Day 148 Turkey/Syria 13/02/2011, Reyhanli – Cilvegözü – Aleppo. 41.89/67.63km, 4hr12minutes, Av 9.9mph.

Our last morning in Turkey and we woke feeling refreshed in mind if not in body. Today would be our sixth straight cycling day and it has taken its toll on our limbs. Hopefully the border crossing and the 65km to Aleppo wouldn't be too testing. At least we would be cycling with the knowledge that we plan to have two days off, maybe more, when we get to the city.

After having breakfast in our room, we carried our gear downstairs and prepared to set off for the border. Having checked to see which direction to head in, we pedalled out of town into a grey and chilly morning.

We could tell we were close to the border when we encountered an enormous queue of lorries all waiting to get into Syria. Fortunately we didn't have to wait with them and for some reason some of the lorry drivers didn't seem that keen on waiting either. There was a certain amount of queue jumping going on, which culminated in a car driver running into the back of another vehicle somewhere behind us. How anyone could be going fast enough to crash in that slower moving traffic probably goes to show the diving standard of some Turkish motorists.

Safely reaching the border we were ushered through to passport control, where the border guard took an age to sign us out. We have no idea what the problem was, other than maybe he was checking to make sure we hadn't overstayed our visa. After clearing customs we began the long ride, about 2km, through no man's land to the Syrian border. We were pointed in the direction of the passport office and filled in our arrivals card. Even though we already had our visas, there was still a long wait while they checked and double checked everything. The process would probably be quicker if any of the Syrians/Turks understood the concept of waiting your turn. Eventually our passports were handed back and we joined the queue to get through customs. We got a slightly bemused look when the vehicle inspectors saw us coming. To be fair we weren't sure where we were supposed to be, so we had just joined the queue with the car drivers. With a grin we were waved through and after one more passport check we were in Syria. The whole process had taken 1hr30minutes.

The difference to Turkey is immediate, everything is a little shabbier and the signs are predominantly in Arabic.

Picking up the correct road we began the 45km ride to Aleppo. Like Turkey before, there was no shortage of friendly waves and several people beckoned for us to stop. Unfortunately today all we really wanted to do was make it to Aleppo, get to a guest-house and rest.

The traffic in Syria has a bit of a 'wacky races' feel to it as there are no clear road markings, so people seem to drive all over the place. Nevertheless it doesn't feel any more dangerous than the traffic in Turkey, with most people giving us plenty of room.

Sticking to the main road, we were a little surprised when it continued through a busy town centre and promptly bottle-necked in a sea of pedestrians, mopeds, mini-buses and trucks. Taking advantage of the mayhem, we stopped and bought a drink and were promptly surrounded by school children. They were all quite good natured and while Debs stayed with the bikes, I went to try and get some snack food for lunch. Across the road there was a man rolling flat breads filled with a paste, not sure what it was, I bought two red filled ones and two green filled ones. We decided against eating them in the town and instead rejoined the mayhem, to try and find a quieter spot.

The flat breads were quite nice, although the red one was clearly chilli filled and fairly hot. I couldn't tell you what the green one was, but it tasted similar to something I have had with lamb in an Indian restaurant though.

Back on the road we slowly made our way towards Aleppo The road wasn't that hilly, but with our heavy legs everything felt like hard work. Stopping at a garage we bought some more drinks and in a random act of generosity a man came up and gave us each a pastry he had just bought.

Eventually Aleppo came onto the horizon and we began the entertaining task of trying to negotiate our way through the city traffic. Despite the noise, crazy traffic, suicidal pedestrians and constantly stopping taxis we eventually found the hotel we had been aiming for. Debs may well disagree, but I quite enjoyed the ride, despite the mayhem drivers let us through gaps and across the traffic. You simply need to pretend you know what you are doing and be bold.

The hotel is great, the staff are really friendly and our bikes are stashed upstairs behind reception. Quite by coincidence we are also staying at the same hotel as an Aussie couple we met at the border this morning. Travelling by bus they obviously got here a bit quicker than us though!

Resting today, tomorrow we will explore the city properly. I think we are going to like Syria.

Day 147 Turkey 12/2/2011, Iskenderun–Belen–Kirikhan–Reyhanli. 49.10miles/79.04km, 5hr03minutes, Av 9.7mph.

Despite the fact that for a good hotel the sound proofing in the room was awful, it felt like we were in the mosque when the call to prayer sounded at 5:30am, we slept well. Breakfast was also a bit of a triumph, they had the best selection of foods that we have had from any hotel in Turkey. We ate like only a cycle tourist faced with a buffet breakfast can, piling on the calories for the day ahead.

Much to the disappointment of the bellhops we managed to sneak our luggage downstairs, so no tip for them. We loaded our bikes in the storeroom and then were quickly ushered through the foyer. Anyone would think that they didn't want people wheeling bicycles through the lobby!

For the last few hundred kilometres, we have known that we would have one more section of hills to cross before reaching the Syrian border. According to the 'bike toaster' website, we would be climbing to just under 800m over a distance of about 15km, with a long descent afterwards. Even though we have been over steeper and longer hills, we have somewhat built this one up.

After grabbing some bread and water, you never know what supplies will be available further down the road, we headed out of Iskenderun and almost immediately began to climb. Surprisingly the climb was not as steep as we had been expecting, in fact the only real challenge was the temperature. Like every day for the last week it was well into the 20s (70s for our Fahrenheit understanding readers) and with little or no cloud cover, the sun beat down heavily upon us.

We need not have worried about supplies as the road through the mountains was lined with shops. After being used to the narrow roads and limited supplies of most of the mountain passes we have been through, the wide, good-surfaced, built-up road came as a bit of a shock. The town of Belen seems to take up much of the pass; it must be one of the longest towns in Turkey!

After about 16km of cycling we were beckoned over by some bus drivers and given some welcome çay. Just before leaving, they told us that 1km down the road we would be at the top and it was downhill from there. True to their word, it was!

The huge climb that we had ahead of us was finished, perhaps it's because we built it up, or maybe after 5000km we find the climbs much easier, either way it was a bit of an anticlimax. The descent on a good road surface was a lot of fun though. Especially when I got the overhead speed sign to register that I was going 4km/h over the 50km/h speed limit!

Never expecting to get so far so early, we stopped for lunch and then continued on to the town of Kirikhan. By now it was about 2pm and we passed a sign telling us that Reyhanli was 39km away. There seemed little point in spending another day in Turkey if we could make the border today.

Setting off at a good pace on the now flat road, we would have made good progress if I hadn't had a screw pierce through my rear tyre. Seriously what is it with me and tyres?! The puncture wasn't really a problem but the hole in the tyre potentially is. I may try and get the tyre welded at one of the many tyre repair places that we keep encountering.

Puncture repaired and we were back on the road and making good progress. Once again we spent lots of the journey waving and shouting greetings to passing motorists. If the wind hadn't started to get stronger with 20km still to go, we would have breezed into Reyhanli. As it was, we both started to suffer from tired legs and it was with some relief when the town came into view.

Seeing a couple of hotels advertised we headed into the town centre, which of course was uphill, and eventually found one of them. It isn't the best place we have stayed, but it has a very hot shower and at the end of five hours in the saddle, that is worth its weight in gold.

As a nice farewell to Turkey we had one of the best and cheapest meals we have had for a while and a few cans of Efes put an end to what has been a great few months.

After 81 days and 2096km we are only 9km from the border; 'hoşçakal and teşekkür ederim (goodbye and thank you) Turkey'!

Day 146 Turkey 11/2/2011, Payás – Iskenderun. 13.71miles/22.11km, 1hr13minutes, Av 11.1mph.

While it wasn't the best nights sleep we have ever had, it was certainly warm. For the first time staying in a hotel on the trip, we had the air-con set to cool.

Breakfast was the standard Turkish buffet affair, but there was plenty of it and we both returned to the room to pack with full stomachs.

After three long days, we decided to have a short run to the coastal city of Iskenderun, find a guest-house and rest up before the climb over the mountains tomorrow.

It may have been only a short ride, but the road surface was awful and the traffic deafening. We hope that we wont be accompanied by the same huge amount of lorries when we head for the hills. The stupid thing is that there is a pretty much unused motorway running parallel to the road we are on, which was surely built to take the trucks away from the built up areas. Obviously the fact that it is a toll road has meant that everyone would rather avoid it.

The ride into the city itself was relatively quiet, the roads were quite wide and the surface was much improved. All we had to do was find the centre and then look for a cheap hotel. The first thing we spotted was a tourist information office, so leaving Debs with the bikes I went to have a look. The office wasn't the most obvious I have been to, as it involved climbing two flights of stairs and then heading through a door hung with a paper sign saying 'open'. It took two of the staff to tell me that there was no such thing as a cheap hotel in the city. Our accommodation hunt was off to an ominous start. Undaunted I returned to Debs with a map marked with a few possibilities. The tourist information staff seemed to be correct. The hotels I tried weren't as expensive as we feared, but they were definitely more than we really wanted to pay. It looked like we had no choice but to pick one of the cheaper ones, which is exactly what we did.

The room is nice and the bikes are stashed away safely, plus we get breakfast and the WiFi is free. Having staff waiting for a tip after carrying your bags, was a new one on us though. I don't imagine they will be there to help when we have to carry them up a mountainside attached to the bikes! Moving them from the elevator to our room doesn't seem that much effort.

After settling in we headed out for some lunch on the seafront. The city is very modern and being a Friday there were lots of people walking about along the promenade. Today was all about resting though, so after a very brief look round we returned to the room.

Tomorrow will probably be another long one.

Day 145 Turkey 10/2/2011, Yilanlikale – Ceyhan – Dörtyol – Payás. 46.74miles/75.2km, 4hr13minutes, Av 11.1mph.

Another cold night last night and it didn't warm up very quickly this morning. That is one of the problems with camping in some woodland, the sun struggles to get to the tent.

After a short ride into the town of Ceyhan, we left the busy D400 road behind for the last time. It has been our companion through most of Turkey and for the large part it has been good to us. Today we opted to take a quieter route south and down along the coast, where we would once again pick up a main road.

After 20km we were back amongst the climbs, passing through the foothills of the Toros (Taurus) mountains.

The built up industrial areas that we had passed yesterday have given way to a much more pleasant, rural landscape. Throughout the morning we received lots of shouts of hello and smiles from the local people. The children are currently on holiday, so we spent much of the time with our arms in the air waving at them as we passed.

Although there were some clouds in the sky today, it was once again a hot one. We really couldn't have asked for any better weather over the last week. We must start to wear our hats though, as on inspection we are both getting a bit sunburnt.

Passing over the last of the hills the land started to flatten out and we could once again see the sea. We would love to say that the view remained pleasant, but the stretch along the coast is taken up by what looked like large oil refineries. Nevertheless we found somewhere to have lunch, a bus shelter away from the factories where we were surrounded by fields and orange groves.

From lunch onwards the route consisted of very long, straight pieces of road. For ages we could see the Toros mountains looming up in front of us, yet we appeared to not get any closer. When we finally rejoined the main road we began the journey south along the coast. The mountains were now a solid barrier to the East of us, that we have to cross to get to Syria.

As we reached Dörtyol we had a brief break in a garage, where we were offered çay. I enquired whether there was a guest-house or hotel nearby; we had covered quite a lot of distance already and were eager to find somewhere to stay. The answer wasn't promising as according to the staff, the nearest hotel was in Iskenderun which was still 30km away. It looked like we may have another 90km day ahead of us. Especially as the road was flanked each side by heavy industry, not an ideal situation if your only option may be to put a tent up.

Pressing on as fast as we could, we spotted a couple of signs advertising hotels. Perhaps we were going to be lucky after all. I am sure the hotel was further away than had been advertised, but when we got there it looked nice and it was open. The room has cost us more than we normally like to pay, but breakfast is included and the room is very nice. After a few days of free-camping it is difficult to appreciate just how good it feels to be clean. We will have dinner in the restaurant tonight and hopefully a nice, quiet, warm nights sleep will have us feeling refreshed for tomorrow.

Day 144 Turkey 9/2/2011, Club 33 Disco Bar, Tarsus – Adana – Yilanlikale. 47.58miles/77.12km, 3hr45minutes, Av 12.6mph.

What a bloody awful night, between the cold, traffic noise, and over zealous cockerels neither of us got much sleep. If we hadn't have been treated so well by our lovely hosts, then I would quite happily of committed roostercide! From 3am onwards they all decided to have a who can cock-a bloody-doodle the loudest contest and we thought they only signalled the arrival of morning.

As I heated up some water for a cup of coffee this morning, I was beckoned over by Mehmet's son Martin. It seemed that we would be expected to have breakfast with them as well. Their generosity has been amazing and it was quite sad to have to say goodbye.

We have lots of photos, which we will have printed and send to them. Our only concern is the address we were given doesn't look right. We really hope they get the pictures, as they have made one of our last few days in Turkey very special.

Soon we were back on the road in lovely sunshine, clearly from the weather's point of view we must have done something right. Once again our route was flat and we soon entered the busy roads of Adana. No matter how many times we cycle through a city, I don't imagine we will ever get used to it. The worst drivers in Turkey all seem to drive dolmuş buses (mini-buses) and it is in the cities that they can be found in their greatest numbers. They drive along picking people up at random and almost never use their mirrors whilst pulling out. The problem is you have no idea how long they are stopping for; if they are picking up a customer they barely stop, but occasionally they seem to just stop for a rest! Overtaking a stopped one is definitely at your own peril!

The centre of Adana is undergoing some new road construction, which was fortunate for us, as instead of following the detours we were able to sneak through along the new traffic free, for now, sections. The centre had quite a lot of nice park land and a very attractive mosque which was made all the more pleasant by the fact that we had the road to ourselves.

The section of the country that we are travelling through at the moment is very developed, which is proving a bit of a problem when it comes to finding somewhere to camp. We can't always expect to be as lucky as we were yesterday. Taking a break in a garage, we had a look at the map and decided to have a shorter day by trying to find the camp-site that was marked. As far as we could tell, it was just off the main road on the outskirts of Adana. After riding through several kilometres of industrial units and eventually coming to the city limit, we had still not encountered a sign advertising camping, let alone the site itself. The staff and customers of a nearby garage were none the wiser, although one customer did let me speak to his wife on the phone, which was nice if ultimately useless.

Once again it looked like we would be carrying on, fortunately though it was only just 12pm so we had plenty of time. As lunchtime approached we bought some bread and found a nice covered bench on a garage forecourt. For a short while we looked at the nice grassy areas around the garage and considered asking if we could camp. I am sure they would have said yes, but with plenty of the day left we decided to press on.

Now that we were out of the city, the traffic had eased and we were soon speeding along the road. Yesterday had been the milestone of 3000miles and today we passed the 5000km mark. After not stopping in time when we crossed the 4000km mark, I had been watching carefully. This time it occurred on a garage forecourt, where Debs had seconds before been playing with, and entertaining the thought of keeping, one of several very sweet puppies.

Having taken the obligatory photo, we carried on towards some ruins that I had seen marked on the map. My theory being that we could probably camp near or amongst them. What I hadn't accounted for was that the would be at the top of a very steep hill! Fortunately for us, there was a small clump of woodland nearby, which although a little brambly, has turned out to be a good camping spot.

We will once again have to contend with the traffic noise, but so far there are no signs of any cockerels!

Day 143 Turkey 8/2/2011, Ayaş – Mersin – Club 33 Disco Bar, Tarsus. 58.48miles/94.16km, 4hr39minutes, Av 12.5mph.

Another lovely sleep and another beautiful morning. While in the tent we had feared for the worst as the waves had been crashing against the shore all night. Our fears were proved to be unfounded and we were soon back on the road in glorious sunshine.

With the road flat and a gentle breeze behind us, we seemed to eat up the miles. Our first break came along in double quick time and with it the milestone of 3000 miles!

Despite the fact that shortly afterwards Debs bike suffered yet another puncture, she is now comfortably winning the puncture count, we soon covered the 50km to Mersin. After grabbing some supplies we stopped in a lovely spot by the sea for lunch.

The town of Mersin seems very attractive, with one of the prettiest promenades we have seen. They have rather gone overboard on the slightly tacky statues though. Giant plastic squirrels, Elephants and ancient ruin reconstructions, jostle with more tasteful fountains. If there hadn't been so much traffic through the town, it would have been a very nice bike ride. Most of the traffic appears to be large lorries moving to and from the busy docks. The first part was ok, but as we neared the port the traffic got crazy. Not on an Izmir level but certainly the worst we have had for a while.

Having safely cleared two motorway junctions and with the blessing of a wide hard shoulder to ride in we made it to Tarsus unscathed. Asking at the camp-site yesterday, I was told that there were several pensions and hotels in Tarsus. Having done over 80km we were looking forward to finding somewhere to stay. In typical fashion we couldn't find any of them, mainly because Tarsus is a lot bigger than I thought it was. We did get directions to one hotel, but when we got there it looked so expensive that we didn't bother going to ask. Our 50TL (£20) maximum budget was almost definitely too low.

Giving up on the town, the only thing to do was carry on and try and find a free-camp spot amongst the urban sprawl. While not that late, we are always aware that it still gets dark around 5:30pm, so we like to stop before about 4pm.

With the day wearing on we stopped to buy some water from a roadside market. As we were about to leave I asked the owner Mehmet if there was anywhere to camp nearby. It turned out that the whole complex behind the market belonged to him/his family and he offered to let us camp in his orchard. The orchard is attached to a bar and disco which may or may not be open, it looks deserted, but from what we can understand it is indeed open.

Although speaking no English and us speaking no Turkish, Mehmet has been a terrific host. While setting up camp, we were introduced to his very sweet son Martin and slowly the rest of the family came round to inspect our tent.

Using a lot of sign language, we got invited to dinner with the family and had a lovely meal. The family seems to be huge, every time we thought we had met everyone, someone else seemed to turn up. It was an enjoyable but slightly surreal experience, especially as while taking some photos of the family Debs ended up on the shoulders of Mehmet's wife.

All the while Mehmet's son Martin thought it was hilarious. Things got a little stranger when the police turned up to speak to one of the family, they didn't leave with anyone so we assume it ended ok.

Once again we are quite glad that we couldn't find a hotel, plus the extra distance that we did today, means that we will comfortably clear the city of Adana tomorrow.

Day 142 Turkey 7/2/2011, Davut hotel and Camping, Ayaş. A lot of doing very little.

The headache arrived as expected this morning and with the sun beating down on the tent, it became too warm for me to stay inside. Debs managed to keep sleeping but I got up and started to sort out breakfast. It is always nice to have nowhere to go and no gear to pack up. Breakfast was taken at a leisurely pace which has set the tone for the day.

Apart from a brief walk to go and buy some bread, we have done very little other than read, eat and rest. If the weather remains like it is at the moment, we will have some good cycling ahead of us.

Day 141 Turkey 6/2/2011, Free-camp outside Akdere – Ayaş. 39.21miles/63.16km, 3hr46minutes, Av 10.4mph.

We had a reminder last night that it is still winter in Turkey, it was probably the coldest night in the tent that we have had for a while. Despite the cold I slept well, Debs unfortunately had a bit of a rough one, wearing all of her clothes just wasn't enough!

Leaving our camp-site behind, the road once again started to climb. Yesterday's good weather hadn't been a one off, if anything today was the warmest day we have had for a while. Buoyed on by the beautiful sunshine and terrific views we made it to the top of the 9km hill and began our descent.

Racing down the hillside we soon got back down to sea level and rode alongside some beautifully unspoilt coastline. The last few days sections of coast, have been far more attractive than the heavily built up areas further to the west.

As we headed towards the town of Silifike, we passed the ferry port that takes you to Northern Cyprus. Just past the port, we stopped at a supermarket to stock up on food and then while cycling out of the town we encountered a fruit and vegetable market.

For once we were inundated with food supplies. Despite the amount grown, finding fresh fruit and vegetables in Turkey has proven to be a little hit and miss. In the larger towns and cities it is reasonably easy to find a supermarket, but in the smaller places along the road supplies are a bit limited.

Loaded up with food we continued along the now flat road. After a lunch stop near a garage in Silifike, we headed out of town towards, hopefully, a camp-site. As we rode along, we were quite surprised to encounter some more cycle tourists. I have to confess to having forgotten their names, but they were a couple of Kiwis just starting off on a 3 month trip. They had taken a train to Mersin and were now heading along the coast towards a ferry port that would take them to Rhodes. We hope the hills ahead don't cause them to much trouble over the next few days, at least at the moment the weather is kind. If they drop us a line I will put their names in later.

Having had a chat we continued on our way along the coast. Apart from a couple of hills, it looks like we may have a fairly flat run for the next few hundred kilometres. Clearly we are back in a holiday area, as once again we started to pass through quite heavily developed resorts. The road is also quite a bit busier than it has been for a while. The first camp-site that we came to, may or may not have been open, it was a job to tell. Either way it didn't look very special, so we carried on in the hope of finding a better one. After passing another closed one and leaving a town behind, it started to look a little doubtful. Spotting a built up area in the distance, we decided to head for it and if the worse came to the worse stay in a guest-house. As we entered the town of Ayaş we spotted a sign for camping and are now pitched in a pleasant spot overlooking the sea. The Davut hotel is nice enough that we will stay here for two nights, especially as we have a private bathroom to use!

We have been rather bombarded with questions from the family, but they have all been very friendly. The only other person here, is a German/Hungarian who is living in his camper van for the winter.

Avoiding the cold of the tent, we spent rather too long in the bar/restaurant. Although it was worth it to see some of the customers doing a strange dance. We had a good evening, but I fear a headache is likely to be on the cards tomorrow morning.

Day 140 Turkey 5/2/2011, Aydincik – free-camp outside Akdere. 29.87miles/48.09km, 4hr02minutes, Av 7.2mph.

Debs slept like a log, while I seemed to have a night plagued with thoughts. For some reason at 3am I decided I had to charge my camera battery, check on the bikes and come up with an alternative plan if Egypt is a no go area. Fortunately at some point I must have given up and fallen asleep.

After yesterday's rain we were greeted with a dry but grey morning. We quickly loaded, well at least as quickly as I move in the morning, handed back the key and then stopped at the market to buy bread and water.

We set off from the market and almost immediately encountered a hill, which continued for the next 9km. During the climb the grey skies were replaced by blue cloudless ones and the temperature rose quite dramatically. It was turning into a lovely if tough day. For once the views along the coast road weren't that spectacular; we had moved slightly inland and the road climbed almost dead straight through a pine forest.

When we eventually reached the top, the landscape opened up and we could once again see the sea. Our tired legs were rewarded for their efforts by a 7km descent which was a lot of fun if somewhat cold. The wind off the sea was quite chilly and I only had my t-shirt on, Debs had also neglected to put her coat on. It wasn't long before we were climbing again though, so we were soon warmed up. We were even warmer after we had stopped for a çay at a very new service station. We caused a bit of interest as we set off, watched by the passengers of a long distance bus that had stopped for a break.

The major roadworks that we have encountered over the last few days continued again. The whole of the south coast D400 is being straightened and widened. In Debs words 'half a job Johnson' is clearly involved, because you can be happily riding along a well surfaced piece of road and suddenly encounter a section of rocky dirt and gravel. This would be fine if these sections didn't go on for several kilometres. The long dragging hills and slippery unsurfaced roads were taking their toll. To help us along, a friendly wave or beep of the horn was never far away.

After a nice 2km descent we stopped for a lunch of bread, honey and crisps in a petrol station forecourt and then hit the road once again.

Unsurprisingly the road started to climb, this time though it was quite narrow which made avoiding the lorries and buses quite challenging. Fortunately like all of Turkey's roads outside of the cities, there wasn't much traffic.

The road wended its way precariously along the craggy coast, until we descended towards the town of Ovacik.

Being a coastal town we hoped to find a camp-site and then stop for the day. Although there were signs of big hotels being built, Ovacik has obviously not yet become a hotbed of tourism. We only found one guest-house, but they were asking too much money and it was pretty dire anyway.

The best laid plans having failed us, we stocked up on water and then carried on to try and find a free-camp. About 5km later and we have hopefully found the perfect spot. We are happily camped in a clearing, in the middle of some roadside woodland. It is one of the nicest places we have camped for a while, plus we are well concealed from the road.

I will attempt to have a thought-free night tonight, as I am sure we will be back in the hills tomorrow!

Day 139 Turkey 4/2/2011, Dragon Camping Anamur–Tekmen–Aydincik. 31.12miles/50.16km, 3hr34minutes, Av 8.7mph.

Early this morning I heard rustling coming from near our food bag. I crawled out of the tent to investigate but there was no sign of any cats trying to eat our food, so I went back to bed. Later while we were packing up to leave, Debs gave a particularly girlie squeal and the source of the rustling was revealed. A small mouse had clearly decided to set up home in our tent, taking a liking to Debs cycle helmet. It took a few attempts to remove it from the tent, as for some reason it didn't want to leave. We have had dogs wanting to accompany us on our journey, so I suppose there is no reason why a mouse wouldn't feel the same way. We really wish that it hadn't decided to help itself to our bread though. There was a very obvious mouse shaped hole in it, which rather depleted our toast supply.

Drama over, we said goodbye to some of our fellow campers and set off up the road. We have seemingly said farewell to the sun for the time being, as the weather today was grey and windy with a very likely chance of rain. Nevertheless the temperature was still reasonable so it made for not bad cycling conditions.

Clearly the rest day and getting a good nights sleep has done wonders for us both. Debs is feeling much better and I was in a considerably better mood than I have been. The last few cycling days have been tough for me, because I have really felt like I have fallen out of love with the cycling. Today was different though, we breezed up the first few hills and when the rain started it was quite light and pleasantly cooling.

Call me masochistic (Debs did) but I am really starting to enjoy the hill climbing. The effort seems to concentrate your mind and the reward is normally a terrific view. Occasionally it's the sight of another hill!

Even with my new found love of hills, the one we encountered outside of Tekmen still looked daunting. You know it is steep when two lorries have to reverse and take another go at it. The second one stalled on a steep section and couldn't get going again. The rain had probably exacerbated the problem as the road was extremely slippery. My bike with its grippier tyres was easier to manage than Debs, she found herself struggling to stop the wheels from spinning as she climbed.

Shortly after the lorry stalled, the police arrived to assist in getting it moving again. I had already started to go past so they waved me on. For some reason they then decided that Debs would have to pass as well. Instead of getting a breather she was ordered to carry on past the lorry and up the hill, with one of the policeman shouting at her in Turkish as she passed. When she got to me she was shattered and quite upset. The way one of the policeman had carried on, you would think it was our fault that the lorry stalled. Fortunately the other policeman had seemed quite pleasant waving and saying hello as I went by.

From then on the road became a mixture of steep-ish descents followed by steady climbs, all the while we were beeped and at one point clapped on by passing motorists. While taking a breather some guys from the army even stopped to say hello. We may have been offered a lift, but we didn't really understand what they were saying.

Unfortunately now the rain started to fall quite heavily and the wind became icy. With lunchtime having approached and passed, our earlier good humour was in danger of deserting us. We were stuck up on a mountain road with nothing in sight, even though we had some food with us there was nowhere to stop to eat it.

The next town came not a moment too soon, spotting a locantaşi (a canteen style restaurant) we stopped and ordered some food from the unfortunately limited selection. To be fair to the restaurant, most of their customers arrive before 2pm, but at least they had something left to eat!

Feeling a little better and a bit drier we continued into Aydincik to try and find a hotel for the night. The idea of camping had been washed away by the rain and now very cold temperatures. The first hotel we found really did look awful and it was fortunate that it also appeared to be devoid of staff. Pressing on, we found a camping and motel site which also looked closed. Asking at the shop next door, we were told that it was definitely open and he even telephoned someone from reception to come and see us. Our luck is once again in, as we are settled into a very warm chalet with a kitchen. A good rest should have us back on the road tomorrow raring to go.

Day 138 Turkey 3/2/2011, Dragon Camping, Anamur. Some shopping and a lot of resting.

The camp-site was too nice and we slept too well, so we decided to stay put for another day. It made a change to not be rushing around in the morning trying to pack up and load our bikes.

The camp-site owner was concerned that it would rain and apparently where we had pitched was not ideal if this happened. Taking his advice we moved the tent, which was a bit more work than we had planned on doing, on a rest day. Nevertheless it didn't take too long and we were soon back to the relaxing.

Some of the other occupants of the camp-site are headed for Syria, Jordan and Egypt, so we had a brief conversation about their plans. Everyone we speak to at the moment is concerned about the situation in Egypt. Hopefully by the time we get there, everything will have calmed down. We don't really have an alternative route available to us!

After a brief trip into town to get some more supplies, we had a leisurely lunch and then sorted some of our photos. We will probably have dinner in the restaurant to give me a break from cooking, plus they have WiFi there so we may get to post some blogs.

We really must be moving on tomorrow, so hopefully the weather will stay fine. We had the brief idea of heading to Cyprus and then across to Lebanon, but we have been told that the ferry no longer runs. It looks like we will have to stick to Turkey and the coast road for a little longer, at least the scenery is good.

PS: Heading to the restaurant for dinner tonight, we found the family all eating. Asking if they were doing food, they said if we didn't want anything specially cooked we were welcome to join them. So dinner was spent in the company of granny, mum & son in their living area. The food was really good and there was lots of it, plus we got to use the internet so we managed to post some blogs. It has been well worth staying for another day.

Day 137 Turkey 2/1/2011, Melleç – Anamur. 17.87miles/28.84miles, 2hr3minutes, Av 8.6mph.

We both had a good nights sleep and the sun was shining brightly when we woke. Breakfast was a little on the lean side as we hadn't been able to buy any bread yesterday. Our eggs and bananas were joined by some chicken that I needed to use up. It was just as well that we did eat a bit more, because far from an easy ride into the next town the road climbed, sometimes quite steeply, for the next 9 kilometres.

The views were once again spectacular even if the road itself was undergoing some heavy construction. The main road is in the process of being straightened, with several new tunnels being built. Having ridden it in its current state, we can't say that we blame them as it twists, turns and climbs quite dramatically. The new road is going to do very little for the landscape though, already there are large areas of felled trees and decimated hillside.

We imagine that if we were to return in a few years we would still have to take the old route though. The tunnels look quite long and there is a fair chance they will be toll routes only.

Finally reaching the top we began the steep descent. This would be a lot more fun if large parts of the road hadn't been dug up because of the road works. Rolling happily down a hill at 50km/h, to be suddenly greeted with gravel all over the carriageway makes for an interesting experience. Fortunately we both survived the mud, gravel and heavily rutted road, even if my luggage was lucky to stay attached when I hit a bit of unsealed road slightly on the fast side!

Riding into Anamur, the most southerly point in Turkey, we stopped at a market for supplies. Loaded up with bananas, bread and some groceries we continued out of the town looking for a nice spot for lunch.

The last few days have been harder than we had expected, perhaps we are still struggling to get back into the cycling mode after our longish lay off. Fortunately Debs is feeling much better so today's hills weren't as difficult as they have been.

When a castle came into view just outside the town and with it a couple of signs advertising camping, we decided to have a look. We had fully intended to go further today, but the possibility of a nice spot on the seafront and an early day was too attractive to turn down.

For once we aren't the only occupants of the site, as there are two French camper vans, a German and a Belgium one. After pitching our tent we had some lunch, a warmish shower and then went to have a look around the castle.

Mamure castle was built on the grounds of an ancient Roman city around the 4^th century AD. It was largely rebuilt in 1308 and consists of 39 towers, a mosque and a Turkish bath. More importantly, it is the castle that health and safety forgot! There is no area that is off limits, you can happily climb up any number of narrow unguarded steps onto every crumbling, narrow, unguarded battlement. If you have a fear of heights then the castle is not the place for you. Needless to say we climbed up everything that we could, or at least after the first few sets of steps, I did. Debs clearly showed a lot more sense than me. The setting and the views on offer were fantastic, choosing to have an early day had turned out to be a great idea.

Heading back from the castle, we picked up a few beers and drank them on the beach. A nice dinner and a good nights sleep will put an end to a much better day.