Not every day is a good day

And yesterday was certainly not one of the better ones, but in the end we are fine and it's just another adventure.

We packed up from our beautiful free campsite and set off at about 10:30am. I decided on a backroads route so that we would avoid having to return to the big city of Adana. The road wasn't in great condition, but I would rather go slowly that way than have to deal with the traffic through the city.

And, we did have some nice views...

The only problem with taking a back road like this is you don't know what lies further ahead!

Beautiful views.

We did get to one village where the road deteriorated going through the village, but after that it was okay again.

A little rough.

Ruth took a quick video for you...

https://youtu.be/fY3uG6bhWIs

Goats!

We did manage to get to the other side of Adana, but only with some very minor traffic.

Our destination was the seaside town of Yumurtalık. Not for any real reason, it just looked like a nice little town and there was a parking spot mentioned on the park4night app that looked really nice.

The parking spot is right in the central area, and when we arrived there were already five other vans parked up. But there was a spot for Max, and we pulled right into it and got ourselves leveled up and Ruth began making some lunch.

The van next to us was from Spain, and the couple were outside with the door open. Same with the van next to them. And there was a group of about 8 young teen boys... ages probably 13 to 15. And they were hanging around. Not really causing trouble, but we knew right away that it didn't feel right.

So we're sitting eating lunch, and one of them came up to the side window. Asking for food. They had decent clothes and recent haircuts and two or three of them had cell phones. I shook my head and waved him off. Then another one came over asking for money or cigarettes. Leaning on Max's hood.

The people next to us left and went for a walk along with the people from the other van beside them. As soon as they were out of sight, I saw one kid check the door handles to see if they would open. We both knew this was becoming an uncomfortable situation.

A local man walking by said something to the kids, but they just laughed him off. 

Another kid came up to the window and smirked at me. I had enough by this point, and quickly got up and headed to the door. They scattered. Old enough to be brave but still young enough to be afraid of me. I went and spoke to the other three van campers who had been also watching what was going on. They also said they figured those kids were up to no good. I told them I didn't think we were comfortable staying.

Five minutes later, they were back, and I saw one kid pick up a rock and throw it at Max. Yes, it hit the side, and I was up in a flash and outside running after the kid. They all took off, but I knew which one did it and I was after him. I used to be pretty quick when I was younger, and I think I surprised him. I actually surprised myself! I mean, we are in pretty good shape, but how often do you run as fast as you can?

I almost had him when I noticed he was heading towards four older teens and I wasn't prepared to deal with them. I let him go and went back to Max. And of course I wonder what I would have done if I had caught him? As much as I wanted to give him a smack, I also don't want to end up in a Turkish prison and we don't know the laws regarding that. I probably would have dragged him to the nearest police station where they could call the parents, and hopefully he would get a smack at home!

Of course we quickly packed up and left before they had a chance to return. 

So we wanted to take the back roads again instead of heading up to the main highway. But I didn't have any time to plan in advance, and google maps tried to take us on roads that didn't exist. Then, the GPS stopped working entirely. I pulled over and shut down and restarted the phone, but it didn't work. 

We ended up at the gates to some kind of military installation. Obviously we turned around, but we were still guessing as to which roads to take. I bet we drove 30 or 40 kms without getting anywhere.  Eventually, the GPS began working again. We wonder if they had some kind of GPS blocking around the military base. Is that possible? There were a bunch of antenna systems around it, and I looked up the location online and it lists some kind of emergency training facility in that area.

Finally we made it back down to the coast at a section where there was a power plant and a bunch of freighter shipping ports. Very industrial. Nothing worth taking any photos of. 

Then, we made it back to the main highway and at that intersection was a guy selling citrus fruit. We were stopped in traffic on the corner and he comes to the window with a big smile and gave us two oranges telling us to come to his stall. So we stopped. He knew three words in English... "come" and "eat" and "sit".

He handed us two more oranges and a knife. They were delicious and juicy. We finished them, and he grabs a grapefruit and cuts it in half and hands us each half. It's not that easy to eat half a grapefruit just like that in your hands... but we managed.

Oranges anyone?

Ruth, with the citrus guy.

He wanted a picture with his buddy as well.

And he insisted on taking a picture of Ruth and I.

Of course we bought some.

We bought 5 grapefruits and 10 oranges. 

Plus the two oranges he had given us earlier, and the two oranges and one grapefruit we ate.

All of that cost 10 lira ($0.85 CAD, $0.67 USD).

We continued on to the town of Payas where there were a couple more overnight possibilities. Payas is another industrial town, known for its steel mill and oil pipeline from Iraq. The first two stops didn't do anything for us, but we found a small parking lot beside the soccer stadium that seemed out of the way and nice and quiet.

And it was fine, and we slept well. 

So, not the best day, but all's well that ends well. We are only 85 kms (53 miles) from Antakya where one of the best mosaic museums is located, and there are a couple of other ruins sites nearby that offer something different. This area itself is a different cultural part of Turkey, called Hatay province and it's different because there is such a mix of people living here in harmony... Turks, Arabs, and Syrians.

To the best of my recollection, this was our convoluted route yesterday...

Yesterday's drive, 197 kms (125 miles).

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