Week 6 – Up, up and away

Turkey: Cappadocia – Ankara – Black Sea

This week started with the gearbox problem on our minds. A quick inspection made it clear that it was a bigger problem and definitely coming from inside the gearbox housing. Through the ADAC we were able to arrange transport to a mechanic. A local contact had recommended him as someone who didn't charge tourist prices – which later turned out to be true.

At the garage I tried to explain what the problem might be. With the help of our guide from Ankara – who also works as a technical translator – we managed to explain it, as he could translate everything over the phone. The bus had to stay at the garage overnight. At that point I was expecting at least three days in the workshop.

We looked for a hotel and, through a friend of the guide from Ankara, got a very good deal in a cave hotel. In Cappadocia there are still houses and flats carved into the soft sandstone. We also ticked off the typical tourist attractions: a traditional Turkish dance show, a quad tour and a balloon ride.

Cappadocia is famous for its many hot-air balloons, which rise into the sky several times a day and, together with the beautiful landscape, make for a surreal picture. Up to 175 balloons can take off at once. We were lucky enough to get the first day in five on which balloon flights were possible again, as the previous days had been too windy or rainy.

The day after we dropped the bus off at the garage, the news came: the problem in the gearbox was a completely worn-out clutch. The clutch was 5,000 km old at the time, so I think the off-road action in Albania and the beach drive once again contributed a lot to this enormous wear.

We were able to collect the bus with a new clutch on the evening after the day we'd dropped it off. A taxi driver who spoke English, whom we'd met the day before, helped us with translating and negotiating the price. By German standards the price and the work were extremely fair – the cost of materials was almost the same as the labour.

So we spent the next night in the bus again, surrounded by the first snow of the trip. We found a remote spot on a plateau, surrounded by nothing but hills and snow.

On the fourth Sunday of Advent we drove back to Ankara to continue our trip from there and to buy parts for the bus that the garage owner had recommended. We also met a Swiss couple there whom we'd got to know through the Iran visa saga.

The plan so far is still: enter Iran > ferry from Bandar Abbas to Dubai > ship the vehicle to Mumbai.

My plan was to enter Iran from Armenia rather than from Turkey as first planned. There are two reasons: first, the two border crossings in Armenia are less busy, so not as chaotic and crowded as the Turkish ones; and second, I wanted to use the opportunity in Armenia to protect myself against the advancing Omicron variant.

Armenia borders Turkey physically, but because of political differences there hasn't been an open border crossing for several decades. So you have to enter either via Azerbaijan or via Georgia. Entering via Georgia is easier because it's visa-free, so that's now our provisional destination.

When a garage owner in Ankara asked how we were going to handle the snow in Georgia, I had no answer yet – and no idea what he meant or what lay ahead of us 😀

On the recommendation of the garage in Cappadocia we bought a starter motor, since the current one apparently wasn't in great shape any more … We also bought snow chains.

Looking for the right wheel bearings for the front axle, we had another lovely experience: the right wheel sometimes squeaked a little, which pointed to the brake or a worn wheel bearing. In search of the right kit we came to a shop that sold only VAG parts. The owner, who mainly sells online, took us under his wing. When he couldn't find the right parts in any of his databases, he drove us to various bearing shops (ball bearings, tapered roller bearings, needle bearings and so on) and so helped us enormously in finding the right bearing. Afterwards he even invited us to lunch. As it turned out later, the occasional squeak came from the brake, not the bearing – but better to have it and not need it.

Despite the language barrier, we met with a lot of warmth, helpfulness and hospitality.

From Ankara we drove north to the Black Sea coast. There were now three of us, as during our first stay in Ankara I'd met someone who wanted to come along to Georgia. The coastal city of Samsun was our first stop by the sea.

We carried on along the coast in sleet and stopped for a while in the big city of Trabzon. There we had to organise a PCR test, as one is required for entering Georgia even if you're fully vaccinated. While waiting for the result, we visited the Sümela Monastery south of the city. Unfortunately it was closed for restoration work.

We spent our last night in Turkey near the Georgian border. We were allowed to park at a restaurant and use its facilities. The owner even offered to let us stay another night – in the adjoining hotel rooms, for free. Unfortunately we wanted to cross the border the next morning. Communication along the coast was smoother and easier thanks to our travel companion, whose native language was Turkish.

We'll probably spend Christmas in the Georgian capital, Tbilisi. In Georgia and Armenia, though, Christmas isn't celebrated until 6 and 7 January.

So far there's been no Christmas spirit, since the holiday naturally isn't a big deal in Turkey. The next stage is a seven-hour drive straight to Tbilisi, where we've rented a flat.

Journey from Germany to Nepal - VW T3 - Week 6 - Cappadocia - Black SeaWatch the video on YouTube

The workshop is wherever you park.

Another week of small repairs on the bus.