Day 6 Erzurum and Raging Rivers

Day 6 June 2, 2007

Erzurum-Yusefeli

This was the first day were we didn’t have to get up at the crack of dawn to catch a bus somewhere so we slept in until about 8:00. We then tried to successfully operate the shower which managed to get every surface in the bathroom soaked while the person who needed cleaning stayed dry. Amazing really. We also switched on the T.V. to see if we could decipher any of the Turkish news. We were astounded to find out (we think, at least-our Turkish not being so stellar!) that the night before 4 people had died in a terrorist bombing in Bingoel!!! Glad we got out of there in one piece!!
We checked out of the hotel and found out when the buses to Yusieeli were leaving that afternoon. We had some time so we walked around town a bit looking for breakfast- especially egg dishes of sorts. After being directed to 4 or 5 different cafes-none of which had eggs but many had soups (soup seemed to be the breakfast dish of choice in Erzurum) we finally found a fast-food type place that had pizza and burgers and breakfast. So Mike got a pizza and I had a breakfast menu- and then we found out that the DID serve eggs so Mike got his eggs as well.
After stuffing our faces- it had been a while since our last real meal- we set about walking around Erzurum. We went up to yet another fortress; this one had a clock tower. We admired the views and came down as a thunderstorm was rolling in. Then we walked around the Jewelry market and then decided to look for the ticket office for the bus.
We arrived around 12:30 and were happy to find out that a bus was leaving at 1:00. We got our ticket and made it to the station on time.
Curious as to the route we would be taking I dug around for the map we had purchased the day before and low and behold I had lost this one, too. Probably I left it in our hotel room. Traveling blind yet again- we headed to Yusefeli. Luckily we already knew where we wanted to stay.
The ride to Yusefeli was the prettiest ride we took in Turkey. We rode along roaring rivers and amazing rock formations and through narrow mountain passes, getting more and more excited about the prospects of whitewater rafting which was to be the next day’s adventure! We arrived in Yusefeli around 5:00. We first needed to find out when buses were leaving for Hopa the next day. Unfortunately the only direct bus was at 9:00 AM. This could put a damper on our rafting plans! We figured before we made a decision we would find our place to stay and inquire about rafting. Also in town we found three guys from Israel hoping to do some trekking in the mountains. One of them spoke pretty good English and none of them spoke Turkish so we banded together to find our lodging for the night.
We had read that one of the rafting headquarters also had a camping/pension with tree houses. A bit out of town and directly on the banks of the raging river we found Green Piece (yes that is how it is spelled!!) campground. We talked to the proprietor- a really friendly gentleman-who spoke great English- well the best we’d heard the whole trip. Unfortunately we found out that the water was TOO high for rafting. He was willing to take professionals but not amateurs. We were a bit disappointed but our hearts were not set on it. We had figured it would be a long shot. And now we could make the 9:00 bus the next morning and get to Georgia the next day in time to catch the night train to Tbilisi.
Once the rafting issue was settled we pondered our lodging options; a room or a tree house? We took the tree house even though the owner said it could be chilly. It was just too much of a novelty to pass up!
We settled our things in our little home amongst the leaves and walked back into town. We looked for postcards and then checked our email and decided to go back to the campground for dinner as the other options in town didn’t look so appealing. We took a walk past the campground on the road that went along the river. It became very clear why we weren’t going to raft the next day. The water had washed out parts of the road and the rapids were relentless. We saw large trees being churned up in the rocks. Not a fun place to be if you happened to fall out of your raft!. Back at the campground we had a nice dinner and settled into our tree house. Unfortunately we choose the one next to the street light so it was bright as day for most of the night. And the whole structure was a little wobbly so anyone tossing and turning in their sleep simulated small earthquakes. Needless to say I did not get much sleep. But it was still really cool.