Ferry to Famagusta

From Tarsus I went by train to the port city of Mersin to catch the overnight ferry to Famagusta. This wasn't such a good idea. The ferry took 12 hours and didn't have any cabins so I was stuck with a chair (a big travel "no-no" for me, always get a cabin or don't go). Luckily I had my sleeping bag so I streached out on the floor and actually got some good sleep. I was the only person on board who wasn't either Turkish or Cypriot and most people who were traveling on the ferry had huge bales of goods they were bringing along. The whole thing was chaotic but interesting. Upon arrival in Famagusta I saw the first tourists I had seen in three days. Famagusta was actually the center for tourism in Cyprus before the division but now it gets only a handful of curious travelers.

Tarsus

My first planned stop in Turkey was the city of Tarsus. I had just heard of Tarsus recently as the birthplace of St. Paul. The city has a really nicely preserved streach of Roman road and a couple of monuments to St. Paul, the most interesting of which is this well, said to be right next to where he was born and lived. You can pay to draw up some water from the well and splash it on your face. It's a small pilgrimage site for Christians. I think it's great that there is a mosque across the street.

Plan C

I had a backup plan if for some reason sailing didn't work out. The back up plan was to go to Beruit, and it was a good idea but the logistics just didn't work out. Middle East Airlines is now being allowed to fly to Beruit via Amman, Jordan. I could have tried getting on one of these flights but it would have meant: 1. Spending hours in a line at Heathrow with no guarantee I would get on the flight; 2. If I did get on the flight it would have cost about $1000; and 3. If I decided I needed to leave early via Syria and Jordan (which was part of the plan actually) I would not have been able to use the Amman-Heathrow portion of my return flight to get back to London. So that left Plan C which was to explore more of Turkey and make a quick side trip to the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. This was my flight on Turkish Airlines from Istanbul to Adana (Turkey's fourth largest city).

Hovercraft

Ever since I was a little kid I've always been facinated with different forms of transportation. Two things I've always wanted to travel on have been a hydrofoil and a hovercraft. I had the GI Joe toys of both! Anyway, I got to ride the hydrofoil last year when my brother and I went to Finland but a hovercraft ride has always eluded me until now. When I crossed the English channel recently I was expecting a hovercraft but found out the service had been discontinued. I finally found one from Ryde on the Isle of Wight to Portsmouth.

Abandon ship!

I quickly found out that this whole sailing thing is not for me. Maybe it was because a night in jail or a soaking wet tent is more comfortable that a night in a yacht bunk bed. Maybe it was because I threw up four times on my first voyage. But the main thing is that I like "hot and dry" and sailing is all about "cold and wet". The two things I was worried about (being able to learn all the technical stuff quickly and having to spend time with a bunch of Brits) really weren't that bad. One thing I didn't anticipate though was the food on board, it was disgusting. My throwing up may have been more a result of food poisoning from some bad tomato soup than actually being seasick. I got out at the first available opportunity on the Isle of Wight.