6 in 6: Travel - Turkey to England

This is the story of how I traveled for 2 days, crossing half the length of Turkey to get to England.

It was 4AM in a small marina in Mersin, Turkey, just outside of Tarsus, my guitar case full of more than just a guitar and a backpack ready to go.  I said my goodbye to the ship that had been my home for the past 8 months straight and got into a car with the skipper and 2 of his friends.

So began a 9 hour car journey along the coast and through the mountains of Turkey.

We set off for a few hours of darkness on a main motorway when it became a windy mountain road with the sun slowly rising up behind us.  A stretch break showed us the beginnings of some pretty amazing sites were were going to see along the way.

About 4 hours or so into the journey, we decided it was time to have a bit of breakfast.  So we found a small restaurant at the top of the mountain over looking the ocean.  We stopped and received the most amazing Turkish breakfast I have ever had.  Well, it was the only Turkish breakfast I have ever had but still, it was amazing.  Scrambled eggs with sausage and some really great spices which I don't know the name of, vegetables, fresh bread that kept coming, homemade honey, apricots, dates, and more.

I'm glad we stopped there.

We continued on, trading seats every once in a while to get a different view from the car, counting all the mosques I saw along the way, until we made it to Antalya.  There, we stopped at a resort that my 3 car buddies were staying in for a few days.  We took advantage of the all inclusive beverages and just relaxed for a bit.  I then understood how people can go on vacation to a country and just stay at the resort they whole time.  It has everything you ever need.

I then had to meet up with the person who was going to take me to the place I would be staying the night.  It was one of those, friend of a friend of a friend kind of situations.  We met up near the docks where Paul once made berth way back when in the Bible.  That was neat.  But she took good care of me and I had a bed for the night and breakfast in the morning in a random city in Turkey which I had never been to before.

The next morning, I was walked to a bus stop where I got on a bus which took me all around the city before going to another bus station.  I then immediately got on another bus which would take me the 4 hours to Dalaman where the airport was that I was flying out of.  But this was unlike any bus I have ever been on.  First of all, it was driving through Turkey so that was a new experience which was beautiful, but every seat had its own television screen.  There was also a guy serving complimentary refreshments up and down the aisle.  Quality service right there.  Hello apple juice.

We came to a rest stop half way through and I decided it would probably be a good idea to take advantage of using the toilet.  However, when I went to the restroom, I didn't find a toilet but rather a small hole in the ground.  Awesome.  Squatty potty.  Just what I wanted to experience at that moment.  I now have a new appreciation to be in places with proper toilets.

I made it to Dalaman and it's a good thing I was paying attention as the driver didn't announce at all where we were and he kept letting people off at random stops on the side of the road whenever they wanted to.  So I luckily took initiative and watched the signs (I'm so thankful I pay attention to detail...) and decided this was my stop.  The next task was to find a taxi to take me to the airport.  There was a friendly man who gave me a discount due to the fact that I only had a certain amount of Turkish Lira left in my wallet that didn't quite add up to his asking price.  What a nice gentleman.

450 Miles by land

However, this brought me to the airport 7 hours before my flight was due to depart.  So off I went to sit at a cafe that happened to be open right in the parking lot with nothing else around.  It was there that I sat for the next 5 hours, occasionally watching a group of passengers coming down meeting their tour buses and taxis and such.  It was then that I was incredibly thankful for the new colored markers I had just purchased.  I drew lots of colored circles.  It's a good thing I like waiting while traveling.

Finally it was time to check in with the masses and board my flight to England.  But not before finding a sign in the bathroom (with a real toilet) that told me I couldn't wash my feet.  Sad day.  That's exactly what I wanted to do.

1764.73 Miles by air

We took off and a few hours later I landed in the great country of England with a sigh of relief and contentment and joy, even though it was 1 in the morning.  As I stepped outside the plane in Luton to walk down the stairs to a bus that would take me to the terminal, I instantly knew I was back in England because it was cold.  So cold I could see my breath.  And it was raining.  Happiness abounded.

That is the story of how I traveled from Turkey to England in the spring of 2014.

Note to self, next time, maybe just pay the little extra for a flight at a closer airport...but then again, where's the fun in that?