Monday 11 October 2010

Seas azure ans islands of green

Friday Oct 8, 1400glhrs.
Now on bumpy train which travels mostly thru tunnels so as expected, only get glimpses of the sea now and again. Goodness gracious me, just been a panic as I'd arrived for a change of trains and happily have now boarded the next one which will head NE I think to Parma. Will have to watch the times more carefully else I'll end up working as a mafia slave down in Scicily somewhere. Next stage about 2 hours so can relax a little. All I can say about La Spezia is that there is a McD's on platform one which is good for a leak and the lift probably is too small to hoick a bicycle. Struggling a bit up and down the stairs. Lifting the weight is the difficult bit at present, my legs are up to the job but arms and back not quite so.
The Hostel at Levanto is the coolest place, One can come and go regardless with free wifi and bathroom for a shave etc, There was time for a quick shop this morning, a scout about for mislaid sunglasses once again. They'll either surface from my pack somewhere or are gonners. The lovely Dutch lady at the hostel gave me another left-behind pair which although probably more fashionable than mine, are darker and so not as suitable for cycling. Oh well com si com su, (sp?)

Also had time to chill out by the beach crunching a couple of carrots and another bottle of Italian beer for lunch.

I cycled out of town into higher ground last evening to find an alternative place to stay, Another night filled with church bells would have driven me nuts.
Found a B&B but he wanted min €30 though he offered a patch of grass next to a caravan gratis so gratefully accepted. Rather damp from the due this morning but the only sound I heard was that of the stream running by. Very pleasant.

So apart from the local commuting and the 2 hour hill walk yesterday, life has been taken relatively easy these last couple of days and if all goes to plan, my next effort full spell on the bike will be in Croatia. I have been given another map this morning from an American fella Ryan I have met who is nearing the end of a two month journey around Europe. Not sure if I mentioned, but he had some bike pannier bags stolen somewhere in Germany so decided to store the bike and has been going on foot and train. He now has to return to Germany foe his flight home collecting the bike on route. Map is whole of Europe and large scale so not ideal for cycling but as good as I have at present. Sometimes I prefer to just steer by compass, following my nose, but rivers without bridges have a habit of turning up. We'll see.
FOt the record, it was Greg from France who tore his map in half for me a few days back now. I thought I'd mislaid his link but have it now so will be in touch again with him hopefully.

Next connection now sorted but had to cross platforms down and up the stairs again. Now in double decker train cruising at 160km/h.
First part of my journey was very hilly with loads of tunnels. Now like a pancake and flying along. Had thought about restarting train journey tomorrow again perhaps some way down the line but a real hasske lumping it up and down at the stations so thought to get it over with. I sat next to an Italian lady who spoke no English earlier so I had a go at using the Nokia dictinary to practise some Iti and to ask her some stuff. Bit of a drag at one word a time but managed to string a couple of phrases together, then altered target language and handed her my phone for her to have a go. We muddled thru but it was quite limiting but funny. Next thing, there were 3 others having a go. Her name is Francesca and she wrote the following in my diary.
Buon Viaggio ti ammiro per per il coraggio. Full marks for translation to simon.wales@talk21.com please.
So I will be in Ancona at 2032hrs and will make my way to the port to enquire about sailings from there asap. May still head down the east coast as only pricked the surface of Italy thus far.
Well now, its 1500hrs Monday 11Th October. The train and therefore I arrived late at Ancuna around 9pm. A taxi driver pointed the port direction and after some wrong turns, I found the port ticket office with just one of the ship's offices open. The young lady at the Blue Line desk was very helpful, suggesting that the difference between a ship to Croatia and one to Greece was 46 to 60 euros so may be better to avoid a longer perhaps wilder trip and wait for a boat to Greece the following morning. I thought about it and decided that Wild Croatia sounded good and spending the night at the port was bad. The Split ferry was running late and should have left but was to leave in around half an hour. So mild rush especially when the computer refused 'said no' to issue a ticket. Said lovely joung lady was though able to provide me with a typed letter referring me with an explanation. So armed, I finally made my way onboard ticketless. There I met with
Frederick, a photographer from Sweden who was astride a 2002, I think BMW FS 650 I believe and had been travelling a long while at around 500kms per day. He had intended riding south along from Morocco then east for a sub Saharan crossing but his bike broke down with a fuel pump problem and so to avoid more expense by importing the part into Morocco, he returned to Spain with bike in tow under alternative steam which was the more economic option. Such is the over sophistication of the modern motorcycle. Frederick concludes to have an older fixable bike to be the bettter option. He was also planning to head south into Syria and Jordon ... For the winter. Only yours truly is set on keeping East. We'll see.
Frederick and I had a good chin wag and then decided to try and organise a cabin to share. Alas, it was too kate and the computer said no again so Frederick crashed out in the casino bar with loud music and ear plugs while I found a quiter spot where others had stretched out on the carpet togeher with a couple of large dogs. I tried to go dow to get my sleeping bag, but all was locked so at least my mat helped. Through the night my knees were cold as I had still hust my cycling shorts so although I was tenpted to nick one of the dog's blankets, I made do placing the mat's bag across my knees. I was up early to watch as we approched the port of Split.

Ever keen to get going, I decided to head out of town directly and regretted this after as 3 others I met all said Split was a great town to see and spend time at.

ALL I can report about Split, is that there is a Lidl store on the way out and its hilly straight away. I found a tiny road running up from the sea with holiday homes mixed with market gardens now being worked instead of concentrating on the summer tourists. After a while, I had to climb again to join the main rd heading east towards Dubrovnik. First impression cycling was one of anxiety as the road was a very busy dual carriage way with no hard shoulder or cyclist provision. I swooped down the straight road almost as fast as the traffic and then climbed to find that the road became a lot quieter and nore relaxing.
The scenery along the coast is quite stunning with a sheer rocky steep mountain view to the left and a glistening lake type sea and Islands to the right. It really is a beautiful coast line. I noticed the change from Italy France and Spain immediately. Less populated, still clearly tourist bent with every other builiding offering rooms to stay, Auto Camps and resturants. But what struck me as markedly different was the sailing boat and cruiser marinas had vanished to be replaced by natural bays forming small harbours for small fishing boats or working boats to carry tourist passengers along the coast.

Later in the morning I met Lance who has been cycling for several months having followed the European coast line having left London for Calais, then turned right and has been all the way, approching now 14000 kms with Istanbul his target after following the Greek coastline. I caught him along the road and got chatting to find that he had spent a couple of nights in Split and was now being accompanied by possibly a splitting headache from a knees up the night before. Had he not been feeling a little delicate, I probably would not have caught him as he is a steady climber once he gets going. He and shared a room at Ingrane that evening and cooked up a good meal of fresh pasta with fish and a good chille sause. I drank most of the beer though as Lance clearly does not believe in the hair of the dog.
In the morning after snooring at each other a bit, I buzzed of at breakneck speed only to be overhauled once Lance warmed up, tgen it was a puff ti keep up. Later we came across the Swiss couple from Zurich who we had seen the day before. They are also heading for the middle east for winter.

Lance and I parted company as he trundled ahead, though once ovee a river valley with its following climb, I was surprised to see him once again ascending behind me. He was set in reaching Dubrivnis yesterday evening so pressed ahead once more. I reached aroind 90kms and decided to stop at a welcoming lookin Auto park. Nobody was about so I settled down and indulged in some delicious figs and apples, Pomegranites were quite bitter though. There was a puppy barking about towing a length of chain and his masters with 3 chidren arrived later. I introduced myself to the lady of the house who explained that they were closed for the season but I could stay gratis which I thankfully did. Pitched my tent and enjoyed an evening with some good grub and homemade red wine. Got away at 830 this morning and stopped briefly at Slano where I visited the school and introduced myself to the IT master Romano, who kindly burned my photos onto a cd for me as I have asked
them to please use any of those of interest along with my ongoing blog diary. The heat is now on though so I will have to cut the waffle and write some hopefully entertaining and educational content going forward.
Before leaving Slano, I met with Slaven in his tourist office. He and I had a good chat. He explained something about the war here with the Serbs several years ago now. I think he said that it wasnow 19 years ago on the 4tg of this month when the Serbs began their 6 month occupation of the area. I am now interested in learning more about it since the local population had a tough time while the Serbs apparently moved in taking what they wanted and burning many homes.

I am now in Dubrovnik, having found a small apartment at less than the hostel rate so happily under a solid roof again since the weather has been a bit wet. Earlier, I spotted another fine looking yacht registered in Gibralter, called Binziyad or Binyiyad. I enquired about her plans and she with her crew of 4 are heading to Athens tomorrow, about a 3 day trip. Unfortunately they do not have room for this vagabond and his bike explaining that the skipper is not the owner and insurance issues. Oh well. I gather the home port for this boat is mostly Palma like many others I have come across.

All for now, my thumbs are numb.

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