We eventually boarded the midnight ferry from the Turkish port of Tasucu, bound for Girne in North Cyprus, and it eventually left sometime after 3.00 this morning. The captain of the ferry turned out to be a dog lover, and kindly made sure we had a position on the top deck so that we could open up the doors so that the dogs had a refreshing breeze.
The dogs are all well, if a little bored by now, and all have behaved impeccably. A credit to their owners!
As usual with this ferry journey there was a great deal of confusion and running about at the Turkish end. Everyone at the port seemed to be aware of our story, and we were approached by several truckers who wanted to express sympathy, even with very little English. We were very touched.
A Turkish agent was supposed to be arranging all our departure procedures as the situation was a bit odd. Unfortunately he didn’t seem to be around. Earlier in the evening we’d gone into town to check the exit procedure, only to find all the offices were shut. At 11.00pm, with the manifest list closing at midnight, we were wondering why no one had spoken to us. After frantic enquiries and numerous phone calls, seven(!) guys appeared. (They do everything in groups, clearly unable to make a decision without a bunch of mates around.) “Passports,” they said, so we handed them over. Then they came back. “Car papers,” they said, so we parted with those.
By 1.00am nothing more had happened, so we approached the guy loading the ship we were due to sail on. He made a phone call, two more guys appeared, and we suddenly found ourselves being bundled into a car to be whisked off into the centre of Tasucu.
As the car sped off we suddenly realised we didn’t appear to have a driver! It turned out we were being driven by a tiny man who must have looking through, rather than over, the steering wheel. He started nattering away in Turkish with his eyes mostly on us instead of on the road.
Clearly, he was lecturing us on his interpretation of the rules governing the transport of dogs in Turkey, but we have no idea if he was right or wrong. However, enough was enough, so courier M gave him a bit of advice about looking where he was going. We hadn’t just sat in Tasucu port for 72 hours only to get wiped out in a car driven by a loquacious homunculus!
On reflection, we think he probably meant well, and he certainly managed to hustle a sleepy policeman into leaving his tea and the telly to stamp our passports.
Stamping our passports involved opening up a cubicle, unlocking a drawer to locate the precious stamp and check the date, only to find there was no ink. So we waited while the policeman reversed the process and we all trotted off to another office. No ink there either, so off to a store cupboard and hey presto! a red ink pad. All this while our boat was loading some two miles away with our van waiting at the port.
At 1.45am we made it back to the port and were second to last to get on board!
Now we’re back in North Cyprus and the dogs are back with their owners. Couriers J and M are off in search of showers, coffee, beds and a washing machine! Then, after a deep breath, it’s time to formulate plan B (or is it C or D by now?) to get these seven dogs safely to UK.
Our top-deck position, with a refreshing sea breeze
The welcome party at Girne — that’s Margaret and Kim waving
Our agent in North Cyprus, Mustafa, with courier M, starting the process of getting back in
The quarantine officer at Girne reassuring Mustafa that the dogs can be released back to their owners
You should write a book! Do hope you manage to get everything sorted for both dogs and owners. A very trying experience for all of you.
We thought about a book before we started blogging and then realised there was so much more to come!
What an incredible transport experience this has been for ALL concerned! We certainly hope that Plan Z (haha) works this time……and again, bravo to the couriers for taking such good care of the situation…….
Pam and Sam
Thanks Pam and Sam – plans are fast progressing!
Glad u all made it back safe and sound!!!!
Thanks Emma – it is a relief to be out of no man’s land and planning our next moves!
Wow that sounds really like a modern Odyssee – we hope the next plan will work – Good Luck!
Are we coming or going?
Fantastic news but Turkish bureaucracy at it’s very best methinks
they could win all sorts of awards 😉
So very sad that you have had to come up against all these problems..
Brings to mind the protest song ‘We shall overcome’ 😉
Phew! What a game. Hope the plan comes together.
A game indeed! We think we might be onto something…
I bet you weren’t too happy at that time but the description of the car trip with a loquacious homunculus made me laugh. What a great story. Life is sometimes funnier than anything people can invent. And I admire your humour and your even temper.
Glad you enjoyed it! We had fun writing about it afterwards but were a little discombobulated while it was going on 😀 You couldn’t make it up.
Having read about your awful experience trying to export the dogs from TRNC via Turkey we are now really worried as we are trying to sell our house and have 4 cats and 4 dogs we need to take with us to UK We thought as I am sure you did that it was all sorted out but we are now concerned We hope you manage to get through at the second attempt – we will be watching with interest Good Luck
Hi Penny – we’re not beaten yet! It’s families like yours that need the type of service we provide. Whatever happens this trip, we’ll be talking to all the authorities to try to iron out problems. We’re on a mission!
What a tempest in a teapot. Then again I think we have some of the same sort of wacky bureaucrats here…. and they are breeding.
If we have to follow their interpretation of the rules, so be it but the frustrations are enormous. Petty bureaucrats do tend to breed!
What a nightmare! Well done for keeping your cool and looking after the dogs so well, certainly an experience, somehow thought, having lived in Cyprus for over 10 years, it doesn’t surprise me that much. Good luck with plan F, G, H or whatever stage in the alphabet it has now reached!
Thanks Claire! It does rather feel that we’re working our way through the alphabet on this one. Our motto should be: always be prepared, never be surprised.
Double double toil and trouble – such a nightmare. No ink. Perfect. So glad you are back safely and can formulate a new plan.
The ink situation rather summed up the whole experience for us!
Wow, what a story. Meanwhile, here in Athens, two cats that I am fostering are waiting to be taken to their forever homes in the UK. But as long as you get here before I have to leave in August, all is well here. I just hope the next plan goes better for you!
Thanks Maria! Sorry for the delay but we’ll be with you well before August – we hope 😉
Plan D for dogs….fingers and paws crossed that you can find a resolution…it is probably easier to all don a jacket and start swimming..glad you are all safe and well though 🙂
Brandy certainly had the right idea with his paddle!
🙂 SMART BOY !
What a performance! its’ a good thing not every trip is like this, though i’m sure you get your fair share.
We really thought we’d got Turkish customs clearance sorted after our previous experiences. We do hope to get to the bottom of it though.
When you have the most precious thing a person loves in your care, it must be hard to be in these foreign countries with these dilemmas and not worry. Congratulations for leaving Turkey safely.
You’re right there. The welfare of the animals always comes first – it’s important to keep them relaxed and entertained. They coped very well.
What a nightmare. Koodoos to you guys for hanging in there. –Curt
Thanks Curt. We are tenacious! !
Sounds horrid! Suddenly your job doesn’t seem quite as glam! BOL
That was a very unglamorous experience 😀
“loquacious homunculus” !!! I love it! Glad your exhausted team saved the day in the end!
Glad you enjoyed that as much as we did! The exhausted team are very glad to be back to beds, food and showers and are busy negotiating next steps.
OMG what a time you’ve had! I’m so glad you made it back. I keep thinking what the owners must be thinking and what I (as an owner) would be thinking. You can probably guess once my dogs were safely back with me, I’d be making some Turkish waves. 🙂
Indeed. We’re treading softly on this one until we’re through with our charges but will certainly try to get to the bottom of what went wrong with a tried and tested routine.
Oh, how frustrating!
Yup! Stamping our little feet didn’t do any good. Onwards and upwards…
Wow what a crazy scenario that was!!! I am ever so relieved all fo you & the 4 leggeds made it out safely. Maybe with the unrest in Turkey things are a bit messed up?? I hope you were far far away from it all…
Hope all of you get some well deserved rest so you are ready for your next adventure!
Sherri-Ellen & Nylablue xo
It certainly was crazy. Not sure that the unrest influenced our experience – just unlucky with the people we dealt with and their unpreparedness to listen. Couriers J&M have taken full advantage of the lovely facilities in North Cyprus 😉