Sunday, June 28, 2009 - Day 10

Before I starting with today, I must pause and recount something that happened yesterday after I bid you goodnight. Soon as I left the internet cafe I went to the nearby market place, where I entered the first store I saw and bought a spoon (despite the peculiarities of traveling one must maintain a minimum of civilized manners.) I paid and went on. About 40 mins later as I was walking to the hotel I passed by that same store. A guy stopped me and started talking to me in Turkish. I couldn't understand what he said and he looked as if he wanted to sell me something. He turned around and in an authoritative way nodded to follow him and led me to somebody else whom I recognized as the cashier that I had paid for the spoon. This latter guy produced a five Turkish Lira banknote and gave it to me explaining that I had dropped it during the transaction. They asked me where I come from, I told them, I thanked them and walked away.

People appear to be honest and trusting. This has created a sense of security in me which can turn out to be a trap. I have lowered my defenses. I have ended up doing things that I shouldn't do. For instance, I leave the bike unlocked to enter a store, etc. People are indeed very honest BUT to be sure among them there must be some that are outside the norm and to them I'll be a God sent gift, the stupid tourist!!!!

Stats
Trip total: 694 kms
Day total: 57.42 kms
Avg speed: 18.00 kms/hour

Got up early and left at 9:00. I was prepared to do about 120 kms to Mugla, the next big town. I stayed on highway (karayolu) 550. The road pavement was good, there was little traffic, no wind, and I was riding fast. I was a king. It seemed that I would have no problems meeting the goal. I was even making calculations on how farther than Mugla I could ride. Once more I was making plans without the host's approval. At 57.42 kms on the odometer and at around 13:10 as I was riding one of the endless uphills I heard a cracking noise and saw the chain on the ground. I started cursing (as nobody can understand me I do that very loud) thinking that the chain had broken. Even though I had elementary tools to fix a broken chain, I had never done it before, and I was not in the mood either. Unfortunately, the problem was worse. It was the derailleur that was broken or so it appeared to me. I stopped the bike, unloaded it from the panniers, and laid it on the ground. Then, I took a couple of minutes to collect my thoughts. There was only one conclusion to reach. I was litterally in the middle of nowhere, and I could not walk or bike anywhere. I had to find a ride for me and Spithas till the next town. I started waving to passing drivers to stop. Soon I realized that as I was at the top of the hill right after it turned downhill, people could not see me from a distance. This explains why drivers were waving back to me, as if they were returning a greeting. I moved the bike and the stuff at the top of the hill and put the bike in a position to look damaged, and continued waving. First a motorcyclist stopped, and even though we could hardly communicate, the rider, a young hell's angels type of guy, appeared really eager to help. Unfortunately, we both realized that there was nothing he could do, so he wished me luck and drove on. Another fifteen minutes later a big van stopped, and this time the two guys could really help. We loaded the bike and the stuff in the back of the truck and they gave me a ride till Yatagan(scimitar) the next town. We went around looking for a bike store but were told that they are all closed on Sundays. A bunch of cab drivers eager to help told me that I could either take the bus to Mugla and have it fixed there or stay for the night and have it fixed it tomorrow. I weighed my options and decided to stay. The closest hotel was 2 miles away. I had to walked there while I was simultaneously pushing the bike.

A the the hotel, Gulseven petrol otel, I rented a room and stayed there for the entire day and night reflecting and watching TV. My Turkish has really improved thanks to all the Turkish soap operas that I've watched. A couple more incidents like this and I will be fluent. The only dark cloud in the horizon was my fear that the problem could not be fixed and that spelled the end of this trip.

See you tomorrow