This is quite possibly the most insane idea I’ve ever had.
That’s right. Today marks the beginning of what just may be the most epic road trip of my life thus far that sort of started out as a joke between me and Nate from Yomadic, because let’s be honest, how many friends with a car would ever be down to drive 3,000+ km across two continents on less than a week’s notice? This joke quickly materialized into a real plan though, and by plan I mean more like a strategy, to get from the Balkans to the Caucasus once we finally met up for a “business meeting” involving copious amounts of rakija in some smokey Mostar dive bar just a few days ago.
If you can recall the last time Yomadic and The Blonde Gypsy joined forces, things got pretty bonkers down in Montenegro and aboard Tito’s Blue Train, so I cannot even begin to imagine how this intercontinental road trip with Nancy, their 1994 Renault Clio, is going to go. We shall find out. Anything can happen.
I won’t be blogging about the trip along the way because I’ve still got a lot of stuff in line to be published from Via Dinarica, the BG Ambition Tour and more (plus I’m not a fan of live blogging), but I will be posting updates/photos daily on Facebook and Instagram, maybe even Twitter if I am feeling wild, so make sure you get in on the action there. Really looking forward to this journey as well as finally getting over to Georgia and the Caucasus, a part of the world I’ve been eyeing for quite some time now.
Wish us luck and feel free to leave any suggestions on cool things to see and do along our route – especially east of Istanbul. As of now, the only definite thing on that map above is Point A and Point B. Clearly we are professionals. Professionals with exquisite taste in travel who like to just go with the flow and are always down for a good time.
The Great Eurasian #YoGypsy Road Trip begins right NOW. Awwwwwwww yeah!
6 Comments
Megan
October 13, 2013 at 5:46 pmhow awesome! tbilisi is great…as is armenia :) hope you have some time to spend over there because things move at a MUCH slower pace! except the lethal driving skills of georgians.
cant wait to see how things go! good luck and hope yall drive safe!
Larissa
October 15, 2013 at 8:58 amThanks Megan! Yeah, still not sure how much time but hopefully two weeks or so. Depends on how fast we make it through Turkey. Very excited as you are probably the 1000th person to tell me how great they are. I can’t wait!
Laura
October 16, 2013 at 3:04 pmDo you plan to travel inland in Turkey or along the Black Sea coast? I took a trip along the coast this summer (although in the other direction, from East to West toward Istanbul) and the scenery was absolutely breathtaking in spots, not to mention some cool towns to see and great food to eat along the way, although it can take some time because the coastal road is pretty windy in spots. I used public transport though, so dealt with the delays that come with it. Haven’t seen much of the interior of Turkey apart from Cappadocia, but anyone will tell you that’s a must-see.
Larissa
October 16, 2013 at 7:24 pmWe were thinking of heading back up to the coast from Cappadocia so if you have any tips from about mid coast and eastwards, they would be greatly appreciated. Have heard good things about Trabzon.
Laura
October 18, 2013 at 4:55 pmI stopped for only a short time through Unye, Ordu, and Giresun, and they’re pretty chill places, but all good stopping points if needed. Trabzon definitely has a character of its own and some might not consider it to be the most attractive city, but its an interesting corner of the country and surrounded by some great sights– get to Sumela Monastery if you can, and I heard Uzungol (the long lake) is pretty sweet, though I didn’t have time to go myself. And hamsi season should be starting, so eat up! –Turkey’s Black Sea specialty. Have a great time!! Hopefully you won’t get rained on too much this time of year…
Larissa
October 27, 2013 at 9:31 pmThanks for all of this! We actually decided to head straight through to Erzurum and Kars – mostly because everyone told us to go north instead :) Luckily the weather has been great, just starting to get a little cold. Although there hasn’t been a ton of sights to see, just driving through the lesser-traveled parts has been a sight in itself.. will make it to the north coast another time, I hope!