We set off early in the mornng after discovering that a large fleet of trucks had parked round us during the night. The landscape on the road from Kavalla to the Turkish border is attractive, with low mountains on the left and flat land intensively farmed on the right. There are occasional fleeting glimpses of the sea. We passed Xanthe which is currently the place to go; our neighbour in Alrewas is going there. I suspect its a sea-sand-and-sex place but I won’t be going. I think I’m too old for sand.
We got through the Greek side of the border with no trouble. Having passed a policeman waving his arm at me near Larissa and going too fast to stop, I was half expecting my collar to be fingered by the long arm of the Greek Law at the border, but nothing happened. Insurance on the Turkish side cost 102 dollars, possibly cheaper than getting a green card which is useful only for Turkey. We also have to pay insurance for Georgia and Russia.
There is a long by-pass round the north of Istanbul which eventually took us to Bolu. The road over Bolu Dagi (Dagi is Turkish for mountain) was very scenic but the rest of the day was rather dreary with a monotonous landscape of low bush-covered hills although the road was fast. We had a splendid meal at a Gerede filling station with traditional Turkish cuisine. We parked in a truck park at the side of the motorway.
Border crossing to Turkey