INTO UKRAINE FROM ROMANIA DAY 254

PUTNA ROMAIN TO LVIV UKRAINE    352km.

Yesterday when I was outside the supermarket drinking my yogurt a girl came up to me and wanted to know about my journey as she lives bikes. She changed my route. Firstly she said I could stay at the Monastery and then mentioned Ukraine and said if I had papers i could go in which never entered my head and border is 20km away and that's what I did.

 Woke up feeling a little down and not real motivated and ambled along to the border afyer stopping for a Cappuciano and a ham roll. Got to the border and I was waved to the front of the line where there were six other Czech motorcyclists. Was a quick and easy border crossing on both sides. 

Got to the first city and went to the pharmacy and got some tablets for my flu, then found an ATM and had to have so.eone help me use the machinę as there is no English choice on the screen. Then got a sim card for $5  and then checked my emails and an old friend Dan wrote and mentioned that his favorite place in Ukraine was Lviv, so I headed NW for 352km and arrived after five hours and found a room in the city centre.

The terrain was not exciting, no hills or mountains the entire way, but way better roads than Romania. Walked around the city and found some food and beer nearby and then on return the owner sat with me and had some more yogurt chased by a beer and some frozen fish. 

So it ended up a good day all in all after feeling down in the dumps in the morning and the medicine seems to be working. Hopefully I can shake this all and get positive again. Such is life. Maybe I should have stayed at the Monastery and become a monk.

PAINTED MONASTERIES OF NORTH EAST ROMANIA. DAY 254 214 km. 28-8-23

Thankfully it cools down at night so had a decent sleep and feel a little better, stopped and had a good breakfast and then headed NE to the border of Ukraine see the painted monasteries of the region.

Am going to see if I can enter Ukraine tomorrow cause the border is 20km away and I am so close, might aswell do it. 

Rode with a Spanish couple for a short while, the region is mountainous, very green and beautiful with good roads that twist and turn over the mountains and it is Cooper in the forest.

Am staying a night at the last Monastery I visited.

    SFĂNTA MĂNĂSTIRE VORONET  

     

     MOLDOVITA MONASTERY 

    

    PUTNA MOASTERY

HORIZONS UNLIMITED MEETING. BARAOLT. DAY 251 TO 253. 197km.

Domu the owners of the Moto Camp fixed my helmet and made me some coffee before leaving for the HU meeting. He was the first to host in Romania three years ago but not anymore. Took three hours there on all the country farm roads which up in the mountains is quite beautiful and green and a lot Cooper. The heat is stifling hot here so need to stay up high and it may help a bit.

The camp site was real shitty and so was the food at the meeting, got to meet some good folk who are all riding around somewhere going nowhere in a hurry. You have the young guys who can only do short trip and then the slightly older guys who have no time constraints and ni definitely routes who are drifting around, so a great mix of travellers with interesting stories.

 Henrietta who was on the container from Kenya to Oman had a Digital presentation that was by far the best of the entire weekend and really presented professionally almost, so that was the highlight for me.

Left at 8am today , still not feeling 100% , sore throat and mucous is never fun when wearing a helmet and you need to blow a few snot rockets ,they always seem to land on your leg or boot.  

The spill check is a pain, wish I knew how to turn it off.

Only went 201km to Lake Bicaz and found a cabin overlooking  the lake. Took a nap hoping to feel better and gather some strength to keep going. 

Lunch.

Dinner. 

TO SIBIU MOTO CAMP AND THE TRANSFĂGĂRĂṢAN PASS. DAY250. 675km.

Last night was another late night, sat with some young guys staying here and chatted over some beers, always gret to be able to talk to local folk and get different prospectives of life in their country. 

Got up early cause I thought the sun rises just after five, left at 5:30am and it was pitch dark and the sun only rises at 6:30am. Was nice and cool and no traffic at that hour, the roads meander through the middle of all the villages and are very narrow with no shoulder. Was surprised to see how many woman were heading to work on bicycles and a few men and then they still have horse and carts in the smaller more remote villages. The roads just twist and turn and you can only average 50kmph, and they drive pretty good and use their flickers when overtaking a bicycle and for all pedestrians at the crossing, rather surprising. There are only a few highways which are good and none heading where I ride through the backcounrty Ì guess. Arrived before noon ,315km so the owner suggested I do the Transfăgărăṣan Pass, so did that ,quote an amazing pass riding up to 7K feet and went down the other side and saw two beers who people unfortunately feed, one bear only had three less, sad staye of affairs. Came back over the pass and visited some old ruin of a church and then had an 80km devoured cause I missed my turn off and ended up doing 315 km, a long day.

Met a Luthuanian at the camp and chatted till midnight and missed doing my blog again. It takes so much ti.e to do that I try doing it everyday but it doesn't always work out.

BULGARIA TO ROMANIA DAY 249 187km.

Left the camp after having an egg and toast that Maureen and Mike from Scotland made me, they were falling in while the owner was away. Stopped by some caves en route which were in the movie The Untouchables I believe. 

    Don't  know why the photos don't Appear like i took them, they seem to cut off parts. Seems like a new issue. Same happened to the one above.

Got to the Danube ferry crossing and had to wait cause the Customs people were on lunch, then crossed over into Romania.

Had to be the quickest and easiest crossing to date ,took less than five minute and only had to pay one Euro for road tax. Went to the ATM and got some cash and a sim card for a month ,unlimited data was like $12 . 

Rode toCamp Edelweiss which was forty minutes away and got a nice room and my first Romanian dinner and beer.