Day 52

8/10/2011 – Day 52

Hinova to Gruia – 71km

During the night I thought I heard rain and when we woke in the morning our helmets (which we had left hanging on the bikes) were drying on top of the washing machine. The sky was filled with dark grey clouds and the wind had strengthened a lot.

The children were already up and running around outside, feeding the rabbits, the chickens and the dog. When they came in I could hear them all practicing saying ‘good morning’ for when I came out.

Breakfast was a family thing again with everyone crammed round the table. The milk was fresh from the neighbour’s cow, the eggs fresh from the hens, the tomatoes straight out of the garden, the bread freshly made and the honey from their own hives.

All the time we had one eye on the weather and eventually made the move to leave. As we packed to go there was one more photo and ‘goodbye’ and ‘have a good trip’ from the children and a pot of homemade honey and some towels as a parting gift.

This is where it became embarrassing, we tried to give them some money to cover the cost of putting us up, they refused, we said, OK we will donate it to the church, they refused, whatever we said they refused. We left with new friends in a new country who just wanted to help.

Back down on the main road we set off with the wind full in our faces. We had to stop at the first café we came across as we were cold and tired already, we had done just 6km.

The café was closed but the owner who was there working said it would be no problem to make us some coffee; people here are just so nice. As we drank it he told us about his trip to Egypt.

With no choice we headed back out into the wind, after the last few days of temperatures in the high 20’s sometimes low 30’s today feels cold. The wind is gusting so hard you nearly stop dead at times. We just hack on knowing that eventually we have to go round the bend in the river and the wind will then be behind us.

Turning off the main road at last we have some shelter from the trees but that just makes it worse when there is a break and we get the wind full force again. Finally we reach the river bend we have been waiting for and the wind is now coming from the side, this makes it easier to some extent but we still have to battle to get any momentum for the hills. The road has also changed from tarmac to gravel. It is hard packed now, not as bad as the soft tracks we have been on in the last few weeks.

We had planned to have lunch in Crivina but the ‘restaurant’ that the guide was talking about turns out to be a small shop with benches outside where you can sit and drink your beer. After a quick drink and a chat with the locals again we set off along the gravel track. As we leave the village the track climbs up a steep slope on to the top of a plateau that runs alongside the river for the next 40 or 50km. this slope is so steep we both end up off the bikes pushing them.

Most of the villages we have passed so far do not have any paved roads, they are all gravel. This must be OK when it is warm and dry but a nightmare when the rain and snow come.

Finally the track suddenly becomes tarmac again, this is not always good news as they are usually full of potholes and very bad repairs. The good news though is that we have turned our backs to the wind and it is pushing us along, it feels strange to go up hill in top gear.

The land now has lost the familiar arable look and is now more like the bleak moorlands of the north of England, it is all brown and low lying scrub. There is very little farming going on here and the only animals we see are sheep or goats. Occasionally there is a solitary cow or a few gypsy horses.

The route takes us over another weir into an island where we come across pigs running around freely. There is another village here where most of the houses appear to be derelict and you have to wonder what these people do for a living.  There are trees on this island, mostly pine, and running around in the undergrowth are piglets.

Once off the island we are supposed to be back on a track but this time it is soft sand which is impossible to cycle on and we are walking again. As we approach the village of Balta Verde we come across a road being built over the track. The idea of building roads here is a little different to the rest of Europe, they were using a grader to smooth the sand, then rolled it flat, then were laying tarmac directly on top of it. Now we know why the roads are so badly rutted and full of pot holes.

At Balta Verde we were on a newly made road so the ride was quite smooth, (for now at least). With the wind behind us the run into Gruia was easy and fast. As we entered the town we were looking for the signs for the hotel that is here, according to the guide.

Having seen nothing we stopped at a shop to ask for directions and she told us the hotel was on the riverbank. The shop was different to all the others we had been to so far in that there was no self-service, you had to ask for everything you wanted and she would give them to you. This is a sign that there may be a problem with shop lifting. Not a good omen.

Following her directions we found the hotel by the river, down a steep hill form the town. It was perfectly situated with panoramic views over the river. As we arrived we were ‘greeted’ by a pack of feral dogs, mostly very young puppies, all barking at us. The owner of the hotel came out to see what the noise was about and told us she was closed. The hotel was only open in the spring apparently.

After some discussion she offered to make a room up for us as the alternative was to cycle another 40km to the next hotel. The place was in the style of a hunting lodge and was well maintained. The room was slightly small but the bathroom was huge compared to some of the places we have stayed in. She also offered to cook dinner for us, which was very welcome. Apparently she lives there on her own at the moment and makes you wonder how she makes enough money to keep the place going if she is closed for most of the year.