After Sinop the steep winding road stretches out into a busy flat highway that runs all the way along the coast to Trabzon. Both Chris and Dave had picked up a bug and were not feeling 100%, but we still managed to make good progress eastwards due to the relatively smooth road and the longer days. It is now light until 7pm which means that we can afford to take more rest stops and enjoy longer lunches, although Turkish people are so generous in their offers of chay that if we accepted them all we would never get anywhere. Having met a journalist in Sinop we were greatly amused the following day when a bus driver hopped out at some traffic lights and handed us the paper with our photo on the back cover. Since then the article has been produced regularly to help explain what we are doing, most notably to the local police who discovered our camping spot in the middle of the night!

We seem to have developed a strange obsession with Turkish petrol stations, which always provide us with friendly encounters and a clean toilet. At one such station we were beckoned over by a guy called Ramaz who was in the process of driving from Germany to his home country of Georgia. He opened up the boot of his car and produced a pile of food that he forced us to eat, and when we failed to finish he insisted on us taking it all with us for our lunch.

The total eclipse had never been a factor in the planning of the route and timings but we somehow happened to be in the right place at the right time to witness this rare event. We cruised into the quaint town of Giresun where we were greeted by crowds of people who were climbing up to the fort that overlooks the town. Words can't really describe what an amazing experience it was; if you haven't seen one before make sure that you put it on your to do list! Natural phenomenon over, the Chinacycle phenomenon once more became the focus of attention. We were surrounded by at least thirty school children and students all keen to practice their English and ask us questions. We hung around for hours chatting and enjoying making school girls giggle, although we sadly had to turn down the offer of being the subject of a class 'show and tell' the following day!

We have just returned from a trip up to the 13th century Sumela monastery that is perched halfway up an enormous cliff face and surrounded by deep pine forests. The climb up to it makes you appreciate the effort involved in constructing such a magnificent building without the aid of modern machinery. Unfortunately the monks obviously did not choose a remote enough spot because some of the fine frescoes have been ruined by vandals scratching their names in the chapel walls. Culture over, we are now having a rest day in the bustling town of Trabzon where we are trying to avoid spending too much time in our hotel (for fear of infestation) before heading into the mountains.