Wednesday, May 30, 2007

Friday, May 18th

Leave Istanbul hotel on shuttle bus. driving out of Sultanameht neighborhood was pure insanity. driver would weave in and out of lanes using his gut feeling rather than the rear view mirrors. One time I watched him speed up and jump into the right lane in front of a mac truck while he was looking slightly to the left lane. might have been anticipating his next move. In order to drive thru downtown Istanbul you apperently must be part grand master chess player and part jedi knight....or just one crazy bastard. I hoped our driver was the former and not the latter.

We arrive at the bus station and wait for our bus in the rain for about 20 minutes. no big deal. some people could sit inside and stay dry while the rest of us took turns getting rained on while we kept eye on our bags. lots of luggage by the way. 14 girls on a three week trip to europe in the spring. lots of luggage. bus arrives and the accomodations are great. public coach bus that looks like something a group of american senior citizens would travel around in. better than greyhound. no movies, but snacks and beverages. we also brought along a big, cheap bottle of red wine that tasted like old cough medicine. the stuff had bite.

a quick ferry ride over the Marmara Sea...or the Boshorus...or the Aegean...I don't know...don't have a map in front of me at the moment. then it was 14 hours down the coast to Bodrum. I think we left Istanbul at 9pm and we arrived in Bodrum sometime around 11am. lots of wine, lots of reading, and a wee little bit of sleeping upright.

No comments: