Leaving Istanbul behind was bittersweet, but the thought of the Black Sea Coast was invigorating. I felt like I should have tried to squeeze out more energy; or something (in Istanbul). I had such high hopes for Istanbul, and they kind of crashed; along with my energy, when I was there. This seems to be a running theme.
Our weekend in Istanbul has been good. I had a chance to meet with a couple Mongol Rally teams, hang-out with Charlie and Sherry, and find a way to have some alone time. The latter being the most important part of my journey so far - aside from trying to secure my Turkmenistan visa.
Istanbul has been a blip on my travel destinations radar for many years now, and the thought of going there for the Mongol Rally had me really excited. Istanbul, Turkey! Oh my gosh! Oh, this would be the best time ever (don’t you love how I hype things up? Man, I should stop doing that!).