A Change of Plan

We decided to give Constanta a miss, after all we found ourselves way ahead of schedule and figured we should try and make Istanbul our final destination. So instead of heading north we said goodbye to the Danube , our companion of 1000 plus miles, and headed for the Bulgarian coast at Varna. It was a bit unerving leaving the Danube as I realised my navigational skills would be tested somewhat more than that of having to follow a river. There was also the small problem of not having any roadmaps for a journey accross Bulgaria and  into Turkey.  Remarkably fate played its hand as we bumped into a Swiss guy cycling the other way, the first cyclist we had seen for days and we were able to swap maps and gleen some advice from him for the journey ahead.

We finally saw the sea again after a hairy descent from the hills around Varna.  we were dying to have a dip, so booked into a cheap hotel and headed for the beach. We soon realised the swim would have to wait after seeing the packed beach, without an inch of spare space to sit. Being from Jersey and used to sharing the beach with at most a couple of people walking their dogs, we found the whole situation unacceptable and headed for the neerest bar, the swim would have to wait for another day. Next day we found a lovely resort about 40 miles down the coast, still pretty unspoilt and not  too commercialised where we spent a lazy half day swimming and relaxing.

The next 3 days were spent goinng up and over the mountains that act as a natural border between Bulgaria and Turkey. the scenery was really stunning though some of the hills were exhausting not least because of the really hot weather which seems to have been following us around the continent. We had been taking extra bottles of water with us strapped to the back of my bike, only to find that on one occaission the sunlight had refracted through the bottle  and like a magnifying glass it had burnt a hole through my back saddle bag and into my tent. So that practice has had to stop,  We tend to get enough water now by stopping often to buy melons from  the locals, which we devour along the way. We finally crossed the border into Turkey on the 21st of August , the day before Ramadan starts, I am hoping theyre not too strict on the fasting bit as the hills in Turkey require the burning of  few calories and anyone who knows me will know that being skinny has never suited me.  We really enjoyed cycling through Bulgaria and loved the place  the people and the food (Shopska salad mmm!) but we are  really looking forward to Turkey. We have decided to head down to the Gallipoli Penninsula for a few days to look around that historic part of the world before catching the ferry to Istanbul, partly because We have been warned by many sources to not even attempt to enter Istanbul by bicycle.

last night by the Danube

the black sea at last

bulgarian wildlife

more bulgarian wildlife

the end of another hill

near the top of the mountains

melon stop

Into Turkey

The land of Nod

Bulgaria has been very confusing. Not least because a shake of the head in Bulgaria means Yes , and a nod No. This has taken me some time to discover, after constantly asking locals for reassurance we are heading int he  right direction and being given a shake of the head in reply. Now we have deciphered the locals strange form of non verbal communication ,we are really enjoying the place. The beer is good and cheap (80p a pint of Becks) good quality hotels charge on average about £30 a night for a standard double room. The food is really good and fresh, we’ve just polished off a 3 course meal complete with beers and coffees for  less than £10 each. The only downside to the place is the amount of  long straight busy roads that take you through the barren hilly landscape from town to town.  We have on occaission crossed the Danube into Romania, just for a change of scenery,. Romania and Bulgaria are really worlds apart , yet only separated by a river.

Romania around the Danube is flat. and the dusty main road follows the Danube through countless small villages, where children cycle alongside you and all the locals wave and greet you. The villages and their inhabitants look so poor and yet are so friendly. The roads are also congested with dark skinned gypsies driving their melon laden horse driven carts. Turkeys and chickens scratch around on the road verges and sheep herders lie asleep with their flocks in the shade of roadside trees. On entering the big towns or cities, you cannot help but notice how delapidated they  are . The outskirts seem littered with rusting dissused factories, accomodation is stark and you really have to take what you can get , which is usually an old hotel who’s heyday was in the days of communism. These places seem to have had little attention for decades and seem only to be opend up when the occaisional visitor passes through. Bulgaria in comparison has a sense of much more infrastructure ,  hotels are common and of a much higher standard though gone are the villages of waving children and roads of  horse driven carts. So I guess it has been nice to be able to sample these 2 different countries and literally decide  in the  morning which side of the river to travel for the day and what to experience.

Our next few days will take us towards Constanta and the Black sea. It has been such a long time since I have seen the sea and I really miss it.  There just remains the small matter of crossing the really hilly terain of the next couple of hundred miles, so we are gathering our strength at the moment and loading up with carbs for the pending journey, talking of which I am off to the bar for another pint of  Becks.  bye for now.

crossing the Danube

Melon sale

bustling city centre Romania

What the !

4 star hotel Romania (shower)

bad road

taking a break

Through the Iron Gate.

It has been quite some time since we last posted, so theres a lot to tell. From Hungary we headed for Serbia and Croatia. We were pleased to be leaving Hungary and the chilling gaze of the locals. The first Serbian we met waved and stopped us, we made small talk in German about the weather etc. eventually he asked us where we were from, when we told him we were English he spat on the floor in front of us, ranted ubout us poking our noses in Serbian business called us Shits and pointed us in the direction of the Croatian border, telling us to head for it in no uncertain terms.

We like Croatia the people seem friendly and welcoming. Our first night was in Vukovar a city on the Danube which was layed seige by the Serbians for 3 months in the height of the troubles in the region. The city was flattened through heavy artillery, air raids and small arms fire, during countless attempts by the Serbians to capture it. It really is an amazing place there still remain countless buildings riddled with holes and in a state of ruin . It is also unfortunately the site of many war crimes as after the city fell hundreds of local Croatians were taken to a field ouside the city and executed. The City and its history stands as  grim reminder of the horrors of war and tension still lays very close to the surface in this region.

We headed back to Serbia to avoid some big hills and visit Belgrade. Camping has gone out of the window for a bit as B&Bs and hotels are becoming so cheap.  in Novi Sad we thought we would enqire at a 5 star hotel, more out of curiosity than anything else. When the girl at reception said £50 for the night for both of us, we couldnt believe our ears and imediately got our credit cards out. Honestly we had free run of the hotel spa with steam rooms, jacuzzi, sauna, swimming pools, and spent the night watching  satelite TV in our room and ordering pizzas  and beer from the restaurant. What a night. The next night we camped on a Serbian campsite with cold tanks of water on stilts for showers and pipes set in concrete for toilets. Still that was only £3 for the night.

We are starting to have trouble with dogs.  Over the last week or two we have been noticing a lot of nasty smells as we cycle, It is obviously the smell of road kill which is not surprising given the driving skills of the locals and the 30 degree plus weather we have been having.  The majority of the roadkill appears to be dogs, which at first brought an “ah poor thing ” from us. I am sad to say it has now turned to a “phew, thats one less “. I have lost count of the number of times we have been chased by wild dogs. these are not the type that chase the postmen for a laugh, these are big ,mangy looking things that are really, really hungry and will chase you at around 25 mph for a good hundred yards baring teeth and salivating with anticipation of food. We have both now resorted to carrying stones in our pockets and have used them with good effect.  We  are both determined to fight as if our lives depend upon it as they probrably will.  We have met a lovely french couple Laurent and Audrie, we met them after Belgrade and for the last week have continued to bump into them and usually end up staying in the same hotel and camp site of an evening. I hope that they will read this blog and enjoyed the rest of their travels, bon voyage and  keep in touch.

We entered Romania last week, that was very interesting. We were stopped at the border by a 6ft tall female border guard, complete with grey boiler suit and gun, this ensemble was rounded off by a pair of 6 inch strappy heals encrusted in fake diamonds, very fetching. Romania appears to be very poor but the locals are extremely friendly, though they must be as hungry as the dogs as I have yet to see anything resembling a shop in any of the villages. We are surviving off of crisps and chocolate at the moment and any roadside fruit we can find as we still cant decipher restaurant menus and accept that the word “vegetarian” just does not exist in some languages.  I  have a good supply of ropy red wine which a local winemaker supplied in an old plastic 2 litre water bottle for me for only £1.50 needless to say Jayne wont touch the stuff but it keeps my hunger pangs away.

We spent a whole 2 days cycling through the Iron gate which is the biggest gorge in Europe, it was absolutely stunning, I can say no more than that, I will post a couple of photos but I know it wont do it justice, the weather was hot and there were plenty of refreshment stops along the way with some stunning views. On the whole we have had a great last couple of weeks  a couple of really hilly days and one day caught in the middle of nowhere in a really scary thunderstorm. Where the lightening strikes were really close and we were soaked to the skin; but apart fom that and the dogs – No probs and looking  forward to Bulgaria.

dying of hunger in Serbia

anyones guess

bombarded water tower Vukavorhigh street Vukavor

£10 a night hotel with a view

Romanian homes

into the iron gate

the iron gate

the iron gate

touring caravans very popular with Rumanians

iron gate