“Which of those two horses would run faster: the free one or the whipped one?“

Beginning the third day, only 10 kilometers left to the Turkish-Greek border. I feel… fast.
I have been lucky to get to know myself a little during the 23 years of living. And one thing I unmistakably know is, I might start to consider going back only if I grow unsatisfied with my physical and mental performance. Well, I don’t have to worry about it because I am a lot faster than I expected, with all the weight and the second hand bicycle.

Kilometers disappear under my wheels, because there is nothing else I want to spend the time I have with, than cycling to the places that I have never been before and setting my tent to the places I’ve never slept in.
It was impossible for me to get bored with cycling, because it is my way to discover life. I can not imagine letting the idea of what witnessing the life itself on the bicycle fade away and being okay while spending my creative time in routines of the urban life.

This awareness of the life outside, has been the internal flame in me. And now, the excitement for experience is whipping me to ride more.
And I am not the first one to feel that unextinguishable flame within herself. This internal flame was common among great thinkers and adventurers.
Friedrich Nietzsche expressed it as “if a man has a ‘why’, then he can endure any ‘how’“.
For me, Giorgio Moroder was also speaking of the creative internal flame a person feels before acting on it when he said:
“Once you free your mind about a concept of harmony and of music being ‘correct’,
You can do whatever you want
So, nobody told me what to do and there was no preconception of what to do“

This was the exact situation I am in in the face of this journey. Nobody told me to do it, and I haven’t asked anyone to tell me what to do. I hate guidelines in any context, especially the ones that are built around travelling.

So, I ride to the border, while Nietzsche and Giorgio Moroder were holding hands in my mind and cheerleading me “YOU GO GIRL!”. I grow insensitive to the trucks and LKWs closely passing by. On the contrary, I asked my mom on the phone that “Mum! Did you prayed so much for me? I am riding amazingly in comfort! All off the trucks are switching lanes to avoid my bicycle!” Well, I lied to comfort her a little. I was becoming numb by being beaten by the airflow of the trucks passing by actually.

I exchanged the turkish currency to the Euros with the help of a jeweler. And being a fresh mom-liar with 100 Euros in pocket, I arrived to the border. It was a smooth crossing. The policeman only raised eyebrows and told me, “yeah we are seeing many people go to Turkey by bike, but you are one of the few that crosses to the opposite direction“.

At this point of intersection, my mind was busy thinking about another intersection in another journey. Maybe being in Greece activated the way that the Iliad had been wired in my memory. I found myself deeply thinking about Achilles’ choice between Kleos (Glory) and Nostos (Homecoming).
To make it clearer for you, let me tell you that part of the story in Homer’s Iliad:
At the onset of Trojan War, the prophecy ensured that if Achilles participate in the Trojan war, he would die young. Therefore, the killing machine Achilles was torn between the two choices:

Surely, Achilles can stay at home in Thessaly and he can have a great comfort beside his Goddess mother Thetis and enjoy the resources that has been readily given to him. This option is “Nostos”, the origin for the English word “nest”.

Or,
He can choose risk over comfort, battlefield over home to pursue honor, and challenge prophecy by participating Trojan War, which means going after Kleos.

But choosing the both options is not available for him. The hero must choose between Nostos and Kleos. I have been for long in acceptance with this, the way things work. And for me the choice was as clear as for Achilles. Nostos: to pursue my own challenge.

Crossing the very first border, I felt a great, a solid joy. I took off my helmet and let my hair to sweep through fresh air and afternoon sun. I remembered my father’s advice for security: “Hide your hair under the helmet, okay?”. But I was all alone in the E90, had left every vehicle back on the borderline at Kipoi. So, this mom-liar also shrugged at her father’s advice and enjoyed the warmth of the sun at her hair and skin.

The same question appeared on that evening too: “but where to sleep now?”. This question was not alone, it also brought its best friend: fear.

Searching for comfort, I started cuddling with a giant stray dog around Feres. I asked him for advice but his advice was not for free. So I gave him white high-caloric bread with kefir. He ate it all. It has been a hot day and therefore I cut him a water pot from the kefir bottle and filled it from a sink I’ve found around. And sit there to watch him to drink the kefir-water from our homemade waterpot.

At that moment, an old car tattooed with thousands of rebellious stickers came near. A thin, athletic woman get off from the car and called for the dog. Then we made eye contact and I’ve smiled to her to ask:

“Where are you taking him? Is he yours?”
“No. But it is not a safe place for him, he can get poisoned around here by people.”
“Oh, I see.”

Then she asked:

“Are you alone?”
“Yes”
“Where are you going to sleep tonight.”
“I don’t know. I’ll look around.”

She paused for a moment and offered:

“You can stay in our place if you’d like to. We always take cyclists home with us when we found them. Otherwise they might get trouble with homeless people, stray dogs or police.”
I answered;
“Okay, why not?”

Then she took the dog and told me to wait for them here, until they gave the dinosauros size dog a ride. And then they’ll escort me to their house. I waved at them and the dog, then I had a little talk with myself which could be summarized as: “ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR FUCKING MIND MATE?! You are the stranger in this strange country. You better find your camping spot and disappear when they are back.”

I panicked, climbed up to find a campspot, climbed down, ride around, panicked, tried to save myself froma future danger and so on. Then I got exhausted from this mental frenzy and sat down by the sink they have found me and the giant dog. I put my head between my hands and closed my eyes, I tried to calm my mind down to think clearly.

I can never be ready for the thing that I’ve seen when I opened my eyes again.

There were at least a hundred of red ladybugs, on the ground. I have never seen so many ladybugs together before. Their shells and wings were shining with the early sunset. It was magical to see, they were all walking around my feet with their little steps.

Ladybugs have been a sign for the last two days, I remember finding one ladybug each day. But a hundred? It was unbelievable! Maybe that is the way universe talking to me right now. This is a high resolution GO signal, a clear green light for me to spend the night on the house of those strangers, yes.

After I realized the ladybug carpet, the tattooed car become visible in the horizon. They just waved me to follow, and that was exactly what I did. We rode down to the narrow streets of Feres, into a yellow house. They left the car and asked me if I am okay with dogs. I said YES! I LOVE THEM! from deep heart. And they opened the door of the apartment.

Two of the most funniest dogs in the planet welcomed me with lots of saliva. After meeting with the dogs, I have also met with the owners: Ariadni and her brother. Both my and the giant stay dog’s saviors for that day! They showed me a spare room that I can change, prepared the bathroom for me. I washed my sleeping bag and my clothes and hung them in the balcony.

Left: Ariadni’s mtb. She had a great deal while buying it! And the bicycle was tattooed like the car and also like Ariadni herself. Right: The end of my journal entry from my first night in Greece, dated 23.06.2023. I asked Ariadni if she can write her name in Hellenic alphabet for me and for my book. It is on top of the page in both latin and in hellenic.
(The entry continues with the blood-glucose-detector dog story as I also write in english below.)

One of the Ariadni’s dogs is like a low-blood glucose detector. She told me whenever her boyfriend needs his insulin injection, the dog starts licking him. And that evening, after I rode 113kms, the dog was constantly licking me, haha!

After the heavenly shower, I have slept within a rescued stray cat, who was also a guest in Ariadni’s apartment. I thought about Achilles and those ladybugs a lot before falling into sleep.

End of day#3.
128kilometers
1275meters
and hundred ladybugs!