Wed 20th Aug
Well we didn't reach Bulgaria today; nothing to do with my map reading, we were just enjoying Romania. Taking the smaller roads, we meandered along country lanes that could even show our roads at home a thing or two about pot holes. This would be an even slower route than we thought but we were enjoying the difference of Romania; the colourful houses, some pristine, some half built and some on the point of dereliction but still lived in!
We lunched in a field, whilst the local folk worked with their hand tools and horse drawn carts. There are dogs everywhere, young and old, dead and alive! Every bitch we see is lactating. I know people try to do good by rescuing Romanian strays but honestly even if you shipped them by the hundred, it would not touch the surface. Maybe a mass neutering project would be more effective?
Our route towards the Bulgarian border is dogged by roadworks and diversions, not always clear. We spot an alternative truck route marked, so decide to take that rather than following the diversion through the middle of a big town. How this is a truck route I have no idea! Unmade roads,though the roughest parts of town and then bizarrely there in the middle of this "ghetto" is an English Ice Cream van! Still fully sign written and operating! No, we did not stop and buy one! How did Mr Whippy get here? We learn that red lights are merely a suggestion to stop, a a truck overtook us on a red light, through the roadworks. Either that or he too wanted out of this "shanty town"
Well we didn't reach Bulgaria today; nothing to do with my map reading, we were just enjoying Romania. Taking the smaller roads, we meandered along country lanes that could even show our roads at home a thing or two about pot holes. This would be an even slower route than we thought but we were enjoying the difference of Romania; the colourful houses, some pristine, some half built and some on the point of dereliction but still lived in!
We lunched in a field, whilst the local folk worked with their hand tools and horse drawn carts. There are dogs everywhere, young and old, dead and alive! Every bitch we see is lactating. I know people try to do good by rescuing Romanian strays but honestly even if you shipped them by the hundred, it would not touch the surface. Maybe a mass neutering project would be more effective?
Our route towards the Bulgarian border is dogged by roadworks and diversions, not always clear. We spot an alternative truck route marked, so decide to take that rather than following the diversion through the middle of a big town. How this is a truck route I have no idea! Unmade roads,though the roughest parts of town and then bizarrely there in the middle of this "ghetto" is an English Ice Cream van! Still fully sign written and operating! No, we did not stop and buy one! How did Mr Whippy get here? We learn that red lights are merely a suggestion to stop, a a truck overtook us on a red light, through the roadworks. Either that or he too wanted out of this "shanty town"
Our home for tonight is up one of our famous dead ends! We take a turn up a dirt track, it is very bumpy. So much so that I have to hang on to Fay's dashboard to stop it rattling. Don't want her dentures shooting out!! We go through a very real Roma village, I am not sure there have ever been tourists here before?? At the end someone is building a posh pension, so another place that will change. Our destination is a lake I saw on the map, my map reading skills are improving enough for me to tell Richard with confidence, that yes I really did want to go down this road, as he filled with doubt and uncertainty about the area I was directing him through.
The lake was a twitchers paradise. There were not just one or two storks but a whole flock, along with herons, egrets and various unfamiliar gulls. Not only were there birds but also huge frogs and numerous fish. We unwittingly parked near a family of shrews, they enjoyed the apple we fed them. There were though, the obligatory Romanian flies and rubbish. Still it was a pretty spot. The weather is now sultry and nearing 30 degrees.
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