Past Giresun

Photo by courtesy Mark van Essen

Happy Easter again! The organizers surprised us this morning with a personal hand-painted Easter Egg!
On the modern almost continuous coastal highway (some tunnels still under construction) we passed the city of Giresun with all-day police escort. Besides the normal Trafik Polis clearing the way ahead of us now also the more heavily armed Jandarma is with us, even if there are no more than four of us deciding to stay in a group. Easy and fast cycling, anyway.
Near the town of Görel the snow covered 3000+m Pontic Mountain tops provide a spectacular background for the occasional lemon and olive trees on the coastal roadside.
Transport was surely more difficult in Xenophon's times, when he walked across the mountains towards the sea with his 10,000 Persians somewhere here in the area making the famous exclamation 'Thalatta, Thalatta' (The Sea, the Sea!).
We are mentally preparing for leaving the Black Sea Coast after more than three weeks before the end of this month.

Track of the day: http://www.everytrail.com/view_trip.php?trip_id=16011