9th June 2008
Kristina’s Highway to Hell Tour – Day 1
I’ve decided to blog my first circuit with Fez, hopefully it won’t be my last. Today I got up after not even being back in Istanbul for 24 hours, at 5:30am. I walked down to the Sultan Hostel and picked up my bag, which I was determined wasn’t going back to the staff flat only to be walked all the way down to the office again at 6am. I managed to get all my passengers on the bus and leave half an hour late, due to the transfer guys being late picking everyone up. My first tour on my own and I had 27 passengers, a full bus!
We drove to the breakfast stop at Tekirdag and all the passengers enjoyed their Turkish pancakes. Our next stop was lunch in Eceabat at Bergama Restaurant, which all went smoothly. I sorted out a few problems for passengers before they all got on the bus with our Gallipoli tour guide the famous Captain Ali. Even though I had been late arriving I managed to get all my passengers back on the bus within 5 minutes of them finishing their lunch. There was no room for me to go on the tour, so I flipped down the seat at the front and said “The Captain’s Chair” to Captain Ali, to which he replied “I love you!” He’s about 70 and he’s quite a character, but a character that you don’t want to get on the wrong side of. So, I was pleased he seems to be getting to like me.
After my passengers had disappeared off into the distance, I had my lunch at the restaurant and did some paperwork, before catching the ferry across the Dardanelles to Canakkale. I got myself to Yellow Rose Pension and dumped my stuff and went for a walk. I actually managed to find an entire street in the little town of Canakkale, entirely dedicated to alternative clothes! They were just as cheap as normal clothes, when I get paid, I’m so going back there! At abut 6pm I went down to the ferry port to meet the bus and help Captain Ali take everyone to their hotels.
After that I went out the get dinner, I ate my first mangy kebab since being sick, so definitely all better now. I went back to Yellow Rose and spent the rest of the night getting to know some of my crew, that is the Hop on Hop off passengers before going to bed to get ready for Troy.