Want a watermelon?
Day 43: Meeting the Amazing Disappearing Belgians!
Thursday August 8 - Day 43 - 49miles - Total 1712miles
So... we got up early... not exactly to catch the Belgians... but it worked! We met Toon and Lien as they were getting their Santos tandem bike ready to head out for the day. They speak English incredibly well and they are also heading to Istanbul! We asked them about their route and they said that they were going to the Black Sea and then crossing into Istanbul. Bruce started chatting to Toon about how we were going to take that route before but then you have to climb up to a really high mountain pass to cross the border... he then explained our route into Greece, which they had previously planned on doing as well... They were however heading in the same direction with the same destination for today! ... So, morning conversations about route planning done... we planned to meet for dinner in Turnu Magurele depending on where we stayed in the city...
They were off and we were off to breakfast! Very good omelets at the Hotel Tata Si Fi and coffee of course to get us ready for the day. We left the hotel at about 8.30am to avoid the heat because we knew what today was going to be like... Another hot day with a slight headwind with bad pavement...
We played leapfrog with a couple of locals on bicycles. These bikes are the old school fix gear, tin frame, one brake type bikes. We can pass them on the flat or downhill but on the uphill they chuckle and pass us going the same speed they have been going all day. One of the bicyclists decided to adopt us through her town and chat all the way from one end to the other... it didn't matter that we had no idea what she was saying but she waved dramatically anytime her friends on the street called out to her. She obviously took her escort roll seriously as she batted off cars that tried to pass us (now two abreast). Badass granny with Romanian babushka asked us for a cigarette right before her turn off down a little dirt road with watermelon carts lining the way... just wow...
We saw an oxen cart with solid cart wheels driven by the couple that probably built it when Stalin was still alive. This place is like a time capsule but it will (and is) changing quickly and slowly at the same time. For example, donkey cart drivers with their wives on their cell phones... strange...
As we were riding along we heard some peeps and yelps from the long grasses at the verge of the road... then two tiny kittens ran out of the long grass and and chased us until we stopped. Well, they actually chased Bruce who is a moving target for cute cuddly little things... They were all over our bikes in seconds... climbing through the wheels, hiding in the shade of our panniers, and looking up at us with the saddest little faces. We felt terrible for them out in the heat away from town... We had an empty bottle of water that we cut into a cup and gave them water and sugar which they drank quickly... but we couldn't do anything else for them. We think they were abandoned or that their mother died. We really miss our kitties at home and hope they are doing okay!
After a quiet ride away from the kittens... we were sad and hungry so we stopped for lunch in Coriaba at a little shop that had tables in the shade. Andrea went in to find some food and found a very helpful shop keeper who spoke no English at all and a very nice man who did speak a little so we got bread, feta cheese, and tomatoes with lemonade and chips. Score! Andrea has now figured out that not only is the cheese hidden under the counter but the bread is kept in the back of the local shops, not on display. This is why she could not find anything she had wanted for lunch earlier in the day. We had lunch at a table in the shade next to a small shop and cleaned up very well after ourselves... otherwise the very demanding granny shopkeeper would have beaten us like her lackey boys in the yard...
Lots more hellos followed us throughout the day... as we passed through this very poor part of Romania. We passed lots of watermelons carts and vendors on the side of the road. Just before Turnu Magurele, we saw a bunch of boys and men swimming in the small river as we passed over on the bridge... they all cheered from the water and dove in again. We think this was bath time for the local workers since they had soap and wash cloths.
We got to Turnu Magurele and quickly found the Hotel Turris as well as a Penny Market! (we haven't seen one of those since Hungary!) The Hotel Turris is a classic Intourist hotel... tall cement building with grumpy receptionist who watched us like a hawk. When we put our bikes in the loading dock area behind the hotel... guess what we saw? A Santos Tandem! We think we and the Belgian couple are the only ones here tonight. A bit pricey but hey... we have air-conditioning!
We wandered around town a little - not too much to it except a communist war memorial and a fountain that shut off right as Andrea tried to take its picture... and some peacocks, doves, and chickens in some cages in the park... Andrea bought a pretty dress from a local vendor and that was all.
We were having a beer at the hotel terrace bar, when we saw the Belgians walk by...they joined us for a drink. They discussed their route today and have decided to follow the Brucie-velo Awesome Route to Istanbul... so they are going for the 11.30am ferry with us as well tomorrow...
Intend on another early start tomorrow, so we can get the 11.30am ferry from Zimincea to Svishtov in Bulgaria!
Another country done and done!
The World is Ours!
Molly would eat you! How are we going to get you through customs? Come on!
Score! Bread from the back room, cheese from under the counter, and tomatoes so ripe you could barely cut them! Good lunch!
Cool church in Turnu Magurele
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