Erzerum to our wild camp in Ani was to be a short day, so we set off late, and aim to cruise the 200 odd km. Unfortunately our plans were thwarted by 2 eager Police... After a short game of charades, and some might gesticulation, it was confirmed that the speed limit for motorcycles is 70kph (45mph), not 120 kph as it is for cars... We each came away 130USD lighter.
Yesterday the landscape changed from rocky and barren, today trees appeared;
The last fuel stop before the Gorgian border (and our camp) was in Kars. A desolate town situated high in the hills (around 2000m). After fuelling we headed into the town to find some lunch. The outskirts of the town consisted of basic stone farmhouses, and some failry modern (1950's) concrete mid-rise (6 storey) apartment blocks, seemingly plonked in the middle of fields - no driveways, or foot paths to them - just plonked there.
We stopped off at a little kebab cafe for lunch;
A quick touristy visit to the ruins at Ani,
A wander to view the Turkey/Armenia border;
Then a couple of beers at the lovely Ahu Restaurant whilst waiting for the remainder of the group to catch up, before heading off to find a camp for the night. Unfortunately, the owner of the Ahu tried to rip us off, instead of the 5lira per beer can he had told us (a similar price all the way across Turkey), he was now charging 5 lira per glass (4 or 5 glasses to a can!). This equated to around £250 for around 20 cans of beer!
Needless to say there was a little commotion as we paid the original agreed amount, and tried to leave...
We scarpered and headed out to a find a camp for the night;
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