When we awoke it felt chilly. The fire in the wood burning stove was just embers. Drawing the curtains we could only just see the water's edge. A heavy mist had come down during the night. Furthermore the solar water heating system had not worked very well and a warm shower was out of the question.

We were the first at breakfast, the extended family turning up in dribs and drabs. Turkish breakfast is always substantial but this one was more than we could eat. As well as fried eggs, cheese, bread, local honey and olives we were treated to gözleme, local herby pancakes.

The mist showed no sign of clearing and we left with our lights on. The lake is only just above sea level in a large depression. The sun did not start to burn through until we had climbed out of the bowl. On the way we passed through a disreputable looking village where tourists turn off. They go into the countryside here to experience "real" Turkish village life at Herakleia. The stench in the village where people were eating and drinking at the cafés was really unpleasant and so untypical of this country. We held our noses and pressed on as quickly as we could pedal.

Speaking of unpleasantnesses we also need to mention the road kill here. We have seen two wild boar dead on the side of the road. They were large animals with very dangerous looking fangs. In many poor countries they would have become meat. Here of course Muslims do not eat pig meat so they rot away in the sun.

At the top of the bowl we passed out into the rest of the world via a shortish unlit tunnel. As we descended in the sunshine we came across the ruins of Euromos. This was a very important Roman city and has one of the best preserved temples in Turkey. There was no one at the pay desk and only one other couple turned up while we were there. We spent a very pleasant time exploring and having our picnic lunch in the sun.

Milas is a big town and we had difficulty finding the hotel quarter. This was solved eventually by the stoker going off and exploring on foot. The management found a sunny spot to park the tandem and await a text from the stoker with directions.

Days 50 and 51 Thursday and Friday 17th and 18th January Milas to Akyaka via Yatagan

The original route for these two days involved too many risks for us. It involved a nice quiet ride to the coast. That bit would have been easy and pleasant. Then the next day either an off road route along the coast and cliffs or some serious minor road climbing, both around 50km long with no accommodation or back up buses along the way. We had not brought emergency camping equipment on this trip.

We got to the cross roads out of Milas town before making the final decision. What tipped it was the fact that we have not been able to buy detailed maps. The other thing is that the management's cold is nearly better and he felt he could manage two straight days of climbing providing he had somewhere comfortable to sleep afterwards.

We climbed over 600 metres through beautiful mountain scenery. Unfortunately the main road is narrow and without a hard shoulder. It is not all that busy but traffic here is not what it is in the UK. Most of the vehicles are commercial and a good number elderly and decrepit.

Many lorries can only climb in their crawler gears and descend with engine braking. Cyclists and just about every one else, including donkey and horse riders, pedestrians and stray dogs are expected to get out of the way.

White van man behaves the same the world over. We have a friend who claims they are specially bred gnomes with a death wish. Then there is the occasional relative of Saddam Hussein going at warp speed in a Mercedes with blacked out windows. There is no room for error and we needed to be very careful.

Having completed the first big climb we descended a couple of hundred metres in a few kms and and found a useful but boring motel for the night. It gave us a chance to dry our cycling clothes as we had an hour or so of rain today.

We cycled on some way in the early morning mist before finding a café for breakfast. According to the guide books Turks enjoy their very adequate breakfasts and, like Hobbits, sometimes have two. In this neck of the woods they would have to cycle a long way to find two breakfast cafés open.

In the morning the views were not wonderful. It was safe and easy to climb on a dual carriageway which was not all that busy. We eventually went over a ridge at 670 metres and thought we had cracked it. No such luck, we had reached Mugla which is a shallow bowl in the mountains.

Thinking we just had a massive descent to do we put off lunch, preferring to have it when we arrived. It was a mistake and we still had two more long climbs. The management in particular is not one to postpone a meal lightly.

On the way we passed the other end of the road we had chosen not to take yesterday. The sign said 60km and the mountain was almost vertical. We had made the right decision.

The descent into Akyaka is one of the most spectacular we have done. The dual carriageway road sweeps down 600 metres in a series of hairpin bends. The extraordinary width of the road confuses many car drivers who waste a good deal of rubber. They, like us, are also distracted by the views of sea and mountains.

The management was especially pleased that the rear disc brake worked well. The stoker does not worry her head about matters of a mundane technical nature although she has imposed a speed limit. She was however pleased we were able to stop to look at the views. She also took pictures of one of the many road side traders trying to sell fluffy toy camels to passers by. We have yet to see them achieve this feat and are not sure what benefit a fluffy camel has for the purchasers. One can only assume that the mark up is exceptionally high.