Uneventful ride from Valenciennes to Calais and the ferry at 12:50, and then into UK and up the motorway to home.
Overall although I enjoyed the journey and seeing all the different places I underestimated the distances I would be travelling and left myself short of time to visit places when on route.
The bike worked perfectly again the only hint of trouble being when it would not start after having been left in the heat of Cyprus for 5 days. It eventually started on about the fourth attempt and never failed again.
Nice to be home to green England.
TOR
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Thursday, 14 July 2011
Day 22 - Monday 11th July - mileage 6389 - Valenciennes
Set a nice easy pace towards Reims and came across a nice hilltop town of Langres. This place was basically a fortified town on a hill. You could see why people had built it there it gave a fantastic view of all the surrounding land with plenty of time to batten up the hatches if you saw the enemy approaching with his army.
This last picture is an adjacent hill with a huge statue of Madonna looking back at the town.
Later I stopped in a small lay-by at the side of a dual carriageway to reset Tomtom to another destination and Just as I was there a lorry went past and there was huge clanking and a large piece of metal fell of the lorry and landed right in the nearside lane next to me. I quickly nipped into the road and brought it back to the verge. I reckon I could well have saved somebody's life there because when I looked at the piece of metal it was all grey the same colour as the road, and no matter what location you put it in it always seemed to settle itself like a piece of anti-tank hardware with a spiked piece sitting upwards. Never thought to take a photo !!!
Somehow managed to travel on right into Belgium, which seemed to automatically depress me. Made my way back to France and eventually stopped the night at Valenciennes in an Ibis hotel.
Home tomorrow, but because I have no phone I have no way of contacting Jack, Jo, or Emma. Not only do I not have a phone, I don't know an tones phone numbers, because they stem all in my phone !!
Anyway if you read this Happy birthday Emma for tomorrow.
I think this will now be my last blog.
TOR
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
This last picture is an adjacent hill with a huge statue of Madonna looking back at the town.
Later I stopped in a small lay-by at the side of a dual carriageway to reset Tomtom to another destination and Just as I was there a lorry went past and there was huge clanking and a large piece of metal fell of the lorry and landed right in the nearside lane next to me. I quickly nipped into the road and brought it back to the verge. I reckon I could well have saved somebody's life there because when I looked at the piece of metal it was all grey the same colour as the road, and no matter what location you put it in it always seemed to settle itself like a piece of anti-tank hardware with a spiked piece sitting upwards. Never thought to take a photo !!!
Somehow managed to travel on right into Belgium, which seemed to automatically depress me. Made my way back to France and eventually stopped the night at Valenciennes in an Ibis hotel.
Home tomorrow, but because I have no phone I have no way of contacting Jack, Jo, or Emma. Not only do I not have a phone, I don't know an tones phone numbers, because they stem all in my phone !!
Anyway if you read this Happy birthday Emma for tomorrow.
I think this will now be my last blog.
TOR
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Monday, 11 July 2011
Day 21 - Sunday 10th July - mileage 6039 - Dijon, France
After descending from the heights of the pass between Italy and France I set Tomtom to take me from Chambery to Amberieu-en-Bugey, but only got as far as Belley before the tiredness kicked in again and I stopped outside a McDonalds and slept again before getting coffee and finally getting to the bottom of why my recent posts had been failing. Needless to say (and Oss will already know this) the problem was with me and the options I had originally specified when I had set up blogpress. Still it's all a big learning curve, and I've still got plenty to go at.
The road from Belley to A-en -B passed through valleys overshadowed with huge mountains that at times were invisible and at others were just dotted with clouds.
Needless to say I got caught in a major downpour and was drenched through. as I was winding my way through the mountain roads in the pouring rain my mind went back to the off I had in Poland where the bike just went away from me on a corner.
No incidents, but I fairly tiptoed round some of the corners where there was lots of standing water on the road.
I didn't know it at the time, but in McDonalds I had been using my IPhone to access my email and when I had left I had just put it into the pocket of my jacket. Later in the day when I was in my hotel room I took the phone out to charge it and it was wet and behaving badly. There was a vibration all the time and this was running down the battery. I tried resetting and various things but basically at the moment the phone looks to be " buggered" a technical electronic term meaning switching it on and off has not fixed the problem. Well it's insured, but my experience of insurance is that you never seem to get what you expect.
Currently it's on the light getting warm and hopefully drying out and charging, but at present just dead. I had been so careful always putting things back in their proper places to avoid loosing them, and ensuring that the tank bag is never allowed to get wet, and here one simple mistake and "no phone".
The rain eventually cleared and the day improved and I steadily wound my way back north westerly.
I love the way all the sunflowers align themselves identically to catch the sun, also on the way saw this huge silver cockerel at the side of the road.
Got as far as Dijon and booked into one of those cheap F1 hotels. I am sure I will have no trouble sleeping tonight.
I have bought a cheap ferry from Calais for Tuesday 12th pm, and so all things being well will be back home late Wednesday.
Nearly home
TOR
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
The road from Belley to A-en -B passed through valleys overshadowed with huge mountains that at times were invisible and at others were just dotted with clouds.
Needless to say I got caught in a major downpour and was drenched through. as I was winding my way through the mountain roads in the pouring rain my mind went back to the off I had in Poland where the bike just went away from me on a corner.
No incidents, but I fairly tiptoed round some of the corners where there was lots of standing water on the road.
I didn't know it at the time, but in McDonalds I had been using my IPhone to access my email and when I had left I had just put it into the pocket of my jacket. Later in the day when I was in my hotel room I took the phone out to charge it and it was wet and behaving badly. There was a vibration all the time and this was running down the battery. I tried resetting and various things but basically at the moment the phone looks to be " buggered" a technical electronic term meaning switching it on and off has not fixed the problem. Well it's insured, but my experience of insurance is that you never seem to get what you expect.
Currently it's on the light getting warm and hopefully drying out and charging, but at present just dead. I had been so careful always putting things back in their proper places to avoid loosing them, and ensuring that the tank bag is never allowed to get wet, and here one simple mistake and "no phone".
The rain eventually cleared and the day improved and I steadily wound my way back north westerly.
I love the way all the sunflowers align themselves identically to catch the sun, also on the way saw this huge silver cockerel at the side of the road.
Got as far as Dijon and booked into one of those cheap F1 hotels. I am sure I will have no trouble sleeping tonight.
I have bought a cheap ferry from Calais for Tuesday 12th pm, and so all things being well will be back home late Wednesday.
Nearly home
TOR
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Sunday, 10 July 2011
Day 20 - Saturday 9th July - mileage 5791 - Chambercy, France
Up and broke camp, then paid the campsite and away after my awful nights sleep. Decided to aim for Pisa so I could go and see the leaning tower. Set Tomtom for Grosseto up the coast past Rome and chose the non toll road route. A very pleasant drive up what I would describe as Italy's "riviera".
All the way I was looking at the coast line on my left hand side and watching people coming and going to the sea. Another way of describing it perhaps would be to say this is Italy's "Blackpool". There were loads of seaside vendors and amusement arcades etc.
No issues passing around Rome and eventually arrived at Pisa. Definitely worth the trip, to think this is the place where Galileo dropped different sized weights to prove to people that the acceleration due to gravity is independent of mass.
After Pisa I continued up the west coast of Italy past more "riviera" type towns until the slow progress and heat eventually persuaded me to go for the autostrade option and make progress up towards Genoa.
All went well and since I was now cooler decided to press on towards Turin before looking for somewhere to stay.
This was a mistake, because I left it too late and when I did eventually ask at a service station the petrol pump guy (a reputable source of information!) recommended an hotel in the next town called the "City Hotel". All seemed to be going well and although it was starting to get dark I eventually rolled up at the hotel. It was another "Marie Celeste" moment. The hotel was there, but the door to reception was locked, and no amount of banging could raise anyone. Not to worry, off to find another hotel in the town. Called at the "Torres Hotel" and a nice lady at the reception told me there was some sort of conference / activity going on and I would not find any rooms in any nearby hotels. It is now pitch dark, and I am in a really mountainous region, so I decided to set Tomtom to get me back onto the autostrade, and I would carefully move on to the next town.
Things seemed pretty good on the autostrade and I was feeling pretty fresh ( don't ask me why after the nights sleep I had last night) and so I thought bugger it I will just press on, it can't be that bad what with my trusty mate Tomtom.
So off to Turin, which arrived faster than I expected, and I managed to navigate myself around the ring road, and on to the road to Lyon in France.
Didn't think through exactly where this road would be going, but to cut a long story short it goes up some pretty high mountains.
My freshness is now rapidly turning into knackeredness, and I am beginning to regret the decision just to press on.
I am sure I was passing through great scenery with fantastic views, but as it was pitch black these were rather wasted on me at the time.
I decided I had to stop and get some rest so after frequenting a few service stations with coffee vending machines I eventually pulled into one of those rest stop places that consist of picnic tables, a toilet and nothing more. I parked up the bike, and in full motorcycling gear (including helmet, which is a very comfortable pillow) I just laid down next to the bike and fell asleep for about 40 mins.
Woke up now fresh as a daisy and dawn was just breaking. I could now see exactly how high I had been, because for about 30 mins all I did was travel downhill and into Chambercy. Here is the picture I took at the service station just downhill from where I had slept.
More later,
TOR
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
All the way I was looking at the coast line on my left hand side and watching people coming and going to the sea. Another way of describing it perhaps would be to say this is Italy's "Blackpool". There were loads of seaside vendors and amusement arcades etc.
No issues passing around Rome and eventually arrived at Pisa. Definitely worth the trip, to think this is the place where Galileo dropped different sized weights to prove to people that the acceleration due to gravity is independent of mass.
After Pisa I continued up the west coast of Italy past more "riviera" type towns until the slow progress and heat eventually persuaded me to go for the autostrade option and make progress up towards Genoa.
All went well and since I was now cooler decided to press on towards Turin before looking for somewhere to stay.
This was a mistake, because I left it too late and when I did eventually ask at a service station the petrol pump guy (a reputable source of information!) recommended an hotel in the next town called the "City Hotel". All seemed to be going well and although it was starting to get dark I eventually rolled up at the hotel. It was another "Marie Celeste" moment. The hotel was there, but the door to reception was locked, and no amount of banging could raise anyone. Not to worry, off to find another hotel in the town. Called at the "Torres Hotel" and a nice lady at the reception told me there was some sort of conference / activity going on and I would not find any rooms in any nearby hotels. It is now pitch dark, and I am in a really mountainous region, so I decided to set Tomtom to get me back onto the autostrade, and I would carefully move on to the next town.
Things seemed pretty good on the autostrade and I was feeling pretty fresh ( don't ask me why after the nights sleep I had last night) and so I thought bugger it I will just press on, it can't be that bad what with my trusty mate Tomtom.
So off to Turin, which arrived faster than I expected, and I managed to navigate myself around the ring road, and on to the road to Lyon in France.
Didn't think through exactly where this road would be going, but to cut a long story short it goes up some pretty high mountains.
My freshness is now rapidly turning into knackeredness, and I am beginning to regret the decision just to press on.
I am sure I was passing through great scenery with fantastic views, but as it was pitch black these were rather wasted on me at the time.
I decided I had to stop and get some rest so after frequenting a few service stations with coffee vending machines I eventually pulled into one of those rest stop places that consist of picnic tables, a toilet and nothing more. I parked up the bike, and in full motorcycling gear (including helmet, which is a very comfortable pillow) I just laid down next to the bike and fell asleep for about 40 mins.
Woke up now fresh as a daisy and dawn was just breaking. I could now see exactly how high I had been, because for about 30 mins all I did was travel downhill and into Chambercy. Here is the picture I took at the service station just downhill from where I had slept.
More later,
TOR
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Day 19 - Friday 8th July - mileage 5185 - Sperlonga, Italy
Ferry was supposed to be a fast 6hr crossing, but we left at midnight and arrived at 8am (Greek time). Slept quite well going across, and on the road heading for Bari by 8:15.
Back with road friendly Tomtom and so set course for Benevento avoiding toll roads. Whilst travelling across the small roads below Foggia I stopped for a meal at a restaurant, and then decided to fill up with fuel at the adjacent petrol station. It was one of those unattended stations where you can either use bank notes or credit cards. I duly inserted my card and when I tried to enter my pin the screen just stayed blank. I thought shit this machine is dead and I have just pushed in my only credit card. I thought for a while and I could see the edge of the card where you enter it into the slot, and realised that perhaps it had not actually gone in far enough. So with little extra to lose I took out another card and used that to push the first card further into the slot. Nothing seemed to happen and at this point a group of about six motorcyclists all on vintage Ducati machines rolled up for petrol. I indicated what had happened and set off back to the restaurant in the remote chance that they may be able to help. I had got about 30 yds when one of the Ducati riders shouted to me and the machine had decided to spit out my card. Needless to say I didn't try again but went on and found petrol at a manned station. The Ducati riders had all been wearing vests with numbers on in the 110 region, and as I was progressing I passed loads of riders travelling the other way with vest numbers up to 250. This must have been a big rally day for a Ducati vintage rider club.
Made a wrong turn in a town called Buonalbergo and Tomtom took me down the smallest cobbled streets I have ever ridden and then brought me out back on the route to Benovento.
Went across the top of Napoli and headed for a coastal town called Formia in the hope that I would be able to easily find a camping site by the coast.
The journey was extremely hot and I struggled with all the motorcycle gear. It is ok when you are moving at reasonable speed because the vents in the jacket direct the air around your upper body, but when you are travelling slowly in traffic or stationary then you quickly overheat, and no matter what speed you are doing it gets a bit warm in the testicle department.
Stopped at around 13:00 and found a lonely shaded place and took my boots and motorcycle gear off and slept for about an hour. Continued on to Formia and arrived about 17:00hrs. No obvious camping and when I asked at a petrol station the woman said I would have to go further along the coast. At Sperlonga I came across a decent sized camping place on the coast and pitched my tent in and amongst the other people in the "free tent" area. This didn't mean there was no cost, it was just the area where people with their own tents had to pitch.
After setting up went down to the beach and had a swim in the sea. The water was not very clean close to the coast, all plastic and paper etc. but when you swam out it was ok.
After the swim went back and had a shower and washed all my sweaty clothes, then off to the on site restaurant for a beer and evening meal.
The restaurant was right on the sea front, and the choice of food was very good. It was fairly quiet at 8:30pm when I was starting my meal, but by 10pm it was heaving with a number of large (15+) Italian family groups. It was nice to watch all the social greetings and behaviour as different members of a family group would arrive. It seemed as though they hadn't met each other for years, when I expect they were all on the beach with each other a couple of hours earlier.
After a couple of beers and a meal, it was getting on for 11pm and with the lack of sleep the night before I decided to head of to bed.
This campsite catered for families and teenagers and there was boom boom music playing. I thought that I would be able to sleep anyway so went to bed. No such luck, the music seemed to increase in intensity and continued till 1:30 in the morning. At last I thought peace and quiet, but no then groups of "young people" gradually drifted back over the next hour to the free camping area and decided to chat (shriek) to each other for the next hour. Gradually it all seemed to have quietened down and then I had this weird dream about somebody trying to get into my tent and me having to push them back out. I woke to hear drunken lads returning and struggling to find their own tent. It was about five in the morning. The next thing somebody falls onto the doorway of my tent, and I am up and fully awake in seconds. Amidst laughter from all his mates he eventually hauls himself up and manages to get to his own tent. I decide remaining quiet was the best way of dealing with the situation. Shouting at them was only likely to exacerbate the situation.
Thank goodness I was never a teenager like that !!!
More later
TOR
- posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Back with road friendly Tomtom and so set course for Benevento avoiding toll roads. Whilst travelling across the small roads below Foggia I stopped for a meal at a restaurant, and then decided to fill up with fuel at the adjacent petrol station. It was one of those unattended stations where you can either use bank notes or credit cards. I duly inserted my card and when I tried to enter my pin the screen just stayed blank. I thought shit this machine is dead and I have just pushed in my only credit card. I thought for a while and I could see the edge of the card where you enter it into the slot, and realised that perhaps it had not actually gone in far enough. So with little extra to lose I took out another card and used that to push the first card further into the slot. Nothing seemed to happen and at this point a group of about six motorcyclists all on vintage Ducati machines rolled up for petrol. I indicated what had happened and set off back to the restaurant in the remote chance that they may be able to help. I had got about 30 yds when one of the Ducati riders shouted to me and the machine had decided to spit out my card. Needless to say I didn't try again but went on and found petrol at a manned station. The Ducati riders had all been wearing vests with numbers on in the 110 region, and as I was progressing I passed loads of riders travelling the other way with vest numbers up to 250. This must have been a big rally day for a Ducati vintage rider club.
Made a wrong turn in a town called Buonalbergo and Tomtom took me down the smallest cobbled streets I have ever ridden and then brought me out back on the route to Benovento.
Went across the top of Napoli and headed for a coastal town called Formia in the hope that I would be able to easily find a camping site by the coast.
The journey was extremely hot and I struggled with all the motorcycle gear. It is ok when you are moving at reasonable speed because the vents in the jacket direct the air around your upper body, but when you are travelling slowly in traffic or stationary then you quickly overheat, and no matter what speed you are doing it gets a bit warm in the testicle department.
Stopped at around 13:00 and found a lonely shaded place and took my boots and motorcycle gear off and slept for about an hour. Continued on to Formia and arrived about 17:00hrs. No obvious camping and when I asked at a petrol station the woman said I would have to go further along the coast. At Sperlonga I came across a decent sized camping place on the coast and pitched my tent in and amongst the other people in the "free tent" area. This didn't mean there was no cost, it was just the area where people with their own tents had to pitch.
After setting up went down to the beach and had a swim in the sea. The water was not very clean close to the coast, all plastic and paper etc. but when you swam out it was ok.
After the swim went back and had a shower and washed all my sweaty clothes, then off to the on site restaurant for a beer and evening meal.
The restaurant was right on the sea front, and the choice of food was very good. It was fairly quiet at 8:30pm when I was starting my meal, but by 10pm it was heaving with a number of large (15+) Italian family groups. It was nice to watch all the social greetings and behaviour as different members of a family group would arrive. It seemed as though they hadn't met each other for years, when I expect they were all on the beach with each other a couple of hours earlier.
After a couple of beers and a meal, it was getting on for 11pm and with the lack of sleep the night before I decided to head of to bed.
This campsite catered for families and teenagers and there was boom boom music playing. I thought that I would be able to sleep anyway so went to bed. No such luck, the music seemed to increase in intensity and continued till 1:30 in the morning. At last I thought peace and quiet, but no then groups of "young people" gradually drifted back over the next hour to the free camping area and decided to chat (shriek) to each other for the next hour. Gradually it all seemed to have quietened down and then I had this weird dream about somebody trying to get into my tent and me having to push them back out. I woke to hear drunken lads returning and struggling to find their own tent. It was about five in the morning. The next thing somebody falls onto the doorway of my tent, and I am up and fully awake in seconds. Amidst laughter from all his mates he eventually hauls himself up and manages to get to his own tent. I decide remaining quiet was the best way of dealing with the situation. Shouting at them was only likely to exacerbate the situation.
Thank goodness I was never a teenager like that !!!
More later
TOR
- posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Day 18 - Thursday 7th July - mileage 4860 - Ferry Igoumenisto to Brindisi
Up and away from "Rain Hotel" by 8am and on my way to Ipsala on the border between Turkey and Greece. Paid the hotel bill with cash (Turkish lire) and only left with 10 TL and after about 1 hours riding I stopped at a nice place for breakfast clean forgetting I don't have much Turkish money. Here is a picture of the place.
After ordering salad and cheese and an omelette and tea and water I suddenly realised I may not be able to pay for all the food. The omelette was not as we know an omelette, but rather two eggs just dropped into a heated ceramic bowl with cheese. The eggs looked almost raw and gradually cooked as I was eating the salad.
When it came to the bill I didn't have enough TL and looked in my side pocket of the wallet and miraculously found a €20 note. The bill was 20TL and so he happily accepted the €20 note and gave me back 20 TL. So I now had no euros and 30TL.
Set off for the border and I started to remember that when I left Turkey to go to Northern Cyprus the Turkish Authorities charged me a departure tax. I was desperately trying to remember how much they had charged and came to the conclusion it was about 30-40TL and I had paid that in Euros. So I took a small detour into a town and eventually found an ATM and withdrew another 30 TL just to be on the safe side.
Arrived at the border crossing and no problems at all with either the Turkish or Greek authorities and no tax either! So now I was in Greece with no money other than 60 TL and a few coins of Euros.
The Greek side of the border was like the "Marie Celeste" no ATM or bank or money exchange, it was like it was shut for "Thursday".
Anyway hpy to get out my Tomtom and thought all would be back to normal with a machine happily telling me where to go. No such luck! When I checked The countries listed in Tomtom Greece was not included. So I have purchased "Western Europe" and "Eastern Europe" from Tomtom and Cyprus and now Greece don't seem to fit into either of these categories. Still I'm a bright lad and it's only one motorway E90 that stretches right across the north so it would be hard to go wrong!!!
First problem with Greek motorways is fuel. There are no service areas with petrol or food, just a small sign before a junction indicating fuel is available if you come off at that particular junction. Easy enough! Off the slip road you go and you arrive at a T junction and are confronted with a choice, left or right, which way is the petrol station, and having made the choice how long do you persist in what seems to be a fruitless journey before you turn round and try your luck in the other direction. I did this dance four or five times and it does not help you remain a calm and collected driver. On one fateful occasion as I came off the slip road there was Y split in the road and I found myself on another motorway. I travelled for 12 miles along this road without a break in the 1 metre high concrete wall between the two sides of the road, nothing! In the end I did 24 miles just to get back to where I had started, not what you want when you are looking for fuel on a motorbike.
The next problem was Thessaloniki, the E90 goes around this city a bit like the M62 goes around the top of Manchester. It changes it's name about 3 times. Another thing about Greek motorways they don't give directions to distant cities, they prefer to just stick to the local towns.
So I'm making progress, somehow managing to get fuel even though they don't seem to like credit cards, they look at you as though they might catch leprosy from your card when you hand it to them, but not yet managed to find an ATM to get any Euros.
Now we start on the toll motorways and I think surely they will accept credit cards. The first one was just €1:40 for motorbikes and even I could find that much amongst all the detritus in my pocket. The next one was €2 and I asked her whether they took credit cards, she said no and shock her head in a very forceful way. We tried our luck again and this time we just managed to cobble together the €2 in tiddly euro coins. I thought we are going to have to do something about this to avoid another "barrier" crisis, and so I came off at the next slip road and guessed my way to a town that might have an ATM. Luckily by chance I came across a petrol station, and thinking I would fill up anyway went in and asked the owner where there was an ATM. He told me there was one about 1pm away, I then asked him to fill up the tank, which he dutifully did. Handed him my credit card and he said "no" and opened his wallet and showed me his money. I opened my wallet and showed him 30 TL !! So I indicated to him that I would go to the ATM and get some money and return to pay him in cash. To be fair to him he never hesitated at all, he was quite happy for me to disappear and trust that I would return. So off I went in search of the elusive ATM. Tracked it down and would you believe it it kept freezing and not completing the transaction!! Asked more people and was directed to another ATM and bingo I greedily withdrew €200 happy that I would never get caught short again. Back to the garage and paid my trusty friend, who clearly is a great judge of character.
Then can you "Adam and Eve it" every toll station along the motorway from this moment on had home made looking signs saying "free pass" stuck to the booth windows. I suspect it may be something to do with the financial crisis in Greece and civil servants being on selective strikes.
The journey from Thessonaliki over to Igoumenitsa goes over a large mountain range I think which is called Pindos range and the motorway through these mountains is by far the best motorway journey I have ever made. Apparently they have been building this road for the last 20 years and it was just completed last year. I must have passed 15-20 huge signs adjacent to different sections all indicating an EEC funded project and most were of the order of €200,000,000. There was hardly any traffic on the road!
Basically I can see why the Greeks have a financial crisis, they can't organise their roads to let people fuel up or eat, drink or go to the loo. They build the most expensive road you could imagine in places where nobody seems to need to go to, and then they don't charge the users they have more than €3:40.
But good on them, it was a great way for me to end an otherwise very frustrating day.
Oh and bye the way here is an overhead warning sign that I saw as I was travelling along the road. In the light of my Turkish experience with the sign saying not to proceed without 100km of fuel, see if you can understand what this sign is saying. It was only later that I saw that the sign changes between Greek and English, and so I took a copy of each. The English version is posted at the bottom of the page!
Here area a number of photos that try and capture a little of what this road is about.
At the ferry port went to the different companies asking the price of a ferry to Brindisi. First was €37, second €28 and third €73. As I was walking away from the second one a man came up to me and asked where did I want to go. I said Brendisi, he said, "come with me" and went back to the second company desk and talked to them, and then he said you can have it for €15. I asked them why they had changed the price, and they said "this is the boss price". Apparently the man was the owner of the ferry line and I think just wanted to make sure I didn't go to one of his competitors.
So on a fast catamaran that takes just 6 hours to do the journey.
Here is a picture of the fancy clamp they use to secure your bike. The biker behind had to give me a lift because the deckhand wanted my back of my bike manoeuvring slightly so the clamp fitted correctly on the seat.
A
So here is my bed for the crossing.
And finally here is the translated sign.
I bet you were not expecting that !!!
More later
TOR
Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
After ordering salad and cheese and an omelette and tea and water I suddenly realised I may not be able to pay for all the food. The omelette was not as we know an omelette, but rather two eggs just dropped into a heated ceramic bowl with cheese. The eggs looked almost raw and gradually cooked as I was eating the salad.
When it came to the bill I didn't have enough TL and looked in my side pocket of the wallet and miraculously found a €20 note. The bill was 20TL and so he happily accepted the €20 note and gave me back 20 TL. So I now had no euros and 30TL.
Set off for the border and I started to remember that when I left Turkey to go to Northern Cyprus the Turkish Authorities charged me a departure tax. I was desperately trying to remember how much they had charged and came to the conclusion it was about 30-40TL and I had paid that in Euros. So I took a small detour into a town and eventually found an ATM and withdrew another 30 TL just to be on the safe side.
Arrived at the border crossing and no problems at all with either the Turkish or Greek authorities and no tax either! So now I was in Greece with no money other than 60 TL and a few coins of Euros.
The Greek side of the border was like the "Marie Celeste" no ATM or bank or money exchange, it was like it was shut for "Thursday".
Anyway hpy to get out my Tomtom and thought all would be back to normal with a machine happily telling me where to go. No such luck! When I checked The countries listed in Tomtom Greece was not included. So I have purchased "Western Europe" and "Eastern Europe" from Tomtom and Cyprus and now Greece don't seem to fit into either of these categories. Still I'm a bright lad and it's only one motorway E90 that stretches right across the north so it would be hard to go wrong!!!
First problem with Greek motorways is fuel. There are no service areas with petrol or food, just a small sign before a junction indicating fuel is available if you come off at that particular junction. Easy enough! Off the slip road you go and you arrive at a T junction and are confronted with a choice, left or right, which way is the petrol station, and having made the choice how long do you persist in what seems to be a fruitless journey before you turn round and try your luck in the other direction. I did this dance four or five times and it does not help you remain a calm and collected driver. On one fateful occasion as I came off the slip road there was Y split in the road and I found myself on another motorway. I travelled for 12 miles along this road without a break in the 1 metre high concrete wall between the two sides of the road, nothing! In the end I did 24 miles just to get back to where I had started, not what you want when you are looking for fuel on a motorbike.
The next problem was Thessaloniki, the E90 goes around this city a bit like the M62 goes around the top of Manchester. It changes it's name about 3 times. Another thing about Greek motorways they don't give directions to distant cities, they prefer to just stick to the local towns.
So I'm making progress, somehow managing to get fuel even though they don't seem to like credit cards, they look at you as though they might catch leprosy from your card when you hand it to them, but not yet managed to find an ATM to get any Euros.
Now we start on the toll motorways and I think surely they will accept credit cards. The first one was just €1:40 for motorbikes and even I could find that much amongst all the detritus in my pocket. The next one was €2 and I asked her whether they took credit cards, she said no and shock her head in a very forceful way. We tried our luck again and this time we just managed to cobble together the €2 in tiddly euro coins. I thought we are going to have to do something about this to avoid another "barrier" crisis, and so I came off at the next slip road and guessed my way to a town that might have an ATM. Luckily by chance I came across a petrol station, and thinking I would fill up anyway went in and asked the owner where there was an ATM. He told me there was one about 1pm away, I then asked him to fill up the tank, which he dutifully did. Handed him my credit card and he said "no" and opened his wallet and showed me his money. I opened my wallet and showed him 30 TL !! So I indicated to him that I would go to the ATM and get some money and return to pay him in cash. To be fair to him he never hesitated at all, he was quite happy for me to disappear and trust that I would return. So off I went in search of the elusive ATM. Tracked it down and would you believe it it kept freezing and not completing the transaction!! Asked more people and was directed to another ATM and bingo I greedily withdrew €200 happy that I would never get caught short again. Back to the garage and paid my trusty friend, who clearly is a great judge of character.
Then can you "Adam and Eve it" every toll station along the motorway from this moment on had home made looking signs saying "free pass" stuck to the booth windows. I suspect it may be something to do with the financial crisis in Greece and civil servants being on selective strikes.
The journey from Thessonaliki over to Igoumenitsa goes over a large mountain range I think which is called Pindos range and the motorway through these mountains is by far the best motorway journey I have ever made. Apparently they have been building this road for the last 20 years and it was just completed last year. I must have passed 15-20 huge signs adjacent to different sections all indicating an EEC funded project and most were of the order of €200,000,000. There was hardly any traffic on the road!
Basically I can see why the Greeks have a financial crisis, they can't organise their roads to let people fuel up or eat, drink or go to the loo. They build the most expensive road you could imagine in places where nobody seems to need to go to, and then they don't charge the users they have more than €3:40.
But good on them, it was a great way for me to end an otherwise very frustrating day.
Oh and bye the way here is an overhead warning sign that I saw as I was travelling along the road. In the light of my Turkish experience with the sign saying not to proceed without 100km of fuel, see if you can understand what this sign is saying. It was only later that I saw that the sign changes between Greek and English, and so I took a copy of each. The English version is posted at the bottom of the page!
Here area a number of photos that try and capture a little of what this road is about.
At the ferry port went to the different companies asking the price of a ferry to Brindisi. First was €37, second €28 and third €73. As I was walking away from the second one a man came up to me and asked where did I want to go. I said Brendisi, he said, "come with me" and went back to the second company desk and talked to them, and then he said you can have it for €15. I asked them why they had changed the price, and they said "this is the boss price". Apparently the man was the owner of the ferry line and I think just wanted to make sure I didn't go to one of his competitors.
So on a fast catamaran that takes just 6 hours to do the journey.
Here is a picture of the fancy clamp they use to secure your bike. The biker behind had to give me a lift because the deckhand wanted my back of my bike manoeuvring slightly so the clamp fitted correctly on the seat.
A
So here is my bed for the crossing.
And finally here is the translated sign.
I bet you were not expecting that !!!
More later
TOR
Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Day 17 - Wednesday 6th July - mileage 4272 - 30km west of Istanbul
Chasing mosquitos through the night but managed just to get bitten once on the hand. Hotel was basic, but the manager was very friendly and when I had locked up my bike I had accidentally left open the side pannier with all the motorbike oil and bike security stuff, and he came to my room to let me know.
Up and away by 7:15 and then along the coast towards Mersin and Adana. On the way passed a ruin of an old amphitheatre, but could not see a name for the place.
As I was travelling along the coast road I noticed loads of tiny cooker looking contraptions at the side of the road. These were small cafe type places I think where you can get a cup of the sweet Turkish tea. They have a unique style that I have never seen before. Here is a photo of one with the old lady who manages it.
When I got to the motorway section that goes through the mountains I wanted to record the journey where the motorway swings between the hills unfortunately the section came up faster than I expected, and I only managed to get the camera installed (taped behind the windscreen) for the last part of the section. Anyway here it is it gives a feel for the journey through the mountains.
Stopped at a motorway service station and there was a daef and mute man shining shoes. I communicated with him for a while about the bike in sign language and later he polished my boots in a very professional manner.
As I went around Ankara I took some photos of all the ugly multi-story buildings that surround the city.
Really just a day about making progress towards Greece. I kept going till late to get beyond Istanbul. Again it was a bit of a nightmare on the ring road around the city. There are whizz kids undertaking all over the place. Had a near miss but fortunately avoided an accident.
Pulled off motorway and found a pretty grubby hotel, but shower ok so couple of beers and off to bed.
Checked out the TV and there were only two channels working. The first was showing a sort of Turkish spoof soap opera, and the second was full on "Hustler" TV. So decided to broaden my cultural awareness for a while, and anyway I don't speak Turkish.
More later folks.
TOR
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Up and away by 7:15 and then along the coast towards Mersin and Adana. On the way passed a ruin of an old amphitheatre, but could not see a name for the place.
As I was travelling along the coast road I noticed loads of tiny cooker looking contraptions at the side of the road. These were small cafe type places I think where you can get a cup of the sweet Turkish tea. They have a unique style that I have never seen before. Here is a photo of one with the old lady who manages it.
When I got to the motorway section that goes through the mountains I wanted to record the journey where the motorway swings between the hills unfortunately the section came up faster than I expected, and I only managed to get the camera installed (taped behind the windscreen) for the last part of the section. Anyway here it is it gives a feel for the journey through the mountains.
Stopped at a motorway service station and there was a daef and mute man shining shoes. I communicated with him for a while about the bike in sign language and later he polished my boots in a very professional manner.
As I went around Ankara I took some photos of all the ugly multi-story buildings that surround the city.
Really just a day about making progress towards Greece. I kept going till late to get beyond Istanbul. Again it was a bit of a nightmare on the ring road around the city. There are whizz kids undertaking all over the place. Had a near miss but fortunately avoided an accident.
Pulled off motorway and found a pretty grubby hotel, but shower ok so couple of beers and off to bed.
Checked out the TV and there were only two channels working. The first was showing a sort of Turkish spoof soap opera, and the second was full on "Hustler" TV. So decided to broaden my cultural awareness for a while, and anyway I don't speak Turkish.
More later folks.
TOR
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Day 16 - Tuesday 5th July - mileage 3543 - Tasuco, Turkey
Up and away from the apartment by 9 am. The bike would not start and had to be turned over a number of times before it eventually fired up. I wonder whether this is a function of the last service only changing the oil and filter and not the plugs. It has started up ok since being stopped on the ferry for 7 hours, so I can only hope that it was to do with being stood for 5 days. Anyway if there is a problem it will show itself and we will have to deal with it.
On to the border (the British Sovereign) crossing at Versoullyses near Derynia. The Greek side just waved me through, but true to form I had troubles at the Turkish side. The woman at the kiosk said that I had the wrong insurance and that I should have had insurance that had been issued by a computer and not the hand written document that I had. This is rich considering all the debate there was between the different authority factions when I entered the country. She said could I go to Nicosia and resolve the issue. By now I had learnt to say no and told her I had to be in Kyrenia by 10:30 to cat h a boat. She phoned a few people and then decided to relent and just stamped the passport and said ok go.
On the 50km to Kyrenia and then started all the paperwork trail again to get out of TRNC. Eventually arrived at the Sid of the boat and they parked me up to allow all the other vehicles to board first. I sat in the shade under a lorry trailer that had been parked and waited. The boat was due to depart at 12:00, but actually only left the port at 13:40. However it was quite interesting to watch the lorries reverse onto the ship through the narrow bow opening. Took some pictures of the process and the bike in final position.
Managed to find a row of seats close to an air conditioning blower and so stretched out and managed to get some sleep on the 7 hour crossing.
Landed at Tasuco on the south coast of Turkey and again went through all the bureaucracy of paperwork and officials. Had some help from a Turkish family whose daughter had been studying at Cyprus University and they told me where to go and when. The customs official was searching all the lorries and cars, but when she came to me she checked all the paperwork, and was leaving and so I asked whether she wanted to search the motorbike panniers. She looked at me and smiled saying "you have not got anything in there".
Found a nice cheap hotel with air conditioning in Tasuco and went and got some Turkish lire and then a meal, and off to bed ready for the long ride needed tomorrow.
More later
TOR.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
On to the border (the British Sovereign) crossing at Versoullyses near Derynia. The Greek side just waved me through, but true to form I had troubles at the Turkish side. The woman at the kiosk said that I had the wrong insurance and that I should have had insurance that had been issued by a computer and not the hand written document that I had. This is rich considering all the debate there was between the different authority factions when I entered the country. She said could I go to Nicosia and resolve the issue. By now I had learnt to say no and told her I had to be in Kyrenia by 10:30 to cat h a boat. She phoned a few people and then decided to relent and just stamped the passport and said ok go.
On the 50km to Kyrenia and then started all the paperwork trail again to get out of TRNC. Eventually arrived at the Sid of the boat and they parked me up to allow all the other vehicles to board first. I sat in the shade under a lorry trailer that had been parked and waited. The boat was due to depart at 12:00, but actually only left the port at 13:40. However it was quite interesting to watch the lorries reverse onto the ship through the narrow bow opening. Took some pictures of the process and the bike in final position.
Managed to find a row of seats close to an air conditioning blower and so stretched out and managed to get some sleep on the 7 hour crossing.
Landed at Tasuco on the south coast of Turkey and again went through all the bureaucracy of paperwork and officials. Had some help from a Turkish family whose daughter had been studying at Cyprus University and they told me where to go and when. The customs official was searching all the lorries and cars, but when she came to me she checked all the paperwork, and was leaving and so I asked whether she wanted to search the motorbike panniers. She looked at me and smiled saying "you have not got anything in there".
Found a nice cheap hotel with air conditioning in Tasuco and went and got some Turkish lire and then a meal, and off to bed ready for the long ride needed tomorrow.
More later
TOR.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Saturday, 2 July 2011
Day 11 - Thursday 30th June - mileage 3487 - Kapparis Cyprus
The ferry crossing between Tasucuo and Kyrenia had been described by previous passengers on the Internet as "a floating skip" and this is not a description I would disagree with.
There are no facilities other than a single cafe bar that only opened at breakfast and the only thing I was prepared to have was a cup of sweet Turkish tea.
The loading process was very interesting however. The bow of the ship hinged upwards and a ramp was lowered to the harbour side. This ramp is just wide enough for a single vehicle, and they reversed the massive lorries onto the ship and then manoeuvred them alongside each other on the car deck.
The bureaucracy leaving Turkey was the most I have experienced to date in that I must have been asked for my passport and all the supporting paperwork for the bike by at least 10 different people. However there was never any problems just loads of checking.
When I was eventually loaded (last) I parked the bike where directed and as no deck hand came to assist me I went and asked the person who had seemed to have been in charge of the loading whether they were going to strap down my bike. He looked at me in a "don't be a wuss" manner then said no problem, went over to a wall and threw a coiled rope at my feet. I indicated to him "do you want me to do it?" and then asked him to what fixings was I supposed to strap it down. Again a withering look and he went away and came back with a crowbar and proceeded to lever up hoops from the deck that clearly had not been used for a very long time. He left me to my devices and so I proceeded to strap the bike in what I would describe as a crisscross pattern using the two deck hoops and two anchor points that looked reasonably strong on the sidewalls of the ship. As always I now wish I had taken a photo of my handiwork but at the time I was more concerned about just getting the job done and away from "withering gaze man".
I slept the night on what I would describe as a park bench on the open deck. Though I have to say that being lulled to sleep by the sway of the boat was not unpleasant. In the morning I did have the forethought to take a snap of my bed as I was taking pictures of the approach to Kyrenia.
Getting into the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) seemed to be proceeding ok till it came to the matter of purchasing insurance. First went to the desk like everyone else and was charged 20 Tk lire for what I was told was 7 days insurance. Then directed to the immigration and customs. Immigration no problem I even managed to ask the official for a separate visa that they would stamp because I was intending to travel on to south Cyprus. (If you have a TRNC visa stamped in your passport you have problems getting into the Greek part of Cyprus). Then on to customs who proceeded to examine my motorcycle registration document as though it was a fraud, holding it up to the light looking for watermarks or something! He then asked for my insurance and I showed him the document for which I had just paid 20 Tk lire. He asked me where I was going and so I told him I was passing through TRNC to go and visit friends in southern Cyprus.
He told me that the insurance document I had purchased was no Good and proceeded to write a note on the document and told me to go back to the insurance cubicle and they would give me the correct insurance.
Went back and then 3-4 people gathered round to read the comments the customs official had written on my form. They shrugged their shoulders and then proceeded to start to write out another form informing me that I now had two options 1) 2 days insurance for 50 Tk lire or 2) 30 days insurance for 70 Tk lire. I then started to query this new higher price, and they said the original insurance was ok and the customs man was wrong, and to go back and tell him to consult with his boss.
I went back to the customs man and he then talked to me some more saying the original document that I had purchased was not insurance at all, it was just some sort of import tax, and that I could continue on into TRNC without insurance, but if I had any kind of accident I would find myself in all sorts of difficulties. He then genuinely said come with me I want to help you, and we went back to the "insurance cubicle" where there proceeded a long discussion in Turkish and eventually he told me that I should think very carefully about continuing without insurance, and in his opinion the 30 day option though expensive was the correct course.
By this time I was just glad not to be held any longer and so I took the easy option and paid the 70Tk lire.
So into TRNC and on my way to the apartment we have near Paralimni.
We had landed at 08:30 and I was leaving the port at 11:15 but soon crossed the 50km to the border crossing near Derynia close to Famagusta.
Passed very smoothly through the exit inspections of the TRNC and on to the Greek immigration controls.
The crossing at Derynia is in fact a sort of courtesy crossing point that is actually in the British Sovereign control part of the island. The border guard was a nice English chap, but unfortunately when he asked me from where I had entered TRNC and realised that the bike was not "registered" in southern Cyprus he said he could not let me through, and that they were not connected to the registration computer and that my only option was to go back into TRNC and then on to Nicosia and to cross the border there where they will be able to process the bike ! I tried to persuade him differently but he was politely resolute in that I had no other option.
So in the heat of the day I proceeded the 50km towards Nicosia.
The next problem I had was finding the crossing point in Nivosia. It soon became apparent that the crossing actually in Nicosia is for people on foot only. In asking people they indicated to me that the vehicle crossing was in fact some 10 km outside of Nicosia in a suburb. There are no signs to this place and I had to keep stopping and asking people for directions.
Eventually arrived at the crossing and queued up with loads of traffic to make the crossing.
The TRNC exit was no problem, then on to the Greek side and straight through immigration control, no problems and then on to customs, where a nice woman called Irene just asked whether I was importing drugs or anything illegal. When I said I wasn't importing anything she proceeded to just wave me through. I decided it was better to try and get the problem of the bike registration sorted now than have it all erupt in my face later, so I pulled over and went and talked to Irene about my experience at the British Sovereign crossing point, and how they had indicated they could not "register" the bike because they were not connected to "the computer".
She listened to all my story and conceded that I was having a "bad hair day" and then explained to me that because I had entered "free Cyprus" through an unrecognised entry port Kyrenia in "occupied Cyprus" there is really no way that the "free Cyprus" system can recognise and register my bike. However she was going to make out for me a CP 5 form which is what I would have received if I had entered Cyprus via a legal entry port. She looked at all the documentation I had received from the TRNC and found a Turkish registration document that looked very similar to her CP 5 and said that if I had shown that to the British border guard though not recognised officially she reckons he would have not known the difference and would probably have let me through.
We got talking and I told her the reason I had entered from Turkey was because on the Internet it says that all the ferries between Greece and Cyprus stopped running in 2008. She said this was just the then "day ferries" and that there are still loads of cruise boats that travel between Athens and Limmasol. These boats take cars and lorries as additional traffic, but don't seem to advertise the fact.
So now having landed at 08:30 I wa now entering the "free Cyprus" part at 15:45 !!
Now had to travel the long way round from Nicosia to Larnaca and then on to Paralimni. Arrived at the apartment hot sweaty and tired at about 17:00 hrs.
Nobody home, no barrier pass to get my bike into the complex, so went and had a shower, then down to the local beach and a swim in the sea.
Back to apartment at 18:00 and Savi and Lisa waiting for me.
Time to relax now for a few days before starting the reverse journey.
Well I knew I was likely to experience some problems bringing the bike through Turkey and then into Cyprus, but it has been quite a learning curve.
More later
TOR
Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
There are no facilities other than a single cafe bar that only opened at breakfast and the only thing I was prepared to have was a cup of sweet Turkish tea.
The loading process was very interesting however. The bow of the ship hinged upwards and a ramp was lowered to the harbour side. This ramp is just wide enough for a single vehicle, and they reversed the massive lorries onto the ship and then manoeuvred them alongside each other on the car deck.
The bureaucracy leaving Turkey was the most I have experienced to date in that I must have been asked for my passport and all the supporting paperwork for the bike by at least 10 different people. However there was never any problems just loads of checking.
When I was eventually loaded (last) I parked the bike where directed and as no deck hand came to assist me I went and asked the person who had seemed to have been in charge of the loading whether they were going to strap down my bike. He looked at me in a "don't be a wuss" manner then said no problem, went over to a wall and threw a coiled rope at my feet. I indicated to him "do you want me to do it?" and then asked him to what fixings was I supposed to strap it down. Again a withering look and he went away and came back with a crowbar and proceeded to lever up hoops from the deck that clearly had not been used for a very long time. He left me to my devices and so I proceeded to strap the bike in what I would describe as a crisscross pattern using the two deck hoops and two anchor points that looked reasonably strong on the sidewalls of the ship. As always I now wish I had taken a photo of my handiwork but at the time I was more concerned about just getting the job done and away from "withering gaze man".
I slept the night on what I would describe as a park bench on the open deck. Though I have to say that being lulled to sleep by the sway of the boat was not unpleasant. In the morning I did have the forethought to take a snap of my bed as I was taking pictures of the approach to Kyrenia.
Getting into the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) seemed to be proceeding ok till it came to the matter of purchasing insurance. First went to the desk like everyone else and was charged 20 Tk lire for what I was told was 7 days insurance. Then directed to the immigration and customs. Immigration no problem I even managed to ask the official for a separate visa that they would stamp because I was intending to travel on to south Cyprus. (If you have a TRNC visa stamped in your passport you have problems getting into the Greek part of Cyprus). Then on to customs who proceeded to examine my motorcycle registration document as though it was a fraud, holding it up to the light looking for watermarks or something! He then asked for my insurance and I showed him the document for which I had just paid 20 Tk lire. He asked me where I was going and so I told him I was passing through TRNC to go and visit friends in southern Cyprus.
He told me that the insurance document I had purchased was no Good and proceeded to write a note on the document and told me to go back to the insurance cubicle and they would give me the correct insurance.
Went back and then 3-4 people gathered round to read the comments the customs official had written on my form. They shrugged their shoulders and then proceeded to start to write out another form informing me that I now had two options 1) 2 days insurance for 50 Tk lire or 2) 30 days insurance for 70 Tk lire. I then started to query this new higher price, and they said the original insurance was ok and the customs man was wrong, and to go back and tell him to consult with his boss.
I went back to the customs man and he then talked to me some more saying the original document that I had purchased was not insurance at all, it was just some sort of import tax, and that I could continue on into TRNC without insurance, but if I had any kind of accident I would find myself in all sorts of difficulties. He then genuinely said come with me I want to help you, and we went back to the "insurance cubicle" where there proceeded a long discussion in Turkish and eventually he told me that I should think very carefully about continuing without insurance, and in his opinion the 30 day option though expensive was the correct course.
By this time I was just glad not to be held any longer and so I took the easy option and paid the 70Tk lire.
So into TRNC and on my way to the apartment we have near Paralimni.
We had landed at 08:30 and I was leaving the port at 11:15 but soon crossed the 50km to the border crossing near Derynia close to Famagusta.
Passed very smoothly through the exit inspections of the TRNC and on to the Greek immigration controls.
The crossing at Derynia is in fact a sort of courtesy crossing point that is actually in the British Sovereign control part of the island. The border guard was a nice English chap, but unfortunately when he asked me from where I had entered TRNC and realised that the bike was not "registered" in southern Cyprus he said he could not let me through, and that they were not connected to the registration computer and that my only option was to go back into TRNC and then on to Nicosia and to cross the border there where they will be able to process the bike ! I tried to persuade him differently but he was politely resolute in that I had no other option.
So in the heat of the day I proceeded the 50km towards Nicosia.
The next problem I had was finding the crossing point in Nivosia. It soon became apparent that the crossing actually in Nicosia is for people on foot only. In asking people they indicated to me that the vehicle crossing was in fact some 10 km outside of Nicosia in a suburb. There are no signs to this place and I had to keep stopping and asking people for directions.
Eventually arrived at the crossing and queued up with loads of traffic to make the crossing.
The TRNC exit was no problem, then on to the Greek side and straight through immigration control, no problems and then on to customs, where a nice woman called Irene just asked whether I was importing drugs or anything illegal. When I said I wasn't importing anything she proceeded to just wave me through. I decided it was better to try and get the problem of the bike registration sorted now than have it all erupt in my face later, so I pulled over and went and talked to Irene about my experience at the British Sovereign crossing point, and how they had indicated they could not "register" the bike because they were not connected to "the computer".
She listened to all my story and conceded that I was having a "bad hair day" and then explained to me that because I had entered "free Cyprus" through an unrecognised entry port Kyrenia in "occupied Cyprus" there is really no way that the "free Cyprus" system can recognise and register my bike. However she was going to make out for me a CP 5 form which is what I would have received if I had entered Cyprus via a legal entry port. She looked at all the documentation I had received from the TRNC and found a Turkish registration document that looked very similar to her CP 5 and said that if I had shown that to the British border guard though not recognised officially she reckons he would have not known the difference and would probably have let me through.
We got talking and I told her the reason I had entered from Turkey was because on the Internet it says that all the ferries between Greece and Cyprus stopped running in 2008. She said this was just the then "day ferries" and that there are still loads of cruise boats that travel between Athens and Limmasol. These boats take cars and lorries as additional traffic, but don't seem to advertise the fact.
So now having landed at 08:30 I wa now entering the "free Cyprus" part at 15:45 !!
Now had to travel the long way round from Nicosia to Larnaca and then on to Paralimni. Arrived at the apartment hot sweaty and tired at about 17:00 hrs.
Nobody home, no barrier pass to get my bike into the complex, so went and had a shower, then down to the local beach and a swim in the sea.
Back to apartment at 18:00 and Savi and Lisa waiting for me.
Time to relax now for a few days before starting the reverse journey.
Well I knew I was likely to experience some problems bringing the bike through Turkey and then into Cyprus, but it has been quite a learning curve.
More later
TOR
Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
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