15th - 22nd October 2020: Ayvalik (Turkey)

After the many impressions of Istanbul, we are aiming for a quiet place by the sea: We have already read that the Aegean coast is supposed to be very built-up and we thought of thick hotel complexes. Therefore, choosing accommodation near Ayvalik should lead us to a rather picturesque village and the pictures of the holiday home on the website also looked very idyllic and relaxed. However, we did not expect that this holiday home is located in the middle of a gated community, like the countless ones along the Gulf of Edremit. But the large communal garden, the jetty with a view of red-golden sunsets and the large house are exactly what we need in this situation:

I have caught an ear infection, which is taking a toll on me, and we can't start a big exploration program, even though Pergamon is not far away and other waterfalls and nature parks are tempting. Since these activities would be too exhausting, we mainly stroll through the nice town of Ayvalik: in narrow alleys we discover sweet shops and nice cafés, on the promenade with a sea view we can enjoy good food, and otherwise we mainly stay in the holiday home.

The children have made friends with the dogs and cats that live in the garden and are busy with some school assignments and their coconut project ('How to build a tropical drinking vessel?'). Andy takes the opportunity to take care of the travel accessories in general: In a workshop, we have the small paint damage repaired, which the car has suffered from parking in Istanbul. After a deep cleaning and organizing of the car and laundry, we slowly prepare for the return journey.

We would have liked to travel further south to the Lycian coast, but the Corona news from Europe is increasingly worrying us about how we can cross the various borders. Here in Turkey, there is a general obligation to wear masks everywhere, which is also observed by everyone on the streets. Even though we don't understand it exactly, we suspect that the rules are communicated to the population through daily announcements over loudspeakers: Every day at 5:30 PM, we hear an announcement on the streets of Gömec and Ayvalik, followed by the Turkish national anthem, during which everyone suddenly stops, pauses in their actions, and listens attentively with proud chests. The announcements about Corona seem to be effective, at least everyone visibly complies with them, but this daily dose of the national anthem feels very strange.

As our AA-SicherReisen app reports stricter entry regulations in the Southeast European countries from week to week, we decide to initially return to Bulgaria with a stopover in Edirne. We still have a few weeks left and we are looking forward to a few late summer days in the Balkan Mountains.