 million inhabitants, with the last count dating back to 2018, showing around 16 million. It’s as big as it is intimidating.
I left Metéora early to have a peaceful day with more time to stop and, preferably, to choose the next camping ground early to rest more than I have been doing so far.
Fuel and Turkish Anticipation
First stop, gasoline… Let’s pay 2€ per liter, lucky me it wasn’t the most expensive, as I saw 95-octane gasoline priced at almost 2.10€ per liter! Fortunately, I heard that in Turkey, I’ll be able to compensate for this damage since we can get gasoline for about 1.30/1.40€ per liter.
So, we headed to Istanbul, racking up the kilometers in the morning and starting to visit beaches in the afternoon. Therefore, a quick roadside lunch, with homemade tuna wraps x2 and a Redbull giving me wings, was the perfect setup to reach the first beach, Port Beach, for a wonderful photo with the bike in the sand and a first contact with the Aegean Sea.
A Misadventure in the Sand
If the contact with the sea was wonderful, trying to get the bike out of the spectacular spot I chose for this photograph turned out to be a perfect example of how, when we’re alone, these kinds of ideas can make us look like complete idiots.
Of course, I didn’t venture too far into the sand, and in theory, the bike would be in an easy position to turn around and get out of there. But no… Not because the GSA alone weighs close to 220kg, not to mention with all the luggage. With the bike stopped, one photo, two photos, three photos, a few more videos, now I’m going to touch the water… I’ll enjoy this a little longer and… Okay, now I’ll leave.
Well, with the weight of the bike, the tires started sinking into the sand of this deserted beach, I repeat, deserted! The first people probably arrive there around June, looking at the few houses nearby…
To get out of there, I couldn’t go backward because I was already stuck enough to only get out with the motor, and going forward was precisely where I didn’t want to go for obvious reasons.
In short, I can tell you it took 30 to 40 minutes just to get the bike out of the photo frame and back into a safe position, ready to go, along with a good amount of stress associated with a good sweat under the wonderful sun that was shining these days.
Discovering New Shores
Finally, we resumed the journey for a few more kilometers and I decided to stop at a new beach, Παραλία Αγίας Παρασκευής, easy, right? No, but if you ever come around here, look for the Nãma beach life experience, it’s worth not missing out!
We continued on to get closer to the Turkish frontier and, preferably, close to the beach…
So it was, 30km to the border and camped literally just 30 seconds walk from the beach! Municipal Camping of Alexandroupolis!
A Chance Encounter
The camp was set up, and once again, I had the good fortune to meet another friendly traveling couple. We chatted for a bit, and I realized that they were also going to enter Turkey but would be taking the opposite route from mine, entering from the south and also making their way around Turkey. Perhaps we’ll cross paths again.
See you soon!
