Day 53

9/10/2011 – Day 53

Gruia to Cetate – 39km

As there was no breakfast this morning we were packed and ready to leave just before 9am. During the night the rain we had been dodging all day yesterday had moved in. It was still raining as we packed the bikes. To get back to the route meant that climb back up the hill and with the bikes loaded there was no other option other than push them. Once at the top we stopped for a well-deserved coffee and a snack.

We had been warned that the next village or two were mostly gypsies and that we should not stop in them, so the plan was to push hard until the main road and try to get to Calafat by mid-afternoon.  It was drizzling but nothing too bad as we left. Within the first 3km we had the first of today’s knocks; I had a flat front tyre! Stopping at a derelict house for shelter I changed the flat and we carried on.

Due to the overnight rain the roads were covered in wet mud where traffic comes off the side roads onto the main road, as a result we were soon covered in it. Pushing hard we were soon through the suspect villages and well on the way to our destination when the rain came in. About 5 minutes before the main road it started to rain harder. At the junction there was deserted house and we stopped for shelter. Looking at the clouds it appeared the rain was moving on so as it eased we set off again.

Just before the town of Cetate we hit another long steep climb and about half way up the heavens opened! By the time I reached the top I was soaked, M was sheltering under a tin roof covering one of the many wells we have seen. There was just enough room for the two of us with our bikes.

As the rain eased we thought it would be a good idea to stop and have lunch here if we could. About 500m later we found a bar with a lean-to on the side where we could sit with the bikes. Asking if they did food we were told there was a restaurant just down the road, and sure enough, there was.

It was a very modern looking building with a hotel and a restaurant, but it looked very closed. Trying the door it was actually open and we stepped in. The place looked brand new, it was well decorated and very different to the sort of restaurants we had been in over the last few weeks. They did not mind the fact that we were soaked and welcomed us in. While we were eating we decided that if it was still raining when we had finished we would stay here and head to Calafat tomorrow. As it turned out it rained hard for the rest of the day.

At the end of the meal we went through to ask if there was a room available and the receptionist said the hotel was full! A second receptionist came out and said room 10 was free so we were staying here tonight. We brought the bikes into the hotel and they let us put them in the conference room. Once we had checked in we were given the keys to room 5. Carrying our bags up to the room we did not see any sign of other guests.

The whole place looked very new and shiny with very little sign of usage. When we went down to dinner we were the only people there and we did not hear anyone else at all and there were no cars in the car park.

It all felt very strange that they told us it was full, they gave us a different room to the one they said was free and that there was this modern, stylish hotel in a small non-descript town with nothing to attract visitors.