Day 38

24/09/2011 – Day 38

Dunavesce to Baja – 101km

There was no breakfast included in the price of the room last night so we started the day with the leftovers from yesterday’s lunch, cheese and salad sandwiches, mmmm, yummy!

Fortunately there was a supermarket next door and we were able to fill up with the usual junk food that we have been living on (cycling may be good for you but who says you have to be good while cycling).

What is a constant surprise to me is how cheap everything in Hungary is on a day to day basis; there is the potential for a huge advertising campaign here selling the country purely on how cheap it is to stay here for a week or so.

Today we are faced with a dilemma, do we stop at Kalocsa which is only 60km away or do we push on to Baja which is 100km away. The problem is that there is no accommodation between these two towns without having to travel a long way off the track. We set off with this in mind and will make the decision when we get to Kalocsa depending on time and weather.

Leaving the town by the official route soon brings us onto more crappy, grass covered and rutted tracks. Enough! We turn off at the first opportunity and get back on the road.

This enables us to travel much faster and soon arrive at Solt after about an hour where we stop for the usual second breakfast. The traffic has been very light again and we have made up for the lost time on that track section.

When we set off again it is on a good quality cycle path at first but then becomes the old road on top of the dyke. This has now been replaced by a new road and so we have a two lane tarmacked road to ourselves. Flying along here M hits a pile of poo dead centre and it sprays all over him and the bike. There is nothing we can do here except make sure he stays downwind of me at all times.

We turn into Dunapataj at about lunch time and decide to find a bar for a beer then find a bench to eat our picnic. The first place we stop at is open, we think, but there is no one about, so we pack up and move to the next bar 20m down the road. Here they are happy to let us eat our lunch while we sit at their tables. Sitting outside with M’s bike well downwind of us, a convoy of cars pass honking their horns. This is a wedding party celebrating after the ceremony, a very common sight on the continent. A few minutes later the staff of the bar came out to watch a second wedding group paraded on foot past the bar complete with accordion band. And a few minutes later they came out again to see a third group parade past but these turn in the opposite direction to the previous group, a busy day for the churches by the look of it.

After another hour on the road we arrive at the deciding point of the day, turn left for Kalocsa or turn right for Baja. Time to stop at another bar I think. This time we only drank Fanta as another beer at this point would be too much. As it was still early afternoon we decide to push on. The only option here is to go onto the infamous tracks and to our surprise they have changed. Now they are covered in loose gravel but over a solid base, not ideal but miles better than the previous ones.

Now it is just a war of attrition, plodding on for another 40km as fast as we can to reach Baja before it gets dark. We are now on the far edge of Central European Time, it gets dark here at about 6pm. When we cross into Serbia we also change time zone, leave the EU, need passports for the first time and change religion from Christian to Muslim.

The weather is hot and sunny as usual, we have not had many dull days so far and virtually no rain (I know, that is the kiss of death it will rain all the way starting tomorrow). This does not help as there is no shade to protect us, even the wind is hot. At Fajsz we head into the town in search of liquids and find the dirtiest café we have been in so far. But the service was good, the coffee was genuine and the people friendly, even asking where we were going and giving advice.

Then back on the road for the last 30km. Usually my limit is 80km a day, I start to feel it around 70km then slow down at about 75km and really start to drag at 80. Today is no exception. The good news is that the tracks finish at Fajsz and it is all tarmac from here. It is just a case of head down and keep going. As we cycle along we keep passing road signs saying cars are prohibited but this does not stop them and there is a constant stream of traffic in both directions. As this is a single track road on top of the dyke it makes passing quite difficult.

Eventually Baja appears through the trees and the end is in sight. Following the official route into the town we turn off and head for the town centre eventually turning into a large square. The hotel we are looking for is here, through an arch into a small court yard. There has been a lot of money spent here by the looks of it and the hotel looks brand new as does the one next door. Asking about the price the receptionist tells us it is 30€ for the two of us!

Compared to last night this place is a palace, good size room, clean and well laid out bathroom, and it looks new. What a bargain! The only drawback is the room is on the top floor and the lift doesn’t go that high. OK, it is only one flight of stairs. The bikes are locked into a room at the back of the reception so they should be OK tonight.

We go straight out to look for food and end up in the standard pizza place that we just can’t keep away from. I order a medium size one and M orders a large one. When mine arrives it is big, when his arrives it is on two plates as it is so big. Once again the price is unbelievably cheap. Due to the size of M’s he ends up bringing half of it back to the hotel in a box. Tomorrow looks like it will be another long day so it is an early night again.