Farewell Asia Minor

This update comes from sunny Mytilini on the Greek island of Lesvos. Whilst we are very happy to be here, we felt a little sad waving goodbye to the Turkish mainland as we took the ferry from Ayvalik yesterday; our time in Turkey has certainly been the highlight of the honeymoon. This undoubtedly has something to do with it being our long-sought destination. But it has much more to do with the warm welcome shown to us almost everywhere we went - and people's kindness was yet again something we won't forget. Here's a photo of us at Mehmet's place - mentioned in the last post (he even put up with us playing the mandolin and recorder at him).

Since our last update from Gallipoli we have had some of the best cycling of the trip. From south of Eceabat we crossed by ferry to the lovely Canakkale and took a coastal route south as far as Ayvalik, passing the ruins at Troy and Assos, which were real highlights (especially cutting Luke's hair in the ancient theatre at Assos whilst enjoying a panoramic sea view). The sun has been shining consistently and we have our suntans back.

We've also passed the 5,000km mark which is a brilliant feeling, though Soph feels cross for forgetting to check for the actual moment on the cycle computer. Mytilini has a vast bike shop and Soph is relieved to have had some of the major parts replaced on her bike, which were finally worn out so that she can efficiently cycle once again (including a bigger gear range so hopefully she can overtake Luke on the hills more often from now on). In the coming days we hope to explore Lesvos before taking another ferry to Chios and on to Pireus (Athens). We have a vague plan to reach the south of France via Italy and then find our way home to England...