Samsun – Sinop 

By Arnaud and Roos 

The landscape here is less mountainous, with rolling meadows. There is a lot of farming here. Cows, rice fields, corn, melons, onions and the harvest is sold in roadside stalls. Storks forage in the fields. It is a beautiful road with hints of pine and fig air through the open window. When we ascend again we have beautiful views from the green mountains of the blue sea. 

After a 175km drive we have a top campsite on the beach. Straight from your tent into the water. The sea here is also calm and shallow for quite a while. Because the Black Sea is too rough for swimming in many places.  

Arnaud, me and the boys take a taxi to Sinop . A beautiful old walled city with a beautiful location. We climb the tower of the old city wall. On top of a pub with fantastic views over the bay and boulevard. Arnaud and Ruben are approached by a man who hears them speaking Dutch. Ahmet is from Zaandam, but has been visiting family in Sinop all his life . Super nice and enthusiastic guy. He treats us to drinks and has some good tips. We stroll along the boulevard. Lots of commotion , stalls, party boats, music, what a lot of fun. Sinop is great 😃 . We eat Mantisi , a local specialty.