After leaving Istanbul, we headed to a town whose name I could never spell, and now can't remember, for some camping by the black sea. The campsite was really nice, and people's tents looked out from the shore lines towards the lovely black sea. This was our first stop that myself and Rachel decided to just lounge around the campsite for our stay. We stayed for two nights, and on the full day there, I headed off for a bit of kayaking along the coast line with Rich and Dennis. While i did remember to bring sunglasses, I didnt remember to bring sun screen - and I got toasted! We got back before lunch, and spent the rest of the day just relaxing by the sea and availing of the free wifi to keep our mails and facebooks updated.

Our next stop was the Capadoccia region of Turkey, and we stayed near a little town called Goreme. Our first day here included a guided tour of the whole area, where we visited; underground villages, fairy chimneys, monestries, a place called imagination valley, and a local pottery shop. The whole of Turkey has been a highlight so far, and the Capadoccia region in particular has some of the most incredible scenery we've seen on the road over the past month. For our last day in Goreme, myself John and Rich rented scooters for the day, and went touring around all the Capadoccian villages while taking in the gorges and valleys one last time before we left.

From Goreme, it was a big drive to a bushcamp somewhere in the middle of Turkey. We pulled into a place just off the road in a massive valley surrounded by some snowcapped mountains and a scenic lake. This turned out to be a bad move at first, as the truck managed to beach itself in some soft mud! While some of the guys got the shovels and truck jacks out, some more of us walked town the road to find a local JCB hard at work, and a driver willing to help us pull the truck out! When Tim got the truck back on the road, we managed to enjoy a fantastic dinner. The dinner was a interrupted half way through by the Turkish army. We saw their van coming down the road, and as soon as they stopped, about 6 men jumped from the back of it while shining massive spot lights on us! It was quite intimidating to see silhouettes of men carrying massive machine guns, but they were just investigating what we were up to. They even offered us to stay at their base for the night if we wanted to!

It was another long drive from the buschcamp to our current location, which is just down the road from the incredible Sumela monastery.

We visited the monastery today, which is one of the most amazing places I've ever seen. The monastery is located about 1000 feet high on a cliff face, and after the 20 minute trek up to it, you are rewarded with fantastic views of the surrounding mountains and valley below.

This is our last night in Turkey, and to be honest, we'll be very sorry to leave it behind. It's hard to pick a highlight from the past 2 weeks, but we both agreed this will be our first holiday destination after this whole trip is over. The friendly culture of the people, the kebabs, the tea, the scenery and the history of each town we visted have only whetted out appetites to come back to Turkey real soon!

Tomorrow we cross another border, this time into Georgia. Our first port of call is Batumi (i think), and we are heading out for a traditional Georgian evening. We're all quite excited about our hostel accommodation too, which is an old docked ship, converted into rooms to accommodate trucks of people like ourselves!

Internet is already becoming less available, and slow! So we're unsure when the next update will be. We'll try get more pics up soon - so until then, Hosh cha kaluhn!

We're sorry about the delay in getting our blog updated! To be honest, it's cus we're lazy :-)

Anyway - since Cologne, we've seen so much! Our next stop was in Prague, for 2 nights. We've spent the day touring around the city, and despite the miserable wet weather we had for the day, it was such a pretty city. My personal highlight was the first goulash of the trip, which we had for lunch - followed by apple strudel (that had no apple and was more of a pancake!)

After Prague it was onto Budapest. We stayed in an amazing camp site here, which was an old tram station / winter ski resort. We camped in a little forrest, where everyone had their own little area. After a bit of cite seeing around the city for the morning and afternoon, I treated myself (along with Robin, Amy, Monica, Dave, Jenny & Emma) to a massage and a turkish bath! In comparison to the hard work with all the camping of the previous 2 weeks, lounging around in warm baths followed by several dips in the freezing plunge pool really regenerated myself!

From Hungary, it was onto Romania. Romania was the first *sort of* culture shock of the trip. As soon as we crossed the border, the difference in standards of living was so apparent. Romania has some of the most beautiful scenery we have seen, but the whole country is ruined with litter. It's such a shame, but every single time you look out the window of the truck, the most amazing mountainous backdrops were spoiled by plastic bottles and other litter. Our first night in Romania was our first bush camp, where we found a place off a dirt track to set up for the night. The local farmer and his sons were very friendly, and a few of us worked up an appetite before dinner by playing football with some local kids who showed up to see what we (in a big blue truck!) were all about. We spent three nights in Bucharest - and the main highlight here was on the last day, where we had a traditional Romanian dinner in a fancy restaurant (recommended by Tim and Cheryl).

After Romania, we had one more bush camp in Bulgaria, before crossing the border into Turkey, and onto Istanbul (where we are now). The border crossing was slow, and took 3 hours in total - but once we were on our way, it was a short 2.5 hour drive onto Istanbul. We're staying in a hotel here, and spent the time y'day exploring the surrounding areas. We're in a fantastic place to see the main highlights of the city. From where we are staying, the Blue Mosque and Ayia Sofia temple are only 3 minute walks away. Istanbul is our highlight so far - the food (huge kebabs!), the people (so friendly) and the buildings (so beautiful) make this one of our favourite places we've ever visited. Today we're going to do a bit more sight seeing, and then onto the Grand Bazaar for a bit of haggling on some jewelry for Rachel and her mom. We'll do our best to keep the blog up to date on a more regular basis! I'm adding some photo's as we speak - so check them out if you get the chance!

We leave Istanbul tomorrow morning, and we'll be bush camping around the shores of the black sea for a few days before heading to Goreme for a few more nights!

Chat soon :-)

We arrived in Cologne around lunch time on Monday and began the now familiar routine of setting up camp. After a bit of lunch we set out to explore the town. The main attraction was a large cathedral in the centre of the city. We also passed a chocolate museum and a bike rally on our way in. After a long day walking around the town we stopped for a drink in a little cafe. This cafe happened to have a little gem of its own which hasn't yet made it into any of the guide books but i feel should at least get a mention in this blog. These are the toilets. Now these are not just any toilets. If there was a list of the best toilets in the world, these ones would certainly be in the top ten. The cubicle doors were made from clear glass which frosted over when locked, the hand basins dispensed water from little fountains, and they even had hand bags on display in the ladies! We spent about 30 minutes taking turns going to see the amazing toilets before leaving the cafe.

That evening we went for a group dinner in a little restaurant called Sion Bauhaus. This place sells sausage by the foot, you can get a meter long sausage to share between two if so inclined. The big challenge for us was to eat and finish a pork knuckle. I believe Dennis was the only one who managed it? After we finished everyone was given a painted egg for Easter Monday. Another German tradition i think.

Next stop is Bamberg and we have two nights there, so we are all very excited about not having to pack up our tents in the morning

We left London on time on Sunday morning, getting to the ferry in Dover in just over 2 hours (the truck can fairly move!). From Calais, it was a quick 2.5 hour drive to the first campsite. Our first night in a tent.

It was surprisingly comfortable and civilised. The tents go up and down easily - and the odyssey crew whipped up a meal (with soup to start!) in minutes. We spent most of the evening settling ourselves in, and after dinner, and washing up, a few of us went for a stroll through the town of Tournai. There isnt much to report here but a nice Cathedral, which was undergoing some renovation work.

When we arrived at the truck y'day, there was a printed list down the back which explained our assigned positions of responsibility for the trip. I've been posted, with 3 others, to unmount and mount everyone's equipment when we arrive and depart from our sites. This is harder than it sounds! It was a huge workout this morning to carry everyone's bags (and the girl's bags weigh so much!) onto the truck. Now, as great as my role may sound, Rachel's is in a whole other league of greatness! Rachel's new title is "Truck Walla" - this role, as the name suggests, is one of massive responsibility. She has been tasked with keeping affairs on the truck in order - as we speak she is collecting information from each of us on our travel insurance! Other roles include keeping the truck expenses up to date! There are loads of other things as well that a "Walla" must perform - and these will all become clear as the trip progresses!

When we came back to camp, it was time for bed, and getting ready for bed in a small confined space was tough work - but with the early start in London, we fell asleep very quickly. I woke a couple of times - and got very cold at one point, but putting an extra layer on solved that problem.

At the moment, I'm sitting on the truck on route to Cologne. There is some funky easy listening jazz music on the sound system from Debbie's iPod. First impression's of the truck were worrying - and I'd be lying if i said I wasn't having doubts about crossing the world in it! But having spent a few hours in it already, it is quite comfortable. There's plenty of space for everyone's stuff. There is a library, and even a fully functional cold bar!

We had an early start today (up at 6:30 to shower + have breakfast + pack up the camp) and were on the road before 8. After getting on the truck this morning, it was probably the first time myself and Rachel could sit back and relax since the trip started! We're just after pulling out of a filling station - and are looking out the windows at the green fields of Belgium. We're still waiting to see a sign for Australia, but we trust that Tim and Cheryl (called the crew from here on in) know where they are going. So, next stop Cologne. We've got the afternoon and tonight to explore the city center, and tonight we are going for our first group meal out - it's some restaurant where you can order sausage by the foot! We'll be getting the first of the pictures up soon!

Chat soon :-)

I've just gone through the backpack for the last time, in an effort to decrease it's weight, but to no avail. I think it's time to go to bed, and worry about everything else from here on in as it happens (for those who know me well, you know that'll be a challenge).

I'm not long off the phone with Rachel, who is also trying to get her last night sleep in her own bed. We're quite apprehensive about everything, and at this stage just want to get going so we can settle into life on the road. The past few weeks have been pretty hectic for us both - I've very recently submitted the Masters in UCD (whipee!), and Rachel has only had a week off since work to get everything sorted for departure in the morning. On top of all this, we had the big scare with Ed's mum, but thankfully she pulled through her operation y'day and is on the road (which will be quite rocky I'm sure) to a full recovery :-) Thankfully she's a tough cookie (Ed's own words).

I think it's time to introduce Steve and Curly, who will be accompanying myself and Rachel on the trip, as our mascots. Steve (on the left) was named by Fran, and Curly is hopefully gona earn us some pigsback points as he makes an appearances in all things interesting between here and Australia.

So, as the countdown approaches zero, I'm getting into my bed for the last time for quite a while. This time tomorrow we'll have met our fellow travelers, and this time two days we'll have setup camp for the first time! Wish us luck, and see you all later on in the year

Ciao!