The alarms were reluctantly set for 4am so we could drag ourselves out of bed to watch the sunrise over Cappadocia. On the advice of hotel host Sadir we reached the hilltop at 4.25am even though sunrise wasn’t until 5.35am. Thanks Sadir, we didn’t want an extra hour in bed anyway. The bassy hum of hot air balloon pumps was enough to inflate our excitement further despite being underdressed for the chilly conditions. Through sleep dust filled eyes, the view was undeniably spectacular as colourful hot air balloons filled the skies above the city. Glistening sunlight then burst over the distant ridge and the famous postcard scene was well and truly set.
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| Cappadoccia at dawn |
We then embarked on a monster 700 km drive
from Cappadocia to Trabzon through the Pontic Mountains. More amazing views of
dams, reservoirs, canyons and the pink spotted ford fiesta of another rally
team could be seen along the mountainous drive. It proved to be a real test for
Marigold but like the tenacious terrier that she is, we made it up and down
without a sweat. Wall to wall sunshine and blistering heat had for the first
time been punctuated by rainfall as we descended the mountains. This, along
with listening to Stephen Fry read Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone
audiobook, served more to relieve our homesickness than anything else. Keen to
show he’d have made a good quaffel chaser in Quidditch, Caleb, sat at sign
slinger, scored the first direct hit with his spent apple core. Wild celebrations
ensued. We’re pretty simple folk in our car.
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| Pontic Mountains |
Posted by: Rich