Saturday dawned bright but very windy. Strong wind is not nice here. It cuts right through you and blows the dust about. Combined with the harsh sunshine it is very wearing and damages the complexion.

Our plan today is to visit Mamure Castle which lies some way east of where we are staying. While exploring the area we had discovered a new pedestrian suspension bridge across a wide river which was not on the Google Earth photographs taken in 2005. This seemed the obvious way to go.

When we got to the bridge it was moving, flexing and rolling in the wind. It is over 2 metres wide and about 150 metres across. We decided that while it may have a short life we would be unlucky if it collapsed while we were on it. Over we went.

We could now see the castle in the distance, a large and very impressive structure. We manoeuvred the tandem over a heap of earth blocking the road. We then headed on tracks across the wetlands just inland of the sea. After a number of deadends we reluctantly came to the conclusion that we would have to turn back. This was made even more aggravating by being able to see people only 50 metres away on the other side of the water blocking our path.

Leaving the area the management was bitten by a dog. We were cycling through its backyard but were still annoyed. In this country, we think rightly, dogs are treated as subservient. They often have a job to do but otherwise have no special status. Vehicles don't go out of their way to avoid them on the roads. We don't think that they would last long here if they bit people. From a cyclist's point of view it is a much better approach than that of the sentimentality in the UK.

Unusually for a cyclist the management has not been bitten since his childhood. He takes the approach that human beings are far more dangerous than dogs. In the past the dogs seemed to have understood this when he looks them in the eye. They have used good sense and backed off. He is firmly of the opinion that this dog was maladjusted and will not last long.

In theory dog bites here should be taken seriously. Even though the dog had hardly broken the skin the stoker wanted him to see a doctor. His philosophy based on working with doctors for six years is similar to that of the much lamented Spike, "Steer clear of doctors my friend or they will be the death of you." By the time you read this you should know whether he was right. In Turkey a doctor would no doubt have a field day dealing with a wealthy foreigner with a minor dog bite. After they had fallen about laughing the lira signs would start to flash before their eyes. The management decided that if the worst came to the worst he would be better off in the military base in Cyprus.

We went on with an aching front leg in a bad humour. Mamure Castle is magnificent. It has 36 towers all of which are intact. The front sits almost in the sea. On a less windy day when we were in better humour we could have spent a long time there. As it was we explored the easy bits. Like many places outside the UK where the public are admitted it is not just unhealthy and unsafe it is plain dangerous and great for an adventure. We climbed up and down crumbling stone stairs. The management even made it to the top and clung to the flag pole in the gale force wind.

We returned to the hotel via the bus station and it is a good thing we did. Originally we had planned just to turn up early for tomorrow's 10.15am bus. It would give us a degree of leverage to get the tandem on board if there was a problem. The 10.15 was however fully booked and we reluctantly agreed to go on the 7.15am and bought a ticket in case that too sold out. Apparently many students are travelling back to university this weekend filling the buses.

The hotel had a function on tonight. Try as we might we could not establish what it was for, possibly a group of friends or maybe a work group. They were certainly several rungs up the social and economic ladder from most of those we saw when cycling along.

This social occasion seems to us to bring into focus the diversity in Turkey. Several of the women wore scarves and only danced with other women or children. Other women wore short skirts and high stiletto shoes and danced with the men just as they would in the west. The music and dance was also just as varied. There were traditional Turkish dances including a sort of conga led by a man with a silver cloth to wave. In some dances men danced with men and women with women. There were also all the types of dancing we are familiar with in the UK. The music was equally varied and much to our amusement the western music played in the break was very similar to what we would expect in England.

Days 74 and 75 Sunday and Monday 10th and 11th February Anamur, Turkey to Kyrenia (Girne) Northern Cyprus

We set the alarm for 5.45am in order to have time to pack and get to the bus station half an hour early. It was not a welcome sound when it went off.

We crept out trying not to wake anyone as we went. The Ünlüselek Hotel www.hotelunluselek.com had done us proud. It was the longest we had stayed anywhere since Christmas and the food and service were excellent. Despite being up to their eyes with work because of the function we even left with a packed breakfast.

We knew from previous experience that the tandem would fit across the underneath boot of a large coach. We were pleased to see a very modern large Mercedes Benz coach arrive with our destination on it. The staff put the bike on and then piled everyone's luggage around it. It was no problem and not the slightest suggestion that it would not be carried.

Turkish buses are extremely cheap and all the long distance ones we have seen are modern and comfortable. Most people here do not have cars and travel by bus. They are frequent and there are connections to most places. There is little real incentive here to have a car with fuel prices in real terms being four times as high for a Turk than in the UK. They will also have a great advantage when the oil runs out.

Bus stations are a real experience. All human life is here from touts to tramps and mullahs to mini skirts. Every bus leaving has crowds of people to see it off, far more than are actually travelling. We felt quite lonely having no one to wave to.

We had a three hour journey through winding mountain roads. The gradients were similar to those on the road to Anamur but nothing like as lovely, spoiled by extensive forest fires. The stoker was glad she got the bus as the roads looked very difficult, dangerous and steep, often with unguarded drops to the side.

The journey went quickly with the conductor bringing tea and biscuits despite the bus navigating hair pin bends. It was very interesting to see the roads from the driver's point of view. The main vehicles are HGVs and buses. Anything else is rightly regarded as a nuisance and is expected to do its best to get out of the way. The management has always endeavoured to do this on the tandem mainly for our own safety.

We arrived in Tasucu in time for the morning ferry to Cyprus but had however decided to spend at least one night here. We checked that a ferry would go tomorrow and then booked into a seaside hotel. Unfortunately Cyprus prices are charged here but it is still a lot cheaper than in the UK.

At 10am Monday morning the stoker went off to the ferry port and bought our ticket for Kyrenia (Girne) in Northern Cyprus. The sky was overcast but the wind had moderated.

We boarded the medium sized passenger only catamaran. The tandem was put at the front (port bow) and we left at midday. Once we were at sea we began to realise that it was going to be a very rough crossing. For the first part our minds were taken up with a Mr Bean goes to Cannes film. It then began to rain hard and we had serious thunder and lightning.

The rain flattened the sea but the little cat was still doing a lot of bashing and crashing. Even though we seemed to have retained our sea legs as far as sea sickness was concerned walking about was difficult.

We arrived in Kyrenia at 3pm in the pouring rain. The tandem had survived the voyage, the management had been concerned but would not have been allowed on deck to check. Getting into the arrivals hall required humping the bike up a flight of steps. Even though this is a new facility there are no ramps and the disabled have been completely ignored. The stoker asked a soldier to help lift which he did with enthusiasm.

Passports checked we were guided the back way out because the tandem would not go round the silly screens. Wheelchairs would not be able to get through either. Our guess is that if a physical barrier could be effective against letting women in that would be in place too. What a bunch of shortsighted idiots.

We waited an hour for the rain to stop. It is the first rain Cyprus has had for ages and everyone was excited. We understand they currently have a serious water shortage. As most of the drains were blocked we cycled through fast flowing rivers to our hotel beside the old harbour.

Day 76 Tuesday 12th February at Kyrenia (Girne)