Cayeli

15/09/2025

Despite having paid last night to stay overnight in the Sumela Monastery car park, the bar steward on the gate was determined to charge for today too. Even J got a little angry. Think this is our only negative person encounter in Turkey in nearly 2 months.

Pretty scenery on our descent to a large mall. Corrie got left again as we headed into Starbucks for coffee and cake, a hoody for she who didn’t bring enough warm clothes and a small food shop. We came away with no booze!

The plan was to spend the evening surrounded by tea plantations. Think French vineyard. But after a too busy / parked cars / small road abortive drive to a tea garden and then not liking a narrow road up hill to a plantation, we aborted altogether. We could see mounds of tea plants all around and that will have to do!

Our park up is sandwiched between trucks, many Georgian, by a picnic area. The best spots have been nabbed by the permanent caravans and other camping cars.

Just as well no booze on board, as I could have sunk a vat of gin tonight! Had an ice cream instead and watched a man tree climbing for figs.

Hemsin

16/09/2025

It got noisy from 0530 with the trucks firing up. Meant we got up and away before 0920. An easy drive to Hemsin, passing the rounded tea plants, planted wherever there is space.

We liked Hemsin. Totally ordinary. The municipality has installed a lovely riverside walk. With adult swings!

Asked a local with G translate about a road. He replied with perfect English as he used to live in Russel Square, London ££££s! Upshot was we left Jez in the town and walked from there. Uphill to a waterfall. Lunch at the top. Then staggered up a bit more before descending

It is just so lovely to be in lush green. Beach trees, ferns, a few nettles all indicate how damp this climate.

J tried to nap but trucks with picked tea leaves kept trundling past and elderly men yelling at each other (I sympathise with hearing loss as J’s hearing aids are rarely fully functioning). So we took the local’s advice to drive back to the coast and up the next valley for a quieter overnight parking.

We paid under £3 to enter the national park and stopped in a lay-by. This is 🤫

Camlihemsin

17/09/2025

The rain arrived at 0600, and rather than get stuck in mud in our lay-by, we drove / crawled up a dodgy road to a camper stop. It is / was being constructed and then was destroyed by an avalanche. Some derelict huts, a lot of new roofs and even more piles of broken timber and bent metal. Very sad when folk invest and try to make a living. We felt we needed to contribute so left a good tip after a shared lunch plate.

We walked up and up following a river. Then down and down. J’s legs telling him that he exercised yesterday too!

Spoke to a couple (in French!) who were tapping the pine trees for resin. His wife makes all sorts of cures and balms. And spotted others picking wild bilberries.

Back down the mountain to get close to the border. Limited options so in a truck stop. But a waterfall behind us which will drown out any engine noise.

Tea

Rize is the premium Turkish black tea growing area due to high rainfall and fertile soil. More than 80% of Turkey’s tea comes from here … that is a LOT as they drink it constantly – highest tea consumption worldwide at over 3 kgs p.a. per person. The 2nd is Morocco at 2 kgs, followed by the UK at 1.7kgs. It wasn’t always tea though. They used to drink coffee, but it became too expensive after WW2, so Ataturk told people to drink tea instead. They used to import from China until they realised they had the perfect climate in the NE. They are the No. 5 worldwide producer.

The tea has health benefits … it reduces risk of heart attacks and diabetes, lowers cholesterol and increases metabolism. And we like the taste. I’ll buy into those benefits so I bought some and was drinking several large mugs. I eventually linked my bloating and severe flatulence to another side effect! The tannins irritate the bowel. Perhaps I was over consuming!