Tuesday November 5
Cycle: 16.12km//1hr37min//9.9km/hr
Today officially began at 2 am when I realized our night bus to Istanbul was boarding a ferry. A ferry to where? I wondered in my 1/2 sleeping state. Next thing I remember it was 6 am, my right side was frozen asleep, their was a faint light in the sky, and we were approaching Istanbul. I dreaded actually arriving in Istanbul. I knew what might be coming up. On the bus, I could just sit. In the city, who knows what would be required of me. My fears were to be realized. The bus dropped us off at a major highway exit, far far away from the city centre. Not surprising. From there, we were instructed to transfer to a shuttle service - and/or take a cab. Would those services take two loaded touring bikes? Of course not. So, there we were, rebuilding our bikes in a massive construction site of a bus depot at 8am in the morning, after little to no sleep, preparing to enter morning rush hour traffic in Istanbul.
In some ways, the bumper to bumper traffic and torn up roads meant everyone was moving very slowly, or not at all, and we could weave in and out, slowly making our way to Sultanamet (the old city centre). Somewhere along the route, I spotted a river. I B-lined off the road, knowing this river would, more our less, run to our hotel. If we could just stay along it, we would arrive, eventually. After a lot of zig zagging, riding on sidewalks, backtracking, stopping for Starbucks coffee, eating simit, etc, we found our way. Checking in to Agora Hostel was easy, painless, and to our great relief, they let us enter our room (an 8 bed dorm) early (it was still only 12 pm).
After a little nap, things were much better. We are in Istanbul! We needed a beer! Efes. I walked to the nearest market (in the most roundabout way), grabbed a beer, and returned to enjoy the terrace views from our hostel. Not having the energy for site seeing, we planned our attack on site seeing for tomorrow, and relaxed. At 7:30(ish), the door opened to a familiar face from ~10 years ago in Toronto (of all places) - my friend Deniz found us! Yay. After some very quick catching up (8 years in 8 minutes?) we went for keftes (meatballs), and didn't have to say a word to order (all handled my Deniz). Amazing. Next we cabbed it to Galata tower, and walked around the maze of streets enjoying the night life, putting back shots, and finally enjoying a bottle of beer along a very crowd little side street. It was such a simple pleasure having someone along able to communicate properly and translate for us. We even got a little update on Turkish politics and history. By the time we cabbed it out, I had to admit, I was zoning out, and only capable of thinking about one thing: sleep.
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| We arrived in Istanbul, and B-lined for the waterways to guide us to Sultanamet. |
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| This is my 8am post overnight bus ride face. I look shockingly happy. |
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| A jelly floating in the surprisingly clear waters. |
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| We happened past the Spice bazaar, and noted the excellent nut selection and prices. We would return later! |
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| Aided by the GPS and the iPAD mini's Offline maps, finding Agora Hostel was simple, even in a sleep deprived state. |
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| Stunned in the 8 bed dorm room. Was it the blue walls, or the florescent lights, or the lack of sleep? Hard to know. |
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| The terrace at Agora Hostel. A good place for a beer, and watching boats ply the Borphorus. |
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| A very sleep deprived Madalene enjoying koftes in Sultanamet. Yum. And very paleo, yo. |
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| Madalene and Deniz meandering towards Galata tower. |
