Budapest - Isztambul - magyarul

Thursday, October 20, 2011

Base of a Banana Freak

I'm writing this mainly to have a post for refreshing the gallery - and I also wrote a long time ago, so I'm checking in. This time from Anamur, from a lovely campsite called Dragon. If I look up from the keyboard I see the sandy beach, the sea, and Cyprus: today the weather is clean and clear, the sun is burning, there is no windstorm. Ah, and I have one and a half kilos of locally grown bananas beside me. I've found another place to spend a few days without moving.


In this nice weather Cyprus can be seen

Apropo windstorm. After my first longer stop near the sea hard times were coming. Storms, wind as strong as a rocket, rain - and punctures in big bunches. Three on the front, two on the rear, one in the matress. This one meant no sleep, lay on the floor and be cold. These things brought me out of control sometimes - it happened that I had not even one move of my facial muscle when repairing a puncture, and it also happened I was shouting to the sky in some unknown language to some unknown gods about some unknown things going on. Simple weekdays.

Waves, windstorm

There was a day when, with hard efforts, I could cycle 25 kms - there were stormy winds and rains and punctures and I-don't-want-to-do-this hysterias at the side of the road. I've spent around 3-4 days in this state, fighting with the elements and with myself. Why do I do this? Why do I ride in this insane weather? Why don't I just send my bike home and buy a motorbike? Really, why not?

From this viewpoint it is easy

This was the way to the camping I'm now spending my time in and from I don't want to move again. This is an oasis - fruit trees, sandy beach, shadow places for tents, no turists, more than kind and welcoming service, delicious foods from the restaurant with mostly locally grown vegetables - and with friendly prices. Why should I go? Who cares about Antalya?

Watching the sunrise from the camp

The one and only guests here are a german / austrian couple, Angela and Mike - with a strange, but nice old caravan. They are in their 50's as I know, kids are grown up and out, so they sold all their belongings and now are travelling: Syria, Jordan, Turkey... With a really nice and calm and easy-going style, with wide smile on their sun-burnt faces all the time. And with a relatively low budget. Good example of how to live a life without not generating any problems for ourselves.

10 lira for this site with a guard

Ah, budget. I want to have a few sentences on budget because I think many people are not travelling because they think it is expensive. I don't have exact numbers but I obviously know the basics: I spend far the most on feeding myself. Than comes accomodation, and than comes nothing else. That is all there is. And I can tell you I'm pleasing my stomack many times with restaurant foods, with high quality ingredients, with sweets (too many...), with tons of fruits. And I'm pleasing myself sometimes with a hotel, a motel, a pansion. These expenses are balanced with the food cooked on my stove, with smart shopping, with wild caming, with CouchSurfing, with regular camping. So all I can say is that travelling should not be an expensive thing - I'm experiencing just the opposite: I'm spending less as I spent at home. As one of my turkish CS host said: "I can travel for two weeks in Turkey without having any problem and without having any money in my pocket.". After saying this, he invited me for dinner and didn't let me pay.

Finished with the blogpost and with 1,5 kgs bananas

What else can I say? There are new pics in the Gallery... Have a nice journey!

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