Candover Valley UK to Euphrates Valley Turkey
- Thread starter Drumacoon Lad.
- Start date
GDGSer
Registered user
Great write-up Jim Lad... stay upright and enjoy the ride back
Great read! Thanks and safe home
- Joined
- Oct 6, 2008
- Messages
- 1,610
- Reaction score
- 466
Thanks for the comments guys, keeps me going....
- Joined
- Oct 6, 2008
- Messages
- 1,610
- Reaction score
- 466
Leaving the Verginia hotel in Thesselonica was fine, the bike had sat on the pavement outside reception and not been touched, even by a cat. I was quickly on the motorway heading west and I had to take back a couple of things I said about Greek motorways, as I did see a motorway service station, however not at the time I needed petrol. When I did need petrol I had the usual petrol sign pointing at an exit. I took the exit and followed the sign, 6km before arriving at the station! Now a kilometre or so is OK but 6km is too far and I got grumpy with the Greeks again about their lack of proper service stations. The woes of the European traveller! This was also a pleasant motorway and with hills on either side to admire.
Because I was heading to the Vikos gorge I eventually left the motorway and found myself suddenly on small roads, I had also caught the edge of a shower, getting wet and riding on narrow wet roads. I had to readjust quickly. I decided the shower would not last and did not put on waterproofs but my jacket got quite damp. It was still warm and in a while it and the roads had dried out. These were pleasant riding roads good corners, not excessively sharp some sweeping bends and great fun. There were a couple of things to watch out for as the surface had some gravel near the edges and it seemed cattle used the road as there was some cow dung on the surface too. However, what you had to watch out for were the stones that seem to have been washed out from the banks of the road and some were bigger than a tennis ball and made it on to the surface of the road. You could see the stones and avoid them but they prevented riding the road with full commitment to a corner in case a rock was on your line around the next corner. For all of that it was enjoyable to ride after all the motorway riding I had done.
I came into a village and arrived at a little square with cars all around and people drinking in groups. I stopped as a coffee would have been welcome. It was strange as I approaches the people, it seemed like they were not acknowledging my existence. The tables were all taken and no one suggested I join them so I sat on a bench. Still no one looked my way or made any contact and I sat watching to see would happen next. Eventually a table was vacated so I sat on it and caught a waiter’s eye and ordered a coffee. A few people came up to the table, but only to take chairs from it, sometimes asking sometimes not. The joys of the lone traveller. It was a strange sensation. I thought of leaving but somehow I wanted to play it out, and I also noticed someone had double parked and I was blocked in. A few minutes later a lady came into the square, spoke to a few people but also came to me and asked in English if I spoak Greek, and when I said, no, she asked if I needed anything. I said I had ordered a coffee which I hoped would come and also at some point I’ll need the car to move so I can leave. She found out who the car owner was and we nodded at each other and I indicated it was OK for now, and he gave a friendly smile. Some more minutes, another lady, not one of the waiters brought my coffee with some ceremony. I asked how much, and she did not know but back into the café and came back to tell me it was a Euro. So it took a little time to start to break into this little closed group, but eventually 2 people decided to help me out and show some kindness. I wonder if I will remember this scene when I see a stranger enter my company and look a little lost.
Well back to the road and continued to be enjoyable. The mountain scenery was quite special and you would round corners and have a great panorama open up of a valley below, or some towering cliffs, and indeed snow-capped mountains. As I rode along I thought I saw a bike in front, yes it was and a big bike, ah indeed it’s a GS another 1200 like mine. I started reeling in the guy and soon caught up and it was a local bike just with a small seat bag. I sat behind for a bit, enjoying the feeling of riding with another GS, the first since the trip started. Soon however I could not delay any longer and overtook him. Soon after that another shower started and I did not want to get the jacked dry again so I stopped to put on a waterproof. Of course the GS went sailing by, with the local guy suggesting it would pass soon. I headed off again and of course the rain eased. This is a phenomenon well known to bikers, golfers etc. That if you take the trouble to stop for waterproofs it makes the rain stop. I was hoping that the local guy was grateful for my efforts. He was probably thinking that when it starts to rain, the Irish guy on the GS believe it will rain all day like it does where he comes from. We will never know what he thought. I overtook him again, and he overtook me when I stopped to take a picture of a valley with a heavy shower at the other end, and if my GPS reading was right that was where we were heading. Maybe the waterproof was not such a bad idea.
I headed off and overtook the GS again and we were gradually closing in on the storm. I tried to convince myself we’d just catch the edge of it, but I was wrong. Just as I was riding along this mountain road, on the edge of the valley, I hit it. It was the heaviest rain I have been in for some time and of course with the blustery wind of a thunderstorm. I don’t think I had mentioned the lightening, it was cracking around too. Visibility was the biggest problem as I could hardly see out of the visor. I just focussed on keeping the bike steady against the wind the seeing where I was going. I wondered how the guy was getting on behind in his leather jacket and jeans. The lightening made me wonder what risk I was running. I’d not heard of a biker hit by lightening but in truth I’d not done the research. I wondered if a well ridden GS as like a golfer using a 1iron in the thunderstorm, (sorry a golfing joke). The point being that the GS rider would be hard for lightening to strike. I don’t have access to the net on this ferry so someone else will have research lightening strikes and motorcyclists. Well I came through the storm and in time I was relieved to see the GS behind, looking a little damp mind you. He also seemed to be keeping more in touch with me now perhaps he felt he show that local riders can also ride fast or maybe he just wanted to get home to get his jeans dry.
With all this excitement on the road I had missed my turn to Vikos and this gorge. As the weather was still unsettled and I needed an early night I considered keeping going to the hotel, but when would I be back this way, and I headed back for the gorge turnoff. Of course the road up there was twisty and wet but the scenery spectacular, some of the cliffs I saw in the distance were the gorge, but I did not know that then. There had been no big sign pointing towards the gorge nor was there much commercialism in Vikos village when I arrived. There were a couple of restaurants and a small sign indicating the way to the view. About a 2 minute walk led to a rickety old platform, but beyond it the view was spectacular. On one side there were sheer cliffs on the other side the rocks were more rounded and down at the bottom a blue river. For what claims to be the deepest gorge in the world(Guinness book of Records) it is remarkably undeveloped. I looked but there were no helicopter rides across like in the Grand Canyon. Not even a string of donkeys to trek you down to the bottom. However, the quietness of it all just adds to it’s charm and I was the only person viewing it, so all was peace and quiet and I could take the photos I wanted, undisturbed. It is certainly worth seeing if you are in the area, and is about 100Km from Igoumenitsa so not much more than an hour away.
Back at the bike I noticed the time had moved on and was feeling peckish and decided to eat in the village. The first restaurant offered spinach pie so I declined and followed the great smelly coming from the other establishment. They were doing lamb, and when it finally arrived was very tasty and nicely flavoured with herbs. I sat at a table with a couple of guys and I could hear then speaking in guttural German and asked them if they were Austrian or Bavarian, wrong, they were Swiss. This was like asking a New Zelander if they were an Auzzie and I’ve done that too. Anyway they were OK and we chatted. They had just walked the gorge, 4 hours, but were now stuck because there was not transport to get them back, and they did not want another 4 hour walk. I asked them what was the gorge walk like and they said a steep walk down, then a flat walk, and a steep walk up again. I was sorry I asked! Did I mention lack of commercialism, not even a taxi in the village. So they were trying to cadge a lift from the locals, who had room in the back for 2 burly Swiss guys. It was amusing to watch and passed the time waiting for the lamb.
Once the lamb was finished I was off, it would now be 6PM by the time I got to my hotel and I had some sorting out to do before the ferry. However before I got to the main road I spotted a road I off to the right. I was looking down on it and it snaked up the side of a spur in the hill like a snake(picture above). There were a few hairpins there. I decided I must take a few photos as someone will want to come back and do that road in the future. I stopped and it did look good. I was pleased with myself for spotting it and felt it looked like one of those roads bikers would travel just to climb. But hey, I’m a biker and I have a chance to try and climb it. OK I’ll do it. Just after I’d made the decision it started to rain, another good reason to head straight for the hotel, but I carried on to the road. To get to it you descend another narrow twisty road and cross a steeply humped back bridge, crossing I believe the river that runs through the gorge and then up the zig zag road. The hairpins are sharp, but not as sharp as say the Stelvio, but the surface is good and it was a good feeling to get to the top. It was more a sense of achievement than a pleasure as the road was now quite wet and I had to manoeuvre the loaded GS with care. I didn’t set any records but got to the top and came back down and then on to the hotel.
The run in to the hotel was trouble free and the motorway leading to Igounenitsa is a pleasure to ride as it goes over some mountains and is quite dramatics in places. I stayed in the Paradosi Rooms and would recommend them, even had a small kitchen.
The ferry to Venice was timed to leave at 8AM and the documentation from Anek lines stressed the importance of arriving at least 2 hours before. So I did my packing the night before and set the alarm for 5AM and was at the docks at 5:40, but where was the long queue for the ferry? There was one lorry waiting to get into the port, but the entrance was closed and no one was around. I rode around and went into the main offices but the Anek office was closed. I wondered if there really was a boat today and stopped to check my paperwork, had I booked for June by mistake? No the paperwork was correct, but where to go and where was everyone else. I went back to the lone truck. The Romanian driver was out and I asked he if he was going to Venetzia, he nodded. I parked up and found a guy just leaving the port and he agreed this was the right place for the ferry. I also asked the police who said the gates would be open at 7, so I parked behind the lorry, then a car arrived and joined the queue. Suddenly the guards arrived and opened the gates, which let us in to the right part of the port. I then had to go into the offices again, which were now open and had a queue to get my internet reference turned into a ticket for me and the bike. The cost for the bike, for a 24 hour sailing is only 38Euros and about twice that for me. The bike is now loaded below but they don’t seem to have any tie down system. I parked close to a partition and left it on the side-stand. They were happy with that but I put on a strap from bike to the partition so it is restrained on the side stand and against the partition. I’m sure it will be fine. Forecast for Venice and Austria is around 20C and thunder showers, can’t wait!
Because I was supposed to be on an adventure holiday, and to save well over £100, I did not take a cabin on the ferry. This meant I’d be sleeping in the reclining seats. There was one room of these seats on the ferry and by the time I had secured the bike all the middle rows were taken. The middle rows are prized as they are groups of 4 seats and this allows you to stretch out and sleep better. I had a 2 seat option so it was a little cramped. I thought of asking if there were any spare cabins but resisted in case the cost sounded tempting. It was quite a long day on the ferry. I had a rest first after my too early start and did some of this writing up. There was no free access but you could opt for a 2 hour internet slot for €3. I decided now I was back in the EU to take the Euro traveller package from Vodafone for £3 per day, giving me my UK allowances for phone, text and internet access. It’s a bit of an experiment to see how it will work in practice. There were periods when we did not have any phone coverage, but I picked up Rumanian and Croatian signals as we went along and I was able to check emails etc. The ship did not retransmit phone signals as I believe they do on the Portsmouth Santander ferry. I’d charged my phone and spare battery in advance, as well as the pad and the netbook. Some experienced travellers on this boat found quiet corners where there was a light running from a socket and used the outlet for their computers. I did site in a stairwell for a while, with my pad plugged into a socked, as I was using for Kindle reading. On the bike I have the ability to charge, my phone, pad and head-cam while riding but will discuss this later when talking about equipment.
This is a more basic boat than I have used before on this route and only has one café and restaurant. In the past where I’ve come with the campervan they have been more luxurious, even with a swimming pool and similar to a small cruise ship. This one had an area to sit in the sun on plastic chairs but it was pretty basic, effectively the helicopter landing area. With a campervan you can camp-on-deck, sleeping in you campervan on the open deck, even plugged into electricity like at a campsite. They have special decks with open sides so if lucky, and I have been, you can open your door and look out directly on the sea. The night passed OK and I got a few hours of sleep and now waiting to arrive at Venice. Again from experience this can be quite spectacular as you pass directly in front of St Mark’s square and quite close. Hopefully it will be the same this time.
And what did I see this morning...
Because I was heading to the Vikos gorge I eventually left the motorway and found myself suddenly on small roads, I had also caught the edge of a shower, getting wet and riding on narrow wet roads. I had to readjust quickly. I decided the shower would not last and did not put on waterproofs but my jacket got quite damp. It was still warm and in a while it and the roads had dried out. These were pleasant riding roads good corners, not excessively sharp some sweeping bends and great fun. There were a couple of things to watch out for as the surface had some gravel near the edges and it seemed cattle used the road as there was some cow dung on the surface too. However, what you had to watch out for were the stones that seem to have been washed out from the banks of the road and some were bigger than a tennis ball and made it on to the surface of the road. You could see the stones and avoid them but they prevented riding the road with full commitment to a corner in case a rock was on your line around the next corner. For all of that it was enjoyable to ride after all the motorway riding I had done.
I came into a village and arrived at a little square with cars all around and people drinking in groups. I stopped as a coffee would have been welcome. It was strange as I approaches the people, it seemed like they were not acknowledging my existence. The tables were all taken and no one suggested I join them so I sat on a bench. Still no one looked my way or made any contact and I sat watching to see would happen next. Eventually a table was vacated so I sat on it and caught a waiter’s eye and ordered a coffee. A few people came up to the table, but only to take chairs from it, sometimes asking sometimes not. The joys of the lone traveller. It was a strange sensation. I thought of leaving but somehow I wanted to play it out, and I also noticed someone had double parked and I was blocked in. A few minutes later a lady came into the square, spoke to a few people but also came to me and asked in English if I spoak Greek, and when I said, no, she asked if I needed anything. I said I had ordered a coffee which I hoped would come and also at some point I’ll need the car to move so I can leave. She found out who the car owner was and we nodded at each other and I indicated it was OK for now, and he gave a friendly smile. Some more minutes, another lady, not one of the waiters brought my coffee with some ceremony. I asked how much, and she did not know but back into the café and came back to tell me it was a Euro. So it took a little time to start to break into this little closed group, but eventually 2 people decided to help me out and show some kindness. I wonder if I will remember this scene when I see a stranger enter my company and look a little lost.
Well back to the road and continued to be enjoyable. The mountain scenery was quite special and you would round corners and have a great panorama open up of a valley below, or some towering cliffs, and indeed snow-capped mountains. As I rode along I thought I saw a bike in front, yes it was and a big bike, ah indeed it’s a GS another 1200 like mine. I started reeling in the guy and soon caught up and it was a local bike just with a small seat bag. I sat behind for a bit, enjoying the feeling of riding with another GS, the first since the trip started. Soon however I could not delay any longer and overtook him. Soon after that another shower started and I did not want to get the jacked dry again so I stopped to put on a waterproof. Of course the GS went sailing by, with the local guy suggesting it would pass soon. I headed off again and of course the rain eased. This is a phenomenon well known to bikers, golfers etc. That if you take the trouble to stop for waterproofs it makes the rain stop. I was hoping that the local guy was grateful for my efforts. He was probably thinking that when it starts to rain, the Irish guy on the GS believe it will rain all day like it does where he comes from. We will never know what he thought. I overtook him again, and he overtook me when I stopped to take a picture of a valley with a heavy shower at the other end, and if my GPS reading was right that was where we were heading. Maybe the waterproof was not such a bad idea.
I headed off and overtook the GS again and we were gradually closing in on the storm. I tried to convince myself we’d just catch the edge of it, but I was wrong. Just as I was riding along this mountain road, on the edge of the valley, I hit it. It was the heaviest rain I have been in for some time and of course with the blustery wind of a thunderstorm. I don’t think I had mentioned the lightening, it was cracking around too. Visibility was the biggest problem as I could hardly see out of the visor. I just focussed on keeping the bike steady against the wind the seeing where I was going. I wondered how the guy was getting on behind in his leather jacket and jeans. The lightening made me wonder what risk I was running. I’d not heard of a biker hit by lightening but in truth I’d not done the research. I wondered if a well ridden GS as like a golfer using a 1iron in the thunderstorm, (sorry a golfing joke). The point being that the GS rider would be hard for lightening to strike. I don’t have access to the net on this ferry so someone else will have research lightening strikes and motorcyclists. Well I came through the storm and in time I was relieved to see the GS behind, looking a little damp mind you. He also seemed to be keeping more in touch with me now perhaps he felt he show that local riders can also ride fast or maybe he just wanted to get home to get his jeans dry.
With all this excitement on the road I had missed my turn to Vikos and this gorge. As the weather was still unsettled and I needed an early night I considered keeping going to the hotel, but when would I be back this way, and I headed back for the gorge turnoff. Of course the road up there was twisty and wet but the scenery spectacular, some of the cliffs I saw in the distance were the gorge, but I did not know that then. There had been no big sign pointing towards the gorge nor was there much commercialism in Vikos village when I arrived. There were a couple of restaurants and a small sign indicating the way to the view. About a 2 minute walk led to a rickety old platform, but beyond it the view was spectacular. On one side there were sheer cliffs on the other side the rocks were more rounded and down at the bottom a blue river. For what claims to be the deepest gorge in the world(Guinness book of Records) it is remarkably undeveloped. I looked but there were no helicopter rides across like in the Grand Canyon. Not even a string of donkeys to trek you down to the bottom. However, the quietness of it all just adds to it’s charm and I was the only person viewing it, so all was peace and quiet and I could take the photos I wanted, undisturbed. It is certainly worth seeing if you are in the area, and is about 100Km from Igoumenitsa so not much more than an hour away.
Back at the bike I noticed the time had moved on and was feeling peckish and decided to eat in the village. The first restaurant offered spinach pie so I declined and followed the great smelly coming from the other establishment. They were doing lamb, and when it finally arrived was very tasty and nicely flavoured with herbs. I sat at a table with a couple of guys and I could hear then speaking in guttural German and asked them if they were Austrian or Bavarian, wrong, they were Swiss. This was like asking a New Zelander if they were an Auzzie and I’ve done that too. Anyway they were OK and we chatted. They had just walked the gorge, 4 hours, but were now stuck because there was not transport to get them back, and they did not want another 4 hour walk. I asked them what was the gorge walk like and they said a steep walk down, then a flat walk, and a steep walk up again. I was sorry I asked! Did I mention lack of commercialism, not even a taxi in the village. So they were trying to cadge a lift from the locals, who had room in the back for 2 burly Swiss guys. It was amusing to watch and passed the time waiting for the lamb.
Once the lamb was finished I was off, it would now be 6PM by the time I got to my hotel and I had some sorting out to do before the ferry. However before I got to the main road I spotted a road I off to the right. I was looking down on it and it snaked up the side of a spur in the hill like a snake(picture above). There were a few hairpins there. I decided I must take a few photos as someone will want to come back and do that road in the future. I stopped and it did look good. I was pleased with myself for spotting it and felt it looked like one of those roads bikers would travel just to climb. But hey, I’m a biker and I have a chance to try and climb it. OK I’ll do it. Just after I’d made the decision it started to rain, another good reason to head straight for the hotel, but I carried on to the road. To get to it you descend another narrow twisty road and cross a steeply humped back bridge, crossing I believe the river that runs through the gorge and then up the zig zag road. The hairpins are sharp, but not as sharp as say the Stelvio, but the surface is good and it was a good feeling to get to the top. It was more a sense of achievement than a pleasure as the road was now quite wet and I had to manoeuvre the loaded GS with care. I didn’t set any records but got to the top and came back down and then on to the hotel.
The run in to the hotel was trouble free and the motorway leading to Igounenitsa is a pleasure to ride as it goes over some mountains and is quite dramatics in places. I stayed in the Paradosi Rooms and would recommend them, even had a small kitchen.
The ferry to Venice was timed to leave at 8AM and the documentation from Anek lines stressed the importance of arriving at least 2 hours before. So I did my packing the night before and set the alarm for 5AM and was at the docks at 5:40, but where was the long queue for the ferry? There was one lorry waiting to get into the port, but the entrance was closed and no one was around. I rode around and went into the main offices but the Anek office was closed. I wondered if there really was a boat today and stopped to check my paperwork, had I booked for June by mistake? No the paperwork was correct, but where to go and where was everyone else. I went back to the lone truck. The Romanian driver was out and I asked he if he was going to Venetzia, he nodded. I parked up and found a guy just leaving the port and he agreed this was the right place for the ferry. I also asked the police who said the gates would be open at 7, so I parked behind the lorry, then a car arrived and joined the queue. Suddenly the guards arrived and opened the gates, which let us in to the right part of the port. I then had to go into the offices again, which were now open and had a queue to get my internet reference turned into a ticket for me and the bike. The cost for the bike, for a 24 hour sailing is only 38Euros and about twice that for me. The bike is now loaded below but they don’t seem to have any tie down system. I parked close to a partition and left it on the side-stand. They were happy with that but I put on a strap from bike to the partition so it is restrained on the side stand and against the partition. I’m sure it will be fine. Forecast for Venice and Austria is around 20C and thunder showers, can’t wait!
Because I was supposed to be on an adventure holiday, and to save well over £100, I did not take a cabin on the ferry. This meant I’d be sleeping in the reclining seats. There was one room of these seats on the ferry and by the time I had secured the bike all the middle rows were taken. The middle rows are prized as they are groups of 4 seats and this allows you to stretch out and sleep better. I had a 2 seat option so it was a little cramped. I thought of asking if there were any spare cabins but resisted in case the cost sounded tempting. It was quite a long day on the ferry. I had a rest first after my too early start and did some of this writing up. There was no free access but you could opt for a 2 hour internet slot for €3. I decided now I was back in the EU to take the Euro traveller package from Vodafone for £3 per day, giving me my UK allowances for phone, text and internet access. It’s a bit of an experiment to see how it will work in practice. There were periods when we did not have any phone coverage, but I picked up Rumanian and Croatian signals as we went along and I was able to check emails etc. The ship did not retransmit phone signals as I believe they do on the Portsmouth Santander ferry. I’d charged my phone and spare battery in advance, as well as the pad and the netbook. Some experienced travellers on this boat found quiet corners where there was a light running from a socket and used the outlet for their computers. I did site in a stairwell for a while, with my pad plugged into a socked, as I was using for Kindle reading. On the bike I have the ability to charge, my phone, pad and head-cam while riding but will discuss this later when talking about equipment.
This is a more basic boat than I have used before on this route and only has one café and restaurant. In the past where I’ve come with the campervan they have been more luxurious, even with a swimming pool and similar to a small cruise ship. This one had an area to sit in the sun on plastic chairs but it was pretty basic, effectively the helicopter landing area. With a campervan you can camp-on-deck, sleeping in you campervan on the open deck, even plugged into electricity like at a campsite. They have special decks with open sides so if lucky, and I have been, you can open your door and look out directly on the sea. The night passed OK and I got a few hours of sleep and now waiting to arrive at Venice. Again from experience this can be quite spectacular as you pass directly in front of St Mark’s square and quite close. Hopefully it will be the same this time.
And what did I see this morning...
Attachments
Great write up 
(For a Paddy
)
But we need more pictures
(For a Paddy
)But we need more pictures
- Joined
- Oct 6, 2008
- Messages
- 1,610
- Reaction score
- 466
Now, we can do without the " for a paddy" stuff. Anyway glad you enjoyed it. Photos have been taken and will be posted when I tidy it up.
- Joined
- Oct 6, 2008
- Messages
- 1,610
- Reaction score
- 466
Safe Return!
After a reasonably uneventful ride across mainland Europe I parked the bike safely on the drive this evening. The 5,850 mile trip is over.
During the next week or so I'll get the photos sorted and to work on the final text, first I need to mow the lawn! Thanks for the all the interest and support, it was great to know I was being "followed" around Turkey and was a pleasure to share the trip with you all.
After a reasonably uneventful ride across mainland Europe I parked the bike safely on the drive this evening. The 5,850 mile trip is over.
During the next week or so I'll get the photos sorted and to work on the final text, first I need to mow the lawn! Thanks for the all the interest and support, it was great to know I was being "followed" around Turkey and was a pleasure to share the trip with you all.
Attachments
Great to read your on the road reports, I really look forward to seeing more photos and reading more about your fantastic trip. Glad you made it home unscathed.
GDGSer
Registered user
Welcome back
Jim, a thoroughly good read.. and glad you 'missed' the excitement of recent days in Eastern Turkey. Welcome home and good to know you are safe and sound. Catch up soon I hope.
G
Jim, a thoroughly good read.. and glad you 'missed' the excitement of recent days in Eastern Turkey. Welcome home and good to know you are safe and sound. Catch up soon I hope.
G
- Joined
- Oct 6, 2008
- Messages
- 1,610
- Reaction score
- 466
I've started the updated version of the report... with more photos. Sill a fair bit to do but it's a start...
http://www.ukgser.com/forums/showthread.php?t=338684
http://www.ukgser.com/forums/showthread.php?t=338684
