Day 48

4/10/2011 – Day 48

Kovin to Vinci – 75km

Breakfast was another meal of eggs and ham, in large quantities.

We set off with the intention of reaching Vinci and a hotel recommended by our friend D who we had met earlier on the trip. He had sent us a text while he was here telling us we had to stay here as it was so good.

The first half of the day was on those dirt tracks again, long slow kilometres of bumps, sand and holes. As there has been no rain for days the slightest movement throws up a cloud of dust which gets into everything. We come off the tracks looking like we have been in the desert for days and the bikes and bags are now brown in colour.

About half way along this section we come to a large piece of pipe laid across the track totally blocking it, when I say large I mean a good 2m in diameter. They appear to have been put here to stop cyclist as the dyke is now used by trucks from a company dredging the river bed. Large trucks full to the top with sand and gravel trundle up and down this road. We are forced to another track at the bottom of the other side of the dyke but this soon fades out and we are left with no option but to go back up to the top of the dyke. The drivers must have spent all summer seeing cyclists on this road and they slow down, give us plenty of room and wave.

According to the map, at the end of this road there should be a restaurant, and sure enough there is but it is closed for the season. Now we are in October we are going to experience more of this as people think the tourists are finished for the year. But we know of at least three other people out there on the road as we speak.

Once we reached Dubovac we find a bar that is still open and stop for our second coffee of the day. It has been 25km drag and has taken us almost 2 hours which is slow. After yesterday’s effort on similar tracks my legs are dead today and it has been hard work. Cycling through the village almost everyone waves and shouts as we pass, some saying hello others saying the same but in Serbian. The good news is that we now have 11km of good road; the bad news is that it is a busy road with heavy traffic according to the map. As it turns out the traffic is very light and we fly along without any problems.

After crossing a large river feeding into the Danube we turn right back onto the worst track of the day. It is heavily rutted and soft sand, more hard cycling!

At this point we have one of those questions that affect the next leg of the trip, do we turn left and go into Romania or do we take the ferry and stay in Serbia for the next few days. We decided to stay in Serbia as we wanted to go to Vinci and stopped for lunch before taking the ferry.

As we approached Stara Palanka (or Scary Blanket as we called it) we saw a tiny boat crossing the river and joked about that being the ferry. As it happens we were not that wrong.

The map says that we enter the town and cycle round to the other end for the ferry. This is not the case. We decided to stop for lunch at the restaurant next to the end of the track; it looked good but may be a bit expensive. We sat down and ordered the beers and the waiter brought the menu. That was the last we saw of him, he totally ignored us after that.

While we were sitting there the real ferry arrive just next to the restaurant. It was an unpowered barge with a tiny tugboat attached to the side. It is big enough to carry one lorry in the middle and three cars down each side. Looking around there was no sign of a landing area except for some gravel. The ferry got closer and closer until it just rammed the gravel beach! Mooring by touch, you know when you are there because you hit it. They then set about making it secure with cables and pulling it tight against the beach.

The cars and lorry quickly drove off and the ferry crew came into the restaurant for a beer. We sat there waiting for the waiter to come and he didn’t. About 20 minutes later the crew got up and headed back to the ferry so we decided to go with them. We even had to go and find the waiter to pay for the drinks.

The trip was expensive at 3€ each but it was OK; the river was totally calm and not a ripple to disturb the surface. The ‘driver’ was quite chatty about where we were going etc. and when we got to the other side he waved goodbye. The port of Ram, if you can call it that appears quite old and some of the houses have a Roman look about them. At the edge of the water, just where the ferry crashes into the bank is a restaurant where we finally get some service. The food is not gourmet standard but was good.

The down side to having lunch here was the mountain we had to climb straight after. It is uphill from the river whichever way you go. At one point it is so steep you have to get off and walk, with the weight of the luggage on the back there is no choice. But once you get to the top it is downhill all the way!

We are now on poorly maintained, but tarmac roads. The potholes have been filled by a scoop of tar and left for the cars to flatten it. The result is a road covered in lumps and bumps which catch you the second you lose concentration.

After a 15km stretch in the hot sun we stop for a cool drink in Srebrno Jezero in the first bar we come to. After that we follow the route along the river edge to Veliko Gradiste where the signs lead you through the town centre and then stop, right at that vital turning that will save you travelling miles out of your way. Fortunately we are not ashamed to ask when we are in doubt and people are only too happy to help. They put us on the right road and wish us a good trip as usual. You cannot help liking them.

The time is getting on again and we push hard now to try and get in before it gets dark. At one point we thought we would not make it but the roads are not bad enough to slow us down that much and we arrive in Vinci just before the sun sets.

The place we are looking for is right on the river’s edge with just the road separating it from the water. As we pulled up the owner was just coming out and was only too happy to let us stay for the incredible price of 10€ each. There are only 4 rooms but they are totally modern and clean, and there is a huge terrace overlooking the river for us to use. When we asked about the bikes she said they would be OK outside the bar until closing time when they will be put inside. The last time I was told they would be OK was when it was stolen so tonight the bikes are sleeping on the terrace on the first floor next door to us.