39,000 Miles

The perfect plan.  Timed to the hour, schedule laid out to see the major sites in Turkey while still making it to Thessaloniki, Greece,  in time to meet up with Nicole and Jack.  First an overnight bus from Fethiye to Pammukale, tour Pammukale, then another bus to Ephesus, and then another overnight bus to Istanbul.  And then an overnight train to Thessaloniki.  Trust to Fate that we would be able to get train tickets for a same day departure.

Fate, it turns out, is not be relied on lightly.  The train to Thessaloniki is under construction for the next month, and, didn’t you notice, today is the last day of the holy month of Ramadan.  All buses to Thessaloniki from Istanbul are booked.

Close up of our heroes’ shocked faces.  But…we have to be in Thessaloniki tomorrow.  We have to!  Cut scene to the Istanbul Otogar, or main bus station.  Panoramic view of a building sized comparably to LAX, but without the organization, ease of use, or intuitiveness.  And no one speaks English.  And everyone is trying to sell you a ticket you can buy five feet away directly from one of the 100 or so different bus companies.

Apparently (for our Turkish is not very good) you can take a local bus to Ipsala, on the border with Greece, walk across, and get a bus to “Salonik” (is that the same place we’re going to?).  As Fate would have it – should we be worried – there is a bus to Ipsala in one hour.  Fantastic!  Things are looking up.

Gibberish, hand motions, rain.  You mean you want us to get off the bus HERE?  But what about Ipsala?  Ok, Ok!  That way?  Greece…GREECE, right?  Yes, it’s funny that it’s raining.  Ha ha.  But wait – there’s a taxi waiting, right here in the middle of the highway where you are stranding us…in the rain…perfect!

Ipsala is nowhere near the border.  Luckily the taxi driver knows where the border is, and drops us off without a hitch.  The border is also known to about 3.7 billion mosquitoes, all of whom have risen in the past week because of early rains.  Quick switch from shorts to long pants.

Between the Turkish border and Greece lies a stretch of about 2 miles which cannot be crossed on foot.  Hitchhiking is necessary.  Half an hour passes, in the rain, mosquitoes swarming and sucking.  Hitchhiking?  It’s DARK.  This is the last time we are relying on the kindness of strangers.

Never, ever, ever say that.  Yes, could we cross the border with you?  Oh, you’ll move all the groceries you are bringing home to your wife for Ramadan?  Thank you so much!  Us?  Oh, we think we’re just going to go across the border and sleep – it’s much later than we thought.  Really?  Nowhere to sleep?  At all?

YOU WILL TAKE US ALL THE WAY TO THESSALONIKI?

Never, ever, ever say you won’t rely on the kindness of strangers.  Fate can’t be relied on – but we’ve come across more kindness than we ever expected.  We are safe now, and warm, and have a new friend.