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.

Meeting some of the guys in Istanbul

This morning I had breakfast with Dave and Ivan and was joined by Joe, a fellow from Australia. He is a boilermaker in a coal mine in northeast Queensland. A nice fellow in his late 40's with a very unique beard. Together Joe and I explored a bit more of the old city visiting the Grand Bazaar. This is a huge complex of shops all under one roof. I estimated from the size of the facility that there must have been over 500 stores.

Next we entered a huge local mosque. Afterward we wandered the hardware
district ducking in and out of various stores looking at tools and such. Then it was on to the Egyptian Spice Market-nothing like a hardware and grocery store fix to make my day!

Down to the river we wandered around the myriad of boats before heading into the electronics district where I was able to replace the camera I lost the day before.

Back at the hostel a few beers was followed by a long nap and a nice dinner once again on the terrace overlooking the Bosphorus.

Free day in Istanbul

I woke to a bright and blue-skied day. The hostel I am staying at is beyond my expectations. Each room had three sets of bunks so with six it would be cosy. Fortunately I was alone last night and presumably tonight as well. The shared baths are sparkling clean with great hot water in the showers.

I went up to the terrace for breakfast and met Ivan (French) and Dave (Aussie) our tour manager and driver-very pleasant young fellows. They are enjoying a few days off before starting the our tour. I was pleased to learn we will be together to Beijing.

I went out for a walk through the city gardens. The tulips were in full bloom. From there I visited the three archeological museums near Topkapi Palace. The tomb of Alexander the Great was outstanding!

Afterward I strolled back to the hotel for a short rest before dinner on the terrace overlooking the Bosphorus.

Toronto to Frankfurt and on to Istanbul

A 90 minute delay in boarding came with benefits. The fellow from Edmonton with whom I had been chatting for the last hour had an early boarding pass and invited me to tag along. Oh my, just hit me, that was a deja vu moment! The flight was smooth and we landed just over an hour late. With minutes to spare I made my Istanbul flight; my luggage did not.

The silver lining is that they will have to deliver it to my hotel later today. That means I can now ride the subway without having to lug those 42 pounds along the way!

Newark to Toronto

An early arrival at the airport rewarded me with an upgraded standby seat on an earlier flight to Toronto. What a cool airport. Totally modern with technology all over the place. Several of the cafes have iPads at each seat to order and surf the net while you wait. What a cool way to avoid human interaction!

Twas the end of Passover and the airport was swarming with lots of Jewish families returning home...a sea of fur felt, wide brim hats and ladies in stylish wigs...and LOTS of kids.

My seven hour layover included a lot of people watching, the movie "Beginners," (rent it. Chris Plummer and Ewan McGregor are great), and a really good dirty martini...or three. Ask for Doug at the Bacardi Rum Bar!

A night in Newark, New Jersey

United's flights to Denver and then on to Newark were great. I got a free upgrade to Economy Plus (more leg room and a free drink) in exchange for trading seats with a large family.

I booked a cheap hotel in Newark and got exactly what I asked for...will not be placing any luggage on an upholstered surface tonight! The strip club next door served a good burger. Tomorrow is a long day as I hop around on Air Canada making my way to Istanbul.

San Francisco and Passport!

A sleepy flight from Anchorage to Phoenix and then on to San Francisco got me to my rental car and speeding down Hwy 101 to Monterey by mid afternoon. A bright gorgeous California day welcomed me to my home town where I visited withy uncle and cousin. Spaghetti and meatballs for Good Friday dinner. LOL.

Back on the road I headed to San Jose and my friend Z's home to pick up my passport! We spent a few hours catching up before getting back to the airport. I returned the car at 1AM and slept in the terminal until morning.

Departing today WITHOUT my passport or visas...

Well, I said it would be an adventure!  My visa was just approved this morning in Washington DC.  I depart tonight so it can't be sent to my home address.  With my layover in San Francisco, I have one last chance to get it in my hands before crossing the pond!  The visa processing center is mailing it by FedEx Overnight guaranteed to Z's house in San Jose.  I'll stop off there on the was back from my visit with family in Monterey.  Yikes!  This is cutting it way too close for any margin of comfort!

On pins and needles...and, oh yes, really excited at the same time

Down to the last day...Turkmenistan!

I wrote emails, made calls, talked to consulates in three countries, officials at two US embassies, and negotiated with both FedEx and DHL.  I fought the good battle.  Yet, the Republic of Turkmenistan still had not issued my Letter of Invitation and my time to obtain a tourist visa before departing next week expired today. So...I was ready to surrender...oh great god of the visa domain, your will would be done and I am but your humble servant. 

I along with two Canadians, a Frenchman, and a Brit...all waiting...and looking at having to start it all over again once we arrived in Istanbul!  In the words of dear Sonny, the hotel manager of the Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, “everything will be all right in the end... if it's not all right then it's not yet the end.” 

I was already planning to depart Azerbaijan and head over to the Balkans for two weeks, resuming my tour once the rest of the group had left Turkmenistan and entered Uzbekistan.  And then this morning, with only hours to spare, my Letter of Invitation has arrived.  It will be a race to the finish line with only five days for processing and two days for return of my passport.  It looks like this is turning out to be quite an “adventure” after all! 

Nine days and counting…

OK...starting to freak out...just a bit

Barely two weeks to go and no Turkmenistan visa! Yikes! Pulling out of my hat, every poor little bunny that exists. The folks at the tour company in the UK are proving to be less than helpful.  They haven't been very forthcoming on the delay and to get this far, I have had to pursue them.  Today I learned that there was a six week delay in getting the Letters of Invitation because of a religious holiday and political convention in Turkmenistan.  Next Monday, the 18th, is my last possible day to get my visa processed and still insure that my passport will be returned to me in time to depart.  Needless to say, I am now designing a Plan B, C, and D. Stay posted.......

Uzbekistan Visa!

Got it!  Yippee!  Now there is only one more to go and Turkmenistan is proving to be a bit of a challenge.  20+ days from today and i'm on my way.