And it begins...

Last night we had a group dinner. We started with a few beers at the pub and then walked to the restaurant. We were a lively group sharing stories and getting to know each other. Our last two travelers showed up. Shawn is from New Zealand, a mining engineer, and the tattooed man. He was my roommate last night and just about every inch of his body, except his face, is inked. Alex is from Toronto. A fellow in his late 30's, right arm amputated at the shoulder, and an "X-treme" skier. We're quite a group and yours truly is the oldest...ugh! Oh, and we have a "Frenchy," our tour leader's nickname! Gotta have a Frenchy on every trip!

This morning's wakeup was at 4am with a 5:00 o'clock departure. We met "Sura," our truck, and she's a beauty. We got loaded up and on our way. Today will be a 12 hour drive. Sound familiar :-) Our destination is the town of Goreme in Cappadocia. We crossed Theron bridge to Asia Turkey and wound through the expanding city for quite sometime before reaching open land and heading due east.

Soon we reached a range of mountains and the east most region of the Anatolia inlet coming 100 miles in from the coast. Over the mountains we saw the last of the winter snow before winding down through fertile. Lush green canyons and into Ankara. Another two hours and we reached Lake Tuz, a huge shallow water salt lake with lesser flamingos. We set up our first lunch camp, learned about washing and treating produce, and then made our first lunch-a huge assortment of raw veggies and fresh bread. I offered to make a dressing combing tahini, pomegranate syrup, balsamic vinegar and black pepper. It was a hit and I was in my element.

Five more hours saw us through beautiful green fields to the twin of Goreme in the heart of Cappadocia. Our pension is located right inside of the amazing rock formations. A long day, dinner waiting and a good might's sleep is promised!