Last installment, 30 September 2010
Last night got pretty hectic, what with packing, showering and eating all at once, then waiting for Elena and Pal to come back from their cool long flights. There had been some rumours of leaving Beysehir last night but in the XCTurkey 2010 you never know what the plan is until you’re in the middle of the execution 🙂
So we left our new friends in Beysehir around 11pm, and drove through the night to arrive west of Antalya at 4am. There ensued something of a logistical challenge when the full XCTurkey crew, foreigners and Turks alike, had to be transported to no less than five different 5-star holiday resorts, offloading all the luggage in the hold each time to find the relevant bags.
The resorts were all HUGE, and very fancy, with massive pools, beaches, 15 restaurants etc. – in short, hell on earth for someone like me, so I made a quick decision and bolted for the door. I’m in the Business Class lounge at Istanbul Airport now, waiting for my flight to Copenhagen, and expect to be in Husby tonight. Can’t wait.
I think Trias actually ended up winning the XCTurkey, with Pal in second and Dmitri in third, but I don’t know if they’ll do a wire transfer of the cash to Scotland or what is going to happen there.
Trias did the one massive flight of 185 km on the day when most of us stood at 50 km, so he deserves the title for sure, but it does seem a bit odd to award a prize to a pilot who wisely called it quits one week early. Glad I don’t have to make these decisions, I’m outta here.
Oh did I say that Turkey is an amazing country to visit? The overall hospitality of the population can’t be found better anywhere else on the planet, the flying potential is HUGE, and the price level is good. And once you work out where and how you can even buy beer, and the stuff tastes good!
We missed out on the really epic XC conditions but I think all in the group can see the potential, and I predict many will be back.
Thanks to anyone who cared to follow the rantings here, we may do it again if I ever get to fly a real comp somewhere. That’ll be my flight they are calling now – I’m actually really outta here,
Mads S
