Plans overboard

When i left Odessa the plan was to stay in Galati, Romania but unlike the roads going to Odessa over Moldova these roads where mostly perfect. I didn’t have much options for a scenic route which made this trip go much faster than anticipated.

On the way i saw a group of bikers beside the road and like i always do i stopped to ask if everything is okay. It was not because one of the bikes broke down but with smoke coming out of the headers there was nothing i could do either and a van was on it’s was already. After a short chat i went on.

There was a little detour i planned but no matter what i tried the route wouldn’t follow the track at one point and i don’t know why but for some reason i did go with the Garmin for a change and i think it was the only right thing to do. In that same section even Garmin got it wrong and send me to a border crossing where i was send back. I was back into Moldova and this border was going to Ukraine again but there was no customs and no exit from Moldova but why exactly i still don’t know. No one there spoke any English what so ever.

even with the back tracking with no clear directions and the detour i was in Galati way to early and after a day off i was not ready to stop so i started the next section, as i said it was not a hard plan but just for reverence. After a nice lunch it was time to take the ferry to cross the Danube where a nice curvy road waited for me.

The weather was great so i kept going and going until i came another group of bikers standing in a strange place to rest. They where okay, just waiting for a friend who fell behind. After the usely where you from and the “alone?” Question the where you going and staying questions came up. I could answer the first as i had the route but the second was unclear to me also. I could follow the if i wanted because on my route i would miss out on a beautiful place not far away so i did. Getting such information from locals is gold and this was no exception. Out of the blue a beautiful rock-formation popped out of the overall glowing terrain. It was already better than i anticipated going on the streetview pictures but this was a real nice surprise.

They also gave a tip for a nice town to stay, Vama Veche. A coastal town but without the usual prices that come with it. It was still a long way to go but i’ll see as i still didn’t feel like stopping. We already said goodbye and went on towards Constanta where they live and i could pick up my track (Vama Veche was on my route anyway).

i did end up in that place and it was cheap and the day kept on being crazy but i like crazy and had a great day which eventually ended up 55 minutes before the end of the section planned for the next day making me change my plans and maybe for the good. The section after this was a long one ending in Sofia but that is a big city and i don’t like big city’s. Just over halve of that trip was Motocamp Bulgaria almost on my route, the long section divided in halve plus the 55 mins was a good new day section and that was the new plan for now.

Another great night, nice owner and some English and a Irish couple that went there once and now live in the village and later on a Dutch couple on a Goldwing stopped to spend some nights as well.

The Irish guy gave me some tips which i heard about but i thought where too far off. One was but with the halve a day i gained it was an option. That would be the Soviet era building called “the flying sorcerer” and the other “the eyes of god caves” which where not real far of the original track so that was my choice too visit. I really like the works of nature over man made structures, even though they can be impressive as well.

From there i had to make a new plan and again i have to take Covid in mind with that plan. The guy from Motocamp Bulgaria (sorry, i’m really bad with names) told me that Macedonia was red (on the European Covid map) and to get into Bulgaria from Macedonia you need a PCR test even when you’re vaccinated but he didn’t know for the other way. I checked the Dutch app with all the information and staying there might give problems but passing through could be okay, the same goes for Kosovo.

with that in mind i decided to find a place to stay as close to the border as possible and cross both countries tomorrow and try to get close to Shkodër. Albania is safe but Montenegro is also red and Bosnia is safe again. Getting close to Montenegro may give me the possibility to cross that also in one day but let’s take this day by day now the schedule is overboard anyway, it still has to be fun.