Once upon a time, near the Georgian town of Tsageri, two weary cycle tourists sat down beside a roadside spring to prepare a feast (well a salad). They were tired but elated after cycling for many miles and months across countries and most recently over majestic mountains. As they ate, a carriage pulled up and out jumped …
Ushguli, is the mythical place everyone seems to be heading. At 2,200 metres it is the highest inhabited community in Europe and its tough inhabitants endure 6 months of what I imagine to be a cruel winter. We the intrepid cycle the 50km from Mestia, others hike for 3 days on mountain trails. The majority of backpackers …
I write this whilst recuperating. I've been struck down by some pesky niggles, the kind that strike when you stop a few days to rest and your body kicks up a protest at past exertion. I'm lucky enough to be convalescing in the magical garden of Seti Guesthouse in Mestia. My companions are a curious …
Our crossing from Ramazan-reserved Turkey to gregarious Georgia was marked by the unnerving sight of a young woman in a bikini collecting water from a roadside waterfall and two old men sitting in the shade selling home-made booze. Water oozed from the green mountains and the whole backdrop had taken on a sub-tropical feel, as …
When we finally liberated ourselves from the spell of the stone world we cycled 71km north from Goreme to the city of Kayseri. It felt like a fleeing of sorts, from an area a little too close to suffering. As we have journeyed through Turkey reality has nipped at my conscience - blood is being …
We have a fabled destination but no real clue how we will get there. We are in no rush, but seasons change and the sun and snow will form impenetrable barriers that need to be navigated. Luckily we are 'free-lings' by nature - in the sense that we are comfortable in flux. The not knowing …
It started with cups of tea and has escalated to entire apartments. The genuine warm-heartedness, generosity and hospitality of the people we have met in Turkey has been incredible. It's impossible to recall every act, but they are adding up to create a map of good will. We are the Cartographers of Kindness and these …
We had a week in the city of many names. A place forever changing yet timeless in its rhythm of life. There was only the echo of ricochet from recent violence; tourist areas seemed quieter and anxiety had cast it's shadow over happy souls. But the local neighbourhoods still hummed with humans and it seemed impossible …
Our overwhelming first impression of Turkey has been how utterly friendly and helpful everyone is. Oh and that it is really hilly. Not those day long climbs you get in the mountains where you just have to dig in for the duration, instead these are roller-coaster steep ascents and descents (with intermittent screaming & nausea). …
As we travelled south through Bulgaria our apprehension increased. The old growth forest of the Strandzha National Park that surrounded us is a beautiful, ancient and vast protected area . Normally being in these wild places of solitude is the reason we pedal but stories of human violence had reached us, making it difficult to relax. Tales …
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