Trabzon - Akçaabat - Giresun

After I cleared our campground in the city park of Rize on Sunday morning, January 13, 2019, I stumble into town with Rango. I arrange breakfast for the big guy at a local butcher's and start myself shortly afterwards in a small pub for Pide and tea. Outside, to my annoyance, the big guy gets dessert from a few stubborn people, there's kebab and sweet pastries. One of the smartasses is about to catch one from me. Then we walk across the city and climb up to the old fortress. The structure itself is rather unspectacular (medieval, you know), but offers a wonderful view over the city and the Black Sea. Then we go down to the bus station and on the second opportunity take a minibus to Trabzon. Here I find a tea house with wifi, update my maps and plan my first tour in the city. With about 240,000 inhabitants, the port city is considerably larger than my previous stops in Turkey. I climb up Cumhuriyet Caddesi for a bit and then walk along Uzun Sokak to Atapark. Nearby, I replenish our food supplies and then start the descent again. I set up our sleeping place once again on a green area right by the sea.

After being able to camp undisturbed in the middle of a city again, my first stop on Monday takes me to the tea house from the day before. Since I had to wait for the tent to dry, it is already around twelve o'clock when I enjoy the hot tea. Then I stroll around Trabzon's narrow streets with Rango. Two side valleys that cut through the city in a north-south direction offer some variety. At the upper end of the western valley, I rest for a while in the park built in it and soak up some sunshine. Then I go to the bus station. Unfortunately, I miss out on getting a seat on the first attempt to take a minibus west. The remaining drivers seem to take their colleague's bad behavior as an example, so I have no chance of getting any further here. So I set off on foot towards the west, hoping to continue my journey by minibus in the next smaller village. It's already dark when I set up our tent on a meadow near the district of Toklu.

On Tuesday morning (January 15, 2019), after dismantling our campsite, I stop at a nearby rest stop for tea and coffee. Then I continue westward. Along the way, I also make some attempts to get on a bus, but only at the end of the day do I have luck. Near the Kavakli Rahman Mosque in Akçaabat, I had already spotted a camping spot, but then I decided to try a few rides at the nearby bus stop. And lo and behold, on the last attempt, I have luck around half past five and can ride to Giresun. Once in the city, I stop at the first tea house, update my maps with a hot drink, and then make my way to a small green area. Here I set up my tent in strong winds. During this, the rods break in three places. But I can repair them and soon take refuge under the protective tarp.