We waited for the morning rush hour to end, and then took on the challenge of driving right through the center of the big city of Izmir, Turkiye (pop 3 million).
The problem is that there is no easy way to avoid Izmir without going far inland. Friends Glen and Steve had taken the wider route going around and had said that it was terrible. Katja and Yves had taken the coastal route through the city and said that it was busy, but moved along quite nicely.
So we also chose the coastal route.
The route we took through the city of Izmir.
It wasn't that bad. Ruth didn't spend most of the time with her eyes closed, clutching the armrests!
View out our side window at 8:00am.
On the road at 10:30am.
Notice the traffic lights, and how the entire post lights green or red.
Red.
The main highway splits into three and goes through an ancient aqueduct.
No lines on the road, so it's every man for himself!
Busy traffic.
But yes, the route flowed quite nicely and we were through the worst of it in about half an hour.
Scenery along the way.
We ended up in the small coastal town of Ahmetbeyl. Glen and Steve had also stayed here so we knew that it was a good overnight spot. It's great having some of their experiences to follow!
Katja and Yves had been visiting friends in Çeşme for a couple of days, but I sent them a note saying that this is a pretty good spot for a night or two. Wasn't really expecting them to show up a couple of hours later, so that was a nice surprise!
There are lots of friendly stray dogs here. They are well looked after by the townspeople, as well as the numerous campers who come to this location. One of them came running up as soon as we got parked up.
He made himself at home right outside our door.
Pretty sure we will stay two nights.
Our buddy.
We went for a walk around the cove later in the afternoon. It was a beautiful blue sky day, but still abnormally chilly with a high of only about 8C (47F). Normal high is 14C (58F).
You can see how abnormally cool it has been the last two weeks.
But fortunately, things are warming up!
You can't see him very well, but Max is parked at the far end of the beach.
Nice view.
And a gorgeous sunset from our side door!
Ruth had made a big pot of spaghetti sauce, so we invited Katja and Yves over for dinner. Always lots of travel talk with those two! Yves has been to 106 different countries, and they did a really interesting trip to Mongolia a few years ago.
Today will be a relax day! I'm sure we'll get out for some exercise, but otherwise we will relax and enjoy ourselves.
Yesterday's drive, 67 kms (42 miles).
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And in Canada...
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