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!

Shopping, a Scrub and a Rub

We had our group meeting on the terrace. There I met our other travelers. Four of us will be going the whole way. Joe, myself, a retired customs officer from London, a lady my age named Enid, and John, another Brit who was not yet ready to bear his soul. Another will go as far as Tashkent. She is a doctor, Kat (Katherine), who just finished her studies and is taking a year off to recover before starting her life's work. A young couple from Australia, Justin and M______ (name to be remembered later) will be with us for ten days only. The remaining two have not shown up. After going over the paperwork and such, it was a shopping day to collect stuff for the trip. Toilet paper, soap, and a good pillow.

Along the way I stopped in at a traditional Turkish bath for a foam massage, steam, and swim. Built in 1427, it was an experience I will remember for a long time to come. First came the disrobing and a small wraparound. Led to the toilet and then shower, I was shown the bath. Three large white marbled wet rooms, steam room, sauna, and cold plunge pool in a small cave. Google Gedikpasa Turkish Baths for photos. After a great steam and plunge I was scrubbed with a polyester Brillo pad from head to toe and all points in between. A hot water rinse followed by another scrubbing, this time with soap. The masseuse then directed me to lay on a warm marble slab where he proceeded to give me one hell of a 30 minute Shiatsu massage. Instead of oil he used soap foam. It was both unusual and amazing. Two rinses later I got a double shampoo and a scalp massage. More steam and another plunge ended my visit. I'm now sitting in a park under a beautiful grove of trees writing this entry. Finally I am beginning to relax and welcome the adventure. This morning at the request of our tour leader I surrendered my watch. That says a lot about what is to come.