Day 10 - 4h45 am is a bloody early time to wake up, but we decided to go for it, and I'm glad we did. When I looked out of the tent, there they were—hundreds of hot air balloons taking off from their launch site in Cappadocia, floating up and gliding through the valleys below. I've seen tons of pictures, but being surrounded by all those balloons right outside my tent was just incredible. After packing up and grabbing some espressos at a local café in Göreme, we checked out the Love Valley with its huge, unmistakably phallic rock formations. Realizing we couldn't compete, we headed east. We decided to set up camp early and cook, and a nice farmer even brought us some mushrooms just before the rain started to come down.
Day 11 - It's the fourth day of camping in the wild and the fifth day without a shower. We're down to just three pairs of underwear, so we're really stretching out the time between changes. It's manageable as long as we stay away from civilization, but we definitely needed a good wash for both ourselves and our machines. We found a local motel in Pinarbasi that did the trick for 11 € for the night. This isn't exactly a luxury cruise, as you can see from the 'behind the scenes' pics. But that warm shower felt amazing! After we cleaned up and felt human again, we went out for some Durums and met Ferhat, who filled us in on all things Turkey and invited us to a local tea house for some Çai and Turkish coffee.
Day 12 - What an incredible day it was! Riding east into the heart of Anatolia was absolutely breathtaking. We spent six hours cruising along off-road trails at altitudes between 1500 and 2000 meters, completely losing track of time. The landscape around us felt otherworldly, with rocky hills and valleys, vibrant orange stones, and patches of fine red sand that contrasted beautifully with the light green alpine vegetation. A dream come true for any overland rider. We were like in trance rolling through gravel and sand over hills with no end. But it came. In the form of my tire that was wearing down in a way that made safe travel impossible. I miscalculated the distance; this tire should have lasted at least another 2000 kilometers. I patched the exposed mesh on the tire with Gorilla Tape to prevent the worst. We then made our way to the nearest town and found ourselves in the village of Ayvali.
Day 12 - cont. It's strange how things work out sometimes. One thing leads to another, just like it was meant to be. While in Ayvali and asking for help finding a tire shop, we ended up at Soner's store just in the village Center. We've heard about Turkish hospitality, but Soner and his family truly embodied it: We were invited in not like the strangers we were, but like old friends or family. We enjoyed tea and dinner, met his father and brother, his cousin, and many villagers who stopped by to greet us. Soner’s uncle, the head of the village, generously hosted us in the village's guest house. We arrived with nothing, and they provided us with everything. A humbling experience. A tire issue diverted us, leading us to this lovely village where we experienced authentic Turkish hospitality. How surprising and beautiful can life be?
