After a hectic last month, zooming from a holiday with friends to a holiday with my family to Istanbul with my brother (such a hard life I know…), I felt like I needed some downtime in a place with nature. I decided to skip western Turkey, being beached out after spending the whole summer in the heat and by the sea, and caught an overnight bus to the centre of the country, to Cappadocia. It’s a place famous for its hot air balloons, and these are why it was on my radar, but after researching a bit more I found it’s also a place with amazing hikes through strange valleys and with towns cut into rocks. I found a lovely looking hostel in Goreme (the main town in the area) and booked myself in for four nights. Cappadocia gave me everything I had hoped for.

Each morning I woke up at 5:30am and went to watch the balloons fly for sunrise. We went to several different spots over the few days, getting all of the different perspectives. They fly at sunrise because the wind conditions are best. This is an experience that can’t be given justice through pictures or words, but there’s a reason I got up each morning to watch them despite being tired! Afterwards I’d return to the hostel and either sleep for a bit longer, or do some yoga depending on how tired I was, before eating the breakfast provided. During the days I spent a lot of time in cafes catching up on blog writing and general travel planning, either alone or with the wonderful people I met at the hostel here. I did several amazing hikes through Pigeon Valley, Love Valley and Red Rose Valley. They have a lot of valleys here. Pigeon Valley is named after the pigeons the inhabitants would keep, using their poo as fertiliser. Love Valley is named after the penis-shaped rocks that loom over you as you walk (not even making that up!). Red Rose Valley after the red rocks. All had strange rock formations throughout, and evidence of houses that had been cut into the soft rock. Red Rose Valley in particular had several plots of vegetation scattered within, with fruit trees and chilli plants and other crops growing. I visited the open air museum and explored a town made up of dwellings cut into the rock. There were three valleys, but I only explored one, deciding that after one lot of cave houses they all looked the same. Unlike most historic things I go to see what made this one cool was not how ancient it was but how recently it was inhabited, with people living there until 1952.

The hot air balloons were the reason I came to Cappadocia, but are not the reason I loved my time there as much as I did. The reason for this is firstly the people I met. After being off the travelling road for a while I was looking forward to meeting more people, but I couldn’t have wished for a better group to meet. Everyone was so lovely and also inspiring, with such cool lifestyles and insights. Watching the balloons, hiking, working in cafes, and eating dinner would not have been anywhere near as wonderful without them (so thank you Emily, Jeff, Nick and Thalia!). The second reason is the insane geology of the place - the rock formations (called fairy chimneys), the valleys and the houses cut into the rocks. I’ve never seen anything like it before, and doubt I will again. It was like Tatooine from Star Wars. The final reason is the delicious Indian restaurant we ate at, with it being my first curry since leaving England and a meal I had really missed.

Keeping it real: the level of instagrammers at the balloons was insane. We saw people in the most dramatic dresses removing their big coats to flounce around on vintage convertible cars, posing for photos. One site was particularly busy, with off-road vehicles zooming around us and ruining the peace. The road quality was very bad in Cappadocia, perhaps because of how soft the rock is and how sandy it is? Unsure, but the roads were literally rubble or sand. When visiting a carpet shop with decadent displays, famous for being a great spot for pictures, we saw that you had to pay 12$ to take a photo there! We looked around the shop anyway. The owner then became quite rude to Emily when she was haggling for an item. Somehow, thanks to Emily’s insane bargaining and general people skills, this turned into the owner giving us food, inviting us to take photos for free, and giving us a lesson on the carpets. A less perfect experience that became something really special and enjoyable!

After waving my brother off on his bus to the airport I went to meet some girls from our hostel at a Hammam. They had been the previous day but loved it so much they were going again, and invited me to join them. We went to the Mihrimah Sultan Hamam, which is not a touristy one - no english spoken here! I’m so glad I had Juliette and Frances with me because I’d have been completely lost otherwise, having done no research on what to expect or how it all works. The experience was bemusing and strange, but also enjoyable and I left feeling the smoothest I’ve perhaps ever felt. My biggest recommendation for Istanbul would be to end your trip with a visit to a Hammam, washing off any city grime and leaving you refreshed for your flight home.

Here’s a run down of the experience:

I initially entered the men’s area and was chased out, being directed to the female entrance. So men and women are fully separated for the experience! I handed over 300 TL (around £15) and was given a cloth and a pair of sliders. I wore bikini bottoms and wrapped the cloth around me, going downstairs to the baths. What followed was a labyrinth of marble rooms with faucets from which water flowed continuously into basins around the edge of each room, and with marble slabs in the centres. I wandered through these into the main room - distinctive due to it’s huge marble octagon table in the centre and a sauna on one side. It was evident at this point that the etiquette was to hang your cloth up and exist in just bikini bottoms. Always in favour of women-only nude spaces and feeling comfortable in our bodies I was happy to join in. From the sauna I had a view of the main marble table, and could observe the process. It did look rather odd to me, a large turkish woman in a bikini scrubbing down another naked woman lying on a slab. It looked odder still when the woman was made to sit up, with her arm being held up and scrubbed. It reminded me of an elderly person being washed by a carer. After awkwardly waiting, sitting on the low marble bench that ran around the edge of the room, one of the woman doing the scrubbing was free and gestured to me. Guess it was my time. She led me through the maze to one of the smaller rooms. Juliette was already in there and was sat up on her marble slab, covered from head to toe in a dark coffee scrub looking like a mud monster. We smiled at one another before I lay face down on another marble slab as instructed. First the woman scrubbed me vigorously with an exfoliating mitt and some soap. It wasn’t painful at all, and feeling the dead skin and grime come off was quite satisfying. I was impressed with how thorough she was, scrubbing my feet and even between my bum cheeks… She slapped my arse and I took this to mean I should turn over onto my back - it was an interesting signal. The exfoliation continued on my front and she then tapped my shoulder and gestured that I should sit up. In doing so my hand brushed my stomach and I was honestly shocked at how smooth my skin now felt! She continued doing my neck and shoulders, lifting each of my arms to do my armpits. She then did my face, which I wasn’t so happy about seeing as that mitt had just been on my feet and, as I mentioned, between my bum cheeks. Whilst still sitting she filled a bowl with water from the faucet and chucked it over my head, mildly waterboarding me. She then gestured for me to stand and continued using the bowl to wash off the soap and the disgusting amount of grey worms of dead skin and dirt that were left on my body after the exfoliation. It really looked like I hadn’t properly washed in several months, which isn’t too far from the truth I suppose. Again being very thorough, she pulled my bikini bottoms out from my body to chuck water down my bum. I lay back on the slab for round two: the coffee scrub. It smelt amazing and the experience was more gentle than the first round. The whole process was repeated with this, including the slap on the arse signal and mild waterboarding. The final round was a soapy massage. My track record with massages hasn’t been great and this wasn’t much better, with her really going to town on my dodgy shoulder which was quite painful. But after months of uncomfortable hostel beds and long bus journeys it was definitely needed. I’d say I was shocked at how strong she was as she rolled her arms up and down my back, but I wasn’t. She looked very strong! Just when I thought the experience was over she applied a mud mask to my face. That really was the end, and I returned to the main room feeling incredibly smooth and slightly violated.

Istanbul was a city I already had a perception of before visiting: that it was unbelievably busy and loud and chaotic. This was reinforced with opinions of many other travellers I’d spoken to, especially women who often had negative experiences to share. I was glad to therefore be travelling with my brother for this part! The Istanbul I experienced completely shocked me. It wasn’t at all like this intense mess I’d imagined. It was peaceful. It was busy in places sure, but not noticeably busier than other major European cities. Certain areas were so trendy, filled with chic cafes, homemade design shops and vintage clothing stores (Kadikoy in particular, on the Asian side). We were constantly finding ourselves in manicured squares with water features. We stayed in Karakoy on the European side, which is the more commercial district right by Galata tower. This was a fun contrast, the street our hostel was on was filled with repair shops which sold random parts for random items, but just one street over it was all fancy cafes and gift shops. I loved how the two sides of Istanbul - touristy and commercial - seamlessly alternated. Of course the more famous ‘two sides’ are the European and the Asian sides. After listening to some podcasts on the history of Istanbul I want to note that while Istanbul is the gateway to the East for me, and this is how it’s perceived by many Westerners, historically it’s the other way around. Ancient history played out in the East, and Istanbul was the gateway to the West for them. The two sides were not particularly distinct, at least not more so than any of the neighbourhoods were. We spent most of our time on the European side, but if I were to ever live in Istanbul (unlikely, it’s a bit too big and urban for me) it would be in Kadikoy on the Asian side.

It was truly wonderful to spend my time in Istanbul with my brother. We have never travelled alone together before, nor spent so much time just the two of us. I was a bit apprehensive about it, with him being my younger brother I wasn’t looking forward to having to look after him and be responsible for us both. I didn’t give him enough credit, perhaps forgetting he is 21 years old now. He was perfectly responsible and helped out a lot. It was a real delight to travel with him and spend so much time together - if only to have a willing participant in my endless games of cards!

What we did

1. Sight seeing. Unsurprisingly, most of our time was spent visiting the major sights. First up was the Blue Mosque and the Hagia Sophia, which sit facing one another on opposite sides of Sultanahmet Square, like the two queens on a chessboard. The Blue Mosque was the first mosque Harvey and I had ever visited, taking off our shoes as instructed and with me wearing a headscarf. It was under heavy construction, so we could only really see the ceiling. The Hagia Sophia was originally a church then a mosque then a museum and, as of 2020, then a mosque again. Entrance to the mosque was free but there was a huge queue. Once inside it was nice to actually get to see the decorations unlike in the Blue Mosque. We sat on the carpet and took it all in. For me, as a non-religious person, it felt very similar to a cathedral. A short walk away was the Topkapi Palace so we did this next. It included waiting in three long queues, one for security to enter, one to buy our tickets, and one to collect the free audioguide. This was both mine and my brother’s favourite sight. We were amazed at how beautiful it was. It had three courtyards, with large buildings framing them and little ones spattered within. The gardens were wonderful, filled with flowers and water features. The tiling was beautiful, as were the columns and the huge low sofa style seats inside. The Ottoman influence was clear, and it was beautiful to see. The audioguide was also pretty good. Next up was the Grand Bazaar. Even this was less busy than I’d imagined. It was more similar to a covered market you’d find in England than I thought it would be. We saw a lot of tea sets and I found one I really liked, but as it was £80 for a set for two I decided to pass. The shops were very cool, especially the ones selling traditional clothing. It was huge, and we could’ve spent all day wandering around but I think Harvey would’ve murdered me if we did! All I ended up buying was a headscarf, ready to wear as I head to the more conservative East Turkey and beyond. The Spice Bazaar is very close by so we traversed the market streets which spill out of the Grand Bazaar to visit it. This was much smaller, and a lot more colourful. The shops sold spices, tea leaves and turkish sweets (turkish delight and baklava). I ate a huge amount of turkish delight in trying to decide which flavours to buy and felt quite sick by the time we left, but happy with my choices of a pistachio lokum (the roll form of turkish delight) and simple rose.
2. Bosphorus cruise. Following in the footsteps of old school travellers to Istanbul, we rode the ferry all the way up the Bosphorus Strait to the last town before the Black Sea, Anadolu Kavağı. It took 1.5 hours and the return ticket cost 65TL (around £3). We enjoyed relaxing on the boat, watching Istanbul sail past. I had a Mr Bean moment when I got out my ticket to have a look at the route and forgot I also had Harv’s; it flew out of my purse in the wind, being carried through the bars in the railing and into the water. Oops. We arrived at the last town before the Black Sea, where we had 2.5 hours to explore before getting the boat back. We walked up to the castle on the hill, making a note of the military zone. It had a nice view of the Black sea but that was about it. We walked back to the main town, I thought it was very strange. Harv liked it, said it reminded him of Porlock Weir. We had balik ekmeks for lunch - fish sandwiches. I had a calamari one because the sample fish the guy gave us freaked me out, but Harv’s fish sandwich was much better than mine. Getting back on the boat the ticket guy either believed my sad tale of my ticket blowing away or just didn’t care, either way he let me on without it. It was a fun way to spend a day, and we had enough days to do it and not miss out on other things, but I’m not sure I’d recommend it too highly.
3. Checked out the arts scene in a slightly different way. Harv isn’t into art galleries so instead of visiting these we went to an old cinema to watch a turkish film (with english subtitles). It was quite odd but I enjoyed it. Harv fell asleep so I think he might’ve enjoyed it less. Annoyingly, we weren’t in the cool screening room with the original curved roof (see a picture below) but I was able to stick my head in to see it. We also spent one evening at a Jazz bar, sipping on whiskey sours and appreciating the live music.
4. Enjoyed the cafes and played cards. As with any city visit, a lot of the time was spent sat in cafes resting our feet or planning our next move. Here we enjoyed really good coffee (not turkish coffee…) or herbal teas, and the abundance of sweet treats. Harv especially enjoyed the cheesecakes. We played a lot of cards throughout the trip, often at said cafes.
5. Turkish bath. After Harv left I visited a Hammam, see the post on this to read about the experience!

Foood

We ate very well in Istanbul. We tried most of the traditional foods. The turkish breakfast impressed me, with it being comprised of lots of little bits which were fun to try. The doner we had was a bit disappointing, not tasting much different to the ones we’d eaten in England. I was more impressed by the dürüm, which was kebab meat in a wrap. Up until this point I thought I didn’t like baklava, finding it much too sweet and soggy. But here I really enjoyed it, finding it more nutty and way less sweet and soggy. The real star was a restaurant rather than a dish however. For the first time in my trip I ate at the same restaurant twice. It was a small place in Karakoy which served turkish food with a bit of a twist. The ambience was perfect - cool interior with soft jazz playing. On our first visit we had homemade ginger beer and delicious mains, followed by delicious desserts. By the end of the meal we had already decided to go back there the following evening. It’s called Karaköy Gümrük, definitely check it out if you’re ever in Istanbul. I also had to try a turkish burek (spelt borek here), and it was very good, up there as one of the better ones I’ve eaten.

Leaving Istanbul

We spent 4 nights in Istanbul, and there was a lot more to see than we could ever cover in that time. But for me, 4 nights was enough. I’m not a big city person and this is a very big city. As surprisingly un-busy as I found it, it was still busy. It was also quite dirty. So I watched the sunset on my last evening and found myself ready to leave. Back travelling alone again after being with friends and family for the last few weeks. As a reminder that travelling isn’t all easy I managed to get completely lost trying to catch the metro to the bus station. The bus station itself isn’t centralised so there’s no information board, instead it’s all private companies with their own offices and platforms. I couldn’t find my bus or the company’s office at all, despite going to the coordinates they’d sent me with my ticket. The 45 minutes buffer time I’d given was dwindling away. No one seemed to be able to help me and I was getting a little stressed. Eventually I found a contact number and sent a whatsapp message to ask for help, with them giving me the correct location and I was able to find the bus with time to spare. The bus was very fancy, and during the overnight journey I was served tea and given a snack. I hope all buses in Turkey are the same!

After Athens I spent a further 2.5 weeks in Greece. I’ve been a bit lax on including logistic details recently, so just to remind you of the realities of travelling over land I’ve included all the transport this time!

Week 1 - Crete

I took an overnight ferry from Piraeus (the port part of Athens) to Heraklion, Crete. It was surprisingly difficult to find the ferry at the huge port, with no information signs to be seen. I initially boarded the wrong one, but ended up securing a nice sofa seat on the correct one. I lay out my sleeping bag and got myself ready for bed, only to be told by a staff member that I couldn’t sleep until 11pm (it was currently 9pm). I found that very odd but was happy to watch some netflix until 11, before having a mildly uncomfortable night’s sleep. We arrived into Heraklion for 7am and I had all morning to kill so slowly walked in the direction of the bus station. Just up the road I saw the golden arches of a Mcdonald’s and realised that a maccies breakfast is exactly what I fancied! The bright 24/7 sign laughed down at me when I realised it was closed. But seeing as I really did have all morning with nothing to do, I decided to sit outside and read my book until it opened. 1.5 hours later, having finished my book, it finally opened. Very excited to eat the breakfast I’d been thinking about for so long it was a great disappointment to see that they were not offering a breakfast menu. With too much time invested in the venture I begrudgingly ordered a burger and a coffee and ate it. At least there was good wifi and I could work on some blog posts!

Now the reason I was in Crete was to meet friends from home for their annual holiday get together. They weren’t arriving until 2am the next morning so I was the first one to get to the hotel. I’ve stayed in some hostels which have left a lot to desire, this hotel was cut from the same cloth. Luckily I was there to spend time with friends rather than have a luxury experience! Going down in the evening to eat dinner at the all inclusive buffet was the first time on the trip I’ve felt self-conscious eating alone. In the middle of the night I woke to Sam arriving into my room, I gave him a sleepy hug and my time alone ended for a bit. We spent the next week doing all sorts of holiday activities - relaxing by the pool, going to a waterpark (my personal highlight surprisingly), hiring a car and exploring the island, playing lots of cards, spending time at the beach. It was so wonderful to see friends and spend time with them all. I wasn’t feeling homesick, but this banished any potential homesickness!

One notable event was the Queen’s death. The news came in just as we’d finished eating dinner. We crowded into the largest one of our rooms and watched the BBC news broadcast on the tiny TV. An interesting place to have been for the moment! The following day a slightly less notable event took place - my birthday! It was lovely to spend it with friends, with us going to the waterpark and out for a nice dinner and drinks.

At the end of the week I said my goodbyes to everyone and returned to Heraklion to get the overnight ferry back to Athens. Here it sunk in that I likely won’t see my friends until next July. Feeling quite sad I watched some uplifting tv to cheer me up and then made a bed out of two chairs (no sofas on this ferry).

The middle bit - Meteora

The ferry arrived late into Athens which meant I missed the direct train to my next location, Kalambaka. Once at the main train station I worked out my new route. It was only two trains so not too bad! This was my first train journey since travelling from Mostar to Sarajevo in Bosnia in June, and I enjoyed it hugely. The first train was late so we missed the connecting train, but luckily there was another train that arrived shortly after we did. Arriving in Kalambaka I immediately saw the reason I’d come here - the huge rock columns rising out of nowhere, with tiny monasteries perched on top of them. The rocks and monasteries are known as Meteora.

I stayed here for 2 nights, walking up to the monasteries to watch the sunset and hitchhiking back down to the town both nights (my first experience of hitchhiking!). It was so peaceful and like nothing I’d ever seen before. On my full day I hiked the monasteries with Pjotr, a dutch guy from the hostel. We walked to all six in the area, taking in all of the scenic points en route. We went into one monastery and one nunnery - St Stephens and Varlaam. Men had to wear long trousers and women long skirts to enter. They were both beautiful and interesting, with little museums. But the real treasure was the views. The huge columns of rock with the little monasteries stacked on top. The vibrant green forests laying in between.

There was a Lidl in Kalambaka which excited me a bit too much, and I enjoyed cooking a delicious and healthy dinner with Pjotr. It had been too long since I’d cooked, and I do really miss it.

Week 2 - Corfu

Next stop on my Greece trip was Corfu, to meet my family! I caught a bus to Ioannina which took 2.5 hours, then immediately a bus to Igoumenitsa. I caught a ferry to Corfu and walked to the airport, waiting for my family to land. Sadly, their flight was delayed by several hours (another reason to favour land travel!). Finally they arrived, and it was so wonderful to see them! It had been just over 4 months, but it felt like we had a lot to catch up on and it was very comforting to see them. We got our transfer to the airbnb and hurried out to eat before the restaurants closed.

Our villa was beautiful, perched up the hill with sea views to be enjoyed from the terrace which included a pool. This week was spent exploring nearby towns by bus, including the Durrells house, spending time on the beach, snorkelling, enjoying good food, chilling by the pool and lots more cards. My highlight was hiring a boat and speeding around the north east coast, stopping at tranquil coves to swim and snorkel, and learning how to dive in from the boat (thanks Dad!).

Spending time with my family was so restful and, like the time spent with friends, meant any potential homesickness was gone. Before leaving I washed all of my clothes, charged up all of my devices and replenished my toiletries. Both me and my backpack were refreshed and it felt like I was starting out fresh, rather than being 4.5 months in.

Onwards - Thessaloniki

My brother, Harvey, was joining me for Istanbul so we waved goodbye to our parents together as we got the bus to Corfu town. Here we caught a direct bus all the way to Thessaloniki, with it taking 6 hours. We got off the bus after a short time to get onto the ferry, and re-boarded back on the mainland. We spent one night in Thessaloniki, doing a whirlwind tour of the city which we thought was nice but nothing too special. It was a day of freebies: all of the historical sights were free to enter on that day for some reason, we accidentally went to a university freshers’ fair and got a free water bottle, we went on a free boat ride around the gulf. But some things really are too good to be true, and the boat ride was not really free, with us having to buy a drink onboard which cost an insane amount - 9EUR for a large beer! The main stand out for me was the food - all of our meals here were excellent.

From Thessaloniki we got an overnight bus to Istanbul. This was my least favourite overnight bus so far. It was way too hot and the lady sat behind me had stacks of bangles from wrist to elbow on both arms that made the most irritating noise when she moved her arms, which she seemed to do the entire journey. We had to wait a while at the border, being forced to go into a duty free lounge which was strange. The bus arrived 1.5 hours early, which is usually a great thing but when it means you arrive at 5:30am rather than 7am and with 1.5 hours less sleep, it’s less fun.

Overall

Greece was a weird one, it was a time spent seeing friends and family more than travelling. I didn’t fall in love with the country, a part from Athens. I was surprised at how much I loved the food, and how varied Greek cuisine is. An absolute stand-out dish was the lamb Kleftiko. It was one of the best dishes I’ve ever eaten. I ate three in my time in Greece, and they were all quite different with one important similarity - they were full of the same amazing flavour and were truly delicious. I will definitely be attempting to cook my own version at home. I also enjoyed the hospitality in Greece, with it being common to receive a free sweet treat after a meal, or a drink, or a platter of fruit.

The time has come to head East, and with it the summer heat will end. Very luckily, my family has come out to meet me in Corfu and was able to bring me some items from home to revamp my packing from ‘European summer’ to ‘Central Asian winter’. So, as a break from the travel posts, here’s a packing update and discussion - what’s being swapped in, items I’ve used all the time and value, and ones that I’ve already ditched. This is probably quite a boring post for most, so feel free to skip. I weirdly enjoy reading dull, routine narratives so this is me indulging myself.

General items I’ve loved or hated

I have a lot of ‘useful’ items in my bag, but let’s assess how useful they’ve really been…

Very useful:

1. Two microfibre towels. Having one that’s reserved for showering only was such a good decision, as my beach/yoga mat/picnic blanket one does get very gross.
2. Headphones and earphones. Goes without saying, of course it was worthwhile to bring my big silencing headphones even if I only really use them on buses and occasionally in the evenings in hostels.
3. Sleeping bag. I really debated bringing this but the juries in and I’m glad I did. I’ve only used it a handful of times (camping on the beach, an overnight ferry, staying with friends in England before I left) but it’s been essential in those moments. I also use it as a pillow on overnight buses.
4. Uniqlo little shoulder bag. Literally use it everyday. Also get a lot of compliments on it so that’s always nice. It looks small but I’ve been able to fit a beach towel, my bikini, swimming bottle, kindle, purse, phone, earphones, lipbalm etc. all in it for a compact beach day.
5. Folding shopping bag. Has come in handy for both shopping and beach days which require more than I can fit in my small bag but less than in my rucksack.
6. Travel wash. No debate here, was always going to be washing underwear in hostel sinks and that’s exactly what I’ve been doing.
7. Reusable sandwich bag. So useful for packed lunches, or storing food items like homemade cookies! Have used it a lot.
8. Then there are the items that were never in question (multiple bank cards, padlocks, ear plugs and eye mask etc.).

Not really used but will keep for now:

1. Mini tripod. Have used it maybe twice? Turns out I’m always doing stuff with people and they’re happy to take photos of me!
2. Travel line. Used it once and lost it. Replaced it with a piece of string and not used it since. But that’s because it’s been summer so I’ve been able to leave stuff outside to dry. Although, thinking about it, I often hang up my underwear around my dorm bed and will likely continue doing that. It takes up 0 space so will keep anyway.
3. Waterproof phone cover. I don’t trust that it’s actually waterproof. Useful for boat trips though.

Sent home/gave away:

1. Cap. Cut my hair and suddenly the back of my neck was exposed to the sun, meaning a larger rimmed hat was required, but wasn’t the cap’s fault! Gave my cap to a girl in Brac, Croatia.
2. Wooly hat. Used it once in Prague but it was a bit silly to pack it. I’ve sent one parcel home so far (from Slovenia) and it was in that. It has now returned to the bag however!
3. Denim jacket. Took up too much space and was heavy, realised I wasn’t going to be wearing it for months and it wasn’t that practical when it actually gets cold. Sent home.
4. Jeans. Same as denim jacket, but knew my family could bring them back out ready for colder months.
5. Hiking shorts/trousers. Realised I could hike in my normal shorts and I didn’t enjoy wearing these casually, gave them to a charity shop in Lljubljana.

New useful items
During the last few months travelling I’ve mulled over potentially useful items to add for the next bit of the journey and three of these made the cut.

1. A filtration water bottle. It was super expensive so I took my time to decide if it was actually necessary but ultimately decided that it was. It filters any water (apart from seawater) to make it drinkable. This means when the tap water isn’t drinkable (like in South East Asia and I’m guessing central Asia too) I’ll still be able to drink it and won’t have to buy a ton of bottled water. The main reason for purchasing it is to reduce my plastic consumption in these countries, and it will likely be more convenient and will come in handy when hiking etc. too!
2. Healthy gut bacteria tablets to take daily. After the decimating effect of the stomach bug I had in Albania, my microbiome seems to need some help to recover (read: my stomach hasn’t been quite right since). Hopefully these will also help me avoid a similar situation again, or at least reduce the impact of it.
3. Immodium tablets. If the above doesn’t fight off a stomach issue in the future (I’m not too hopeful to be honest) I thought it wise to have some emergency immodium!

Capsule wardrobe update

My few items of clothing changed quite a lot from my original packing to now. After getting rid of my jeans and jacket I had space to introduce a few more summery pieces (a short skirt from a thrift shop in Lljubljana, a long skirt from a charity shop in Mostar, a dress from a boutique in Lljubljana, some more crop tops). I also got bored of items so when I saw friends in Montenegro in August I had them bring me different items and sent old ones home with them. I did the same when I saw more friends in Crete in September. (Thanks again lovely people that brought me out items!) Overall, I wished I packed ‘nicer’ clothes rather than strictly practical ones. But I also enjoyed shopping for nicer items here, and wasn’t too attached to the ones I had meaning I was okay with donating them to charity shops/hostel swap rails.

But now we’re doing a big overhaul. So here’s the new wardrobe:

Bit of a nightmare with the boots, but as always it worked out fine. Before leaving home my walking boots died and I didn’t have time to buy and break in a new pair. I decided to order a pair of casual walking boots and have my family bring them out, and hope they fit. They did fit! But they immediately broke, with one of the shoelace holders breaking off… Turns out this was easily fixed, and luckily Greece is a country where repairing things is the norm, so it was easy to track down a shoe repair shop and they made quick work of it. I also got a full refund on the boots, so all in all it worked out very well!

After having spent around three months in the Balkans I’d say I’m familiar with most of their food. It’s pastry and meat based, with a lot of stuffed vegetables. White cheese is featured heavily, even in their salads, like the shopska salad. A lot of the food remained constant - bureks always available from bakeries, little doughnuts for breakfast at anywhere serving traditional food, plain meat patties always on the menu, fig jam and ajvar always ready to be spread on bread. But something I’ve enjoyed is watching how it slightly varies between countries, with each one having its own spin on dishes. I found that Albania had region specific dishes in a way that I didn’t see in the other countries, for example I had the Berati steak in Berat, and the Himare salad in, you guessed it, Himare. Below is a collection of photos of Balkan food and an in depth look on Burek.

Burek

This is a filo pastry pie. It’s not exclusive to the Balkans, being eaten in Israel, Northern Africa and Armenia to name some others. It originated in the Ottoman empire, so spread into the Balkans with the Ottoman rule in the 14th century. In the Balkans you will find it filled with either white cheese, spinach or meat. It’s eaten for breakfast, lunch or as a snack. You can purchase one from any bakery, for around 1.50/2 EUR. It’s served with a yogurt to drink alongside. It seems to come in two styles: i) one huge pie is cooked and you can buy a slice of this, or ii) as an individual pie. I prefer the huge pie version, I felt like you got a better filling to pastry ratio that way. I definitely favoured the meat burek, with the filling reminding me of a Cornish pasty, and therefore all of the warm home feelings associated with it. The spinach comes in second for me, with the cheese being a bit too much - too salty, too dense and a bit sickly. The meat one with the yogurt to wash it down really is a high class lunch (but will leave you desperate for some fruit or vegetables). It has a lot of cultural significance and is an icon of the Balkans, but not always in a positive way. Slovenia, a country that struggles with its identity as Balkan or Western European, shunned the burek, seeing it as a symbol of the ‘undeveloped Balkans, freighted with the metageographical baggage’ of the region (quoted from the book Everyday life in the Balkans, chapter titled ‘Burek, Da!’). The burek came to Slovenia with the formation of Yugoslavia, so perhaps the dislike towards it can be understood in that context. It shows one underlying current in Yugoslavia: the friction between the more developed and less developed countries. Taking a step back from Yugoslav politics and looking at the Balkans as a whole, I feel the burek also illustrates another reoccurring theme: the struggle between nationalism and homogeneous culture. The burek is found in all of the Balkan countries, but each claims ownership of it. When I was googling recipes for burek I found them titled ‘Croatian burek’, ‘Albanian burek’, ‘Bosnian pita’ etc. Rather than embracing the shared food, and their shared history, the nations either ignore it or are angered by it. Obviously there are reasons for this, the Balkan wars were recent and there is a long history of aggression between the nations (to quote a Macedonian man “We are brothers with our neighbouring countries, not friends. That means we like to fight.”). The shared burek speaks to their shared history, which may not be pleasant to remember.

Burek is one of the foods that I’ll definitely think back to, and likely crave. But it’s the only Balkan food that I feel that way towards! My old local pub in London recently had a burek pop-up from Mystic Borek, so I was happy to learn it’s possible to get burek in London. The lady behind it doesn’t have a permanent restaurant but you can order bureks from her, or just keep an eye out for her next pop-up at https://www.mysticborek.com/ (they look insane and I absolutely will be a customer once I’m back in London).

A burek recipe to try (more for my own use when I’m back home!): https://www.all-thats-jas.com/burek-meat-pie/

The main thing I loved about Balkan food wasn’t the food itself (it really did lack vegetables and was always heavy and salty) but becoming so familiar with it. Obviously I’m not an expert, but I could pick up a menu and explain to you what the majority, if not all, of the items are. I’ve eaten the traditional breakfasts, the traditional lunches, the traditional pastries in the traditional way, and all of the traditional meals for dinner. And perhaps I’m being harsh in saying it’s all heavy and salty, it is also often delicious, warming and made with passion. It was very enjoyable to eat. But it’s not the sort of food I personally enjoy eating all of the time!

Would cook at home

1. Burek
2. Shopska salad
3. Vegetable or lamb soup/stew
4. Tavce Gravce, bean stew

Full Moon Check-in

1. Last: On the pier in Kotor.
2. Current: Having a drink at the hotel in Crete, Greece with friends from home. Louis pointed out the moon to me. It was the day after my 24th birthday.
3. Future: Somewhere in Turkey, probably in Cappadocia or in the East.

A fleeting but full visit

I didn’t want to leave Albania, and going to Athens felt almost like a chore. I was having a wonderful time bumbling around Albania and I wasn’t ready to move on yet. And the 9 hour bus journey starting at 5:30am didn’t help. Athens wasn’t somewhere that I actively wanted to visit, it was just where I was catching the ferry to Crete from. The bus was long and busy and hot. Stepping off in Athens my first impression was the smell of urine. I walked to the hostel and with each 100 metres I woke up from my bus stupor and the warmth of Athens crept in. After showering and freshening up in the hostel I felt excited to go and explore. I walked down the street to the centre, and audibly said “oh shit” as the buildings opened up into Monastiraki square, and my view was suddenly filled with the Acropolis on the rocky hill, and ancient buildings in between. It came out of nowhere and I wasn’t expecting it. It was breathtaking. Strolling around Athens I realised how different the Balkans felt to Western Europe, with Athens having the familiarity that they didn’t. The sun was starting to set and I marched up to Lycabettus Hill to watch it. I was cutting it very tight so basically had to run up the hill. I was very sweaty. Lots of people had stopped on the path before the top, which I thought was strange and did make me think it means the top must be very crowded. This assumption was right! It was humorously busy at the top, and people clapped when the sun set. I stayed up there until it started to get dark, wanting to see the Acropolis lit up. I went out for dinner alone that evening, the first time in a while! I had the most incredible beet salad, with whipped cheese and candied walnuts. When it was served to me I was immediately hit by the smell - fresh mint sprinkled across the top. The candied walnuts were so delicately flavoured. There was the rich taste of EVOO beneath the acidity of the vinegar dressing. I was working on my Balkan food blog post at the time, and it did put it in perspective a bit…

After one evening in Athens I had decided that it was somewhere I will definitely be coming back to. I can picture myself remote working from here for a week or so, soaking up the heat and the history before and after work. Not sure if that’s actually an option for me, but the idea kept me happy. People had told me that you only needed one or two nights in Athens, and that might be true if you just want to tick off the sights, but Athens seems to me to be a city that you could spend a week in without getting bored. There’s not a lot to see, but there’s a lot to experience. Because I knew I’d be coming back, I didn’t worry about seeing everything. I spent most of my time wandering around and looking everywhere. I spent 30 minutes laying on a marble bench on top of the Pnyx, soaking up the sun with a view of the Acropolis. I really didn’t rush around! I specifically decided not to enter the Acropolis or the ancient sights. It costs 30EUR (free if you’re under 25 and from an EU country, thanks again brexit…) but gives you access to all of the sights for 5 days. I didn’t have time to properly make use of this, and wasn’t in the mood to speed around them, opting to save them for my next visit. I did do the walking tour of course. It wasn’t the most history heavy tour, but I enjoyed the slow pace and friendly atmosphere the tour guide created.

Alongside the pockets of ancient history, Athens had so many beautiful cafes and restaurants. In the centre the streets were beautiful, especially just under the Acropolis. Further out the streets were ugly and filled with unassuming looking cafes, bakeries and taverns. It was down these streets, in the pouring rain, that I searched for the place serving the reportedly best greek yogurt. It came out as a block, almost like feta, drenched in honey and covered in chopped walnuts. It was utterly delicious. The yogurt itself was creamy with such a distinct bitter taste, but not overpoweringly so. The honey made it the perfect level of sweet. The walnuts added a crunch. Down a different but equally dodgy looking street, I found a falafel bar and enjoyed the best falafels I have ever eaten. Their outside perfectly crunchy, their inside soft and fluffy and heavenly spiced. And the guy gave me a plate of hummus for free! I visited a little bakery and the smell of freshly baked something with cinnamon was so welcoming. I bought a selection of biscuits for my ferry journey, and a slice of pistachio cake. All were delicious, and shockingly cheap.

I don’t know why I loved Athens so much. Maybe because I had no expectations and no idea of what it was like. I guess because I’d imagined the ancient stuff to be separate from the city, rather than embedded throughout in a fluid way. As I’m travelling I’m becoming more sure of my gut feelings, and liking Athens is one of those. It’s not very conducive to blog writing though, as it’s hard to verbalise a gut feeling. When I thought about it whilst looking over the whole city from the Pnyx, the image of the heat baking the history into the streets, warming the air from below rather than above, came to mind.

For the past few months an idea had been forming in my mind. Wild camping is legal in Albania, and I love to camp. I was feeling a bit too comfortable with the whole bus and hostel situation, and wanted a bit more of a challenge. So wouldn’t it be great to buy a tent and do some wild camping on my way through Albania to Greece? I found a rubbish little tent in Montenegro and my idea came to life!

After a night in Berat my plan was to hitchhike with another guy towards the coast and then find somewhere to camp. As I packed up my stuff ready to leave the hostel I struck up conversation with Florence and Tom, a British couple in my room. It turned out that they were driving to the coast and were planning to wild camp in the same location I was aiming for! They invited me to join them and we headed off together. We left the car at the parking spot and walked down the steep path to the beach. The beach was really nice, my first one in Albania! It was small pebbles, with crystal blue water. A tree filled canyon opened up to the beach, with there being some woodlands on the flat before the stones took over. There were a few beach bars on the edge of the trees, and lots of beach loungers and umbrellas out. Not quite the wild, isolated beach we were expecting… Just before it got dark we pitched our tents and cooked up some tuna pasta for dinner. The stars were amazing, and I used my phone’s astrophotography mode for the first time. We went for a drink at the beach bars and discovered a whole campsite in the trees! It was really cool, having a hippie commune vibe to it.

The following day I went for an explore up the canyon, and crossed paths with a Spanish man, Luis, doing the same. We ended up climbing the canyon together, navigating the ropes that were there to help. I only had my birkenstocks so I was glad for his help as he shoved me up the slippier rock faces. A way up we came to a clearing, and Luis asked if I’d like to meditate together. I was a bit taken aback, but in a very embracing mood I agreed. The experience was so balancing and refreshing, if a bit odd. We climbed a bit further before reaching “our end” and then made our way back down - slowly to avoid any injuries. We went our separate ways, thanking each other for the experience we’d just shared. It was a truly wonderful interaction.

By late afternoon we decided it was time to leave the little beach. As we drove I came up with a plan for where I’d spend that evening. Florence and Tom dropped me off in Himare and I went to a hostel where people I’d met previously were staying. I left the majority of my belongings with them, emptying my rucksack to essentials only. The sun was beginning to set at this point so I was in a hurry to get to my sleeping location and get my tent up before it got dark. I had heard about a hidden beach (Filikur beach) round the bay from Himare, only accessible by boat or a risky path with a rope. I thought it sounded like the perfect place to have a proper night of wild camping, ideally having the beach to myself. Because people had warned me that the path down was a bit hairy, when I took a wrong turn and the path became loose rocks down the cliff face I didn’t question it too much. I had to take my bag off to slide down. I would lower my bag down a little and then slide myself down after it. This worked well at first, until the drop was a bit too big and my bag slid then started to tumble and roll down the cliff, picking up speed. Without panicking I slid down quickly after it, knowing I needed to catch up to it. This worked out fine, but left me covered in dirt and with pretty cut up legs and a cut up bum, oops! At this point I saw a man coming up from the beach, and shouted to him if this was the best way down. He exclaimed that I was not on the path! I laughed and asked for his help to rejoin the path. The guy seemed a bit freaked out. The rest of the way down was easy in comparison, it was very steep and bare rock, but the rope meant you could abseil down safely. There was one last couple left on the beach. I found a slightly less pebbley spot to set up my tent (I hadn’t bothered to buy a sleeping mat…). As I did so a boat arrived to pick up the last couple, and they waved me off energetically. I waved back, imagining their view of me - a little girl becoming a dot on the beach, setting up her tent. Their excitement added to my own. Once I’d finished setting up I stripped down naked and swam, washing off all of the dirt from sliding down the cliff and letting the salt help my cuts. I’d already laid out my plethora of food available for dinner - I hadn’t had time to get anything substantial to eat so it was crackers with peanut butter and marmite, a peach and some remaining oat biscuits. I ate sat naked in the entrance to my tent. I felt like I was the only person in the world. I watched the last light go. As it got dark I retreated inside the tent. I watched the lightning on the horizon anxiously, and listened to the thunder with bated breath. Hoping it wouldn’t rain on me tonight, as there was no way my tent was waterproof. The less fun side was the reality of having to sleep alone on a beach… I psyched myself out, with every rock falling from the cliff being someone coming to break into my tent. The ground was extremely uncomfortable, with the jumper under my shoulder blades and a pair of shorts under my hips doing little to soften it. It was clammy and hot, with the layers of salt and sweat on my skin being as uncomfortable as the ground. Weird sand hopper insects had snuck into my tent and would randomly land on me, with one jumping up my nostril at one point. Unsurprisingly, this was not the recipe for a good night’s sleep and I slept poorly. But this lifted the entire experience, making it more real, more memorable and honestly better. At 7am I got up. I sat and took in my view. It really was amazing. In my bikini I ate my banana, feeling like a true beach urchin and loving it. I had one last homemade oat biscuit leftover from the batch I made before leaving Kotor. I nibbled at it, my lips brushing my finger tips occasionally and getting a taste of salt from them. Once I’d swam, and with the first people arriving to the beach, I felt much safer and was able to sleep for a few more hours. In the early afternoon I packed up my tent and climbed back up the cliff, using the rope and following the path this time. I hadn’t showered in a few days; my hair was crunchy with salt; my skin was sticky; I hadn’t had a proper meal in days; my whole body ached from sleeping on the stones and I couldn’t lift my arms above shoulder height; and I was covered in cuts. I was truly elated. It had been amazing. I bought a cold sprite from the shop and had a long shower at the hostel.

I left my tent behind as I left Albania. It had served me well, even just for two nights. I am so happy I made my camping dream happen.

I visited Albania three times in total: once with Rosaline where we spent a few days in Shkoder and Tirana; once to do the Valbone - Theth hike; and then two weeks travelling around the South. If I were to have written this post after my first visit, my review of Albania would have been lukewarm. We had an enjoyable time in Shkoder, playing cards in a bird watching hide looking over the lake. But beyond that, it wasn’t the most pleasant experience. I was eaten alive by insects by the lake. Our visit to Lumi i Shales (a beautiful river area) was fun but it was so strange with lots of weird restaurants and there was a lot of litter, and the organisation of the buses was carnage. I convinced myself we were being trafficked whilst on the bus from Shkoder to Tirana. The museums in Tirana were abysmal, featuring English translations so poor that Rosaline and I would finish reading them and give each other a look that said “do have any understanding of what that said?” (I’ve included my favourite one below). We were met with bad, almost rude, service at every restaurant. The taxi drivers at the bus station were aggressive. Tirana itself gave me the most bad vibes of any city I’ve visited. The angry red and black flag of Albania hung from flag poles every 10 metres down the main street in a war-like fashion. The buildings were ugly. The only saving grace was the walking tour we did, which was one of my favourite ones so far. I had no idea about Albanian history and it’s now the one I’m most interested in, especially their communist period. My reading list is filled with Albanian history books! My favourite titbits are the fact that Albania fell out with both the Soviet Union and China for them not being “communist enough”, and the crazy ponzi schemes that occurred after communism fell in the 1990s. My second visit to Albania was amazing, and is covered in the post about the Valbone - Theth hike. But this was because of the hike, and not really because of Albania in a more full sense. Now my third visit, that was quite a different story.

I visited the medieval towns of Berat and Gjirokaster. Berat was fine, nothing much to see. Gjirokaster was wonderful. The castle and the old houses were brilliantly done, with plentiful information boards in good English and even an included tour at the house. There was a festival taking place at the castle in the evenings, with live music. I’ve been lucky enough to see quite a lot of live music over my trip, but the band on the first night was the best so far. Who knew Albanian indie rock would be so good! One evening a group of us walked over to Ali Pasha’s bridge and we witnessed a very rural sight. We came round the corner and suddenly we had a view of the valley and the impressive, old, stone bridge branching across it. We made our way down to the bridge, walking across carefully and sitting on the other side. We chatted and just observed the surroundings. Slowly, we saw the farmers bringing in their animals from the hillside. First was a solitary donkey. Then some sheep on the opposite side of the valley. And finally, from the hill behind us, a herd of goats! We watched as they crossed the bridge. It was really beautiful.

Over the past few months I’d been banking lots of reviews about places along the Albanian coast, and subconsciously forming an opinion of which sounded best. This resulted in me only visiting Himare, and skipping the more famous towns of Sarande and Ksamil. Himare was so peaceful and I really loved it. Mainly because of the hostel. It was my favourite hostel so far (Sun Bakers if anyone is wanting to go!). I can’t explain why I loved it so much, I just did. I gave me such feelings of warmth and comfort, a real home away from home. Maybe because I was with people I’d spent the last week with - friends I’d originally made in Kotor or met in previous places in Albania. Maybe because I allowed myself to properly relax here. Maybe because the french toast at breakfast was so good. The only activity I did was hire kayaks with a few others. We were aiming for a little beach around the headland but found a small cove on the way and spent a few hours here. Our very own private beach. Complete with a cave and high rocks perfect for climbing.

Albania and I have been on a journey. At the moment I’m still not sure of my opinion. But I definitely look upon it fondly, and I find myself talking about my time there a lot so it definitely made an impression. It’s not my favourite country - still Slovenia - but it is a country that takes up a lot of space in my head. Its history is insane. Its current state remains pretty insane, as I learnt from my discussion with an Albanian girl on the bus, including her own mafia ties… Its mountains are beautiful, but the mountain towns are strange. The coast is beautiful in places, but tacky and ugly in others. It is very very cheap. My time there was fun and odd. I don’t think I’d go back. Not because I don’t recommend it, but because I don’t want to tarnish the experience I had there. I think it will change a lot in the coming years, with tourism increasing, and I’d like to remember it as the strange, wacky county I experienced.