If you want an exercise in red tape and inefficacy then take the ferry from mainland Turkey to Northern (Turkish) Cyprus. Leaving Tascu on the southern coast of Turkey the plan was to take the overnight ferry to Cyprus and from there tackle the issue of getting to Jordan from another angle.
I’ll save you the details but here’s the facts- a five hour trip became a 15 hour marathon. Sailing was at 24:00 but we eventually set off at 3:30. I had to visit and hand over cash to a total of twelve different officials before Austin and I could be on our way. By the time we pulled out of the car park and on the disputed soil of Northern Cyprus we were both going bonkers in the heat.
Still there were consolations, Nic was coming out to spend 10 days with me and I was really looking forward to it. Originally I should have already tackled Jordan and she was to meet me on the way back. From Cyprus we planned to take a leisurely drive back up to Istanbul together. But timing wasn’t the only issue; Austin had something to say too.
Austin for the most part has been good as gold. Like me he has had a few sniffles and coughs and not everything works but something about Cyprus did not agree with him from the moment we arrived. For almost the whole of the first week Nic was here Austin was in one garage or another. They’d get one thing fixed and something else would go wrong. In the end he had a new dynamo, a new coil, some new wiring and new points put in.
Eventually Austin limped out of the garage and the three of us headed out along the Karpaz Peninsular for a little R and R. The wilds of Karpaz are famous throughout the island and we were looking forward to the long three hour drive down to the point. Nic had a drive of Austin and for the first time I was able to sit back and be a passenger. The sun bleached world of Northern Cyprus drifted passed as the coastline dipped in and out of the ocean, each time it left a beautiful azure cove. We spent a couple of days swimming and driving about dusty trails finding wild donkeys, chameleons and little owls. Not to mention turtles (if you want to know more about these wonderful creatures have a look at Nic's Zoology Blog).
Eventually it was time to head south on the next step of the mission. As I hadn't had any luck getting into Syria the only other choice was to attempt to take the ferry from (Southern) Cyprus to Israel and tackle Jordan from there. For those of you who aren't aware Northern Cyprus and Cyprus don't get on, in fact the UN had to step in and now there is a permanent collection of Blue-and-Whites stationed on the buffer zone that runs the length of the island.
Crossing from the North into the South was supposed to be easy, in reality the Cypriots pulled us aside and went through the paperwork and car with a fine tooth comb. An hour later not only had they driven me nearly insane but they gave us a parting gift- Austin and I could ONLY leave the island by returning to the North and exiting back into Turkey. If true then we were in a whole heap of trouble.
We had been invited to stay with Russell and his lovely wife Jane (and their friends Paul and Karen) at their place. We had meet them up in the north when they jumped in and gave Austin a bump start when he was having one of his Cyprus wobbles. They adopted us; in fact they were so kind and generous that I even began to put weight on again.
For the first time in ages I was forced to relax and stay still. Austin was working fine, we had sent out a few emails trying to confirm the next step and while I waited for the replies it was time to digest another delicious fish meze while floating around their pool in the sun....(to be cont.)
Have a good week folks
And again soz if there are any typos.
Cheers Matt
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