Cappadocia 26/06/08

Waking surprisingly early we head down for breakfast. Cappadocia is one of these places where every time you turn a corner another stunning view jumps out at you and the sight over breakfast doesn't disappoint.

Deciding to spend the day being tourists we pile in the car and search for some action...

First stop is a dead end after a wrong turn but the signs encourage us to stop and have a look anyway. Called "Sunset lookout" we take off up a walking track and on reaching the summit find an impressive view. Well worth the effort!

Next is the Goreme open air museum but all the tourist buses are a bit of a turnoff so we give it a miss. Funnily enough when Steph and I were here last year we did exactly the same thing. Maybe when I walk through I will make the effort...no doubt, having missed it twice, it's going to turn out being the most impressive part of the whole area :)

Cappadocia is like another world and is near impossible to capture in words and pictures, this is one place on the planet that really needs to be seen first hand. Absolutely awesome!!!

By 1pm I'm pretty much sandstoned out and Sabine and Robert are looking the same. Sabine sums up the day very elegantly with one sentence...

"How strange to have cock everywhere!"

They are mushrooms Sabine...Mushrooms :) But I'm glad I'm not the only sexually frustrated pilgrim around...

The only other "must see" spot in the area is Derinkuyu the underground city which Steph and I failed to locate last time, we figured probably because it is underground ;)

This time round we track it down though and head straight into the cool depths of this ancient city. After wondering around a bit lost for five minutes a guide magically appears out of a hole to help us out. Luckily we let him hang around because the city has quite a story. There are 4kms of tunnels with another 10km tunnel joining it to a different city. In all 10000 people with animals could live in here for up to a month and all the major civilizations in this area over the last 4000 years have utilized it.

Sabine and Robert are keen to get some kilometers towards syria in today and Kayseri turns out to be the perfect spot to say "good bye"...

So this is it...no more Sabine :( Another Party Pilgrim hangs up her boots...

It is funny to have a complete stranger come into your life and share every waking minute with you for over a month, and I'm glad to say the time spent with Sabine was perfect. I can't thank you enough for making the effort to join me...you were a wonderful walking companion and I would happily adventure with you again! See you in Mullum!!! ;)

By the time we finish our coffees and I make my way to the bus station it's 20:30. I'm pleased the buses run all night but unfortunately I can only get to Bala from Ankara or Kirikkale and those buses don't start till 7am.

The bus station has internet, the Spain/Russia Semi on TV, food and tea, and since I still have a weeks worth of blogs to catch up on this is looking like my perfect chance. Booking a bus for 02:30 I set myself up in the massage chair and start writing...with one eye on the game of course ;)

Spain ends up doing a lot better than my blog writing, winning 3-0, but I'm pleased to say the blogs are now slowly getting ticked off :)