Tonight I’m off to Istanbul and Izmit for 3 days. This is my first time in Istanbul, the amazing city, since I started this blog!

Tomorrow I will meet Olivia and Brad!

Today I met Ali (Alejandro) at the train station. We ate tantuni and then kunefe before I dropped him off at the bus station to catch a bus westwards to Antalya, Bodrum, Kizkalesi or wherever else a convenient bus went.

He is legendary enough to give me a bottle of Kahlua Especial as a farewell gift!

My last bottle (from Duty Free, Sydney Airport) finished a month or so ago. I’m certain the new bottle won’t last a year like the first one did.

Ali was a trainee in Adana and is now making his way back to Mexico.

Whilst mentioning people going away, last Sunday I said goodbye to Marino, Jeanette and their children. We swam and had a game of basketball with the manager of the Hilton and some ring-ins. After 4 or so years in Mersin they will now go to live in the Dominican Republic, the country bordering Haiti in the Caribbean. Moving a family of 5 (3 children) across the world is not easy. Luckily, they have moved across the world several times before!