Selam!
Welcome to my new blog where I’ll be
blogging about my upcoming travels in Turkey, including my assignment for the
Rough Guides.
As the winner of the 2011 World
Nomads/Rough Guides Travel Writing Scholarship,
the last month has been a bit of a ride. I’ve been frantically reading
everything I can get my hands on about Turkey, trying to co-ordinate flights,
tours and meet-ups through a zillion emails and offering up some last minute
TLC to my road-weary backpack whose zip decided to give up on
me one week before I head out.
Finally, though, the time has come to stop
gushing about what a wonderful opportunity this is and actually get down to
doing some hard work! Well, not quite so soon, because first I’m off on a
12-day BikeHike adventure courtesy of BikeHike Adventures, which should check off a fair few boxes on my ‘to see
in Turkey’ list as well as being a hell of a lot of fun!
Now as someone whose current idea of a
workout involves a bit of yogic stretching and breathing and a 5-minute jog
around the block, I’m understandably a little hesitant at undertaking 12 days
of gruelling activity, but I’m assured that the trip rating is ‘moderate’ and
can only cross my fingers and hope that I won’t collapse in a heap on the first
day. Thankfully, I know from past experience that my stamina increases considerably when surrounded by scenic vistas and spurred on by bursts of fresh mountain air
and judging by the Turkish Delight itinerary, they’ll be no shortage of either.
I can’t decide what I’m most excited about
– taking a hot air balloon ride over the fairytale chimneys of Cappadocia,
cantering through ancient settlements on horseback or kayaking on the
Mediterranean Sea. It's like a 12 day long adrenaline kick!
Before I embark on my self-dubbed ‘trip of
a lifetime’ there are a few people I would like to thank. Firstly, to all the
judges for selecting my entry – it was something of a shock to find out I’d
actually won but I couldn’t be more delighted! Also, to everyone at Bike Hike,
particularly Meghan, who’s been an angel in email form, answering all my
questions and managing my daily crisis with ease. Alicia, Amanda and everyone at World Nomads, not only for
affording me this opportunity but also for their support, encouragement and
enthusiasm about my upcoming trip. I get the impression that they are as
excited as I am!
A big thanks also to Joanna, Jayne and
everyone at Rough Guides for their support and for this incredible opportunity.
And of course, Terry Richardson, the unfortunate soul (!!) who will be guiding
and mentoring me during my Rough Guides assignment – I’m looking forward to
working with him and learning everything I can about the world of guide book
writing. Oh, and I better thank my Mum too. After all, she did read a trillion draft essays before i finally settled on my entry piece and, well, everyone has to thank their Mum, right?!
To everyone else, I sincerely hope you
enjoy reading about my escapades and look forward to hearing your comments,
musings and critiques on this blog. I’ll be updating as frequently as possible
throughout my trip and will aim to get plenty of photos online too. I hope I
can inspire a few of you to dust off your backpacks and hit the road again!
For those who are interested, you can follow me on twitter @zoe_c_smith or check out updates and my other work at my website: www.zoeclaresmith.co.uk.
Happy reading!
Zoë xx
