Near Edremit

The morning opened in pleasant silence, other than the sounds of birds singing & cows making their sound.
Other than the cold, still around 3 degrees Centigrade, this was ideal cyclo-camping. The gaps between the clouds, now a kinder shade of white than as yesterday. Blue sky peeks between the expanding spaces between the clouds. A cup of hot tea & the rest of last night's dinner warmed up was great. My rear tire had slightly deflated again, it'll get pumped up again as I don't feel like changing it just yet.

The ride down to Berhamkale was lovely, along an old windy road with the occasional view of the old stone paved path that I camped beside. It's sheep & goat country, with lots of small paddocks enclosed by stone walls often with branches on the top. Lower down & closer to the village fruit & olive trees can be seen. Near the village there's a wonderful old stone bridge. The village houses are also made of stone. Everything is made of stone here! It's clearly a tourist spot but I'm the only tourist about. At the top of the hill that the village is perched on is a temple to Athena from 6th century BC. The hill has an amazing view over the Aegean Sea. It was so nice to have it all to myself.

I then dropped down to the fishing port of Berhamkale, thinking that the coast road went via there. The ancient city of Assos was between the hill on which the temple was placed & the sea. The walls of the ancient city were in very good condition and obviously contained a large area. I wandered past the unattended ticket booth - the joy of low season - & had the whole of the city area to myself & a flock of sheep. It was a lovely spot.

From there I followed a minor coast road past little hotels & beach resorts. All looking either closed or being made ready for the season. Lesbos could be seen off in the distance. I was feeling quite tired & really couldn't put in much effort. In spite of this I found myself still cycling at 5:30pm on a long straight highway. There were olive groves on either side of the road, which looked both stoney & wet, not good camping areas. Resigned to not finding anything as nice as the night before I went into a grove by a culvert, which shortly became a stream. Soon enough I found my spot & ideal it was, right beside the stream, flat & not at all stoney!

I cycled 57km in 4 hours & 3 minutes.