Samsun - Sinop - Karabük

After setting up the tent in adverse conditions the previous evening, which was accompanied by some difficulties, I am forced to evacuate the tent on the night of Wednesday, January 16, 2019. Around half past three in the morning, I am awakened by a cracking sound. The roof pole has broken under the wind load of a violent gust. Upon closer inspection, I notice that the outer skin of the tent has partially detached and is fluttering in shreds in the wind. I decide to pack up my things and find a sheltered spot in the city. During the evacuation measures, objects fly out of the city towards the sea from time to time. The street lighting also regularly goes out, so it's quite intense. Fortunately, it remains just a storm for now and I am able to store my belongings dry. Although I still fold up the tent, I decide to dispose of it in the next trash bin. Due to the damage caused, even I lack the optimism for a successful repair. So, at around half past four, I check in at a covered terrace in front of a Burger King and doze off for the rest of the night. Around half past seven, I set off to the teahouse from the previous evening. The storm has subsided a bit, but it is slowly starting to rain. After a hot drink, I search the city for a new tent, but unfortunately without success. The bad weather makes strolling through the alleys of Giresun not enjoyable at all. So I go with Dicken to the bus station and can directly catch a minibus to Ordu. The driver is moderately enthusiastic about having Rango as a passenger, but ultimately lets us board. So, after two easy transfers, I finally arrive in Ünye in the early afternoon. Here, I am invited by a few bus drivers for tea and eventually provided with a ride to Samsun. The weather is still terrible with sleet and wind. So, I hope to be able to reach Istanbul from Samsun by train via Ankara. With my tent, I have also lost some freedom in terms of potential sleeping places. It's time to speed up my journey home. In the evening, we reach the big city along the Black Sea. After a short walk, we arrive at the train station. From afar, I have a bad feeling that the train station building is dark. A conversation clarifies that no trains are departing from here due to construction work. I decide to look for accommodation for the night in order to somehow continue westward the next morning. After the third or fourth attempt, I am able to stay at the Arda Otel. I take a stroll with Rango in the neighborhood, get some dinner for the two of us, and then retire to the room. The warm shower is much needed and feels good. Then it's time to lie down.

On Thursday morning, I take Dicken for a walk around the block and search for breakfast for myself. Then I have coffee and chocolate bread in the hotel room, pack my backpack, and we leave the establishment in the early afternoon. There is a tram nearby that could take us about 20 km to the northwestern outskirts of Samsun, where a bus station is marked on my map. Unfortunately, the ride fails due to an overzealous security person who denies Rango access despite wearing a muzzle. So we walk along Fuar Caddesi for a while until we find a minibus that takes us even further than the tram would have. A short time later, we get off in the suburb of Çakırlar and then walk to Ondokuzmayıs in drizzly and windy weather. Along the way, we had no luck hitching a ride despite several attempts, and for now, no bus driver at the Mayıs bus station is willing to give us a ride either. So I buy dinner for Rango and myself at the nearest supermarket and then try my luck at a branch of a bus company. After some back and forth, this attempt proves to be fruitless. Finding a possible accommodation also seems difficult, as there seems to be no place for travelers to stay overnight in this town. So I decide to try hitchhiking. On the way to a conveniently located gas station, I notice a coach. I approach the driver, indicate that Dicken can also travel in the luggage compartment, and finally get on board. So we arrive in Sinop in the evening. There is no further transportation available from there on the same day, but minibuses will be heading west again in the morning. After consultation, I am allowed to spend the night in the waiting room of the bus station. It is so warm under a heater that I don't need my sleeping bag for that night.

At six o'clock on Friday morning (January 18, 2019), the first passengers arrive at the Sinop bus station, time to get up. I doze off a little while sitting before a bus driver looks for passengers going to Ayancık, and I go to a side hall for minibus passengers with Dicken. We cannot board the first bus, as the bus driver realizes upon closer inspection of our travel group that his bus is already full... But it works with the next minibus without any problems, and we drive through the wintry landscape of northern Turkey around eight o'clock. An hour later, we arrive in Ayancık. I haven't even had time to put on my backpack when I am invited for tea. A former guest worker shows me the way to a teahouse, and we have a short conversation. Since my next bus departs about 10 minutes later, the pleasure is short-lived. We reach İnebolu around noon. It quickly becomes apparent that there are not many options for further travel on the same day, so I treat myself to a small lunch in the station pub to give myself some room for decision-making. In the end, I decide to take a minibus a bit inland to Kastamonu, despite the difficulties I had finding ridesharing opportunities in larger cities. From there, I hope to be able to reach Karabük on the same day, where my map shows a railway line again. So the next bus ride takes us through the snow-covered mountain world directly adjacent to the Black Sea coast. We reach Kastamonu in the afternoon, and I treat myself to a coffee and some pastries at the bus station. I can't find a bus to Karabük for the time being, but I am offered a taxi ride. I decline graciously. After a while, a bus driver approaches me and I can ride to Karabük with Rango. Although still significantly overpriced, it is much cheaper than taking a taxi. In the bus, I meet a few Palestinians who are convinced that they can find a bus to Istanbul for Rango and me. However, there seems to be no train connection for passenger transport in the provincial capital. Upon arriving in Karabük, my new acquaintances from the Middle East quickly realize that organizing my onward journey is not as easy as they thought. After a few unsuccessful attempts with bus companies, we say goodbye and I go to the train station just to make sure. But even a railway employee provides no comfort, as no passenger trains depart from here to Ankara. I get some dinner and then find a quiet spot in the bus station. Since my attempt to hitchhike has also failed, I prepare for the night. Maybe there will be an opportunity to travel further tomorrow morning.