Day 1: 61.4km Beyond Boyno
Day 2: 97.8km Nr Shiroka laka
Day 3: 118.1km Nr Gospodintsi
Day 4: 108.0km Beyond Zelendol
Day 5: 113.7km On road to Probistip (Macedonia)
Day 6: 134.9km Skopje
Day 7: 0.0km rest
Day 8: 91.9km Pristina (Kosovo)
Learning Cyrillic is easy...provided you speak Greek. I do not speak Greek, but being a geek in school provided the means to study Applied Maths out of hours and thus garner a cursory understanding of Greek letters. For example, Pi is P, Roe is R, Lamda is L, Phi is F. Then, all you have to do is remember that C is S, X is H, H is N, a backwards N is I, backwards R is ya and a B is a V. Add this all together with a few new symbols and you're soon reading Cyrillic like a local; COPTEΔ.
Of course, finding a bona fide mathamagician to go cycling with in Eastern Europe can be difficult given that: 1/ they hold a morbid fear of the outside world; or 2/ they want to learn German (shamed and then named Alasdair Andrew Pauline Nicol; shamed and named), so it's just as well that most signs are in two languages. My cyrillic map of Bulgaria lay dormant in my bags for most of the trip.
Bulgaria was everything I had hoped it would be. Green hills, green mountains, green forests; all reminding me somewhat of home. Of course, all this green came at a cost and I received my first true rain of the trip so far on my second day out of Haskovo. Decked out in full waterproofs with plastic bags over my hands and yet more plastic bags inside my shoes, it wasn't as bad as I had feared, though I don't know what would have happened had I woken up to yet more rain!
The terrain was hilly, and in some places steep, but Sicandar's new gears exceeded expectations. For all those of you content on eating salads and driving cars, disregard the rest of this paragraph. For those who wish to jump on a bike, eat baklava and pastries 'til you're ready to vomit, take note; it will make your gluttony even easier to swallow. I changed from a 28 tooth front ring and 32 rear, to a 22 front and 30 rear (I had asked for a 34, but I was 1000km further on the road when I realised I'd been cheated out of 4 metal teeth!). The difference is unbelievable. It is like having a helper monkey run along behind the bike pushing on uphill sections. No longer do I have to zigzag up roads that themselves zigzag up hill sides. And while making uphills easier, it's even added 2kph to my uphill speeds (and when you were going 5.5kph, this is a big increase; some might say a 36.36% increase, but these people should generally be ignored).
The people in Bulgaria, although friendly, are more reserved than those I've experienced in Asia and the Middle East. Gone are the days when I am approached by passing shepherds when I stop to camp and offered food and accommodation. Although it is nice not to constantly have to act out what you are trying to say, I think I do miss that open friendliness.
The roads were good, even in seemingly remote regions. As soon as I believed myself to be in the back-of-beyond-bulgaria, the illusion of remoteness was shattered either by a truckload of cement from my former employer driving past, 96 French registered old-style Renaults complete with support vehicles, or by a roadsign (in English) with a Dublin phone number on it. Still, I did get to see a 4-wheel-drive lada, so it wasn't all bad! I think that Bulgaria is a country I will be returning to. I could have crossed it even further if I refrained from stopping every so often to run over suspension bridges. There's just something cool about them!
I've been only 2 days in Macedonia...
And that was as far as I got. 2 days ago. So what happened? I went drinking, that's what. One thing I kind of knew before this trip, but was still a little unsure of was that people are good. No matter where you go, people are good; I think we often forget that in "the west". And Macedonia is no different.
I found myself invited by my host, Igor, to a group shaving (it's not a local custom, just a student one) followed by lunch and drinks. There I met a group of Macedonians, fantastic to the last. Once again, I was surrounded by people I didn't know 2hrs previously, feeling 100% comfortable and loving every minute. What impressed me most was their attitude to the Balkan war.
Before arriving into former Yugoslavia, I had an image of seperation, bitterness and distrust between the individual states. It would appear not to be the case. "A senseless and stupid war that should never have happened" was how one person described it. I couldn't help but think of the animosity that existed between Ireland and England until very recently.
So, severely hungover, I climbed back onto Sicandar to continue the journey into Kosovo. The roads were flat and in good condition, but I was still extremely thankful for a strong tailwind. Again, rather than a war-torn state in depression, I find an apparantly peaceful country with friendly inhabitants (though I don't include the employees in the guesthouse I'm staying at!).
Tractors appear quite rare in SW Bulgaria. I passed several fields where horses were doing the ploughing and crops were being planted by hand
Entering Macedonia
Zoran, the senior Macedonian cycle champion on the left and Frederick, the junior Macedonian cycle champion on the right!
Sicandar was in the shop (I feared my bottom bracket had gone again, but luckily I was wrong), so I went behind his back
Igor, my host in Skopje
I wonder what happens when tanks break the speed limit?
Statue in Pristina
Flags
1 comment:
Quote from your blog...." couldn't help but think of the animosity that existed between Ireland and England until very recently."
I've watched rugby with you - unless this trip has mellowed you, the animosity is alive and well in you!
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