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Published: July 28th 2006
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Poiana Larglui
Relaxing by the lake for a couple of days. Day 44, 14th July.
Călanu - Reghin - Brâncoveneşti
The Italian guys name was Alesso, and his friend and security guard was called Tibor. We all thought Tibor was a bit thick cos of the stories Alesso told us about him and the well! Alesso made us some cappuccino for breakfast with fresh cow’s milk and we set off. Scott wasn’t feeling too well today, but Toby was better. The road continued through rurul and less hilly landscapes over a few quite hard hills. The heat was terrible from the hot road surfaces when going up them. We rested in one village at a bar with some beers while Scott slept on the grass awhile. A tree branch fell down and nearly hit us while we were drinking!
Shortly, we arrived in the town of Reghin and had a pizza at a local restaurant then carried on with our water bottles full to find a camping spot which was not difficult. By the river Mures there were many tents of Romanians free-camping, we joined them to cheers and waves! After our tents were up, a guy named Atilla joined us with friends and offered strong drinks and food.
Traffic Jam!
The fun of being a Romanian farmer... Will this disappear when Romania joins the EU? I also had a swim in the river to wash the salt off my body. The place was crawling with biting-ants and mosquitoes which made for an itchy nights sleep!!
Total Miles: 2061.28 Todays Miles: 53.69 Average speed: 11.0 Time on bike: 4:56
Day 45, 15th July.
Brâncoveneşti - Topliţa - Poiana Largului
Atilla woke us at 6am with strong hot coffee, then we were able to leave early. Toby was first ready, I think it’s something with us secretly putting his watch forward one hour! The road along the river became beautiful as we carried on. We were going through the big Carpathian Range now and leaving Transylvannia behind. The lifestyles were totally rural and self-sufficient, I had grown accustomed to being stared at by now, this would be the norm for the rest of the trip!
We bought food and had lunch at Toplita, then scaled the huge pass (1100m), which was difficult actually. Toby and I arrived at the top first and bought the beers, it’s great that the Romanians put bars at the top of passes. Rory arrived 5 mins after us, and Scott about 15. He was still pretty
Route 16
East of Cluj Napoca, route 16 takes us east. much ill.
Our destination was a big lake called Izvoru Muntlui , and a campsite was listed on the map where we could chill out for a couple of days. The ride from the pass took us mainly downhill to the lake, but when we arrived there, guess what? The camp site had closed down! In the village I bought some veggies from a trader and met a Slovak couple who joined us to free-camp by the lake where some tents were pitched. Rory and Tobes jumped in the lake to cool off and Rory found a dead dog floating in the water. And I cooked dinner - not the dead dog! We ate and made a camp fire from loose wood. Scott crashed out early, and I looked at the stars and Mars before going asleep.
Total Miles: 2142.78 Todays Miles: 81.50 Average speed: 11.0 Time on bike: 7:02
Day 46, 16th July.
Poiana Largului
Woke up with the sun and made a cuppa with my last Typhoo teabag and the honey I’d bought at the roadside yesterday. Cows had been walking past my tent with bells ringing around their necks, this helped
Romanian Beer label
As we are drinking so much beer on this trip, I've decided to keep the labels and stick them in my journal. to wake me up. Today was going to be a lazy day resting my bones. Everybody did jobs they needed to do on their bikes, I changed my tyres around and fixed wires on my Ortleib* brackets to stop them falling off. Generally, I checked my bike over, oiled parts and greased the bearings. I sat around in my swimming trunks getting the white bits filled in and made dinner later. Had a dunk in the lake, then relaxed till sundown.
*Ortleib - the best, waterproof, most simple to use front and back panniers you can buy for touring. Made in Germany. My have lasted over 50,000 miles bike-tour usage, and day-to-day usage too as the bicycle is my sole form of transport.
Day 47, 17th July.
Poiana Largului - Târgu Neamt - Târgu Frumos
We left our lake early and I had a puncture, not a real one though. I’d just nipped my innertube when changing over the tyres yesterday. We had coffee and buns in the nearby village, then it was a 7 mile climb up the big hill out of town. The scenery and village life seemed to change a little in each
Slovak couple
We never got their names but we had a great night by the campfire drinking beer and singing songs. valley wooden staves were used as fences, some fences had little roofs on the top of them for the entire length. We were leaving the Carpathians behind for the plains of Moldovian Romania.
We visited the Neamt Monastery and I had to wear a monk-skirt because of my very short shorts.! Then, we carried on to Targu Neamt for breakfast - or lunch, I don’t know? After this there were two more hefty passes to climb to Targu Frumos where we were treated to a rainstorm and some cooling weather, we ate pizza in town. It has been noticeable in this area, the affluence, not many Dacia cars but rich western ones. Still, water is drawn from wells, which makes it nice and cool. The people are still friendly, their skin darker, they are more curious.
Out of town I spotted a camping sign near some wooden chalets. With no money left, and a days ride to Moldova, we bartered in US$ and got two double chalets for $8! A bargain! We sat around the table, cos there was a bar, drinking beer of course and talking about the days ahead when we head into the former Soviet
Roadside well.
We never use any purification tablets of devices, well-water is fresh and cool, and everybody drinks it. Okay, we get the skwirts every now and then, but so what! Union…
Total Miles: 2216.44 Todays Miles: 73.66 Average speed: 11.7 Time on bike: 6:20
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