Tom
We’ve spent three weeks since leaving Istanbul following the Black
Sea coastline. Yesterday we completed the very hilly northern stretch,
arriving in the peninsular town of Sinop. It’s a charming place with
some of the friendliest people we’ve met in Turkey so far. Already
we’ve been fed lunch, dinner, breakfast and lunch again, taken
clubbing, given baklava to take away with us, and lent a
fishing boat to sleep on. To round things off, today’s weather has been
gorgeously sunny and even warm enough to spend the day exploring in
only a T-shirt.
I also indulged myself in a new pair of trousers to replace the ones
I bought in Liege, Belgium, when I thought I was headed for hot sandy
places. They haven’t been washed since Istanbul either (as have any of
my clothes), so it’s high time I replaced them for something more
suited to the climate.
Speaking of the climate, we’ve endured some very wintry and unstable
weather conditions inrecent weeks. I woke up one morning in a bus
shelter to find myself surrounded by a blanket of white, fluffy snow.
My boots were also full of the stuff, as I’d foolishly left them too
close to the edge of the bus shelter. It wasn’t the best night’s sleep
I’ve ever had, but it definitely wasn’t the worst.
We’ve also had some very sunny but very cold days. On these
occasions it’s been difficult to manage body heat and sweat
effectively. I’m looking forward to finding some more appropriate
clothing in Trabzon, which we’re aiming to reach in two or three weeks’
time.
And no Black Sea coast ride in December would be complete without
bags of rain. One day we cycled through driving torrents for about an
hour, and spent the remainder of the day trying to dry all our kit by a
soba (stove) in a small village tea shop. The next time it belted it
down with such unending ferocity, we decided not to bother cycling at
all, and instead sat around under the awning of a disused seaside
snack-bar, keeping a fire burning and generally being fairly bored and
frustrated.
An 80-year-old man we met on the harbour earlier today expressed his
thoughts - in very good English - about the changing weather trends in
this part of the country. Twenty-five years ago, he said, there would
be snow every winter - snow on the hills, on the coast, and out to sea.
Today, however, it doesn’t really snow in the winter in Sinop, except
occasionally on the higher ground. Things have shifted - the climate
has got warmer in recent years. He also commented - and I’m inclined to
agree - that the weather forecast on TV will be right half the time,
but if you really want to know what’s going on with the weather, ask a
fisherman!
