Ayvalik, Turkey

I finally received my Turkish visa and I am on the road.  It feels good to be riding again and leaving Athens in my rear view mirror.  I decided to cut my time and cost by taking a ferry from Athens to Chios, and then another ferry from Chios to Turkey.  The first ferry was huge, an overnighter decked out with sleeper cabins and capable of carrying 780 vehicles and almost 2,000 passengers.  The second ferry was ridiculously small, and only capable of carrying two cars, a motorcycle, and about 50 passengers.

I was in for a bit of surprise when arriving in Turkey. There is an insurance requirement in this country, which occurs about 60 percent of the time, but no place at the border crossing to buy insurance, In my travels, I have crossed 50 international borders by vehicle, and this has never happened before.  As such, I had to head off (on foot) into town, with another guy who was in the same bind that I was in, and find an insurance agency.  After about 2 hours, we had managed to secure some insurance, and then we were able to go back to customs and claim our vehicles.  The one silver lining, the insurance was about 45 percent cheaper than buying it online, which is a considerable savings considering insurance is very expensive here.  So, if you are coming to Europe with a motorcycle, just buy a single month online (so you can claim your vehicle from customs) and then go buy the remainder in town.

After customs, I headed up the very rainy and cold coast to a small town on the western shore of Turkey called Ayvalik.  It is a small year round fishing town and a beach escape for weary Turks in the summer.  Its quaint, but if not for the retired fishermen sitting around swapping stories of their lost youth, drinking tea and playing board games, there would be nobody here.  I am staying in a very nice, brand new, $33 a night, 4 star hotel and besides the guy at reception, I am literally the only guest in the facility. 

View From my Hotel Room Window

Ayvalik, Turkey

Ferry From Chios, Greece to Cesme, Turkey

Stage Distance: 216 mi (339 km), 73 miles (118km) by ferry. Total Distance Traveled by Motorcycle: 22.249 mi (35,692 km) 
Countries/Territories Visited: USA, Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Argentina, Uruguay, Canada, Portugal, Spain, Morocco, Gibraltar, France, Monaco, Italy, Vatican City, San Marino, Slovenia, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Czech Republic, Poland, Ukraine, Transnistria, Moldova, Romania, Bulgaria, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, Albania, Kosovo, Macedonia, Greece, Turkey