Bergama

If there was a theme to today it was 'eating'. The first course was porridge cooked with milk, honey & raisins, which I made with the help of my little camping stove. I normally like cooking with it, however until I can find white spirits I've no choise & with that which I have, kerosine, a lot of black soot is created that gets everywhere. I also accompanied that with a little bread & chocolate spread. I snacked on biscuits all morning then had pilaf rice & kofte (Turkish meatballs) in a restaurant just off the main road. The restaurant was typical of those to be found in many Turkish towns, having a number of pre-prepared dishes. It's great fast food. I continued on but still felt hungry, so I stopped at another small town off the main road 30 minutes further on & had a pide (Turkish pizza-like bread). After a çay at a gas station I finally felt that I'd well eaten. Later in the afternoon I wolfed down some juicy oranges, which are a great snack for touring & so cheap.

At near Ayvalik my direction perfectly matched the wind & for the next 30-40km I sped along. I had high mountains on my left with olive groves on their lower slopes, crops or grazing land. Occasionally I'd pass through a junction which had the sense of a town from an old Western movie; dusty streets, odd shops & old men hanging around, always lots of trucks. Sometimes I'd buy something, otherwise I'd just flash through.

While in my 'hungry' phase of the day I hadn't supposed that I'd get far. However now that I was we’ll fed & had wind at my back I decided to make a run for Bergama & a pension where I could have a shower and take stock of the last few days. I settled on trying to find a pension that the Lonely Planet, pension Athena. It was a good choice. The place was very nice, in an old building in the old part of town with very pleasant owners. They had very nice showers. The best bit was that they had free wireless Internet.

I cycled 127km in 6 hours & 49 minutes.