We all walk back to the cafe and I discover I have a puncture in the front wheel.
I fix this while the other two set up shop for the day. By the time I've got the puncture fixed about an hour later (there are many distractions) it's reached 27 degrees. Three cheeky school girls walk past and spy a stranger and immediately guess that I am English. I think they are 10 years old. They try out some English on me, which I try to help with. When they get stuck they reach for their text books and try out some other phrases. I think it has to be one of the highlights of the trip. I don't know if I can think of any other lesson where kids might get out their school work and say, oh hello! Let's try out what we learnt at school today in a real world situation. Yes that's a fantastic idea do you have the book???? They were so confident and so cheeky it put a massive smile on my face all day. This also reminds me that Turkey is the first place I have seen kids wearing school uniform since England. A combination of circumstances, place, education facilities and school holidays are probably the reason for this. It's a bit of a reality check as it reminds me of normal life back home. I manage to tear myself away from Havsa just before 12, my admirer makes an appearance so I think this is a good idea. On the road I am accosted by three old men who I resist but I'm had by a 4th man on a motorbike in a pincer movement. This results in much eating of various melons, because the melon man had arrived. One man couldn't stand up, another couldn't see and Tarzan, the owner of Tarzan's restaurant has one leg, or half of one leg, I can't quite tell.
Melons tested I head for Baba Eski and find a locals' eatery. I test the kofte and vanilla pudding and head out of town . 5pm finds me in Lulebargas and whilst I debate the price of figs here compared to Edirne with a greengrocer, an elder gentleman introduces himself and declares he has visited Reading. Put on my guard by the higher fig prices I instantly take him as some sort of cad and when he asks me where I am sleeping tonight I think he is angling for his brother's hotel,ncarpet shop, fez boutique etc. I couldn't have been more wrong for Gengis offers me a guided tour of the market. He gets his bicycle and I follow him closely, negotiating the busy streets. We find somewhere safe to park the bikes and we walk around the market with him answering all my questions about the various products. When we return to the bikes I buy some yoghurt and am duly furnished with some free bread to boot. I say goolay goolay to Genghis and his rather cool bike: a Bianchi with a double top tube and a rear centre stand and head out of town for Chorlu. It's just starting to get a little bit dark and I'm joined by a spotty yute at my side. After a few unsuccessful attempts at finding a shop that sells beer he points me in the right direction. His name is Cesar and he is so helpful. He rides with me to the edge of town before heading back. He teaches me to ignore the traffic lights. Not far out of town I find a little track heading off into the fields and follow it. As I get out of sight and sound of the road the track winds towards some derelict buildings. A car comes out from behind them and says meharba in a (are you lost) kind of tone. He has slots from his bee hives on the back seat. I acknowledge the bees with the worldwide recognised bee sound of buzz buzz and he nods and then points to the buildings and says buzz buzz. So I camp under a tree instead. Hopefully the stubble in the fields I can see burning in the distance wont burn this far and I will see the morning. I take all the bags off the bike and realise I have beer, yoghurt and dinner but no water. I leave all the bags where they are and drive back up the track to the road. I go the wrong way up the hard shoulder for a bit until I reach a university halls. I ask if I can get some water and the guard directs me to the canteen but I have to leave the bike. I chat to some students who guide me in to the kitchen to fill up my bottles. Some students are comparing their soft drinks and chinking their bottles. I think to myself that surely students who don't drink alcohol must do better at uni. If not, why not? I get back to where I put the bags and you can guess what's happened can't you? Yep nothing. Still all there.
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