Bandirma to Istanbul. We've come full circle.

Today's the day we caught the fast cat ferry from Bandirma to Istanbul. We left the hotel around 9am and headed down to the harbour for the 30 minute wait.  Once the ferry arrived it wasn't long before the cars and incoming passengers had alighted and we were allowed to go on board. We loaded the bikes onto the ferry and went upstairs and took a seat on the lounges. When I looked around the ferry there was only about 50 people on board a ferry with a capacity of over 1000 tourists.

I was really excited for the day to come around.  Not wishing for the tour to end, but to come full circle on a tour that started 4 months ago, riding 5700kms, and carrying 45kgs of gear.

The photo above is Len and Peter waiting at the Bandirma harbour this morning waiting for the ferry to arrive.

 The photo above is inside the ship with the bikes tied up for the 2 hour journey to Istanbul.

The above photo was taken of Peter and Len during the ferry ride today. I think the boys were a little tired today after a couple of drinks last night.

After  2 hours the ferry pulled into the Istanbul harbour, and all we had to do now was get our bikes off the ship, and ride up to the Blue Mosque.  We ride along with all the traffic and then started the climb up through the back lane where we reached the  Hippodrome. From the Hippodrome I knew we were really close and I could see the minarets of the Blue Mosque just up ahead.

As we peddled to the end of the Hippodrome, it was a sharp right and we were HOME.  It was such an awesome feeling to have achieved what we had set out to do so long ago. In total we rode through 14 countries, climbed over 50,000 metres and never had 1 flat tyre. Our bikes held up and never let us down.

The photo above is the route we took on this tour.

When we reached the 'Blue Mosque' it was time for the photographs.  I love these photographs at the end, it really symbolizes what this whole trip was all about.

 The photo above is myself at the finish line, Blue Mosque, Istanbul, Turkey.

The photo above is Peter and I with the world famous Australian flag that travelled with us for the past 4 months. We stayed for a while taking more photos and then we all made our way back to the Surahan Hotel where we'll be staying for the next 2 nights before we fly home on Tuesday afternoon.

When we got to the hotel we were given a fantastic room with a nice garden out the front and plenty of room for us to pull our bikes down.  We had to dismantle our bikes and put them back into the boxes we brought with us.  We had arranged for the Marmara Guesthouse to look after the boxes whilst out riding, and to send them to their sister hotel, Surahan Hotel for us to pick up upon our arrival.  The boxes were at the hotel, so now it was time to start cleaning and dismantling the bikes.

I gave mine a quick clean and put it into the bicycle box and used a heap of bubble wrap to ensure it didn't suffer any damage during the flight. After having caught the ferry, riding to the Blue Mosque for photos, finding our new accommodation, pulling down and packing away our bikes, finally it was time for a shower and shave. I think I was developing an odor.

By the time everyone had worked on their bikes and cleaned up it was time to eat.  We found a restaurant around the corner and had a meal which was pretty good but the service was terrible.  We still had plenty of time to head back up the Blue Mosque and walk around the city of Istanbul. This place was full of tourists in the peak holiday time 4 months ago, and nothing had changed today, plenty of tourists everywhere.

We did have a look at a couple of shops, but it's tomorrow I do my shopping.  Not sure what I'll buy, but I'm sure it will be fun doing it.  Back to the hotel for a relaxing evening and reminiscing on a marvellous achievement by all of us.

The tour is not over yet, we may have finished the riding but we still have some things to do before we get on that plane at 1.30pm Tuesday 15 October 2013.

Until tomorrow, safe riding.