We left the place where we’d spent the night, which was actually very good, albeit with that constant hum of the road in the background. Nothing serious. We slept well, which is the main thing.

Today the plan was to head towards Istanbul, but first we took a detour to Çorlu. Dad Edu had a mission: to get the HGS sticker for the tolls, because Turkey has become much stricter about it now than on our last trip. The detour was about 40 kilometres, manageable… but pointless.

We tried three petrol stations that, according to the map, should have had the wretched sticker. Nothing. Then a tiny post office. Nothing there either. More lost than a ball in a lake. So, in the end, without a sticker, we just got on the toll motorways anyway.

The system here is curious. There are lanes where you have to stop and pay directly, usually by card. And others where you don’t even slow down: you pass under an arch that scans the number plate. If you have the HGS sticker, they charge you automatically. If not, it’s no big deal… in theory, you have fifteen days to pay online or at an office. In other words, you go through first and sort it out later. A very trusting approach.

The motorways are wonderful. Three lanes almost the whole time, little traffic, and you make good progress. Very fast. It’s a pleasure to drive like this, honestly.

And then suddenly… Istanbul.

A giant city, nearly sixteen million inhabitants. We didn’t even stop to visit; we saw it back in 2023 with Uncle Javi, and Dad Edu has been a few times already. Even so, driving through it is impressive. We thought it would be chaos, but it wasn't. Everything was quite fluid, apart from a small traffic jam for a few minutes.

We crossed the Bosphorus over the Fatih Sultan Mehmet bridge, leaving Europe behind and entering Asia without ever stepping out of the car. There’s always something special about that, changing continents like someone changing lanes.

After so much time in the car, we stopped at a large service station. I took the opportunity to stretch my legs like there was no tomorrow, and Dad Edu treated himself to a chicken dürüm at a place called Dürümle. Something like fast food, but the dürüm version. He was happy, I was watching, as always.

We carried on east, moving away from the city, staying on fast motorways. Easy kilometres. Until finally we exited, drove around a bit on smaller roads and found a place that fit the bill.

Grass, trees, cows next to the camper, sun… and peace and quiet. One of those places where you get out of the car and you just know you’re going to stay. I did a quick inspection; everything was in order. The cows were a bit big, but polite.

So, here we’re staying. Good spot, good end to the day.

And as for the tolls… we’ll sort that out. I’m sure it’s no more complicated than trying to explain to a dog that he isn’t allowed on the bed. Well, maybe it is. But we’ll see.