Kultura na pedalih / Culture on pedals

A short video about our cycling

2008-05-01T03:34:00.000-07:00

Hello again my friends!

After returning home, me and Azra were quite busy. We are slowly getting used to the normal life and trying to make the best of it. The experience we had while cycling into France was amazing and for sure changed our lives to better. It totally changed our perspective of viewing life.

I will show you a short video, which I call a tribute to all the special people we've met while travelling. Well, you see, while our cycling, we did many nice photos, which you already have seen (some of them), but for the first time we tried to record some video shots in order to make our "travel report" more interesting.

It is an experiment. For the really first time in my life I made a short movie with the small quantity of video material I had recorded on my Ixus 65. The video itself may not be so special for you who see it for the first time, but it is definitely something I am proud of. You see, it shows in it many special moments we've spent with all the people and even the music (Eddie Vedder - Rise - a song from the "Into the wild" movie soundtrack) brings up nice memories. Moving, sincere memories, we will forever cherish in our hearts.

I know now I will continue doing those films, because I still have photos to show you.

At the end of the video you will see a "To be continued..." this is because next time I will make a slide show with music, using all the nice pictures I have. Unfortunately, as previously said, we had an accident with the photos and I am now waiting a friend from Hospitality club in Sete, France to send the the photos I left on his computer when I was burning them on the DVD.

Also if some of you, my friends are not on this first film, don't be angry, because I will put you on on the next one. That's for sure! This goes to Nadir, Clementine, Marion and Rafael.

Before showing you the movie, I would like to thank Yannis from Athens who gave me this idea of making the movie and to Sebastien from Toulouse who gave me so many nice advice.

So, here you go! Enjoy the movie. Click under, or visit this site to watch the video: click

Here is also the second version of the same movie.. some material has been added in this version.

Sudden end of the road

2008-04-20T08:20:00.000-07:00

Sometimes unexpected things make us to change or stop our course. Just early this morning, after the publishing of the last post we've received some not very good news from home, so after spending 129 hours and 46 minutes on the bikes and doing 1885km we are now finishing our travel.

After tomorrow we will catch a train and will soon (hopefully) be back in Slovenia. After all we did a respectful distance for two beginners and we have touched the Atlantic for the first time. We have met so many nice people willing to help us and we now have many stories to tell.

Thus, we have to notify all the people in France that we contacted trough HC and WS and have not reached yet that we will not be able to visit you. Thanks to all of you anyway. You have been a great support. Maybe one day we could return to France and visit you then.

We also want to say thank you to all those people who stood by our side and gave us moral support throughout this voyage. We also feel homesick so we will be very happy to see our family and friends again. Anyway we have been travelling since September 2006 when we started our EVS volunteering in Slovakia and to be honest we could settle down a bit now.

We are sure we will do more travels again but until then we will just be happy to help other travellers who intend to come to Slovenia. We would really like to give them back the same positive energy that we received on this travel. Also we want to invite all the special people we have met so far to come and be our guests, especially those who have been giving us the best of their hospitality. COME TO SLOVENIA!!!

At the end of this travel we can add this: THANK YOU FRANCE, THANK YOU FRENCH PEOPLE! YOU ARE GREAT AND WE HOPE TO SEE YOU AGAIN! THANK YOU HOSPITALITY CLUB AND THANK YOU WARMSHOWERS!

The map, finally refreshed!

2008-04-19T16:31:00.000-07:00

Here is what we have done so far!

Enlarge the map

From Toulouse to the Atlantic

2008-04-19T12:07:00.000-07:00

Oh, gosh! It is so hard to keep up to all the exciting things that happened in the last week! We also have to apologize to our Slovenian friends who do not speak English, because it is hard in such a short time to do both, English and Slovenian texts.

Despite the bad weather, which even helps us making extraordinary pictures, we are really enjoying our time. All the credit goes to the amazing people we have met (Joel, we dedicated some text for you but we still have to translate it, so it will be published a bit later...).

I (Aleksander) also got sick before yesterday, but today I recovered and tomorrow we will go on towards La Rochelle, but stoping first in St. Savinien.

We are also a bit sad we cannot share all our feelings in order to keep the texts short enough. Hopefully we will be able to translate bit by bit the rest.

Right now we are being hosted by Jean-Pierre and Eleanor, a lovely couple from Saintes, a town not so far from the Atlantic, so today, guess what... WE SAW THE ATLANTIC FOR THE FIRST TIME!!! But let's go trough the pictures in the proper order.

Here we are still in Toulouse. We wanted to show our friend Sebastien, a marvelous person who has been hosting us for 5 days!!! He is the one who went from Toulouse to Gibraltar on his Recumbent bike. Sebastistien... very nice memories back in toulouse! Eating, playing the guitar, singing, listening to Eddie Vedder... Sebastien you are the man!!! See you in Slovenia or in Spain? :)

Azra is showing to Sebastien our cat Cofka on the phone... you would never guess, wouldn't you? :)

The cheese really does smell bad...

...but hey, it is worth trying it...

...and it tastes really good!!!

Then Sebastien made us a "typical French food" - tortilla!!! :) So after this joke we realized we discovered a new term - SPENCH FOOD! :)

Here is the real French food - cassoulet.

Me, Azra, Sebastien and his recumbent.

Me trying it. IT WAS HARD!!!

Leaving Toulouse.

We had a nice storm in Montauban.

Meeting with Leo, a passionate cyclist who came to meet us in Montauban and escorted us the next day to St. Maurin, where he is living with his wife. Leo recently just returned from Cuba which he saw from his bike and now he will go to North America West to the East coast!!! Thank you Leo and "bonne route" to you in America!!!

Here is another lovely family that was hosting us in Montauban!

Sebastien who accepted us trough the WarmShowers website also did some very nice travels with his bike.

Here are some pictures.

A loud tradition. :) We just cought those masked students 100 days before the main exams while warming up with a nice hot chocolate.

I asked the lady why she does not want to reply to my questions about local architecture and she just sat there, doing her stuff as if I did not exist!!! How rude of her!

Reaching Leo's home. A wonderful and peaceful region.

Some more slopes...

Next day.

Camping wild next to the vineyards. The owner Gerard and his douther cought us while pitching the tent, but as you will see, we soon became friends and he would leave us alone... with the dears... :) He asked us if we are not afraid that the animals will eat us during the night. :) We tried to show him our gratitude and we tried to scare the dears off the vineyards, so they would not be able to destroy the vines.

Before leaving the next morning.

We were heading towards Cognac where Sophie, our next Hospitality club host was waiting for us. But Ludovic, her boyfriend cought us accidentally on the road, just 13km before the town. We've loaded his car with our bags and equiped with Ludovic's GPS found our way directly to their house. :)

Ludovic is a cook who told us many interesting stories about his life in Paris and his close connection to the "Buddha Bar" trade name, but most of all we enjoyed eating the food he made. He also invited us to his parent's restaurant where he works as a chef. We were full of delicious food.

BTW, if you need to know anything about Cognac (the drink and the city), you just contact Sophie. :) Sophie was also sooo kind to us. She went with Azra to see the doctor, she helped me at the post office when I was sending the stuff at home and at their house we felt more than comfortable! Thank you from the bottom of our hearts again!

Here we are: Sophie, Ludovic, me, Azra. THANK YOU GUYS!!!

And here we are today in St. Palais, where we had our first real contact with the Atlantic sea. Eleanor and Jean-Pierre took us with the car to a wonderfull trip we really enjoyed, despite the not perfect weather. Anyway, the experience was still great, because the landscape and the light were perfect for great photos and the company of Eleanor and Jean-Pierre was great! they accepted us in their house trough hospitality club and really helped us. I was a bit sick the last two days and they let us stay in their house untill I got better. So, here I am, feeling good and publishing this.

Enjoy the last few photos and we will get back to you soon.

Dear Eleanor and Jean Pierre, thank you so much for everything! We hope it is not the last time we see eachother and that we will be able to be as good host to you as you were to us!

Link exchange with TouristClick travel guides

2008-04-08T16:23:00.000-07:00

Ok my friends! I received an interesting offer for a link exchange from the authors of the website TourictClick, so here is one useful link you could use while (or before) travelling:

I thought this might be a very good link exchange.

Etang de Vic, Canal du Midi, Toulouse

2008-04-08T13:23:00.001-07:00

Ok since there is not enough time and we cannot keep up with all the mew photos, here we give you some of them which we had to put on long before. Also we will add and translate the text in Slovenian some other time!

After leaving Joel and Montpellier, here is what we came across.

French cheese and the start of the Canal du Midi in Beziers.

We met a nice English couple, living on a boat on the Canal du Midi.

A nice family we met in Lezignan-Corbiere. We had a nice talk.

Toulouse!

We already have so many new pictures that it will be hard to keep up with, but we will do our best!

"Mira la Bici" / "Look at the bike"

2008-04-07T07:05:00.000-07:00

Preden karkoli objaviva, sva se odločila da vam najprej predstaviva najinega trenutnega gostitelja Sebastiena v Tolouse-u. Ne bova ga opisovala z besedami, ker je to že storil sam na svojem spletnem mestu in vam bova raje ponudila nekaj povezav, ki vas bodo zagotovo pritegnile, če je v vas vsaj malo popotnika.

Meniva da si je vredno ogledati foto-video predstavitev, ki jo opremil s primerno glasbo. Tako se lahko kot opazovalec za dobrih 12 minut (v treh epizodah) popolnoma zatopite v svet kakor ga vidi popotniški kolesar. Na svoji lanski poti od Toulouse-a do Gibraltarja je Sebastien ujel te čudovite posnetke: VIDEO TOULOUSE - GIBRALTAR.

Lahko si tudi ogledate njegovo spletno mesto, ki pa je žal samo v Francoščini tukaj.

Kakorkoli že, slike so čudovite.

READ THE ENGLISH TRANSLATION BELOW

Before we go on and publish other stuff, we decided to present Sebastien, our current host in Toulouse. We won't describe him with words, because he already did it by himself on his web site. Rather than doing that we will give you a couple of links which will for sure attract you if there is at least a bit of a traveller inside you.

We think it is worth looking at the photo-video slide-show to which he added very nice and proper music. In this way you can, for good 12 minutes (in three episodes) wonder off into a world as it's seen by a cyclist-traveller. On his last year travel from Toulouse to Gibraltar Sebastien cought these wonderfoul shots: VIDEO TOULOUSE - GIBRALTAR.

You can also check his web site which is only in French here.

However, the pictures are amazing.

Najina pot / Our trail

2008-04-03T03:18:00.000-07:00

Agrandir le plan

Ansouis - Lansargues - Montpellier

2008-04-01T11:12:00.000-07:00

Spet se oglašava, tokrat iz hiše dveh čudovitih oseb, ki naju gostita čisto po golem naključju! Malo več o temu kasneje, ko bo kaj več časa, saj bi se komentarju teh dveh oseb rada popolnoma posvetila ker si to zaslužita. Za sedaj bi vama rada samo predslavila pot od Ansouisa do Montpellierja.

Here we are again, this time from a house of two wonderful people that are hosting us by pure coincidence. More about this later when there will be more time, because we really want to dadicate them time and a good comment. They really diserve it. For now we would only like to present you the road from Ansouis to Montpellier.

Smo še vedno v Provansi, v krasni, mirni vasi Ansouis, katere zgodovina sega najmanj 10. stoletje, ko je bil zgrajen dvorec. Ulice so izjemno strnjene, mirne in v zavetju pred pogosto aktivnim vetrom.

We are still in Provance, in a beautiful and peaceful village Ansouis of which the history reaches at least the 10th century when the chateau was built. The streets are really narrow, peaceful and in a shelter from the wind.

Skozi zanimivo sotesko preko hribov Luberona, na poti iz Ansouisa proti Bonnieuxu in dalje proti Avignonu.

Going trough an interesting gorge, over the Luberon hills, on the way from Ansouis to Bonnieux and on to Avignon.

Na severni strani kolesarske trase "Tour du Luberon". Po nasvetih Bernharda in glede na najino smer sva se odločila pustiti južno stran trase in se usmeriti proti severni, proti Avignonu, ki ga ne gre izpustiti. Na spodnji sliki se lepo vidi Bonnieux, če me spomin ne vara.

On the north side of the cycling path Tour du Luberon. Bernhard advised us to take the north part of the road towards Avignon that we could not miss to see, so we decided not to go on the southern part as we first planned and followed his advice. If I remember well you can see Bonnieux on the photo bellow.

V ozadju dolina Luberona.

The Luberon valley in the background.

V Lacoste sva bila priča zanimivi dirki oldtimerjev.

We saw an interesting oldtimers race in Lacoste.

Proti Avignonu po napisanih Bernhardovih napotkih. NITI ENKRAT SE NISVA IZGUBILA!!! Če greste kdaj v te kraje, mi sporočite, pa vam posredujem Bernhardov kontakt. Je izkušen kolesarski vodič in zna super angleško ter nemško, saj je od tam doma.

Towards Avignon following Bernhard's advice on which roads to take. We did not get lost at all. If you decide to go to these places, let me know and I will send you Bernhards contact data. He is an experienced German cycling guide and he speaks English and of course German.

Nalepke na znaku so nama govorile, da sva na pravi poti, na Bernhardovi poti, kjer je srečanje z avtomobilom redek prizor.

The stickers on the sign were telling us we were on the right way, that Bernhard suggested to us and where you rarely meet a car.

Skoraj v Avignonu.

Almost in Avignon.

Tam sva srečala Detlefa, še enega kolesarja iz Nemčije. V ozadju je palača papežev.

That is where we met Detlef, another cyclist from Germany. The palace of popes is in the background.

Zaželela sva si malo miru pred sicer privlačnim a hrupnim in kolesarjem neprijaznem starodavnem centru Avignona. Z brezplačno ladjico sva prečkala reko in se takole razkomotila na urejeni zelenici, kjer sva srečala mnogo miru željnih ljudi, turistov...

We wanted some peace from the traffic noise and unkind to cyclists but yet attractive old Avignon city center. We crossed the river with a free boat and this is how we got cosy on a nice grass where we met many people who were also looking for some peace...

Slavni avignonski most.

The famous Avignon bridge.

Iz Saint Remyja v edini močnejši zpon na najini poti.

From Saint Remy on to the only climb on this way.

V ozadju je Le Beoux.

Le Beoux in the background.

Najina gostitelja iz Hospitality cluba blizu Arlesa, Nathalie in Salvatore. Takole sva morala natovoriti kolesi v avto, saj sta naju prišla iskati v St. Martin de Crau, ki je oddaljen 10km od njune hiše. Kraj kjer živita je težje najti. Kako lepo od njiju, kajne?

Our Hospitality club hosts, Nathalie and Salvatore that live close to Arles. This is how we put the bikes into the car; because they came to pick us up to St.Martin de Crau, that is 10 kilometers away from their house. The place where they live is harder to find. That was really nice of them, wasn't it? :)

Večerja v prijetni družbi. Na fotografiji sta tudi Tomy in Nina, njuna hčerka in sin.

Dinner in a nice company. Tomy and Nina, their children, are also on the photo.

Kratek nastop pred spanjem, predvsem pa pred toplim kaminom. :)

A short performance before going to bed in front of a nice and cosy fireplace. :)

Proti Montpelierju.

Towards Montpellier.

In tukaj se pojavi Joel, oseba, ki se nama je zelo utrnila v spomin in o kateri bomo več napisali, ko bo za to več časa, saj bi se njemu rada posvetila v miru. Naj za sedaj samo na kratko povem, da sva ga po naključju srečala 20km pred Montpelierjem na cesti, ki pelje skozi vas Lansargues, kjer živi s svojo ženo Anne. Ko sva mu povedala, da se bova verjetno ukampirala nekje, ob kaki njivi, naju je kar sam od sebe povabil v svojo hišo, kjer sva preživela čudovite tri dni ob prijetni družbi in čudoviti hrani, plod Joelovih kuharskih veščin.

And this is where Joel comes in. A person that will stay in our minds and about whoom we will write a bit more when we have time and peace. But for now, let me just shortly say that we met him by coincidence 20 kilometers before Montpellier on the road that goes trough the Lansargues village, where he lives with his wife Anne. When we told him that we will camp somwhere on a field, he invited us in to his house where we spent three extraordinary days in a great company and delicious food that was a result of Joels great cooking abilities.

Odpeljal naju je tudi v Montpellier, kjer sva srečala Pierra, izkušenega kolesarja, ki ima za sabo preko 30.000 km poti po sem svetu.

He also drove us to Montpellier, where we met Pierre, an experienced cyclist that has over 30.000 kilometers of cycling all over the world.

Nakupili smo nekaj rož za Anne, Joelovo ženo in se odpravili nazaj v domov.

We bought some flowers for Anne, Joels wife and we went back to the house.

Dobra glasba.

Good music.

A bug

2008-03-26T08:44:00.000-07:00

We have to apoligoze to our non-sloveninan speaking friends for not putting the English translations in the previous post. We are dealing with a bug and cannot acces to the source of this post anymore. We will try to fix this problem ASAP.

Cremona - Nice - Cannes - Ansouis

2008-03-26T05:21:00.000-07:00

Tokrat res na kratko zaradi veliko razlogov. :) Slike tako ali tako povedo skoraj vse. Mogoče bova kdaj drugič dopolnila komentarje.

Trenutno je za nama ta pot

View Larger Map

Samo še par fotografij s Stefanom in njegovima dvema mačkama pred odhodom iz Cremone. Prav zanimivo, kako smo na sliki ujeti cisto vsi... tudi mala navihanka na prvi fotografiji zgoraj levo. Do sedaj je nismo niti opazili. :)

Srečanje simpatičnega nemca (Jurgen) ter njegovega prav tako simpatičnega kolesa ter slovo iz Nice.

Balinanje na takoimenovani Promenadi Angležev. Zelo popularen hobi v Franciji.

S kolesom po sloviti promenadi mesta Nice.

Naša gostiteljica Regine ob učenju osnov francoščine.

Skupna fotografije pred odhodom.

Pa še malo Nice.

Čas za kosilo.

Prvi pogled v prelepo Provanso in prvi "zlobni" klanci. :)

Pred vstopom v Tanneron, majhno vasico, na vrhu hriba. Spominska plošča posvečena kolesarju, ki je poginil med izvajanjem svoje ljubezni - kolesarstva.

Pomladanske barve.

Mi smo tukaj.

Kratek spust.

Užitke lepot pokrajine, obsijane s toplim pomladanskim soncem nama je kvaril močan veter, ki je neprestano pihal nama naproti.

Pošel nama je plin in nisva še imela možnosti, da bi ga dokupila, pa si tako nisva morala več kuhati. Zato so prišle na vrsti prave francoske bagete! :)

Takole sva si včasih natočila pitno vodo, v teh samotnih, zanimivih vasicah.

Peljala sva se proti Ansouisu, kjer sta naju čakala najina gositelja Bernhard in Catherine. Tokrat naju je že četrti dan zaustavljal močan veter, ki nama je ta dan popolnoma vzel vso motivacijo do nadaljevanja poti. Ta dan se je veter tako okrepil, da je postalo že preveč nevarno in sva morala kolesi velikokrat porivati kar na roke. Več o temu mogoče drugič z video posnetki.

Skoraj v Ansouisu.

To je za sedaj vse, kar imava v tem trenutku. Sledite najinim avanturam še naprej, saj bova blog osveževala čim bo to mogoče.

Kaj sva prekolesarila do sedaj / What we've cycled so far

2008-03-17T11:43:00.000-07:00

Oglej si povecano karto. / Visualize magnified map.

Santa cristina - Rubano - Bozzolo - Cremona

2008-03-17T05:04:00.000-07:00

Tokrat malo bolj na kratko, da bova najin vnos lahko objavila v realnem casu, ne tako kot prejsnjic. :) Nahajava se v Cremoni pri prijaznem in zelo gostoljubnem Stefanu. Trenutno je v sluzbi, midva z Azro pa zeliva ta cas izkoristiti na internetu. Druzbo nama delata njegovi dve simpaticni macki.

Cremono sva si ogledala vceraj in danes sledi lezerno vzdusje, pranje perila, igranje mackama in deskanje po internetu ter odgovarjanje na elektronska sporocila.

Pot do S. Cristine sva ze opisala, sledi pot do Cremone.

This time we want to be a little bit shorter, so that we can publish this post in real time unlike the previous post. We are now in Cremona, hosted by the kind and hospitable Stefano. At the moment he is at work, so we want to use this opportunity to use internet. We are in good company of his two lovely cats. :)

We saw Cremona yesterday and today we will just relax, wash our clothes, play with the cats and answer to the email we received.

We have already described the road ti St. Cristina, so now follows the road to Cremona.

Takole sva se poslavljala od Alessandre in Tommasa najmlajsega v druzini.

This is how we said goodbye to Alessandra and Tommaso the youngest in the family.

Ob prihodu v prelepo Padovo, sva na eni izmed ulic dozivela tradicijonalni dogodek, ko student dokonca svoj studij. Takole mora iz ogromnega plakata brati dolgo zgodbo svojega zivljenja, zapisano na zabaven nacin in vsakic, ko se zmoti, mora piti iz flase napolnjene s spricem. S cim so jo namazali nisva niti sprasevala. :)

Once arrived to the beautiful Padova, we witnessed a traditional event on one of the streets, when a student finishes his studies. In this way, a student has to read from a big peace of paper his long life story, but written in a funny way. Every time he or she makes a mistake, he or she has to drink from the bottle, full of an local alcoholic drink. We did not bother to ask what is the stuff she is covered with. :)

Privoscila sva si vsak eno kavo in vzdihnila ob prejetju racuna: 5.2 EUR! "Nic hudega, bog ve, kdaj bova spet v tem lepem mestu", sva se tolazila.

We took two coffees and were a bit shaken when we saw the bill: 5.2 EUR! Never mind, we said, god knows when we will again be in this beautiful city.

Skupna fotografija na prelepem in ogromnem trgu imenovanem "Prato della valle", velikem 88620 m².

We took a photo together on a beautiful and large square called "Prato della valle",88620m big.

Pri najinih odlicnih gostiteljih Mauru, Chiari in malemu dvomesecnemu Giosue-ju v Villaguatteri, blizu Rubana sva se zadrzala eno noc. Na fotografiji so tudi njihovi trije prijatelji. So izjemno simpaticna in iskrena druzba, ki naju je sprejela zelo lepo, naju lepo pogostila in resnicno sva uzivala v klepetanju z njimi. Upava, da se se srecamo.

We spent one night at the apartment of wonderful Mauro, Chiara and two months old Giosue in Villaguaterra, near Rubano. You can see their three friends on the photo too. They are a very charming and honest bunch that accepted and took care of us very kindly and we enjoyed talking with them. We hope to see them again soon.

Mlada mamica Chiara in njen dvomesecni ponos Giosue.

Young mum Chiara and her two months old Giosue.

Montagnana.

Montagnana.

V cudoviti Mantovi sva srecala prva kolesarska turista na najini poti in sicer iz Nemcije. TO STA Michael in Rainer. Pripotovala sta iz juga Italije, opravila pa cez 1500km! Rainer ima samo 14 let.

We met two cycling tourists from Germany in beautiful Mantova. They are Michael and Rainer. They cycled from southern Italy and did more than 1500km! Rainer is only 14 years old.

Takole sva kampirala v blizini reke Oglio.

This is how we camped near the river Oglio.

Nisva bila sama. Poleg pavov so nama druzbo delali se taki korenjaki.

We were never alone. Beside peacocks we also had company by some other "big" animals.

Tako je izgledalo najinih naslednjih 15 kilometrov.

This is how the next 15 km looked like.

Kakih 20km pred Cremono tak zalosten pogled v eni izmed mnogih farm goveda. Naj omenim, da je bilo zadnjih 40km pred Cremono najinih najtezjih do sedaj, to pa zaradi mocnega vetra, ki je pihal v nama nasprotni smeri, neskoncno dolgih ravnih cest in groznega smrada, ki je prihajal iz farm.

About 20 km before Cremona there was a sad view on one of the many cattle farms. I must mention that the last 40 km before Cremona were the hardest so far, because of strong wind, that was blowing in the opposite direction, endlessly long flat roads and a terrible smell that was coming from the farms.

Koncno Cremona, kjer sva skromno, z zelo dobrim a zopet dragim sladoledom praznovala najino sesto skupno obletnico.

Finally, Cremona, where we spent our 6th anniversary (since we first met) with a very good but expensive ice cream.

Grado, Eraclea, Santa Cristina

2008-03-12T02:57:00.000-07:00

Pred štartom sva se poslovila od družine in prijateljev, ki se jim iskreno zahvaljujeva za mahanje v začasno slovo :) ter vso moralno podporo.

V Opčinah sva srečala Markota ter to izkoristila za skupno fotografijo.

V treh etapah sva opravila najinih prvih 213 kilometrov in sva, morava priznati, zelo zadovoljna. Kljub sivemu in deževnemu vremenu, sva preživela tri čudovite dneve, se peljala po čudovitih, ravnih in predvsem neskončno dolgih cestah s prelepimi drevoredi. Hitrost konstantna.

Kot sva se na začetku odločila, sva se ravnala po pravilu izogibanja pomembnejših cest, kar se nama je močno obrestovalo, četudi sva morala zato opraviti nekaj več kilometrov. Povem vam, splača se!

Najlepše poti sva srečevala, ko sva se izgubljala in uživala ob presenetljivo lepi naravi pokrajine "Friuli-Venezia-Giulia". Prav presenečana sva bila nad tem, kako naše diomače kraje obkroža toliko lepot, za katere sploh ne vemo, kljub temu, da sploh niso tako oddaljene.

Večkrat sva ostajala sama na cestah, saj je bilo prometa bore malo. Vsi vozniki se ponavadi nagnetejo na avtoceste ali prometnejše glavne ceste in oba sva se strinjala da se ljudje v naglici dejansko premalo posvečamo okolici in bolj gledamo, da izberemo krajše poti, take, ki nas hitreje pripeljejo na cilj. Tak odnos pa na srečo ustvarja za "izgubljenega" kolesarja pravi raj, kjer lahko resnično prisluhneš zvokom narave.

Pot od doma proti Tržiču (Monfalcone) se je večinoma spuščala in že prvi dan sva opravila 61 kilometrov ter se ukampirala pred vstopom v simpatično obmorsko mesto Grado, ki je res lepo izhodišče za tiste, ki želijo uživati v prelepo laguni, "Laguna di Grado".

Bil je to najin prvi dan na kolesih in proti večeru, ko sva se približevala temu mestu, sva naključno naletela na predel imenovan "La valle Cavanata". Mislila sva, da sva se izgubila, vendar sva se kmalu pripeljala v pravi kolesarski raj, poln miru, različnih vrst vodnih ptic, predvsem pa praznih stranskih cest. Občutek je postal popoln, ko se začelo sijati sonce in to ravno ob začetku urejene kolesarske proge, pa vse do najinega kampa pred mestom Grado.

Omembe vredni so tudi mimoidoči, ki so naju prijazno pozdravljali, pa tudi nekaj slovenskih avtomobilov se je peljalo mimo, ter naju pozdravljalo, ko so videli slovensko zastavo pripeto na kolo. Srečala sva veliko kolesarjev, vendar so bili to večinoma dirkalci. S kakim smo se pozdravili ali pa na hitro pokramljali, ko smo spraševali o poteh. Ponavadi so bili to prijetni pogovori. Še sreča, da znam italijansko. Upava lahko, da bo v Franciji tudi tako lepo kramljati. Bomo videli, kako se bomo ujeli v jeziku. Francoščina ni ravno najin jezik. Je pa zato angleščina tisto kar najbolj obvladava.

Aja, ob kolesarski poti do Grada sva srečala mnogo zapuščenih koles, ki pa niso bila v tako slabem stanju. Starejša gospa, ki sva jo srečala nam je dejala, da so to verjetno najeta kolesa, saj je v okolici mesta veliko hotelov in restavracij, ki oddajajo kolesa v najem. Povedala nama je, da jih mladi kdaj mečejo kar v morje.

Ko je slišala, kam se odpravljava in kako prenočujeva, nama je povedala, da se nama ni treba preveč bati glede kriminala, da pa je v redu, če kolesi zaklepava ponoči ali pa jih skrijeva.

Naslednji dan sva se peljala proti Jesolu, vendar sva po zopet neskončno dolgih cestah, obdanih s prav tako neskončno velikimi, prostranimi njivami, prispela skoraj do Eraclee. Zaradi preveč izpostavljenega terena, si nisva želela kampirati čisto na vsaki njivi. V dežju in neskončnih drevoredih sva vrtela pedale in opravila 81 kilometrom preden sva omagala.

Vendar pa meniva, da se je izplačalo truditi se toliko. Ob cesti je bilo posajenih nekaj hiš in ni bilo kaj, kot vprašati domačine za pomoč. Dobila pa nisva le nasveta, temveč bistveno več, kot sva sploh lahko upala! Dobila sva prijetno prenočišče v garaži družine Scapolan - De Nobili. Bilo je to res pristno doživetje. Malce sva se sicer obotavala, vendar sva na koncu le pristala in sprejela dobroto, čeprav nama je bilo sprva kar malce nerodno. Še posebno takrat, ko je gospa Daria, mati dveh čudovitih otrok starih osem in eno leto (Luca 1, Matilde 8) v garažo prinesla testenine s paradižnikom. Ostala sva brez besed in z veseljem, kljub utrujnosti prijetno kramljala z njimi, preden sva zaspala kot topa, v zavetju pred dežjem, ki je vztrajno padal celo noč. Tako se nama je posušil od prejšnje noči premočen šotor, pa še na ravnem terenu sva spala in se, za razliko od prejšnje noči resnično naspala. Temperatura v šotoru je bila tokrat 8 stopinj Celzija, prejšnjo noč pa 5 stopinj.

Prebudila sva se sicer utrujena, v bolečinah, vendar sva vedela, da sva se dobro naspala, kar nama je zelo koristilo. Zjutraj sta morala Daria in njen mož Simone v službo, Matilde pa seveda v šolo. Tako smo se od njih morali posloviti na hitro. Pa vendar so si vseeno vzeli nekaj minut, da so nama pripravili nepričakovan, prijeten zajtrk.

Nismo jih hoteli obremenjevati s fotografiranjem, vendar smo to storili kasneje in sicer preden smo se poslovili še od malega Francesca ter njegovih starih staršev Guerrina in Teresine, ki sta pred kratkim praznovala "zlato poroko", torej 50. obletnico.

To je bilo včeraj. Vreme se ni nič kaj spremenilo, padalo je skoraj celo pot, vendar ni bilo tako slabo. Pokrajina je bila enkratna in seveda sva se večkrat izgubila po stranskih poteh, sva pa zato več komunicirala z domačini. Pred Trevisom sva naletela na močno kontrolo do zob naoroženih karabinjerjev, ki so ustavljali tovornjake. Za kakšno akcijo je šlo, nisva izvedela. Naju pa je to močno zanimalo zaradi helokopterja, ki je bil parkiran na bližnjem nogometnem igrišču. Nisem si upal fotografirati, saj nisem hotel izzivati usode.

Po opravljenih 74-ih kilometrih sva prispela do najinih gostiteljev iz hospitality Cluba v Santo Cristino, malce izven Trevisa.

Tukaj se imava zopet čudovito, saj je družina res od sile. Dario in Alessandra imata tri prijetne male škrate in sicer: Tommaso (5 let), Pietro (9 let) in Lisa (10let). Gostoljubje je tu res na višku in počutiva se kot doma. Postavili so naju v stanovanje pod njihovim, ki je, tako kot celotno njihovo bivališče urejeno res z okusom, polno vedrih barv.

Spodnje stanovanje je samo za naju. Ko so doma, prijetno klepetamo tako v italijanščini, kot v angleščini in res se razumeva z otroci, ki so nama, po Alessandrinih besedah, kot dvema neznanima gostoma podarili oceno pozitivno. To je dober znak. :) V končni fazi se imamo skupaj res lepo.

Skupaj gledamo fotografije, risanke, se pogovarjamo, jemo piškote... :) Žal nama je samo, da ne moreva ostati več. Tukaj bova skupno ostala dve noči in tako bova jutri odpotovala dalje proti Rubanu, mestu blizu Padove, kjer naju čaka še ena mlada družina.

Tega se že veseliva, čeprav zapuščava enkratne duše, polne dobrote in tolerance do ostalih. Obema, prevsem Azri je pri njih všeč predvsem to, da so sposobni svoja dobrodelna prepričanja na glas deliti z ostalim svetom. Vsi tega nismo vedno sposobni. Na balkonu razobešena romunska zastava je le en izmed mnogih dokazov. V Italiji so v medijih izvajali pritisk na romunske priseljence, kot rezultat nekaterih incidentov, ki so se zgodili, mislim, da v rimu, nisem preprican. Otroke vzgajata v pravi smeri, smeri dobrote do sočloveka, tolerance do drugačnih in dajata jima vedeti, da je spoznavanje ljudi drugačnih kultur lahko zelo koristno in zabavno. To dokazujeta s tem, da v svojo hišo rade volje sprejmeta vsakega popotnika, ki rabi pomoč. Na Hospitality Clubu imata veliko lepih komentarjev in z mnogimi popotniki so postali pravi prijatelji, ter tako z njimi še vedno ohranjata stike. V spodnjem resnično prostornem stanovanju (majhna kuhinja, velika dnevna soba z ledilnim kotom, prijetna spalna soba s kopalnico), ki je trenutno namenjeno samo gostom, imata obešene njihove spominske fotografije, na policah pa raznorazni papirji in vodniki z informacijami o odhodih in prihodih avtobusov, ter drugih za popotnika koristnih informacij. Nekaj res izjemnega! Kaj takega še nisva doživela. Upava, da se bomo še srečali. Nenazadnje je Treviso zelo blizu Sežane, če se tja odpelješ z avtom.

Skratka, prvi tri dni lahko opiševa le s superlativi. Upava, da se bo tak ritem nadaljeval.

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Grado, Eraclea, Santa Cristina

Before departure we said goodby to our family and friends, who we thank very much for all the moral support and the waving goodbye. :)

We met Marko in Opcine and took a chance to make a photo together.

We made our 213 kilometers in 3 stages and we are, I must admit, very satisfied. Despite the rainy and cloudy weather we had a wonderful three days, cycled trough beautiful, straight and above all endlessly long roads with amazing avenues. The speed constant.

As we decided at the beginning, we avoided the main roads, which turned out to be a great idea, even though we had to make a few more kilometers. It was worth every minute of it.

The most beautiful roads that we found, were the ones when we got lost and we enjoyed a surprisingly beautiful nature of the "Friuli-Venezia-Giulia" province.

We were surprised to see that our hometowns were surrounded by so much beauty, we did not know about and they are not far away.

We were alone on the road most of the time, because there was not so much traffic.Usually all the drivers swarm(crowd,throng, press) on highways or busier main roads.We both agreed that when people are in a hurry they don't concentrate on the surroundings much and they choose the roads that will take them to their destination as quick as possible.

But luckily that kind of attitude makes heaven for a "lost" cyclist where he/she can really listen to the sounds of nature.

The road from home to Monfalcone was mostly downwards so we made 61 kilometers the first day and camped just before one charming town close to the sea, called Grado, which is a truly beautiful base for those who want to enjoy a beautiful lagoon "Laguna di Grado".

It was our first day on the bike and we bumped into this part called "La valle Cavanata" by accident before the dark.

We taught we got lost, but we soon came into a cyclist heaven, full of peace, all kinds of different birds and most of all empty side roads.

The feeling became perfect, when the sun started shining right when we reached the beginning of a very nice arranged cyclist path that went all the way to our camp before Grado.

It is also worth to mention the passerby, which greeted us nicely and there were also some Slovenian cars passing by, saying hello, when they saw a Slovenian flag on the back of the bike.

We also met a lot of cyclists, which were mostly racing cyclists. We said hello and had a chat with some of them while asking for nice directions. Luckily I speak Italian and we hope to have nice chats like these in France too. We will see how the language will go because we are not really good in French, but we hope to learn a bit. However, we are great in English, so hopefully that will help. :)

Oh, BTW, we saw a lot of abandoned bikes in good shape on the way to Grado. An older lady we met said that those were probably rented bikes, because there are lots of restaurants and hotels in the city that rent bikes. She said that some youngsters are throwing them into the sea, just like that.

When she heard where we were going and how we are camping, she said we don't have to worry about theft but still that is good to lock or hide the bikes.

We cycled towards Jesolo the next day and we almost reached Eraclea on those straight, long roads, surrounded by just as long and wide fields.

We didn't want to camp on just about any field because of the soil. We were cycling in rain and endless avenues and finally went out of energy.

But it was worthy to cycle so hard. There were houses next to the road and we had no other option but to ask someone for help. But we received more than just an advise on where to camp. We received a nice shelter in the garage owned by the Scapolan-De Nobili family. That was a really genuine experience. We hesitated a bit but at the end we agreed and accepted the nice gesture even though we were a bit embarrassed. Especially when Diana, a mother of two beautiful children Luca (1 years) and Matilde (8 years), brought us some pasta with tomato sauce to the garage. We were speechless and happy but still had a short chat before falling asleep like dead in a shelter from rain that kept falling all trough the night.

And so, our tent, that was wet from the previous night got dry and also we slept on the flat ground. The temperature in the tent was 8C and the previous night was 5C.

We woke up feeling pain in our bodies but we knew we had a good sleep and that was really useful for us. Daria and her husband had to go to work that morning and Matilde had to go to school so we just had a quick goodbye. However, they took a few extra minutes and prepared us a very nice and tasty breakfast, which was a realy nice surprise. We did not want to bother them with taking photos, so we took some when we said goodbye to little Francesco and his grandparents Guerrino and Teresina, that celebrated their 50th anniversary just recently.

That was yesterday, the weather didn't change much. It rained almost the intire way but it was not so bad. The landscape was amazing so we were "getting lost" on the side ways (roads), but because of that we had a chance to comunicate with the locals.

We ran into a strong police control before Treviso and the police (carabinieri) was armed and was stopping the trucks. We did not manage to find out what kind of action was in process. But we were very much interested because we saw a police helicopter parked on the football field. I did not dear to take any photos.

After 74 km we arrived to Santa Cristina, just outside Treviso, where our hosts from Hospitality Club were waiting for us.

We also had a wonderful time here, because this family was really great. Dario and Alessandra have three wonderful children called Tomasso (5), Pietro (9) and Lisa (10). The hospitality here is amazing and we feel like at home. They gave us an apartment under their, that was just like the rest of the house furnitured with taste and lots of bright colors. We had the intire apartment for ourselves.

When all of them were at home, we had a nice dinner and a chat together and according to Alessandra the children gave us a positive mark (grade) as guests, which is a good sign. :)

After all we are having a great time together. We are watching photos and cartoons together and of course eating cookies. Too bad we cant stay longer. We will stay here two nights altogether and tomorrow we will go towards Rubano, that is near Padova, where a young family is waiting for us.

We are looking forward to that even though we are leaving, wonderful and good people behind, full of tolerance towards others.

We both liked (especially Azra) the fact that they were capable of sharing their positive and charitable believes with the rest of the world. Not all people are capable of doing that in all times. They had a Romanian flag on their balcony to show tolerance towards Romanian people, because in Italy there are a lot of negative emotions towards Romanians now. They are raising their children in the right direction teaching them to be kind and tolerant to people and their differences and that getting to know people from different countries and cultures can be very positive, useful and fun thing. One way of proving that is by hosting travellers and helping them if needed. They have a lot of great comments on Hospitality Club and are maintaining contact with many of the people they were hosting.

In the spacious apartment under them (kitchen, a living room, bedroom and bathroom with toilet) that is currently only for guests they have lots of photos from the guests they hosted and you can find guides and papers full of information about their region and the bus/train schedules. It was a really great experience and we really hope to meet them again after all Treviso is not far from Sezana if you go there with a car.

The only way to describe the first three days is by saying they were super great and we hope our journey will continue in the same way it started.

Z zamudo proti Franciji

2008-03-07T03:09:00.000-08:00

Pred odhodom v Francijo sedaj zamujava že teden dni in to zaradi vremena, ki naju je izdalo tik pred odhodom. Zunaj piha najmočnejša burja to zimo in temperature so temu primerne. Zato sva se z grenkobo v srcih odločila, da bova najin odhod še malo prestavila, ampak se bova na pot odpravila ob prvi najmanjši možnosti. Tako so najine oči uperjene zgolj v vremensko napoved in kaže, da naj bi bila nedelja (čez dva dni) še najbolj primerna za odhod. Vreme tudi takrat ne bo najboljše, pa vendar pravijo, da se bo malce otoplilo in tudi burja bo nekoliko ponehala. Ugotovila sva, da če bi čakala tisto pravo lepo vreme, bi lahko čakala tudi mesec dni, dokler ne pride prava pomlad.

Rešuje naju upanje, da se sedaj zima le razbesnjuje in da bo po tej "nevihti" kmalu posijalo sonce, dobesedno, prišla bo prava pomlad. Držimo pesti.

Zaradi tega se sedaj opravičujeva vsem in obveščava vse prijatelje iz warmshowers.com in Hospitality Club-a, ki naju čakajo na poti, da bova zamujala in se javila ko bova pač v bližini. Upava, da se bomo kljub tej nepredvideni in neprijetni zamudi lahko srečali.

Tako sva praktično v nizkem štartu pripravljena na odhod. Kolesi sta nared in skoraj vse torbe so zapakirane. Ker nimava pametnejšega dela, sedaj pred odhodom le še malo lenariva in pa dopolnjujeva tiste majhne luknjice, ki so ostale prazne zaradi prejšnjega hitenja. Naprimer dopisujeva si s prijatelji in upam, da bo vreme danes dovoljevalo, da greva malo ven s kolesom. Poleg tega mi je na zemljevid uspelo zarisati najino načrtovano pot, ki jo bova, vsaj tako upava uspela opraviti v teh skoraj štirih mesecih, kar bova na na poti.

Kliknite na karto za povečavo. Označena pot je približna. Modra barva označuje glavno smer, oranžna pa je dodatna pot, ki si jo sicer tudi želiva opraviti, vendar se bova o tem odločila na poti. Vse bo odvisno od najinih sposobnosti in časa. Poleg tega je Francija ogromna država in zavedava se, da začrtana pot zagotovo meri preko 5000km.

Natančno razdaljo bova preračunavala na poti sami. Kolikor sem se mučil računati pravo razdaljo vnaprej, to žal ni bilo mogoče storiti popolnoma natančno. Saj v končni fazi še sama ne veva natančno po katerih cestah se bova peljala. Imava nov števec in ta bo štel za naju.

Kam naju bo peljala pot

Če bo vse po sreči in če naju ne bo izdala najina neizkušenost (tudi fizično se spet nisva veliko pripravljala ter sva bolj nabirala maščobe za rezervo), naju bo pot natančneje vodila od Sežane proti Tržiču (Monfalconu), Benetkam, Padovi, pa proti Veroni in proti Gardskemu jezeru. Od tam jo bova mahnila proti Alessandrii in po najbolj ugodni poti do francoske meje, kjer naj bi v Francijo vstopila skozi mejni prehod Ventimiglia.

Francija je prepredena s cestami, tako da bova midva iskala tiste mirnejše in manj prometne. Namreč lepa, a preveč prometna in nevarna Jadranska magistrala nama je bila močna lekcija za vnaprej in upam, da se nama bo obrestovala.

Sledila bo pot do Nice, pa Cannes, od koder se bova ločila od obale in jo udarila proti mestu Manosque, kjer bova poskušala opraviti južni del kolesarske ture po francosko imenovane "Route du Luberon". Sledila bodo mesta Avignon, Nimes, Montpellier, Beziers in Narbonne, od koder se bova to Toulousa in pa vse do Bodeauxa peljala ob "Kanalu dveh morij". Od tam dalje proti severu, proti mestoma Nantes in Rennes. Tam se bova natančneje odločila, kako nadaljevati najino pot, saj si do Pariza želiva peljati po slikoviti dolini reke Loire. Mogoče bova prej skočila v pokrajino "Bretagne".

Če bo čas, se bova iz Pariza peljala na sever Francije pa potem proti Alzaciji, se pravi v Strassbourg in zatem zopet proti jugu, proti francoskim alpam. Takrat bi moralo biti že poletje, torej nebi smeli imeti več problemov s snegom. Od tam dalje se pa še ne ve natančno. Verjetno naj bi se spustila proti morju in si privoščila oddih na francoskih plažah. Potem pa nazaj proti mejnemu prehodu Ventimiglia in z vlakom proti Sloveniji.

Imejte se lepo in hvala vsem, ki ste naju moralno podpirali do sedaj. Sponzorjev tudi tokrat nisva iskala, čeprav bi jih lahko. Pa za drugič, ko bova imela v rokavu večji dosežek. Ob tem bi se rada tudi zahvalila prodajalki v sežanski prodajalni Simobil, ki nama je dobrovoljno prispevala SIM kartico po polovični ceni. Nekaj je nekaj, nič ni nič, sploh pa je važen namen.

Se bova poskušala javljati po poti, čeprav nič ne obljubljava, saj se bova raje osredotočila na pot samo in na dogodivščine, ki nama jih prinaša.

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Running late to France

We are running late for our journey a week already because of bad weather that betrayed us just before the departure. The strongest wind this winter is blowing and the temperatures are appropriate to the weather.

So, with bitterness in our hearts we have decided to stay at home and hit the road the first chance we get. Our eyes are constantly on the weather forecast and it looks like we might leave this Sunday (in two days). The weather will not be perfect but they said it will get a bit warmer and the wind will not be as strong as now. If we wanted to wait for the perfect weather that means we would probably wait for a month which is out of the question. We are hoping that this winter will fade away soon after the “storm” is over and the real Spring will come along.

And now we are writing to all of the friends from HospitalityClub and Warmshowers.com, apologising and saying we will contact you as soon as we are closer to your city, hoping you will be available to host us then.

We are ready for departure. The bikes are ready and almost all bags are packed. And since we don’t have anything important to do before leaving, we are just being lazy and trying to do all the small things we couldn’t do before, because we were rushing to do other stuff.

Like writing to friends and watching if the weather will warm up a bit so we can cycle around a bit. And I have managed to sketch our planned way on the map hoping we will manage to do it all in these four months ahead.

Click on the photo for enlargement. It is an approximate way of cycling. The blue color is for the main route and the orange color is for the route we would also like to do, but will decide on the way. It will all depend on the time we will have left and how much we can handle.

France is a huge country and the route we have marked probably measures more than 5000km. The accurate distance will be measured on the way. I have already tried to measure the precise distance here but it is really not possible. Besides we do not know which exact roads we will take and we have bought the new meter so it will do the job for us.

Where will the road lead us

If all goes as planed and our inexperience doesn’t hit us on the head our journey will, to be precise, take us from Sežana to Monfalcone, Venice, Padova, Verona, Garda lake and from there towards Alessandria and trough the nicest way towards the French border. We will probably enter the country trough Ventimiglia border crossing.

The roads we will search in France will be more peaceful and with less traffic. Because the majestic but dangerous and full of traffic road "Jadranska magistrala" was a strong lesson for us and hopefully that lesson will come in handy this time.

Than we will hit the road towards Nice, Cannes, where we will split from the coast and go on towards Manosque where we will try to do the southern part of the cycling route called “Route du Luberon”. The cities that will follow will be Avignon, Nimes, Montpellier, Beziers and Narbonne, from where we will cycle from Toulouse to Bordeaux on the path “Canal of the two seas”.

From there we will go North, towards the cities Nantes and Rennes. We will decide there how to continue our route, because towards Paris we would like to cycle trough the spectacular valley of the river Loire. We might cycle trough the "Bretagne" region before that.

If we have time we will go from Paris to the North of France and than to "Alsace, of course Strassbourg to be exact and than back to the south and the French Alps. By that time it would be Summer so we shouldn’t have any problems with snow.

We do not know where we will go from there yet. We will probably go down to the sea and have a nice relaxing time out from cycling and after that go to the Ventimiglia border and catch a train to Slovenia.

We hope all of you will have a great time and we thank you for your support. Also this time, we decided not to look for sponsors even though we could, but maybe we do it next time.

However we would like to say thank you to a saleswoman in the Simobil shop in Sežana that gave us a SIM card on half price. It is little, but better than nothing. She was really kind.

We will try to keep in touch, but we are not promising anything since we will be concentrated on the trip itself and the adventures that wait for us.

Od 7.10.2007 dalje, DAN 14,15,16,17… - Dubrovnik, Črna gora, Srbija, Grčija in konec kolesarjenja

2008-03-03T08:38:00.000-08:00

Vozila sva se polna motivacije, saj sva bila blizu mesta, ki je pomenil mejnik na najini poti. Ko osvojiva Dubrovnik, si lahko čestitava, saj bo takrat zaokroženih 800 kilometrov! Najinih prvih 800 kilometrov v življenju.

Promet se je zgoščeval, in veliko avtobusov je hitelo mimo naju. Nekateri vozniki so bili pravbrezobzirni. Spet se je ponavljala ista zgodba. Vendar se je tu zgodilo še nekaj.

Vozil sem kakih deset metrov pred Azro, pol metra od označenega roba ceste. Od te črte je bilo proti desni še kak meter in pol peščene podlage in še bolj proti desni oster skalnat rob in prepad v morje.

Šoferji avtobusov, ki so naju prehitevali se ni niso zmenili, da je cesta ozka in so naju z nezmanjšano hitrostjo prehitevali, kot da sploh nebi bila na cesti. V enem trenutku je mimo mene švignil eden izmed teh prekletih avtobusov, oddaljen mogoče pol metra od mojih ramen. Šel je tako hitro, da sem se zelo prestrašil, kljub temu, da sem ga videl v vzvratnem zrcalu. Ko se je zapeljal mimo, me silovit sunek zraka popolnoma spravil iz smeri vožnje, tako da sem zaplesal najprej malo v levo in nato silovito v desno, preko robne črte ceste in na peščeno podlago, ter se zaustavil pol metra od roba prepada. Cesta je bila seveda nezaščitena. Skratka od prepada in gotove smrti me je ločevalo le še pol metra. Tukaj je šlo zares.

Azra, ki je vozila za mano je otrpela, ko je videla, kaj se je zgodilo. Srce ji je skočilo v hlače, saj se je tako ustrašila, da je bila v šoku še kar nekaj časa. Tudi sam sem se »posral« in bil tako jezen nad vozniki avtobusov, da sem ponovno izkoristil ves svoj besedni zaklad žaljivk in spontano pokazal sredinca za avtobusom. Vem, nisem ponosen nase, ampak tukaj je šlo res na tesno.

Od vsega razburjenja sem se odločil, da se enostavno ne bom več vozil tako ob robu. Včasih se človek res spozabi. Zopet si bova vzela najmanj tisti meter po predpisih. In res sva si ga. Cesta je bila ozka, a nisva se umikala. Šoferji, predvsem vozniki avtobusov so postajali nestrpni, ker so morali počakati trenutek več, da naju varno prehitijo. Čisto nič me ni več zanimalo, le črno sem jih gledal, ko se me prehitevali in jim osorno odmahnil z levo roko, v smislu »Pojdi tja nekam, repenči se kolikor se želiš, meni je svoje življenje drago!« Nekateri so naju gledali, kot da sva idiota in zmajevali z glavami, ter nam namenjali mnoge grde besede. Prepričan sem, so to delali iz nevednosti.

Pred vstopom v Dubrovnik, to veličastno mesto, sva morala opraviti še nekaj zadnjih zalivov, prečkanje čez Tuđmanov most in dolg klanec pred spustom v center mesta.

V mestu sva ponovno srečala nekega kolesarja. Bil je to Jean Philippe, na kratko J.P. iz Quebeca. Prav zanimivo je bilo to, da sem ravno ta dan nosil majico z napisom »Canada«, ki sem jo dobil v dar od mamine sestrične in njenega Moža iz Kanade.

Pomagal nama je najti hostel in preden smo do tja prišli, smo bili priča grozljivemu dogodku. Ravno, ko smo se peljali mimo popularne razgledne točke, visoko nad skalami, se je nekdo vrgel v globino, ki se je zaključevala seveda s skalami in morjem. Sam sicer tega nisem videl z lastnimi očmi, je pa to videl J.P., ki se je vozil kakih trideset metrov pred nama. Res, grozna izkušnja. Kar sem videl, se mi ne bo nikoli izbrisalo iz spomina. Videl sem policista, ki stoji pri ograji, kako se drži za glavo in gleda navzdol, v prepad. Ko sem se peljal mimo, sem ob ograji, na tleh videl le natikače ubogega možakarja.

Kasneje so mi domačini povedali, da je to mesto nad skalami popularno med samomorilci in da se mnogi poženejo v globino prav s te ograje vsaj enkrat letno. Prav grozno. Take stvari te v trenutku streznijo in te postavijo na realna tla. Potovanje za nekaj trenutkov dobi čisto drugačne barve.

Ko smo se ustavili pred kolesarjem povsem neprijaznimi stopnicami, ki so vodile v hostel, smo se z J.P.-jem še malo pogovarjali in povedal nam je, da je bil nesrečen dogodek s samomorilcem sicer najhujši na njegovem dosedanjem potovanju, vendar pa je prepričan, da bodo novi prekolesarjeni kilometri zagotovo pomagali znebiti se groznih občutkov. J.P. je zatem želel svojo pot nadaljevati, zato smo se samo še fotografirali in se poslovili.

Če sva želela priti po stopnicah do hostla sva vedela, da bova morala popolnoma raztovoriti kolesi in potrpežljivo znositi vso opremo na roke.

Kljub temu nisva spala v hostlu. Najela sva sobo in tako prišla bolj poceni skozi. Soba ni bila bog ve kaj, zasebnosti praktično nisva imela in lastnica, stara gospa z zdravstvenimi težavami je s svojim čudaškim odnosom ustvarjala logistične težave tudi nama dvema.

Pa vendar sva se imela v mestu lepo in si naslednji dan ogledala znamenito obzidje,

si privoščila luksuzno večerjo (pico in dva kozarca vina), naredila nekaj več fotografij, kot ponavadi in uživala v lepem vremenu. Zanimivo se nama je zdelo, da je kljub koncu poletja v mestu še vedno mrgolelo turistov, predvsem angleško govorečih.

Imela sva veliko časa za razmislek in odločiti sva se morala, kako bova nadaljevala najino pot od tu dalje. Vremenska napoved je slabo kazala in izvedela sva, da se bo prav kmalu ohladilo. V gorah, ki so bile pred nama naj bi že zapadel sneg.

Ozrla sva se nazaj in ugotovila, da sva naredila približno 800km. Spraševala sva se, če res želiva iti dalje s kolesom, čez Črno Goro in albanske gore v Makedonijo in Grčijo. Po treznem razmisleku sva se oba strinjala, da so bili najini cilji sicer plemeniti, vendar nerealni glede na najino fizično pripravljenost in izkušenost. Tudi najine sicer kvalitetne pnevmatike niso bile ustvarjene za težak teren. Spraševala sva se tudi, če bova sploh še uživala v poti, če bova rinila naprej. Odgovor je bil jasen. Bilo je dovolj, dosegla sva kolikor sva zmogla in ni imelo smisla riniti v težave. Ni bilo potrebno. Nikomur se nama ni potrebno dokazovati. Ustaviti se je potrebno takrat, ko najbolj uživaš, drugače gresta razpoloženje in pravi užitek samo še navzdol.

Po skoraj treh dnevih v Dubrovniku sva se poslovila od Hrvaške in sicer tako, sva nekako uspela naložiti kolesa na avtobus, ki naj bi naju pripeljal direktno do Bara v Črni gori Gori, od koder bi se s kolesi prešvercala na vlak in se od tam v spalnem vagonu pripeljala do mojega očeta, ki živi v Srbiji, v Paraćinu.

Ni šlo vse kot po maslu. Na poti od Dubrovnika do Bara sva morala dvakrat izstopiti in zamenjati avtobus. Šoferja sta bila nadvse nesramna in agresivna, saj se jima ni dalo preveč pretegovati. Namreč, ko sva v Dubrovniku pred vsem tem klicala avtobusnega prevoznika, ki ima čez prevoze do Bara, so nama v pisarni povedali, da ne bo nobenega problema, da bi kolesa naložili kot prtljago. Bilo pa je popolnoma nasprotno. Ko je avtobus pripeljal in je šofer izstopil iz njega, je zagledal kolesa in še preden sem sploh uspel odpreti usta, mi je z agresivnim tonom dal vedeti: »Nema ništa! Bicikle ne idu na avtobus! Nema mesta.« Ob tem me niti pogledal ni in začel korakati proč. Seveda se z Azro nisva dala in začelo se je pogajanje. Šele ko sva mu zagrozila, da bova klicala na vodstvo, saj so mi tam zagotovili, da bodo kolesa sprejeli, se je malo omehčal, a še vedno držal tisti svoj arogantni izraz na obrazu.

Tako sva, kot rečeno, po živčni vojni le sedela na avtobusu. Šok naju je doletel, ko so nama povedali, da to sploh ni direktna linija, kot so nama povedali v pisarni in da bova morala prestopiti. Jeza naju je dobesedno razjedala, vendar sva se počasi pomirila, saj človek trezne glave boljše razmišlja. Jeza te samo spravi v težave.

Po dveh prestopih in manjših doplačilih ostalim šoferjem sva končno prispela v Bar in to celo pravočasno, da sva lahko ujela vlak za Paraćin. Kako se je poznala razlika v temperamentu ljudi, ko smo vstopili v Črno Goro. Ljudje raznolikih narodnosti, milih obrazov, vedno pripravljeni na prijeten, topel pogovor.

Tako sva se pred Budvo na zadnjem sedežu avtobusa prijetno pogovarjala z ostalimi potniki in si krajšala čas. Kolesa smo, še sedaj mi ni jasno kako, nekako uspeli natovoriti v prostor za prtljago, ki ni bil velik. Bili so to zelo majhni avtobusi.

Med potjo sva srečala tudi Josha iz Teksasa in pa gospoda Petra, rojenega v Črni Gori, živečega nekje v Ameriki. Tu je bil samo na dopustu in oživljal spomine na otroštvo, kako se je vozil v šolo po tej isti liniji. Lahko bi šel tudi z letalom, vendar se je odločil drugače prav zaradi lepih spominov.

Budva. To je na prvi pogled umazano mesto, pa vendar nisva imela želje natančno raziskovati. Bila sva utrujena in želela sva si v miru naložiti kolesa na vlak, brez komplikacij. To se je, hvala bogu tudi zgodilo. Verjetno gredo zasluge tudi toplemu srbskemu narodu, malo pa tudi mojim sposobnostim komunikacije in da ne pozabim dejstva, da je moj oče železničar že celo življenje.

Ko sem se pogajal z »domaćim voza«, sem stal na peronu in takrat se je močno vlilo. Bil sem moker, a nič za to. Čim sem povedal, da vem, da ta vlak uradno ne sprejema koles, da pa bi jih jaz vseeno rad natovoril, ter da je moj oče železničar in da pozna tega, pa onega, je bil dogovor sklenjen. Sicer sva morala doplačati nekaj dodatnega denarja »za kafe« in dobila sva spalni vagon. Šef spalnega vagona je bil pravi biser. Za vse potnike skrbel kot za svoje sinove. Kuhal nam je kavo in se z nami res prijetno pogovarjal. Povedal nam je, da občuduje najino potovanje, da ima že nekaj vnukov in da se bo kmalu upokojil.

Ker je svet majhen, jaz pa preko očeta poznam kar nekaj srbskih sprevodnikov, smo ugotovili, da imamo skupna poznanstva, saj se na železnici skoraj vsi poznajo.

Tako je najino pravo kolesarjenje prihajalo h koncu še pred prihodom v Grčijo. V Srbiji sva preživela 7 dni in sicer pri očetu, kasneje pa do Niša naredila še kakih 100km in se od tam z vlakom odpeljala najprej do Skopja.

Ko sva tja prispela je tudi naju dosegla tragična vest o smrti Tošeta Proeskega, kar je bil tudi za naju velik šok. Bil je to enkraten, pevec z res kvalitetnim glasom, glasbo, predvsem pa močno karizmo. Bil je eno leto mlajši od mene.

V Skopja sva se zopet usedla na vlak in se odpeljala do Bitole, od koder res ni bilo druge izbire, kot do Agiosa Germanosa v Grčiji prekolesariti.

Ugotovila sva, da je bila izbira o prenehanju kolesarjenja resnično prava, saj se je tam že začenjala prava zima s snegom.

Ko sva prišla v Grčijo, v najino zimsko bazo, sva kolesi pospravila, vendar se je najino pravo potovanje šele začelo. Marca 2008 bova kolesi zopet pognala v tek. Tokrat proti Franciji, a več o tem prihodnjič.

Še nekaj fotografij iz Makedonije in Grčije.

READ THE ENGLISH TRANSLATION BELOW

From 7.10.2007, DAY 14, 15, 16, 17,…
Dubrovnik, Monte Negro, Serbia, Greece and end of cycling

We cycled full of motivation, because we were getting close to the city that was our landmark on our journey.

When we arrived to Dubrovnik we congratulated ourselves, because we made the first 800 kilometers in our lives.

The traffic was getting thicker and a lot of buses rushed pass us. And again, some of the drivers were rude. The same story over again. But something else has also happened.

I cycled around 10 meters in front of Azra, half meter from the marked side of the road. There was some sandy base a meter to the right from the marked line, a sharp stone edge and a cliff to the ocean.

The bus drivers that were rushing did not care that the road was narrow and they were passing us by with a big speed like we were not there. And in one moment a bus rushed by almost touching my shoulder. He was so fast, I panicked, even though I have seen him in my rear mirror.

A big boost of air got me of the riding direction, my bike was swinging left and right, over the marked line to the sandy part and I stopped half of meter before the cliff. The road was of course unprotected. To put it short, I was half of meter away from the cliff and death.

Azra froze when she saw what happened. She was in shock for a while even after the whole thing has happened. I also almost shit my pants and I cursed the drivers and showed the finger.

I have decided not to cycle close to the edge anymore. Sometimes a person just forgets. So we took that meter that was allowed by road regulations. The road was narrow but we did not move away. The drivers, mostly bus drivers were getting inpatient because they had to wait for the right moment to pass by.

I did not care anymore. All I did was giving them a bad look when they were passing us by and curtly shook my left hand on them saying » Get mad all you want, I like my life too much to move. « Some of them were giving us bad looks and saying bad words, shaking their heads.

Before entering Dubrovnik, that magnificent city, we still had to finish a few more curbs, cross the Tuđman bridge, do a long slope before a descent to downtown.

When we arrived we met a cyclist from Quebec, Canada called Jean Philippe (J.P.). It was interesting that I had a T-shirt with a sign Canada on me in that moment, that I got for a present from my mother's cousin Lisa and her husband David. Thank you Lisa and David!!! The T-Shirt is EXCELLENT!

J.P. helped us find a hostel and before we got there, we witnessed a horrible event. Just when we were cycling by a popular viewing point, high above the rocks, someone threw himself down to the dept of the rocks and the sea.

I haven’t actually seen it myself, but J.P. did, because he was around 30 meters in front of us. It was a really horrible experience. What I saw, will never go out of my head. I saw a policeman standing next to the fence, holding his hands on his head and looking down to the cleft. When I cycled by, I saw the shoes of the poor man that jumped, right next to the fence, where he left them before jumping to death.

Later on I found out from the locals that a lot of people try to commit suicide on that spot and that at least once a year someone jumps down. It is horrible. These kind of things shake you up instantly and put you on a real ground. Our journey got completely different colors for a while.

When we stopped in front of a very unkind stairs for cyclists that were the way to the youth hostel, we spoke to J.P. for a while and he said that this was the most horrible experience on his trip so far but he was sure that the new cycled kilometers will help him get over the bad experience.

We took a photo together before he left.

If we wanted to get to the hostel, we knew we had to put all the stuff down from the bikes and take everything upstairs with hands.

But we didn’t sleep in the hostel. We rented a room next to it that was much cheaper. The room wasn’t much and we barely had any privacy and the old lady that owned the place had health problems and made our logistic problems even bigger with her weird attitude.

Still, we had a great time in the city and the following day we went to check out the famous walls and had a luxurious dinner (pizza and wine), took more photos than usually and enjoyed the great weather.

Even though the summer was over there were a lot of tourists, mostly english speaking.

We had a lot of time to think and we had to decide how to continue our journey from there.

The weather forecast wasn’t optimistic and it said it will become colder. And the snow was already falling on the mountains ahead of us. We realized we made 800 kilometers and asked ourselves if we really wanted to continue our trip with bikes trough Monte Negro, Albanian mountains, Macedonia into Greece.

We realized that even though our intention and plan was good we had to stand on realistic grounds and accept that our physical fitness and experience were not up to the challenge.

And also our otherwise quality tires were not for that kind of heavy terrain.

We also asked ourselves if we will really have fun cycling any further. The answer was clear. It was enough, we accomplished what we could and there was no point in going into any kind of trouble. We did not have to prove anything to anyone.

It is good to stop when you are enjoying yourself the most, otherwise the great mood and the pleasure go downhill.

After three days in Dubrovnik, we said goodbye to Croatia by putting our bikes on the bus that would get us to Bar in Monte Negro and from there we would somehow catch a train, get a sleeping wagon and go to visit my father in Paracin, Serbia.

But it was not going smoothly. We had to change buses twice from Dubrovnik to Bar. The drivers were really impolite and cruel because they were not in a mood for anything, especially assist a client.

The things is we called the bus company before catching that bus asking them if it is OK to put the bikes on the bus as luggage and they said it was not a problem. But on the bus station it was quite the opposite. When the bus driver got off the bus and saw our bikes he said with his aggressive tone that he will not take them. I didn’t even manage to tell him anything or explain. He said that there is no way he will take the bikes without even looking at us and he walked away. Azra and I didn’t give up of course and we started to negotiate with him. Only when we threatened him to call the company he worked for, because they told us the bus will accept the bikes he softened up a bit, but still kept his arrogant posture.

After a nerve wrecking war we finally sat on the bus. But we did receive another shock when they told us that this wasn’t a direct line to Bar like they said in the office and that we will have to catch another bus. The anger was eating us alive but we managed to calm down so we could think clearly, knowing that anger will only put us in trouble.

But after two bus changes and giving some extra cash to the drivers we finally managed to get to Bar and catch the train to Paracin on time.

There was a completely different temperament and character of people once we arrived to Monte Negro. People of diverse nationalities, always ready for a pleasant and warm conversation.

So before arriving to Budva, we had a nice chat on the bus with other passengers. We managed to put the bikes on the bus in Budva. I cant seem to figure out how, because the bus was small. While driving we met Josh from Texas and Mr. Peter who was born in Monte Negro but lived somewhere in America. He was just visiting here, remembering his childhood, thinking how he was riding to school on these same roads.

He could have taken a plane but he decide to travel the way he did for that purpose.

Budva. When you take a first look it is a dirty city and we were not motivated to take a look around. We were tiered and just wanted to put the bikes on the train without any complications. Which luckily happened. It probably had something to do with a warm Serbian temperament or my ability of communication and also the fact that my father works on those railways for his entire life now.

While negotiating with the steward of the train it started to rain a lot. As soon as I said that I know the train does not officially take the bikes on, but that I would still like to do it and that my father works on these railways, we sealed the deal. :) We did have to pay some extra money though for some “coffee” but we got a sleeping wagon.

The man taking care of the sleeping wagon passenger was a real treasure. He took care of everyone very well.

He said he admires our journey, that he has grandchildren and he plans to retire soon.

And as usually, the world is small and I know some of the workers on the Serb railway there, we soon figured out we both knew someone working there.

And so our first cycling tour was coming to an end in Greece. We spent seven days in Serbia and than cycled to Niš and made 100 more kilometers and in Niš we took a train to Skopje, Macedonia (FYROM). When we arrived we received a tragic news that a talented, young Macedonian singer Toše Proeski died in a car accident the previous morning and that came as a big shock to us. He was a unique singer, with a beautiful voice, music and especially his great charisma. He was one year younger than me.

After spending a few days in Skopje with some friends we took another train to Bitola and from there we had no choice but to cycle to Agios Germanos in Prespa region, Greece.

We realized that making the decision of not cycling from Dubrovnik was a good one because there was already snow here in these regions.

When we arrived to Greece we put our bikes away and another real journey was beginning.

We came back home end of January and we will continue or journey with bikes in a few days trough Northern Italy and France. But we will write about this some other time and get back to you on some of the things that were happening while we were in Greece.

7.10.2007, DAN 13 - Skozi Neum proti Dubrovniku

2008-02-25T10:27:00.000-08:00

Kot sva predvidela, je nočni dež razmočil zemljo in jo pretvoril v blato. Padavine čez noč niso ponehale in so se nadaljevale vse do poznega dopoldneva. Pravzaprav se je jakost padavin stopnjevala od šestih zjutraj pa vse do najinega štarta.

Najine čevlje sva pred blatom rešila tako, da sva jih pred izstopom iz šotora oblepila s srebrnim lepilnim trakom. Slednji nama je tako koristil kot galoše.

Ko sva ravno pospravljala opremo, je na nasad prišel lastnik in naju zalotil, vendar nama ni storil nič žalega. Zagotovila sva mu, da se bova hitro odpravila proč, pa nama je povedal, da lahko ostaneva tudi več dni, če želiva. Malce smo poklepetali in povedala sva mu, kako potujeva in kaj naju je pripeljalo do tega, da sva se to noč utaborila pri njegovemu nasadu. S tem se je še enkrat pokazalo, da stereotip o slabih hrvaško-slovenskih odnosih ne velja vedno. Ljudje so povsod enaki. Pomembna sta le prvi vtis, oziroma pravi odnos v dani situaciji.

Malo preden sva se usedla na kolesi se je vlilo kot iz škafa. Po pravici povedano sva se prav zabavala. Važno, da naju ni zeblo. Dežna oblačila so se dobro držala. Lepilni trak, ovit okoli najinih čevljev se je izkazal kot pravi biser proti vlagi in blatu. Koliko časa sva si prihranila, ko nama ni bilo potrebno čistiti blata iz čevljev, pa še prihranila sva jih malo. Preden sva dokončno krenila v klanec, ki naju je čakal, sva z nožem odrezala lepilni trak na podplatih najinih čevljev, da sva lahko normalno kolesarila. Lepilni trak je ostal na najinih kolesih skoraj cel dan. Tako sva tudi galošam podaljšala življenjsko dobo.

Peljala sva se po tej čudoviti pokrajini proti Bosni in vreme se je po nalivu začelo drastično izboljševati in zopet je postajalo toplejše.

Tik pred mejo z Bosno sva se z Azro zgrešila, saj ko sem se ustavil, da naredim nekaj fotografij je ona, zamišljena švignila mimo mene.

Pa ob cesti sem stal!

Ob zaščitni ograji! Ona ni videla mene, jaz pa ne nje. Ko sem nehal fotografirati, sem čakal in čakal, da pride za mano, a nje od nikjer. Sedel sem na kolo in se odpeljal nazaj, a je ni bilo. Odpeljal sem se naprej po cesti in ravno na mestu, kjer sva se zgrešila, se je začel strm spust, tako da je Azra med tem pridobila veliko prednost. Cesta je bila ovinkasta in nisva se mogla videti.

Tako sva, oba v strahu za en za drugega pedalirala in gledala naprej, kdaj se bova zagledala! Po pravici vam povem, da sem se skoraj uscal od straha, saj sva se približevala Bosni in predsodki so me popolnoma strašili. »Kaj pa če so jo ugrabili? Kaj pa če ji kaj naredijo?«

Kasneje, po petih minutah iskanja sem jo le zagledal na drugi strani zaliva in ker je bila preveč daleč, pihala pa je močna burja, je nisem mogel priklicati in ne dohiteti tako hitro, saj me je močan veter zaustavljal celo ko sem vozil navzdol. Ni me videla. Tako sem se odločil, da ustavim kak avto in prosim voznika, če se lahko zapelje naprej in reče Azri, naj me počaka, da prihajam za njo. Verjetno je bilo prav komično, ko sem mahal in skušal ustaviti avtomobile. Mimo mene je šlo kar nekaj voznikov, preden mi je nekdo ustavil – REŠILEC! Oba reševalca v avtomobilu sta me gledala kot tesla v nova vrata, ko sem jima ves zadihan razlagal, zakaj sem ju ustavil. Pa vendar delovalo je. Dohiteli so Azro in jo zaustavili. Edini problem je bil ta, da ko je videla Azra, da se ob njej ustavlja rešilec, jo je skoraj zadela kap, saj se je ustrašila, da se mi je kaj zgodilo.

Ko sem končno prikolesaril do nje, sva se skozi tisto glasno burjo, na cesti začela dreti en na drugega, zakaj se toliko oddaljujeva brez opozorila in nisva morala verjeti, kako sva se lahko tako neumno zgrešila. Povedal sem ji, da sem stal čisto ob cesti, obrnjen s hrbtom proti njej, ko sem slikal razgled pred spustom. Nisem mogel dojeti, kako me ni videla. Povedala mi je, da je imela sončna očala na sebi, kapuco močno zapeto in zaradi močne burje ni slišala ničesar okoli sebe.

Ko sva izpljuvala vsak svojo jezo sva za trenutek utihnila in takoj zatem bruhnila v orjaški smeh, vesela, da se je vse lepo iztekla in da imava sedaj le še eno anekdoto za pripovedovanje.

Z nasmehom sva se pripeljala v Bosno in v Neum, pa v dolg, vnovičen klanec, tako da so se kilometri seštevali zelo počasi.

Pot je na tem delu res čudovita. Pokrajina je veličastna, le ko sva se peljala mimo oznake za konec Neuma, naju je spreletel srh, ko sva videla, da so na njej še vedno znaki metkov.

Malo naprej, spomenik padlemu vojaku. Ko je umrl je bil star toliko kot jaz.

Ko se voziš po tej cesti in prečkaš Bosno, je to prečkanje zelo kratko, saj si čez slabih deset kilometrov zopet na Hrvaškem. Pred ponovnim srečanjem s Hrvaško mejo se cesta zopet spremeni v dolgo spuščajočo se ravnino in pokrajina je lepa, čista, nedotaknjena. Prava paša za oči.

Takoj za mejo sta se zopet oglasila najina želodca in poskušala sva se nekje ustaviti in pojesti, vendar sva želela to storiti pod streho, saj sva pričakovala, da bo zopet začel padati dež. Nisva takoj našla primernega mesta, vendar ko se je to zgodilo, sva bila prav vesela.

Šla sva mimo prodajalke školjk in jo prosila, če bi se lahko za nekaj časa ustavila pod njeno streho, da si skuhava kosilo. Družbo ji je delal njen mož Nikolo.

Bila sta vesela najine družbe in sta nama šla zelo na roko. Skuhala sva si kosilo, kasneje pa je gospa Ana skuhala kavo in skupaj smo si jo z užitkom privoščili. To je bila za naju prva kava po skoraj dveh tednih, tako da sva ob klepetu in srkanju črnega tekočega zlata kar žarela od veselja.

Ana in Nikolo sta nama razlagala, koliko se razlikuje življenje na njihovem območju ter v notranjosti Hrvaške proti Severu. Povedala sta, kako tu vlada prava beda in da je bilo na tem območju med zadnjo vojno precej kritično. Pogovarjali smo se o mnogih drugih rečeh. Tudi o tem, kako nevarna je cesta, ob kateri smo sedeli. Vozniki tu so enostavno nori, saj ob ravninah močno preizkusijo moč svojih motorjev, kar je včasih lahko usodno. Razložila sta nama, kako jima kdaj pa kdaj povozijo kako mačko oziroma kako turisti odlagajo svoje »ljubljenčke« na cesti in potem mnogi zabredejo k njima, v njuno varstvo.

Lepo sva se jima zahvalila za enkratno družbo in se odpravila dalje proti Dubrovniku, do koder naju je ločilo le še kakih štirideset kilometrov.

eset kilometrov kasneje je moje kolo »utrpelo« prvi »gumi defekt«, ko sem malo preveč napumpal zadnje kolo. Brez problema sem menjal zračnico in krenila sva dalje.

Kakih petnajst kilometrov pred Dubrovnikom sva postavila tabor pa odličnem mestu, dovolj blizu ceste, pa vseeno dodobra skrito.

Razgled je bil ponovno veličasten, le zopet so se pokazale neprijetne sledi ljudi – smeti.

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7.10.2007, DAY 13 - Trough Neum, towards Dubrovnik

Like we predicted, the night rain soaked the land and transformed it into mud. The rain did not stop during the night and it continued to fall trough the morning. As the matter of fact the rain increased from 6am until our start. We saved our shoes from mud by applying a silver adhesive tape on them before getting out of the tent. It worked like overshoes(galoshes).

While putting away our equipment, the owner of the land came and saw us, but he was OK. We told him we were going to leave soon and he said we can stay as much as we need if we want. We had a chat together, told him about our trip and why we camped on his field. And with that it showed how Slovenian-Croatian stereotype about bad relations isn’t always the case. People are the same everywhere. The important things are first impression and the attitude toward the person you are in contact with. Just before we sat on our bikes it started to rain like crazy, but to tell you the truth we had fun. The important thing was that we were not cold. Our rain clothes was doing us well. The silver adhesive tape wrapped around our shoes turned out to be perfect against mud and water. It saved us a lot of time, because that way we did not have to clean the mud of the shoes. Before going up hill we cut the adhesive tape from our shoes, so we could cycle easily, but the tape on our bikes stayed the whole day so we spared the overshoes a bit.

We were cycling pass this beautiful region towards Bosnia and the weather was also getting better and warmer. Just before the border with Bosnia Azra and I missed each other, because while I stopped to take some photos she passed by and did not see me. And I was next to the road, but she did not see me and I did not see her. When I stopped taking photos I waited for her to come, but she didn’t. I cycled back, but she wasn’t there, so I went forward. A long and steep descent started where we missed each other and that is why Azra gained on speed. The road was devious and we couldn’t see each other.

And so in fear both of us cycled forward hoping to find each other. To be honest I almost pissed myself because we were getting close to Bosnia and the prejudice feelings came up: What if she was kidnapped? What if someone hurts her?

After five minutes of searching I finally saw her on the other side of the bay, but she couldn’t hear me calling her because she was too far and I could not catch up with her because the wind was blowing too hard and stopping me.

She didn’t see me so I decided to stop a car and tell them when they drive pass Azra to tell her to stop and wait for me. It probably looked funny when I was waving, trying to stop those cars. There were quite some cars passing buy but the only one that stopped was THE AMBULANCE. They were looking at me weirdly while I tried to explained to them why I stopped them. But it worked. They caught up wither and when Azra saw the ambulance stop in front of her, her heart stopped because she thought something has happened to me.

When we finally found each other we started screaming on one another why we had to cycle so far apart without any warning and we could not believe how we could missed each other in such a stupid way. I told her I was right next to the road, taking photos of the view. I couldn’t understand how she didn’t see me. She told me she had sunglasses and a hat against the rain on so she couldn’t see much or hear because of the wind.

When we finished throwing our anger out we kept quite and than started laughing , happy everything turned out OK, and so we had another story to tell others.:)

We came to Neum in Bosnia with a smile and came upon a high hill so it took some time to cycle up. The road on this part was really nice, the landscape was magnificent. The only things that scared us a bit was a sign for Neum that still had signs of bullets shooting trough. And a bit forward there was a monument to a fallen soldier. He was as old as me when he died. When you cross to Bosnia on this road you find yourself back in Croatia again in about 10 kilometers.

Before entering Croatia the road changes in a long straight plain and the landscape is beautiful, clean and intact. Heaven for the eyes.

After crossing the border again, we became hungry so we tried to stop somewhere under a roof just in case it rains. After a while we found a nice place.

We went pass the shell seller and kindly asked her if we could stop under her roof for a while and make some lunch. She was accompanied by her husband Nikolo.

They were happy to help and glad they got some company. After the lunch Mrs. Ana made us coffee and it was really nice because that was our first coffee after two weeks. We talked while enjoying the coffee. Ana and Nikolo explained to us how life was different there from some other parts of Croatia. They told us it was hard to live there and that it was really critical on this area during the war. We also talked about how the road close witch we were sitting was dangerous. The drivers there go crazy and their their cars to the fullest witch could be fatal in some cases. They said it happens that some cars run over a cat or they just drop their pets on the road and so those poor creatures find shelter with them.

We thanked them for a nice company and went towards Dubrovnik witch was about 40 kilometers away.

10 kilometers later my bike had a small tire problem, because I pumped to much air I to it. I changed the inner tube without a problem and off we went.

About 15 kilometers before Dubrovnik we found a camp that was really nice, close to the road but hidden enough. The view was again very magnificent but the unpleasant trash that people left behind were again a distraction.

6.10.2007, DAN 12 - Razburljiv dan in sreča v nesreči

2008-02-24T04:21:00.001-08:00

Peljala sva se po ravninah, vzponih, spustih, ki jih je vseskozi spremljal čudovit razgled na desni strani. Cesta je velikokrat silila naprej, ter zatem v dolgem, desnem ovinku spremljala zaliv. Asfaltna kača se je ob vsem tem velikokrat vzdignila zelo visoko nad zalivom, ki ga je objemala, tako da je na desni strani nevarno zapretil prepad.

Na tem delu se nama je zgodilo nekaj, kar nama bo za vedno ostalo v spominu.

Pridno sva vrtela pedale in pred sabo sem zagledal še en tak zaliv, globoko pod cesto. Azra je za mano zaostajala kako minuto. Bila sva na eni strani zaliva in sva se ravno spuščala v notranjost ovinka, ko sem na drugi strani zaliva zaslišal silovito zaviranje avtomobila. Voznik, ki je vozil v nama nasprotni smeri je prehitro pridrvel v ovinek in izgubil kontrolo nad svojim vozilom. Med ustavljanjem je s prednjo, desno lučjo udaril ob zid na desni strani ceste, se obrnil za 180 stopinj in pristal na nasprotnem pasu (po pasu, po katerem sva se iz nasprotne smeri približevala midva), mogoče nekaj metrov od prepada.

Če bi se v tistem trenutku pripeljal kdo naproti, bi se zagotovo zgodila huda prometna nesreča. Ne bi dvakrat rekel, da bi naproti vozeče vozilo ne zletelo v globok prepad. Cesta je bila na tem delu prekleto nevarna, nepregledna, nezaščitena z ograjo.

Prešinila me je grozna misel: kaj pa če se z Azro nekaj minut pred tem nebi ustavila in šla na WC? Najbrž bi bila midva ravno takrat nekje na mestu, kjer je voznik izgubil kontrolo nad vozilom in zapeljal na najin pas! Razdalja od koder sem »srečno« nesrečo opazoval se je ujemala. Spreletel me je srh, ko sem pomislil, kako zlahka bi naju avto zbil v prepad. To pa zato, ker ga midva zaradi nepreglednega ovinka, od koder je voznik prihajal, nikakor nebi mogla videti.

Kakšno srečo sva imela, da je Azra morala ravno takrat na WC. Kar nekaj časa je govorila, da se bo ustavila. Namreč jaz sem hotel hitreje uloviti nekaj kilometrov in se še nisem želel ustaviti. Vendar Azra, moj angel varuh, je pač morala iti na WC. In kakšna sreča! Nasproti temu nevestnemu vozniku ni pripeljalo popolnoma nobeno vozilo! Cesta je bila popolnoma prazna tisti trenutek! Kaj če bi se midva kar peljala dalje, namesto da sva se ustavila in šla odtočit?

Spodnjo fotografijo sem posnel, ko sva bila že mimo kraja nesreče. Na njej se lepo vidi voznik, ki skuša poklesati zvito pločevino, na levi strani fotografije pa sta lepo vidna cesta in smer s katere sva pripeljala z Azro, ter zelo slaba zaščita pred prepadom. Ravno del ceste, kjer se je vse zgodilo je nezaščiten.

Voznik je po tem, ko je končno obstal na nasprotnem pasu svoj avto zapeljal s ceste na pesek, tik ob prepadu, da se je lahko zbral in ocenil škodo. In veste, kaj je bila pri vsem tem največja ironija? Nosil je črno majico neke metal glasbene skupine, na njej pa seveda nič drugega kot okostnjaki s kitarami, nad njimi pa napis »Dead man« (Mrtev človek).

Srečna, da sva ostala živa in zdrava, sva se odpeljala dalje in poskušala pozabiti na dogodek ter uživati v razgledu. In res sva uživala. Pot od Splita proti Dubrovniku je res veličastna. Z besedami je težko opisati vso to lepoto. Edino kak poet bi lahko spravil skupaj prave besede, ki bi orisale te lepote. Mogoče je fotografija še najboljša v tem primeru. Hrvati so lahko res srečni, ker imajo v rokah tak zaklad. Le odlaganje odpadkov v naravi bi morali strožje kaznovati.

Nekatere fotografije sem si izsposodil iz čudovite zbirke fotografij na www.panoramio.com/. Žal ima najin sicer dober, vendar amaterski fotoaparat IXUS 65 svoje omejitve.

Peljala sva se mimo čudovitih Bačinskih jezer, proti hrvaško-bosanski meji.

V Pločah sva nakupila nekaj hrane in pri domačinih zaprosila za vodo. Dobila pa nisva le vode, temveč vrečo polno mandarin. Res so bili prijazni tej ljudje. Sedeli so pred svojo hišo in cela družina se je zbrala, ter naju spraševala, od kod sva, kam greva, pa kje bova spala in tako naprej. Po prijetnem klepetu smo se poslovili in z Azro sva kmalu drvela čez reko Neretvo in pa vzdolž nje.

Sonce se je počasi spuščalo, tema pa je bila še toliko bližje, saj so se oblaki pridno kopičili in napovedovali še eno deževno noč.

Dolga je asfaltna ravnina, ki spremlja Neretvo, ob njej pa ena poleg druge stojnice sadja in zelenjave. Iz obeh strani sva občudovala poljane njiv in vrtov, kjer so domačini pridelovali svoje blago in ga potem na svojih stojnicah skušali prodati mimoidočim. Prevladovale so mandarine.

Začenjalo se je temniti in iskala sva mesto za kampiranje. Dolgo časa je minilo preden sva ga končno našla. Teren poleg Neretve je bil precej neprimeren za naju, saj je bil močvirnat in zaraščen. Bog ve, kakšne živali se pasejo v tistih močvirjih. To je bilo območje tik pred izlivom Neretve, njena delta. Sicer čudovito območje, ki kar vabi fotografa, vendar sva midva sedaj tekmovala s časom.

Takole ta predel izgleda spomladi.

Ujel naju je mrak in pot se je začenjala vzpenjati. Kazalo je, kot da še veliko časa ne bova dobila mesta za tabor in bila sva tudi že precej utrujena. Namreč tu sva naredila skoraj osemdeset kilometrov, kar je bil ponoven rekord. Ravno, ko so me začeli načenjati živci, sva pred dolgo vzpetino našla stransko pot, ki je se je strmo spuščala navzdol, v velik nasad oljk.

Nisva veliko razmišljala. Kljub temu, da sva vedela, da bo ponoči padal dež in da bo ilovnata zemlja popolnoma razmočena, sva se utaborila, pojedla in utrujena hitro zaspala.

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6.10.2007, DAY 12 - Exciting day and fortune in misfortune

We were cycling around plains, ascents, descents that were accompanied by great views on the right side. The road went forward and than followed the bay in a long right turn. The road was going high above the bay and we could see a huge cliff on the right. Something happened in this part that we will remember for a long time.

We were going forward and saw a similar bay under the road. Azra was a bit more behind me. We were on one side of the bay and we were just descending inside the turn when I heard a frantic braking of a car. The driver that was driving in the opposite direction was rushing to the turn and lost control over his car. While trying to stop he hit his right side light to a wall, turned for 180 degrees and stopped on the opposite side of the road, a few meters from the cliff.

If some other car would happen to be there, there would be a big car accident. The other car would definitely fall to into the deep. The road on that part was dangerous, extensive and unprotected.

I had a horrible thought: what if me and Azra would not stop a few minutes earlier and go to the toilet? We would probably be on the spot where the driver lost control over his car and finished on our lane. I got the creeps all over me when I taught that the car would run us over easily to the cliff. And that would be because we would not be able to see him because of the blind corner. We were lucky we had to go to the the toilet. Before all that Azra was saying to me for some time that she will stop, but I wanted to go faster and do more kilometers and not stop. But Azra, my angel guardian luckily went to the toilet.

Luckily, there were no cars driving in the direction of the irresponsible driver. The road was empty.

I took the photo hen we passed the accident site.You can see the driver trying to fix the metal and on the left side you can see the road and the direction where Azra and I cycled and also you can see a very bad road protection on the side of the cliff. Particularly the part where it all happened was unprotected.

When the driver finally stopped he pulled his car on the opposite waistline on the sandy part next to the cliff so he could check the damage. And the irony in all this was that he was wearing a black T-shirt of some metal band and there were bones with guitars on in together with a sign “DEAD MAN”.

Lucky that we stayed alive, we went forward, trying to forget what happened and enjoyed the view. And we certainly did enjoy. The view along the road beetween Split to Dubrovnik was spectacular. It is hard to explain all that beauty with words. Maybe a poet would find the right words. But the photo is the best in this case. The Croatians should feel lucky to have such a treasure and they should have a better punishment system for those leaving trash all around.

I took several photos from the collection on www.panoramio.com/. Even though our camera IXUS 65 is very good it has its limits.

We cycled pass the beautiful "Bačinska" lakes toward the Croatian-Bosnian border.

We bought some food and asked the locals for some water in Ploče. Besides water we received a bag full of tangerines. The people were really nice. The whole family was sitting in front of their house, asking us questions like where are we from, where are we going and so on. After a nice chat Azra and I said goodbye and headed toward and pass the river Neretva.

The sun was slowly going down, the dark was coming and the clouds predicted another rainy night.

The road following the river Neretva was long and next to it there were a lot of stands with fruits and vegetables. We admired plains of fields and gardens on both sides of the road where locals were producing their goods and tried to sell them to people passing by. They mostly had tangerines.

It was getting dark and we started to look for a camping place. It took a long time to find it. The land beside Neretva was fairly inappropriate for us, because it was swampy and overgrown. God knows what kind of animals where in and around that swamp.

It was the area next to the delta of Neretva river. The area is great for taking photos but we were racing with time.

We were caught by the dark and the road started going uphill. It looked like we were not going to find a camping place for a long time and we were really tired.

We almost did 80 kilometers which was a record for us. Just when my nerves started to explode, we found a side-way next to a long elevation that went down to a plantation of olive trees.

We did not think much. Even though it was going to rain trough the night and that the land there was going to be completely soaked in the morning, we made a camp, ate and went to sleep very tired.

5.10.2007, DAN 11 - Še en vroč dan in prvo kopanje

2008-02-23T06:18:00.000-08:00

Iz Splita sva odšla lažje, kot sva prišla vanj, saj nama je Dejan natančno razložil, kam morava iti. Petnajst kilometrov iz Splita sva se peljala mimo privlačne peščene plaže, kar sva seveda izkoristila.

Prvič, po desetih dnevih na poti, sva se opogumila in se vrgla v vodo. Bila je kristalno čista, peščen teren pa je bil golim podplatom dovolj prijazen. Ker je bil dan skoraj tako vroč, kot prejšnja dva, se je hladna voda prav prilegla. Čofotal sem po vodi kot razposajen otrok in iz nje izstopil prerojen, pripravljen na nove kilometre asfalta.

Kar nekaj časa sva tako sedela na plaži, uživala v čudoviti kristalni modrini, obrobljeni z belim peskom. Ker pa sva bila čisto blizu ceste in se je mimo peljalo kar nekaj avtomobilov, šolskih avtobusov ter drugih težjih vozil, je lepoto tišine prekinjal hrup jeklenih pošasti za nama.

Vendar pa naju to praktično sploh ni motilo. Uživala sva v pogledu in si sede na pesku privoščila obrok. Zaradi takih trenutkov popotnik potuje.

Zanimivo je, da sedaj, ko greva takole po zapiskih in fotografijah narejenih tega dne, se nikakor ne moreva natančno spomniti poteka dogodkov po kopanju. Spomniva se le čudovite pokrajine in blagih a dolgih vzponov.

Spomniva se tudi kampiranja. Našla sva mesto, skrito pred očmi ljudi, zopet med oljkami. Kljub temu občasnemu dežju in dejstvu, da naju je bilo malce strah, da naju nebi zalotil lastnik, je bila noč mirna.

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5.10.2007, DAY 11 - Another hot day and our first swim

It was easier to cycle out of Split than in, because Dejan explained to us where we have to go.

15 kilometers out of Split we passed by a very nice sandy beach and of course we took advantage of it. For the first time after 10 days we got the courage and throw ourselves into the water. It was crystal clear and the sandy pavement was great for the feet. And because the day was almost as hot as the previous two, the water felt great. I was playing with it like a child and when I came out of it I was reborn and ready for new rides.

We sat on the beach for quite some time and enjoyed the cristal blue water, surrounded with white sand. But since we were close to the road, many cars and buses passed by so the beauty of silence was interrupted by the traffic.

But it really did not bother us. We enjoyed the view and made lunch sitting on the sand. These were the moments we travel for.

It is interesting that now, after going trough the photos and the notes, we cant really remember what was happening after the swimming and the beach. We just remember wonderful landscaper and mild but long up-hills.

We also remember camping. We found a spot hidden from the people in the olive trees again.

4.10.2007, DAN 10 - Proti Splitu

2008-02-20T14:04:00.001-08:00

Ko sva spakirala stvari in zapedalirala, sva končno začutila utrujenost, ki se je začenjala v nogah. Tudi riti so naju začenjale boleti. Takoj ob štartu sva srečala Francozinjo Saro, ki je z nekakšnim belim prahom označevala prekolesarjeno pot za svoja dva ameriška prijatelja, ki sta za njo zaostajala eno uro. Njene oznake sva potem pogostokrat srečevala, zarisane na asfaltu.

Kar pridno sva kljub vročini vnovični požirala klance in kmalu sva bila v Trogirju. Malo pred mestom sva pri prijaznem gospodu zamenjala slano vodo, ki nama jo je prejšnji dan natočila prodajalka v trgovini. Preden jo je natočila, naju je sicer opozorila, da imajo pri njih malce slano vodo.

Kosilo sva skuhala v Trogirju na parkirišču nekega luksuznega hotela. To mesto je bilo glede na ostale okoliščine še najbolj primerno. Malce naju je bilo sicer strah, da naju ne bodo zalovili, vendar naju uslužbenke hotela, ki so po končanem »šihtu« hodile mimo niso motile. Ena se je celo nasmehnila in nama zaželela dober tek.

Po kosilu sva vozila naprej proti Splitu, kjer sva si našla prenočišče pri enemu izmed članov Hospitality cluba. Pot od Trogirja ni bila ničkaj idealna, saj je bilo prometa ogromno, vozniki pa izredno nesramni in nestrpni, vročina pa ni in ni pojenjala.

Ustavila sva se, se pomirila in med pavzo sva srečala nekaj prijateljev.

Nadaljevala sva pot, vendar je bil promet še vedno precej neznosen. Vse to se je stopnjevalo, ko sva se približevala Solinu, ki je nekakšno predmestje Splita. Najhujša izkušnja na celotni poti do sedaj naju je doletela, ko sva se vozila po glavni cesti proti Solinu in se je celo razširila v dvopasovno obvoznico in kasneje v tropasovno. To pomeni, da so avti švigali mimo naju zelo hitro, midva pa se nisva imela kam umakniti. Skratka za kolesarje izredno neprimeren del ceste. Nikjer naokoli ni bilo znaka, ki bi kolesarjem prepovedoval vstop, pa tudi alternativne poti za kolesarje nisva poznala, oziroma je nisva niti videla, saj je bila cesta ograjena z ograjo. Tudi policija se je večkrat peljala mimo in naju ni nič opozorila.

Kar naenkrat sva se znašla na tropasovnici na sredinskem pasu, okoli naju pa nevarno švigajoči avtomobili. Nikogar ni bilo, ki bi imel prijazne besede in nama pomagal. Raje so se drli iz avtomobilov in stresali vulgarne žaljivke. Seveda, dokler te ščiti jeklo avtomobila, ima vsak jajca.

Vendarle nama je nekako uspelo priti do čudovitega starega jedra Splita, ki sva si ga seveda ogledala. Starinske ozke ulice so res zanimive, vendar si zaradi utrujenosti nisva mogla privoščiti natančnega ogleda. Spodnje fotografije starega mestnega jedra sem si izposodil na www.panoramio.com.

Ta dan sva opravila 76 kilometrov. Šla sva samo skozi nekaj ulic in bilo nama je dovolj.

Tudi tema se je delala, tako da nisva uspela narediti nekih posebnih fotografij, zato sva prilepila to kar sva našla na internetu.

V slavnem "đardinu", kjer se ponavadi, ob mraku zbirajo prostitutke, sva sedela in počivala, dokler naju ni prišel iskat najin gostitelj Dejan. Prikazal se je po službi, ob 21h. Najin bioritem je sicer veleval, da sva ob 20h že spala, ampak ni bilo kaj, kot čakati na najinega rešitelja. Odpeljal naju je do svojega stanovanja in tam sva spoznala tudi Ireno iz Hospitality Cluba.

Dejan in Irena sta prav prijetna družba in če z azro nebi bila utrujena čakalo pa naju je tudi vstajanje ob sedmih zjutraj - bi se zagotovo zaklepetali pozno v noč ob petju in igranju kitare.

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4.10.2007, DAY 10 - Towards Split

When we packed and started to pedal again, we felt the pain in our legs. And our behinds were starting to hurt too. Right after the start we met an French girl Sara that was marking the cycled path with some sort of white dust for her two American friends who were one hour behing her. We met her marks on the pavement many times after that.

Despite the heat we were doing well on those up-hills and soon we were in Trogir.

Before arriving to the city we replaced the salty water that a shop assistant gave us at a nice gentleman's house. The lady in the shop warned us that the water was a bit salty.

We made lunch in Trogir in some parking lot owned by a luxury hotel. Considering the circumstances this place was the most proper. We were a bit afraid that we will be kicked out but the hotel employees that just finished their shifts were very nice.

After lunch we went on to Split where we had accommodation at one of the Hospitality Club members.

The road to Trogir was not so good, because the traffic was terrible, the drivers unkind and inpatient as usual and the heat just wouldn't go away. All that was increasing when we were entering Solin, the sub burns of Split. The worst experience on the entire trip happened while driving on the main road towards Solin that spread into a two-way lane and later on into a three-way lane. That meant the cars were rushing by us quickly and we had nowhere to move. A very unpleasant ride for cyclists. There were no signs that would forbid the entrance for cyclists and we did not know any alternative road there, in fact we did not even see one because the road was surrounded with a high fence. Even the police drove pass us and did not say anything.

Suddenly we were on a three-way lane in the middle and the cars were rushing pass us, which was dangerous. There was no one that could help us. The drivers preferred insults and bad words. Of course everyone has guts when protected by the steel of the car.

Somehow we managed to come to the city center and took a look around. The antique narrow streets were very interesting but we were to tiered to take a better look around.We made 67 kilometers that day. We just went trough a few streets and that was enough for us. It was getting dark so we did not take lots of photos.

In the famous park by the locals also called "đardin", where prostitutes gather after dark, we sat and took some rest until our host Dejan came to pick us up. He came at 21.00 after his work.Our rhythm was saying that bed time was at eight but we had no other choice but to wait for him. He took us to his flat and there we met Irena, also a HC member. It was great to be in their company but Azra and I were too tiered and we had to get up at 7am – otherwise we would have talked late in the night while singing and playing the guitar.

3.10.2007, DAN 9 - Vroč dan

2008-02-20T12:52:00.001-08:00

Verjetno je bil ta dan najbolj vroč na celem potovanju. Odkrita koža naju je pekla in vsake toliko naju je Azra rešila s sončno zaščitno kremo.

Pot do Šibenika od naju ni terjala prevelikih naporov, mogoče zaradi tega, ker sva se na pedaliranje in usklajen ritem po dobrem tednu dodobra navadila. Pridobivala sva kondicijo in še toliko bolj uživala v pokrajini, ki se je odpirala okoli naju.

Prav zanimivo pa je dejstvo, da na tem delu nisva naredila veliko fotografij, saj sva se raje zatopila v vožnjo, v dihanje in nekoliko pusto a zanimivo naravo.

Proč od prašne ceste sva si ponovno skuhala kosilo in se skrivala pred soncem, ki je očitno hotelo povedati še nekaj zadnjih besed pred dokončnim zimskim počitkom.

Ko sva vstopala v Šibenik, ki je sicer lepo mesto, vendar polno grdih spominov na zadnjo balkansko vojno, se nisva veliko obremenjevala s fotografiranjem, saj sva vedela, da je na internetu veliko fotografij Šibenika in če bo potrebno pripeti kakšno že objavljeno, bova to storila.

V centru mesta sva našla čudovito, moderno knjižnico z razliko od Zadra z zelo prijaznimi knjižničarkami in skoraj zastonj internetom. Iskala sva gostitelje v Hospitality Clubu na najini nadaljnji poti.

Nisva se veliko zadrževala v knjižnjici in mestu samem. Odpeljala sva dalje, ven iz mesta, mimo predela, ki pa je ob najinem izhodu na prvi pogled delovalo malce zastrašujoče in dekadentno z morjem starim, propadajočih socialističnih blokov.

Prispela sva do trgovske cone in večjih trgovskih centrov ter nakupila nekaj hrane. Dolgo sva pedalirala, po razgibani cesti, se peljela mimo požarne cone, ki jo je bilo prav žalostno gledati. Kot je dobro znano, je Hrvaška, tako kot Grčija to poletje utrpela hude izgube zaradi večinoma podtaknjenih požarov.

Zopet sva zaradi težavnega terena komaj našla mesto za kampiranje. Tokrat sva se le odločila za kampiranje v bližini oljk, verjetno na privatem zemljišču. Noč je kljub temu minila mirno.

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3.10.2007, DAY 9 - A hot day

This was probably the hottest day on our trip. Uncovered skin was burning and every now and then Azra saved us with a sun lotion.

The road to Šibenik was not demanding, maybe because after a week of cycling we found our rhythm and got used to it. We gained on our fitness and enjoyed the surroundings that opened before us.

It is interesting that we did not take lots of photos in these parts because we were so into cycling and breathing and the surrounding that was a bit bland.

Away from the dusty road we made ourselves lunch and were hiding from the sun that clearly wanted to make a last statement before get his winter nap.

When we were entering Sibenik, which is in fact a nice city but full of bad memories from Balkan war, we did not bother taking photos too much because we knew there were photos on the Internet and if we wanted to put some up we would.

In the city center we found a wonderful library, and unlike in Zadar the employees were very nice and the Internet was almost free. We were looking for Hospitality Club hosts.

We did not stay long in the library or the city itself. We cycled on out of the city, passing a site that looked a bit frightening with all those socialist styled buildings that were falling apart.

We arrived to shopping zone and shopping malls and bought some food. We cycled for a long time on an agitated road, trough by the fire destroyed zone, which was actually sad to see. Like most of you know that Croatia as well as Greece had lots of fires that summer and most of them were caused by a human set ups.

It took some time to find a camping place again because of unproper terrain. This time we decided to camp close to the olive trees witch was probably a private property. Despite that, the night was calm.

2.10.2007, DAN 8 - Miren dan za spočita kolesarja

2008-02-20T11:49:00.000-08:00

Osmi dan najinega potovanja je potekal gladko. Po čudoviti pogostitvi v apartmaju sva bila naspana, najina oblačila pa oprana. Dan nama je postregel lepo vreme in zelo enostavno vožnjo brez težjih klancev.

Kakih omembe vrednih posebnosti ta dan nisva doživela. Edine omembe vreden je bil borov gozdiček, prepreden z apnenčastimi skalami, ki so štrelele iz rahle, mehke prsti. Tu pa tam se je našlo kako primerno mesto za postavitev šotora. Edina velika žalost tega dela so bili odpadki, ki so jih ljudje zapuščali za sabo. Prava sramota za take, ki so to počeli. Na takem mestu se si nisva želela kampirati, saj sva se bala nočnih obiskovalcev – podgan.

Odpravila sva se globlje skozi gozdiček, ob obali in le našla primeren prostor, brez odpadkov okoli naju in bilo je prav lepo. Kolesi sva morala raztovoriti in ju nositi v rokah čez korenine in skale. Preden je zašlo sonce sva napravila nekaj posnetkov in žal mi je, da tokrat nisva fotografirala odpadkov. Bil je to pravi omadeževan raj.

Pojedla sva pekočo rižoto in se počasi pripravila počitek.

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2.10.2007, DAY 8 - A calm day for rested cyclists

The eight days of our trip were going smoothly. After a great feast in the suite we were rested and our clothes washed. The day gave us a great weather and a nice ride without hard up-hills.

Nothing out of ordinary did happen this day except maybe the encounter of the pine woods surrounded with limestone rocks that looked out of soft and tender soil. Every now and than we found a nice place to camp. The only sad thing about this day was all the trash that people were leaving behind. It is such a shame for people that did that. We did not want camp in those places because we were afraid of night visitors – rats.

We went deeper trough the woods and found a suitable camp place, with no trash and it was really nice. We had to unpack the bikes and carry them over the roots and rocks. Before the sun went down I took some pictures and was sorry for not taking any pictures of the trash because it was a really desacrated paradise.

We ate some spicy rise and slowly went to sleep.

1. 10. 2007, DAN 7 - Mrko razpoloženje v Zadru

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Jutro je bilo bolj optimistično, ko je skozi drevesa končno posijalo sonce in začelo sušiti slano na najinem šotoru ter rastlinju, ki naju je obkrožalo. Strah pred minami je počasi bledel. Boljše volje sva se pognala proti Zadru.

Optimizem pa naju je kmalu zapustil, ko sva opazila, da naju do Zadra loči bistveno več, kot sva sprva pričakovala, pa še neugoden veter nama ni prav nič pomagal porivati v dolge in naporne klance.

Cesta je postajala vse širša, bolj umazana, promet gostejši. Kmalu nama je še števec kilometrov zaradi šibke baterije dokončno odpovedal in ni nama preostalo drugega, kot da se ustaviva nekje in kupiva novo. To pa ni bila edina baterija, ki je ostala brez energije; po enem tednu na poti je odpovedala tudi baterija fotoaparata, tako da je ta dan ostal nedokumentiran, v škodo ljubiteljev fotografije.

Ko sva se približala večjemu nakupovalnemu centru Metro, nama je bilo jasno, da mesto ne more biti več daleč. Tam sva nakupila nekaj hrane in baterije za najin števec kilometrov, za katere se je kasneje izkazalo, da so neuporabne, saj so bile za malenkost prevelike. Po lastni neumnosti sem torej zapravil denarja za nekaj burekov. Poleg tega me je Azra takoj oštela, saj sem kupil baterije znamke Duracell, katerih proizvajalci so eni izmed najhujših pri testiranju svojih izdelkov na živalih.

Šla sva naprej in ob vstopu v mesto pojedla pozni zajtrk.

Zadar se nama je prikazal takole: gost promet, nestrpni vozniki, ter mrki obrazi mimoidočih. Primanjkovalo nama je vode in niti malo si nisva želela prosjačiti zastonj vode v mestnih barih. Negativne energije, ki jo oddajajo neprijazni pogledi in geste natakarjev, ko jih prosiš, da ti napolnijo plastenke sva se že naveličala in sva se temu skušala čim bolj izogibati.

Šla sva skozi staro, zanimivo mestno jedro, ki pa je kolesarjem precej neprijazno, saj so ulice ozke, pa tudi na stopnice sva nekajkrat naletela. Tako sva kolesi, v slalomu mimo ljudi, porivala na roke. Srečevala sva turiste, stare, mlade, domačine in domačinke v urejenih, modernih oblačilih, s pridihom sodobne obsedenosti – kapitalizma; »če danes nisi urejen, ko hodiš naokoli, si pač klošar«. Vsaj tako sva se takrat počutila. Kot klošarja z vozički polnimi šare. Kolesi sta bili najini vozički. Bila sva oblečena v prašna oblačila, z nekoliko blatnimi kolesi, pa še z brisačami, ki so se sušile na zadnjem delu najinih koles, zataknjene z elastikami. Imela sva občutek, da naju ljudje gledajo z negotovostjo in s prav nič prijaznimi obrazi. Kot da sva dva brezdomca. Še enkrat, po dolgem času sem se spomnil, zakaj se doma v Sloveniji vedno toliko obremenjujem, s tem, kaj oblečem.

Še enkrat več sem se torej spomnil, kak svet sva z Azro za nekaj časa zapustila v Sloveniji, ko sva se odpravila na to najino potovanje. Potovanje, na katerem se res naučiš živeti in ceniti malenkosti, ki jih doma zaradi vsakdanje rutine niti ne opaziš. Četudi so tam, na dosegu roke. Govorim o nasmehu neznanca, iskrenem pozdravu, občutku toplega sonca na koži, vonj svežega jutranjega zraka in še bi lahko našteval.

Ko sva torej takole kot dva brezdomca romala po mestu, sem sicer pogrešal nekatere stvari, ki jih na poti nisem imel. Nekajkrat sem pogrešal dom, udoben fotelj, kavo takoj po kosilu… vendar sem bil zadovoljen, da se lahko sedaj za nekaj trenutkov ustavim in pogledam v množico ljudi, ki hitijo po opravilih, zaklenjeni v vsakdanjo rutino. Dvignila sva se in vse to videla iz ptičje perspektive. Bilo je osvobajajoče. Upal sem, da bom to izkušnjo prenesel domov in živel lepše, bolj umirjeno. »Bomo videli čez eno leto«, sem Azri večkrat povedal z nasmehom.

Tako sva se po nekaj krogih sicer lepega, vendar majhnega in dragega centra kmalu naveličala in se odpravila na lov za mladinskim hotelom. Želela sva se stuširati in uporabiti internet ter tako najti najinega gostitelja ob nadaljevanju poti proti Dubrovniku. Našla sva mestno knjižnico, kjer so sicer imeli Internet, vendar skrajno neprijazna knjižničarka je Azro takoj opozorila, da je uporaba interneta rezervirana samo za člane knjižnice. Tudi plastenk nisva natočila tam, saj naju je po tej neprijazni gesti odvračalo, da bi to storila.

Po daljšem premisleku sva pristala na to, da greva v bližnji Internet Caffe, se prijaviva na Hospitality Club in tam opraviva svoje ter se še istega dne odpraviva naprej po cesti ter s tuširanjem še počakava.

V Internet Caffee-ju sva zopet doživela nesramnost, tokrat s strani natakarjev. Prepričana sva, da sva bila zelo vljudna do njih, vendar nekako nisva mogla razumeti od kod vsa ta negativna energija. Nekaj nama je govorilo, da se čim prej odpeljeva iz tega mesta in greva dalje po najini poti.

Še vedno nisva imela vode in sitna kot sam hudič sva svojo jezo utapljala v pedaliranju. Končno sva se pripeljala izven mesta in ob cesti so se začele pojavljati hiše, tako da sva izkoristila prvo priložnost in najine plastenke so bile polne. Kako zanimivo je bilo opazovati razliko v razpoloženju ljudi izven mesta. Takoj se najdeta nasmeh in prijazen domačin ali domačinka, ki ti z veseljem napolnijo plastenke, ob tem pa te radovedno sprašujejo »Odakle ste?«, »Kuda idete?« in zelo pogosto jih slišiš reči »Pa da, vi ste mladi. E kad sam ja bio mlad… « Verjetno ni potrebno poudarjati, da je tako vedro razpoloženje nalezljivo in ti hitro zleze pod kožo, še posebej, ko po grlu zopet steče sveža voda.

Vredno se je ustaviti in pokramljati s takimi ljudmi, četudi te čas preganja, saj prav v takih trenutkih "alkimist" najde svoj zaklad.

Še vedno sva se morala stuširati in ko sva se vozila mimo neštetih avtokampov na najini desni, naju je prešinila ideja, da bi se v enem prešvercala… toliko, da se na hitro stuširava in odrineva dalje. Našla sva primeren kamp in prav z lahkoto sva se stuširala. Sicer naju je vest pekla in sva vseeno preverila na recepciji, če lahko uporabiva njihove tuše. Bila sva pripravljena plačati, vendar nikjer ni bilo nikogar, razen turistov, ki so počivali v svojih premičnih domovih.

Opravila sva svoje prav lepo počasi in z užitkom ter spoznala mlad par iz Kamnika. Dokler nisva bila pripravljena na odhod, sva z njima še malo poklepetala.

Dan se je začel prevešati v večer in začelo se je iskanje tabora. Vozila sva se in vozila, se peljala mimo mnogih oljčnih nasadov, v katerih bi se sicer dalo lepo kampirati, a so bila vsa primerna mesta preblizu prometni glavni cesti. Zadnje, kar sva si želela, so bile težave z lastniki nasadov ter s policijo. Tako se je na pokrajino kmalu spustil mrak in zopet je bilo potrebno uporabiti čelno svetilko ter odbojno srajco. Kar nekaj časa sva pedalirala po mraku in približala se je ura, ko je bil najin biološki sistem pripravljen na spanje. Saj ni čudno, ko pa sva že en teden vstajala ob šestih zjutraj, ob osmih zvečer pa sva že spala. Odločila sva se, da bova noč preživela v sobi, a dobila sva več kot to.

Triintrideset kilometrov od Zadra, na začetku skoraj štirinajst kilometrov dolgega Vranskega jezera, sva z veliko pomočjo uslužbenke na bencinski črpalki našla apartma, za skupno ceno 20EUR, kar je bilo zelo ugodno. Sezone je bilo res konec. Poleg odlično urejenega in prostornega apartmaja s kuhinjo in kopalnico, naju je skrajno prijazna družina postregla z govejo juho in mesom s krompirjem, za kar niso hoteli ničesar v zameno, le najino družbo ob pitju rakije. Bili so res od sile. Povedali so mi, da so gostili že veliko Slovencev ter da so tudi oni precej razočarani, da imamo Slovenci in Hrvati tako velike politične razprtije.

Ko sva na roke oprala najine cunje, sva se mrtva utrujena odpravila spat. Po enem tednu se je zakonska postelja še kako prilegla!

Ta dan sva opravila samo petdeset kilometrov, saj sva v Zadru izgubila kar nekaj časa.

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1.10.2007, DAY 7

Bad mood in Zadar

The morning was more optimistic when the sun finally started to shine trough the trees and dry off the frost that accumulated on our tent and the surrounding trough the night. The fear from the mines slowly faded away.

We headed towards Zadar in a good mood but the good mood left us pretty soon when we realized that it will take longer to get to Zadar than we expected and the wind did not help at all when we had to push our bikes in to long and unpleasant slopes.

The road was becoming wider, dirtier and the traffic was thicker. The kilometer counter went off because our batteries were dead so we had to stop somewhere and buy new ones. And that wasn’t the only battery that was out of business. The battery from our camera also went dead after one week so for all those who love photography, unfortunately we did not take any photos this day.

When we approached the big supermarket Metro, we knew that the city wasn’t far away. We bought some food and the batteries for counter and they turned out to be useless, because they were a bit too big. Which means I wasted some "burek" (pie) money. :) And also Azra gave me a moral lesson, because I bought Duracell batteries because apparently they are the worst when it comes to testing the products on animals.

We headed forward and had our late breakfast before we entered the city.

This is the first glimpse of Zadar for us: thick traffic, inpatient drivers and the impolite faces of some passerby. We were running out of water but we did not want to ask for it in bars. The negative energy that you get from unpleasant looks and gestures from the waiters was something we learned to avoid.

We went trough an old city center which was cyclist unfriendly because of its narrow roads and we bumped in to some stairs too. So we pushed our bikes with hands.

We saw tourists, young and old, locals dresses in modern clothes with a touch of contemporary obsession – capitalism; »if you are not properly dressed in fashionable clothes you are a bum«. At least that is what we felt. Like two bums pushing our carts full of stuff. Bikes were our carts.

We were dressed in a bit dusty clothes, muddy bikes and on top of everything our towels were drying on back of our bikes, stacked with elastics.

We had a feeling that people were looking at us with doubtfulness and unkind faces.

That is when I remembered after a long time, why I put so much energy in what I dress when I am in Slovenia.

I also remembered what kind of world Azra and I left behind in Slovenia when we went on this trip. A trip where you learn to live and to appreciate the small things you don’t notice at home because of everyday life. I am talking about a smile from a stranger, a sincere greeting, a smell of fresh morning air and so on.

While walking around the city I missed some things I had at home like a comfortable chair, coffee right after lunch,… but I was happy I could stop for a moment, look at the crowd rushing to do their tasks, locked in an everyday routine. We rose above all that and saw it from “birds perspective”. I hoped to take this experience home and live nicer and calmer. »We will see in a year«, I told Azra with a smile.

After a few circles of a beautiful but small and expensive city center we had enough and left to find a youth hostel. We wanted to take a shower and go on the Internet to find our HC host while on the way to Dubrovnik.

We found a city library where they had Internet, but a very unkind librarian told Azra that the Internet is for members only and showed her the door. We did not even fill our water bottles there. After some thinking we went to a Internet Cafe, log in to Hospitality Club, find a host and hit the road and the shower would just have to wait.

Again, we experienced unkindness from the waiters in the Internet Cafe. We were polite to them, so we just could not understand where all the negative energy came from. Something told us to go out of this town as soon as possible.

We still didn’t have any water and we threw out our anger on the pedals.

We finally came out of the city and soon we saw houses next to the road so we used the first chance to fill our bottles with water. It was interesting to notice the difference of the behavior of the people out of the city. You instantly find a smile and a kind host, who will fill your bottles with water and while doing that they would ask you: "where are you from? "Where are you going?" And soon after that they would say: “Of course, you are young..oooh, when I was young,…" It is probably not necessary to point out that a happy mood is contagious and goes under your skin quite quickly, especially when you drink some fresh water after your mouth hasm dried out.

It is worth it to stop and have a chat with that kind of people, even if you are running out of time, because those are the moments when the "alchemist" finds his treasure.

We still had to take a shower and while passing a lot of auto camps on our right, we got the idea of sneaking in one of them and have a quick shower and than continue the ride.

But than we felt guilty so we checked at the reception if we can have a shower and of course we were willing to pay, but there was no one there besides the guests having a rest in front of their "moving homes".

We enjoyed a long shower and than met a couple from Kamnik, so we had a chat before we were ready to go on.

The day was becoming darker and so we had to find a place to camp.

We were driving and driving, passing many of the olive grow where we could camp but it was too close to the road and the city. The last thing we wanted was trouble with the owners and the police. It was becoming darker so we had to use our headlamps and repulsive jacket again. We drove for quite some time and were coming closer to a time when our biological system was ready to go to sleep. It was no wonder since we were getting up at 6am for the past week and going to bed at 8pm. We decided to spend the night in a comfortable room, but we got more than that.

33 kilometers out of Zadar at the beginning of almost 14 kilometers long lake Vransko we found a nice suite with the help of a very nice gas station worker. We paid only 20 Euros which was quite cheap. The season was really over. Beside the well organized and nice suite with a bathroom and the kitchen, the kind owner served us dinner which included beef soup and potatoes with meat which only I ate, because Azra does not eat meat.

After a week of camping a warm, double bed felt great.

We only made 50 kilometers, because we lost a lot of time in Zadar.

30.9.2007, DAN 6 - Ponovna rekordna razdalja in zanimivo srečanje

2008-02-05T10:39:00.000-08:00

Prebudila sva se okrog sedmih zjutraj in ko sem pomolil glavo izven šotora, me je ponovno osupnil razgled na Pag, obsijan z jutranjim soncem. Bilo je zelo mraz in kot ponavadi, je bila prava mora izvleči se iz toplih spalnih vreč, vendar sonce in modro nebo sta napovedovala še en topel dan.

Preden sva se poslovila od Nade in Jureta, smo naredili še nekaj skupnih fotografij, si izmenjali podatke in obljubila sva jima, da ko prideva domov, jima bova poslala fotografije. Kot sta nama razložila, sta jima mnogi obljubili, da jima bosta poslali fotografije, vendar nama je Nada z razočaranim izrazom povedala, da tega do sedaj ni storil še nihče. Zagotovila sva jima, da se z nama to ne bo ponovilo.

Preden sva dokončno štartala, se mi je števec, ki mi je vseskozi delal probleme zopet pokvaril in spet sva izgubila nekaj časa, da sem ga lahko spravil na svoje mesto.

Sledili so večinoma spusti, nekaj šibkih vzponov in vseskozi naju je spremljal veter iz nasprotne smeri.

Kake dve uri po najinem startu sva doživela prijetno presenečenje. Srečala sva Kokora Ita, japonskega kolesarja, ki je bil na poti že dve leti.

Sam je prekolesaril celotno pot iz Japonske, njegov namen pa je v štirih letih prekolesariti okoli sveta. Hrvaška je osemnajsta država, ki jo je do tistega trenutka prečkal. Ni bilo druge, kot malo pokramljati in si izmenjati izkušnje, ter osebne podatke. Ker je imel namen prečkati Slovenijo in je imel nekaj problemov z gonilnim sistemom, sem mu takoj priporočal Rudija v Bazovici.

Ker smo se vsi trije zavedali, da so minute dragocene, smo se kmalu odpravili vsak na svojo pot. Mi na jug, on proti severu.

Na tem delu poti sem se zopet večkrat poigral s fotoaparatom in prvič pomočil boleče noge v mrzlo morje, kar se mi je še najbolj vtisnilo v spomin tega dne. Glede na to, da je bilo precej vroče in so bile moje noge zatečene, ne morem dovolj dobro opisati užitka, ko sem svoja stopala potopil v hladno, kristalno morsko vodo.

Kakih trideset kilometrov pred Zadrom sva se ustavila na čudoviti plaži, kjer sva hotela v miru pojesti zgodnje kosilo, preden odrineva dalje.

Tam sva celo srečala nekega samotarskega Ljubljančana, ki se je sončil v družbi svojega psa z imenom »Fruc«. Povedal nama je, da se ravnokar s svojim avtom vrača nazaj v Ljubljano.

Skuhala sva si kosilo in uživala v tišini in lepoti narave.

Najin plan je bil kolesariti do predmestja Zadra, se utaboriti in naslednji dan sveža vstopiti in si ogledati mesto ter prespati v mladinskem hotelu, se stuširati s toplo vodo ter na internetu najti kakega gostitelja preko »Hospitality cluba«.

Še enkrat sva napolnila plastenke z vodo pri prijaznih domačinih in kmalu prikolesarila do področja, kjer bi bilo raziskovanje narave izven ceste morda lahko usodno, saj so table jasno govorile, da se na tem področju še vedno nahajajo mine iz zadnje vojne na Balkanu.

Ko sva se vozila mimo tega področja naju je spreletaval srh in odločila sva se, da bova mesto za kampiranje našla daleč proč od tu. Kmalu sva prispela v kraj z imenom »Islam Latinski« in ko sem pogledal na števec, sem na njemu zagledal naslednje: »66.6km«. Trojna šestica na števcu! Pomislil sem: "obkrožena sva z minami, na števcu pa hudičeva številka". Nikjer tu okoli si nisva želela najti tabor mesta, zato sva hitela in hitela, ter se kmalu zavedla, da sva zopet prekoračila svoj včerajšnji rekord v razdalji.

Ko sva končno in z velikimi mukami našla primerno mesto za kampiranje v predmestju Zadra, je števec kazal 78km.

Ko je bil šotor postavljen in sem v temi nabiral trske za ogenj, me je večkrat spreletel srh, saj me je spomin na mine resnično strašil. Bal sem se preveč postopati naokoli. Še nikoli v življenju nisem okusil podobnega občutka. Poleg tega je bilo okoli naju veliko grmovja in ni nama bilo popolnoma jasno, kje se nahajava. Bila sva precej utrujena in želela sva se samo naspati.

Pa vendar se je na koncu mesto najinega tabora izkazalo za dobro, saj so klini zdrseli v zemljo kot v maslo in teren ni bil preveč trd.

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30.9.2007, DAY 6 - Repeated distance record and an interesting encounter

We woke up around 7am and when I looked out of the tent I was again amazed by the view on island Pag, enlightened with the morning sun. It was cold and as usual it was a real nightmare getting out of the warm sleeping bags, but the sun and the blue sky were predicting a warm day.

Before we said goodbye to Nada and Jure, we took some pictures together and, exchanged data and promised to send them photos when we come back home. They said that many people promised to send them photos, but Nada disappointingly said they never did. We promised, we will.

Before we finally started, my kilometres counter, which was making lots of problems, broke down and we lost some time fixing it. Descents followed, some weak ascents and the wind from the opposite direction was accompanying us.

Two hours after we started we ran into a nice surprise. We met Kokoro Ito, a Japanese cyclist who was travelling for two years already. He cycled all the way from Japan and his plan was to cycle around the world in for years alltogether. Croatia was the 18th country he visited. We had a little chat, shared personal data and experience. He intended to cross Slovenia too and since he had some problems with his driving system I recommended he has it fixed at Rudi's in Basovizza.

Because all three of us were aware of how precious the minutes were, we soon said goodbye and went on our way. We went south and he went north.

On this part of the road I used my camera a lot and also soaked my feet in to a cold sea watter for the first time since we started our trip. Considering that my feet were swollen and it was pretty hot I cant describe the pleasure of stepping in to a cold, fresh crystal clear water.

Around 30km before Zadar we stopped on a very beautiful beach where we wanted to have our lunch in peace. There we met a solitary guy from Ljubljana and he was enjoing the sun with his dog named Fruc. He said he was going back to Ljubljana with his car.

We made lunch and injoyed the silence and beauty of the nature.

Our plan was to cycle to the suburban area of Zadar, find a camp site, and head toward the city fresh and rested the next day, check the city, find a hostel have a shower and maybe find a host trough the Hospitality Club.

We filled our plastic bottles again at some very nice people and soon came to a place where exploring the nature i nthat area can be quiet dangerous, because there were signs that clearly said there were still mines (from the last war on the Balkans).

When we were cycling trough this area we were a bit spooked out and decided to find a camping place far away from that part. When I checked my meter I saw the numbers 66.6km and toughed to myself: how scary. We are in a place surrounded with mines and the number on our meter is a devils number. Even Azra agreed it was a bit spooky and we really were in a really strange and weird place.

We did not want to camp close to these places, so we went on and soon saw that we made more kilometers than yesterday.

When we finally found a suitable place for camping before entering Zadar the meter showed amazing 78 kilometers.

When I sat up the tent and found some branches that scary feeling came over me when I remembered the mines. I did not want to walk around to much. I never had a similar feeling in my life. Besides there was also a lot of bushes around us so we did not really know where we were.

We were tired and we just wanted to get some sleep.

But our camping place turned out to be a nice one, because the pitons went in the ground perfectly.

29.9.2007, DAN 5 - Rekord v prevoženih kilometrih, lepo vreme in prijeten stik z domačini

2008-02-04T07:13:00.001-08:00

Prebudila sva se v prelep, sončen dan. Poseben čar je pokrajini dajal svež jutranji zrak in pogled na prazno cesto. Nikjer nikogar razen naju in narave.

Medtem, ko sva se počasi pripravila na odhod, se je tudi cesta prebudila, a vseeno se je videlo, da je turistične sezone res praktično konec. Tokrat je bil promet večji proti severu. Ljudje so se očitno vračali v svoje domove.

Noge so po štirih dnevih začele kazati večjo odpornost do klancev, kar sva dodobra preizkusila na dolgih vzponih, ki so se odpirali pred nama. Kljub temu, da je bilo poletja konec, je sonce še vedno imelo toliko moči, da je iz naju pobiralo veliko vlage in najina koža je pridno pridobivala barvo.

Ta del poti je bil sicer res težak, a pogled okoli naju je bil tako veličasten, da nama sape niso jemali samo klanci.

Počasi pa sva začenjala razumeti, zakaj so malo pred najinim odhodom jadransko magistralo, po neki svetovni raziskavi, označili za eno izmed najnevarnejših cest na svetu; neoznačena in nezaščitena cesta, prepadi...

In ker so vozniki dandanes precej nestrpni, so neprestano trobili za nama, češ naj se umakneva bolj k robu, kar nama je počasi začelo popolnoma uničevati užitek potovanja. Že tako sva vozila kakih 50cm proč od cestnega roba in situacija je znala biti precej nevarna na trenutke, saj naju je na najini desni strani velikokrat pozdravil nevaren previs, na njegovem dnu pa morje s skalami. Ni se mi malokrat zgodilo, da mi je srce popolnoma zastalo, ko me je prehiteval avtobus in za nameček še začel trobiti, ali pa ko sem zagledal Azro v vzvratnem ogledalu voziti čisto ob robu.

Nekajkrat so me predrzni šoferji tako razjezili, ko so me popolnoma stisnili ob rob ceste, tik k robu previsa, da je moj sredinec kar nekajkrat pogledal proti nebu. Oba z Azro sva bila popolnoma osupla nad nevednostjo in predrznostjo premnogih voznikov. Tako sva se kmalu za tem odločila, da se bova robu izogibala kot mačka vode in sva si vzela tisti meter razdalje od roba, ki je tudi predpisan po cestno prometnem zakonu. Res je, da so vozniki tokrat postajali še bolj nestrpni, vendar se mi je v dani situaciji zdelo to najbolj primerno in varno. Oba sva se previsov preveč bala.

Jadranska magistrala zna biti na trenutke zelo ozka in ker je v mnogih odsekih zelo ovinkasta, je prehitevanje zelo oteženo. Bila sva tudi priča mnogim prehitevanjem v škarje na nepreglednih delih ceste, da me je večkrat mikalo, da bi situacijo fotografiral s fotoaparatom in poklical policijo. Jeza je kar kipela iz mene. Po premisleku in pogovoru z Azro, sem se odločil, da mi to ne bo pokvarilo sanj.

Kljub vetru, dolgim klancem in debilnim voznikom, sva hitro seštevala kilometre.

Po Jadranski magistrali se nisva prvič vozila, vendar je Prizna tista točka na tej vijugasti črti, do katere sem že stopil. Pozitivno razburjenost je vzbujalo tisto, kar naju je čakalo za to točko. Neznani kraji!

Preden sva dosegla to točko, sva si ob cesti, pod vročim soncem privoščila topel obrok in nekaj minut čez trinajsto sva tja tudi prispela. Peljala sva se naprej proti Karlobagu in končno so se najini dolgi vzponi obrestovali. Sledil je namreč dolg spust do Karlobaga, kjer sva nabavila hrane za naslednjih 5 dni in dodatne pajke (elastike), saj je vreme dodobra načenjalo tiste, ki sva jih pridno uporabljala do takrat.Dan se je prevešal v večer in sonce je zopet izgubljalo svojo moč. Od Karlobaga je bila vožnja zelo enostavna in cesta nama je poklonila lahko potovanje. Bila je ovinkasta, polna epih zalivčkov, dobro zaščitena z ograjo in kar je še najbolj pomembno, bila je brez lukenj, praktično nova ter popolnoma prazna! Zanimivo je bilo prav to, da sva prav tu srečala kar nekaj slovenskih avtomobilov. Bilo mi je malce žal, da nisem imel slovenske zastave, da bi vozniki videli, da smo naši. Bog ve, kaj so si mislili, ko jim je Azra mahala v pozdrav.

Zopet je bil čas iskanja primernega mesta za postavitev najinega šotora. Nahajala sva se v majhnem kraju s petimi hišami, imenovanem Kijac. Ta leži kakih 100 metrov nad morsko gladino, pod vznožjem hriba Javorovca. Na najini desni strani, pod cesto, se je odpiralo veliko, peščeno mesto, tako veliko, da bi še avtobusi lahko obračali na njem. Bilo je sicer vidno iz ceste, vendar se je kasneje izkazalo, da so bili strahovi odveč, pa še razgled na Pag je bil čudovit. Na levi strani ceste je stala hiša, kjer prebivata Nada in Jure, starejši par, doma iz Reke. Po pripovedih Jureta, sta se sem preselila po smrti Nadinega brata, saj je pokojni za sabo pustil precej veliko čredo koz. Odločila sta se, da bosta poskrbela za njih.

Bila sta zelo prijazna in imela sva občutek, da jima v tako odročnem kraju manjka družbe, saj sta naju sprejela zelo lepo, brez predsodkov.

Povedala sta nama, da se pri njih med turistično sezono ustavi veliko turistov, med njimi veliko motoristov in kolesarjev. Seveda tudi Slovencev. Pojasnila sta nama, kako gost zna biti promet in da je prečkanje ceste v takih trenutkih zelo nevarno. Njuna hiša stoji le kakih 15 metrov od glavne ceste.

Okoli hiše se je kar gnetlo mačk, ki jih je Azra, seveda, takoj poslikala s fotoaparatom.

Izpustila ni niti simpatičnega osamljenega psa, privezanega na dolgi verigi. Ko je videl, da se mu Azra približuje je začel noro mahati z repom in cviliti. Ko se mu je Azra približala in ga pocrkljala, je izgledal kot najbolj srečen kuža na svetu.

Nada in Jure sta nama dovolila kampirati čez cesto in naju prepričevala, da naj ne skrbiva, če se naju vidi iz ceste, saj je tam prenočevalo že veliko popotnikov in se nikoli ni nič zgodilo. Preden sva se odpravila spat, smo dolgo debatirali o vsem mogočem in med pitjem domače rakije z medom, nama je Jure razkril, da je vrsto let delal v Reki na nogometnem stadionu kot redar. Ko sva se končno odpravila proti najinem taboru, nama je povedal, da če želiva, si lahko zvečer skupaj ogledamo nogometni derbi med Splitom in Reko. Prijazno ponudbo sva morala zavrniti, saj sva se hotela umiti, oprati kolesarska oblačila in se dodobra naspati, saj sva prav ta dan kljub vsem omenjenim težavam na cesti prvič presegla 60km. Opravila sva jih 65. Za nekatere izkušene kolesarje se bo to zdelo malo, vendar midva nisva bila izkušena in so nama take razdalje odgovarjale.

Ponovno sva preživela suho in mirno noč, le vsake toliko so mačke iz soseske skrbno preučevale teren okoli najinega šotora in ustvarjale šume. Predvidevala sva, da vohajo hrano od večerje, tako da sva ostanke tunine morala skrbno zapakirati v vrečko in jo zapreti v šotor.

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29.9.2007, DAY 5 - A record in driven kilometers, fine weather and a pleasant contact with the locals

We woke up into a beautiful, sunny day. Fresh morning air and an empty road gave a special glow to the morning. There was no one except us and the nature.

While we got ready for our departure the road was waking up, but you could still see that the tourist season was basically over.

This time the traffic was bigger to the north. People were going back home.

Our legs started to show bigger resistance to the slopes after four days, which we tested fully on long ascents that were opening before us.

Despite the fact that the summer was over, the sun was still strong enough to drain a lot of moisture out of us and our skin was getting color.

This road was quite difficult, but the views were so magnificent they were taking our breath away as well as the slopes did.

We were slowly starting to understand why one world research said that "Jadranska Magistrala" road is one of the most dangerous roads in the world: unmarked and unprotected roads, cliffs,…

And because the drivers these days are quite intolerant, they were constantly making noise with their horns so we moved more to the edge of the road, which started to completely destroy the enjoyment of our travel.

We were already driving around 50cm away from the edge of the road and the situation was getting dangerous sometimes, because there was a cliff on our right side that showed rocks and the deep sea.

Manny times my heart stopped because a bus was passing by and started to horn or I saw Azra on my rear mirror driving completely on the edge. Those disrespectful drivers made me angry that my middle finger looked up to the sky quite a few times.

Azra and I were completely astonished by the ignorance and imprudence of those drivers.

So, soon after that, we decided to avoid those edges as much as we could and we took that meter of distance from them, according to the law. The drivers were becoming even more intolerant but to me being away from the edge meant a safe and appropriate thing to do. We were too afraid of the cliffs to risk.

"Jadranska magistrala" can be quite narrow sometimes and winding in many sections and therefore hard to pass trough (with a car). We witnessed many passing in scissors on blind parts of the road which made me want to take photos of those situations and call the police. That’s how angry I was. But after thinking things trough and talking to Azra I decided that all this will not destroy my dreams.

But, despite the wind, long slopes and stupid drivers, we were acumulating kilometers quite fast.

We were driving on "Jadranska Magistrala" before but Prizna is far as we went. A positive excitement was awaking because of the unknown that was awaiting us.

Before we reached Prizna we stopped close to the road and had a nice, warm meal under the hot sun and after 13.00 we arrived there.

We drove towards Karlobag and finally our ascents paid off. A long descent to Karlobag followed, where we bought food for the next five days and some extra spiders (tow trucks, wreckers), because the weather was starting to destroy those we already had.

The day was turning into night and the sun started to loose its power.

The road from Karlobag was very simple and we had a really nice ride. It was winding, full of coves and had a well protective fence and most importantly it was without holes, almost new and almost empty. The interesting part was, that we ran into some Slovenian drivers there. I was a bit sorry for not having a Slovenian flag so they would recognize us. God knows what they were thinking when Azra was waving at them.

And again came the time to look for a camping place. We were in a small place with five houses, called Kijac. It lies around 100 meters above sea level under the hill Javorovac. On our right side under the road a nice camping place was opening up, so big that even buses could turn on it. It was visible from the road, however the fear was redundant and the view on island Pag was nice. On our left side stood a house where Jure and Nada, a couple from Rijeka live. Jure later explained to us that they moved there after the death of Nada's brother, because he left behind a big herd of goats and they decided to take care of them.

They were very nice and we had the feeling that they lack company in this remote place. They excepted us warmly and without any prejudice. They told us that during the season a lot of tourists stop by at their place, among them many motorcyclists and cyclists. And of course a lot of Slovenians. They explained to us that the traffic can be quite thick and crossing the road at those times can be really dangerous. Their house is around 15 meters away from the road.

There were a lot of cats around the house and Azra of course took a lot of pictures of them with our camera. She also took a picture of a very sweet and lonely dog and when he saw that Azra was approaching him he started to wave his tale and he started to squeal.

She cuddled him a bit and he looked like the happiest dog on the planet.

Nada and Jure allowed us to camp across the street and told us not to worry if the place was visible from the street because a lot of people were sleeping there and nothing happened. Before we went to bed we spoke about a lot of stuff with them and while we were drinking rakija (a strong Balkan alchohol drink) Jure told us he used to work in Rijeka on a football stadium as a security guard.

When he finally went towards our camp, Jure said we could watch a a football match later with him if we want. Rijeka and Split were playing. We had to refuse the kind offer, because we wanted to wash up, clean our clothes , because this day we drove more than 60 kilometers, despite the problems. It does not sound a lot for experienced cyclists but we were not experienced and this kind of distance was good for us.

We had a calm and dry night, only the cats were making sounds sometimes by examining the area around our tent. We assumed that they smell food from our dinner, so we had to pack the leftovers quite well.

28.9.2007, DAN 4 - Vetroven in deževen dan, poln lepih razgledov

2008-02-03T20:41:00.000-08:00

Prebudila sva se okrog šestih zjutraj, dobro naspana. Zame je bilo jutro najlepši del dneva in ko sem pokukal skozi vrata šotora sem takoj postal dobre volje, saj je izgledalo, da ne bo večjih komplikacij glede vremena. Umila sva se, pozajtrkovala in spakirala opremo v torbe.

Ko sva hotela pospraviti modro platno, sva doživela prijetno presenečenje; čez noč se je na zadnjem delu šotora nabrala velika luža kristalne deževnice. Prav lepo darilo narave sem takoj pomislil, saj sem hotel plastenke napolniti s to vodo, kar bi nama takoj prihranilo žicanje. Zagotovo jo je bilo dovolj, da bi napolnila vse 4 plastenke. In ravno, ko sem hotel to storiti, me je Azra ustavila in me z lekcijo o bakterijah in o čistoči platna takoj odvrnila od dejanja. V končni fazi bo držalo, da ne vemo, kje se je platno valjalo preden sva ga kupila. Da niti ne omenim dejstva, da sva prejšnjo noč kampirala nekaj kilometrov proč od rafinerije INA, od koder se je v zrak preko ogromnega dimnika spuščalo bog ve kakšne kemikalije. Kljub temu mi je bilo žal zavreči toliko kristalno čiste vode in preden sem jo zlil na travnato podlago, si nisem mogel kaj, da si nisem vsaj obraza umil v njej. Bilo je prav prijetno in mrzla voda je botrovala, da sem bil dokončno buden. In preživel sem.

Prepričan pa sem, da če bi potoval sam, bi voda pristala v mojih plastenkah. Vendar sem, roko na srce, globoko v sebi vedel, da ima Azra prav. Nisem želel, da bi mi potovanje pokvarila nezaželjena zastrupitev z vodo. Obžaloval sem, da s sabo nisva imela tablet za razkuževanje vode. Dobra izkušnja za naslednjič.

Ko sva želela spakirane torbe naložiti na kolesa se je iz oblakov, ki so medtem postali vse gostejši vsula toča. Hitro, kot tren očesa sva bila oblečena v nepremočljiva oblačila. Potrebno pa je bilo še montirati torbe na kolesa. To je bilo potrebno narediti v največjem nalivu in priznati moram, da sem takrat dodobra potrošil svoj besedni zaklad kletvic. Še posebej ironično je bilo dejstvo, da ko sem se že dodobra skuhal v nepremočljivih hlačah in ko sem končno uspel natovoriti kolesa ter opravil z delom, je dež popolnoma ponehal in zopet je posijalo sonce. Pod nepremočljivimi oblekami pa je bilo skoraj tako kot jih sploh nebi imel, saj je kondenz premočil moja notranja oblačila.

Vseeno sem se pomiril in odpravila sva se navzdol po ozki, kamniti poti s kolesi ob sebi.

Ni minilo veliko, ko sva že bila pred cerkvijo in naredila najino prvo skupno fotografijo.

Odpeljala sva se dalje, v klanec. Doživela sva nekaj odobravanj s strani voznikov, pa vendar sva se spet počutila neprijetno, ko sva v vzvratnih zrcalih občudovala, gost promet. To je bil najtežji del poti in sicer umikati se avtom. Cesta je postajala vse ožja in ožja, ter za kolesarje zelo nevarna, saj ponekod ni imela nikakršne zaščitne ograje. Na desni strani samo prepad.

Kljub vsem vzponom, prometu, vetru in občasnemu dežju, je bilo kolesarjenje čudovito, to pa predvsem zaradi lepot velebitskega naravnega parka. Poleg čudovitih gora na najini levi, so se na najini desni važno postavljali hrvaški otoki, obkroženi z morjem.

Klanci so postajali vse daljši in vse težji, tako, da sva že komaj čakala, da najdeva primerno mesto za kampiranje. Kar nekaj časa sva iskala in porivala kolesi na roke preden naju je ujela tema. Promet se je umirjal.

Vsake toliko sva se ustavila, si malo oddahnila, pojedla kosilo in uživala v prelepem razgledu. Ko naju je kdo vprašal, kam potujeva, se niso mogli načuditi, ko sva povedala, da greva vse do Grčije s kolesom.

Ko sva med iskanjem mesta za tabor zaradi nemogočega terena že skoraj obupala, sva nepričakovano dobila prostor. Po natančnem pregledu odstavnega odseka na najini desni, polnega smeti in druge umazanije - rezultat nevednih turistov - sva se obupano odpravila dalje, popolnoma izčrpana od dolgih klancev in vetra. Opravila sva samo 54km, pa se nama je zdelo, kot bi jih opravila še enkrat toliko. Ko sem spet ravno začel preklinjati, saj sem mislil, da bova tabor iskala do mraka, sem na drugi strani ceste opazil kamnit makadam, ki je izginjal kakih dvajset metrov proti hribu in se v loku zopet vračal proti cesti.

Prečkal sem cesto, ki je po zaključku serpentine zavijala v desno. Mesto, ki sem ga odšel raziskovati, je bilo dobro skrito. Vsak avto, ki se je peljal iz nama nasprotne smeri je hitro švignil mimo, tako da ni čudno, da je bil odsek, popolno nasprotje prejšnjega – nikjer nobenih smeti, nikjer smrada po človeških iztrebkih, poleg tega pa je bil teren idealen za postavitev šotora, saj je bil raven, ne preveč kamnit in postavljen ob vznožje hriba, tako da o kakem vetru ni bilo ne duha ne sluha. Prav smejalo se mi je, ko sem ugotovil, kaj zamujajo vozniki, ko tako hitro švigajo po cestah.

Tako sva na srečo dobila idealno zatočišče. Najbolj zanimivo pa je bilo, da je bila cesta le kakih 20 metrov od najinega šotora, a še vedno sva bila s pomočjo ovinka in grmovja dovolj skrita.

Ponoči me je nekolikokrat zbudil dež, ki je začel trkati po šotoru, medtem, ko je Azra spala kot ubita. Iz Slovenije sva prejela vzpodbudno sporočilo, da bodo naslednji dnevi naravnost idealni za kolesarnjenje kar se vremena tiče.

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28.9.2007, DAY 4 - Windy and rainy day, full of nice landviews

The hardest thing for us was moving away from the drivers. The road was getting narrower and more dangerous for us because it didn't have any protective fence or whatsoever and all you could see was a cliff on our right side.

Despite of all ascents, wind and occasional rain, cycling was wonderful, mostly because of the natural beauties of the Velebit national park.

Alongside the wonderful mountains on our left, we had amazing Croatian islands.

Slopes were becoming longer and heavier, that is why we could hardly wait to find a suitable camping place.

For some time we were searching the place and pushing the bikes uphill by hands, before the dark caught us. We stopped every once in a while, took a break, had lunch and enjoyed the beautiful view.

When people asked us where are we heading they were surprised to find out we are cycling all the way from Slovenia to Greece.

We almost lost hope of finding a good camping place because of bad ground and unexpectedly we found one. But after we checked the place out we saw that it was full of garbage, which was a result of careless tourists, so we took of completely exhausted from the wind and long slopes. We only did 54km but it felt like we did 100km.

I started cursing again, because I taught we will search for the camp sitein the dark, but than I noticed a dirt road on the left side of the main road that was disappearing around 20 meters against the hill and was returning on the road in right turn.

The place I was discovering, was well hidden. Every car that went by from the opposite direction, shot by quickly so it was no wonder that this camping place was completely opposite from the previous one – no trash, no bad smell and the ground was ideal for for a tent because it was flat, with a few stones and it stood against a mountain hill so we had no wind.

It was funny for me when I realised what the drivers were missing while passing by so quickly with their cars.

The interesting part was that the road was only 20 meters away but the place was still hidden thanks to the turn and the bushes.

I woke up during the night several times because of the rain, but Azra slept like dead.

We received an encouraging message from Slovenia that the weather will be ideal for cycling in the next few days.

27.9.2007, DAN 3 - Sušenje opreme in pozen start

2008-01-30T08:55:00.001-08:00

Ko sva se zbudila, so se oblaki raztrgali in pozdravilo naju je sonce. Lepo vreme sva izkoristila za sušenje opreme, kar pa je botrovalo, da sva najino pot pričela šele okrog dvanajstih. Vendar pa ni trajalo dolgo, ko so se zopet začeli pojavljati novi oblaki, ki pa na srečo do večera niso spustili niti kaplje vode.

Ne dolgo po štartu sva začutila, da je dobro, če si skuhava kosilo, saj sva želela držati nek ustaljen tempo kar se prehrambenih navad na poti tiče. Začela sva iskati primerno mesto in ni minilo veliko časa, ko sva prispela do neke »konobe«. Za najin kratek tabor sva si izbrala bližnje parkirišče, ki je sodeč po veliki odsotnosti parkiranih avtomobilov govorilo, da je turistične sezone konec. Tudi sonce ni več oddajalo tiste prave »sezonske« svetlobe.

Skuhala sva si najin standardni riž s tuno, pojedla nekaj alg, nahranila neko žicarsko mačko in preden sva se ponovno odpravila na pot, sva morala z vodo napolniti plastenke. S praznimi plastenkami sem se odpravil do »konobe« in prijaznega natakarja prosil, če lahko vanje natoči vodo. Medtem, ko je točil, se mi je približal večji moški, oblečen v črno obleko s kravato. Začel me je spraševati, od kod sva in čim sem mu povedal, da sva Slovenca, so začele iz njegovih ust bruhati provokacije. Najprej me je vprašal, zakaj žicam vodo in zakaj si raje ne naročim pijače. Nisem takoj razumel, ali je bil možkar lastnik lokala ali samo gost in ko sem mu povedal, da ni problema, da si gremo lahko vodo natočit kam drugam, me je natakar, ki je medtem polnil zadnjo plastenko diskretno pogledal in mi s pogledom nakazal, naj se ne oziram na provokacije in naj počakam na svojo vodo. Po tem sem takoj povezal zadeve in ugotovil, da je bil možakar v črni obleki pijan, ter da se nima smisla obremenjevati z njim. V nasprotju z njim je bil natakar zalo prijazen z mano.

Lepo sem se zahvalil za vodo in neotesanega moškega vprašal zakaj je potrebno med Slovenci in Hrvati brez veze ustvarjati napetosti in mu povedal, da so njegove provokacije popolnoma nepotrebne. Z Azro sva se ob vsem tem samo nasmejala in se odpeljala dalje.

Preden sva našla primerno mesto za prenočevanje, sva doživela še nekaj agresivnih reakcij s strani voznikov. Vreme se je dobro držalo in mesto, kjer sva postavila najin šotor je bilo idealno. Skrito pred ljudmi, proč od ceste in v zavetju pred vetrom. Edino najti ga je bilo treba.

S ceste sva zavila v stransko pot, kjer sva zagledala prijetno cerkvico in se do nje odpeljala s kolesom. Malo sem se sprehodil okoli cerkvice in našel mesto. Edina pomanjkljivost je bila dostopnost s kolesi. Vseeno sva se znašla in preživela mirno noč, na mehkem terenu, pokritem z visoko travo in za razliko od prejšnje noči, skoraj popolnoma brez nobenega kamna pod šotorom.

Prejšnjo noč nisva veliko zatisnila oči, zato sva se tokrat odpravila spat zelo zgodaj, saj sva si želela naspati se, ter začeti pot dovolj zgodaj. Še en razlog za tako odločitev je bilo majhno število kilometrov opravljenih ta dan. Naredila sva samo 30 km.

Tokrat sva šotor takoj pokrila z dodatnim platnom zavoljo nočnega miru, kljub temu, da sva vedela, da bo potrebno zjutraj več časa pospravljati. Odločitev ni bila napačna, saj nas je ponoči ujela ponovna, sicer blažja nevihta. Edini problem v tem primeru je bil kondenz vode na notranji strani šotora. Kljub temu sva se dobro naspala.

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27.9.2007, DAY 3 - Drying our equipment and a late start.

When we woke up, the clouds tore up and the sun greeted us. We took advantage of nice weather and dried our equipment and that was the reason we started our way around 12am. However it did not last long, when new clouds started to occur again, but luckily it didn’t rain until the evening.

Not long after the start, we felt that it is good if we stop to make some lunch, because we wanted to hold a certain established pace when it came to nutrition. We started to look for a good place for lunch and it didn’t take long to find a nice "konoba".

For our short stop we chose a parking space near the "konoba" and it was obvious that the touristy season was over, because there was not many cars around. And also the sun wasn’t giving us the real »seasonal« light. We made ourselves rice with tuna, fed one cat that wanted food and before going on our way we still had to fill our plastic bottles with water.

I went to "konoba" with the empty plastic bottles and asked a kind waiter to give us some water. While he was pouring water, a larger man dressed in a black suit and a necktie approached me. He started asking where are we from and as soon as I told him we are from Slovenia, he started provoking. First he asked me, why am I asking for free water and why don’t I order a drink instead. At first I did not understand weather he was the owner of the place or just a guest so I told him that it is not a problem for me to go and get water somewhere else and than the waiter looked at me pointing to ignore what the man was saying and wait for my water. I figured the man in the suit was drunk and there was no point to burden with him. Besides the waiter was really kind to me.

I thanked the waiter and asked the rude man why is it necessary to create pointless tension between Slovenians and Croatians because it is completely unnecessary. Azra and I just laughed and continued our trip.

Before we found a suitable place to camp we went trough a few aggressive reactions from the drivers. The weather was good and we still had to find a place for camping. Hidden from the people, the road and in shelter from the wind. We went to a side road where we caught sight of a nice church and drove there. I took a walk around the church and found a nice place. The only problem was that it was hard to get to it with bikes. We managed well and went trough a calm night on soft ground covered with high grass, unlike last night when the ground was covered with stones.

We did not sleep the previous night so now we went to sleep really early because we wanted to have enough rest and start our trip early. And another reason for such decision was that we only did 30km this day.

This time we covered the tent with additional linen even though we new it will take more time to pack in the morning, and it turned out to be a good decision because we had a lighter storm again. We had a very good sleep but the inner upper side of the tent was wet because of the linen covering it outside.

26.9.2007, DAN 2 - Proti Reki

2008-01-30T05:29:00.001-08:00

Preden sva se poslovila od tet v Ilirski Bistrici, je bilo potrebno najti nadomestni vijak za Azrino SPD ploščico. Poklical sem Boruta Belingarja, navdušenega kolesarja in lastnika spletne trgovine z kolesarsko opremo imenovano Peloton (www.peloton.si). Dobrohotno mi je poklonil vijak kar iz svojega čevlja in odpeljala sva se dalje proti slovensko-hrvaški meji.

Prvič sva okusila, kaj pomeni daljši blažji vzpon. Zanimivo je poslušati nekatere, ki rečejo: »Ah, saj do Reke imaš samo navzdol!«. Ko se namreč dejansko odpraviš na tako pot z natovorjenim kolesom, se pozna čisto vsak gram, zato je tudi daljši, blažji vzpon dovolj, da se namučiš. Dokler se voziš z avtom, si niti ne moreš predstavljati, kako izgleda s kolesom goniti v navidezno nedolžen vzpon.

Poleg daljšega vzpona do meje, so nama neprijeten občutek vzbujali premnogi tovornjaki. Še enkrat sva bila vesela, da imava vzvratna zrcala, vendar nič ni moglo preprečiti, da so nas nekateri vozniki tovornjakov strašili z glasnimi hupami. Srce nama je večkrat skočilo v hlače, ko je šofer pritisnil na hupo tik za najinim hrbtom. Včasih mi ni bilo čisto jasno, zakaj to počnejo. Dejstvo je, da je trobljenje avtomobilov in predvsem avtobusov ter tovornjakov za kolesarje izjemno moteče, da niti ne rečemo nevarno. Ko si skrit za pločevino avtomobila, te hupa niti toliko ne preseneti, saj stekla zadržijo nekaj zvoka zunaj. Kolesar pa nima nobene zaščite pred zvokom in ga takega ni težko prestrašiti. Žal tega ne občutiš, če se nikoli ne voziš s kolesom.

Ko sva prečkala mejo, se je pot do Reke res samo spuščala in prav prijetno se je bilo peljati. Neverjetno, kako lepo in svobodno se kolesar počuti, ko ni potrebno goniti kolesa v hrib. V Reki sva tako bila zelo hitro in takoj sva izkoristila priložnost, da sva kupila hrvaško SIM kartico in tako imela kontakt s svetom za nujne primere.

Vreme je držalo, vendar sva dobila sporočilo iz Slovenije, da naju bo najbrž kmalu ujela nevihta. Najin prvi tabor sva postavila malce izven mesta. Teren ni bil najlažji za postavitev šotora, vendar sva se nekako znašla. Zadrževala naju je čudovita slika hrvaških obmorskih vrhov.

Ob vsem tem lepem, pa sva storila napako. Seveda, bila je to najin prvi tabor na poti in pričakoval sem, da vse pa le ne more iti po maslu že prvi dan. Le čas nama je narekoval, česa se morava v prihodnje izogibati. Učenje na napakah. S platnom sva namreč podložila šotor in kasneje, sredi noči ugotovila, da se pod šotorom nabira ogromna količina vode. Zgodilo se je tisto, česar sva se bala. Ponoči naju je ujela huda nevihta in voda, ki se je nabirala pod šotorom, je prodirala vanj skozi majhne luknjice v spodnjem delu. Ker je bil zvok grmenja, ki ni pojenjal nekaj ur preveč blizu, midva pa sva ležala na luži vode, ni bilo druge, kot sredi noči obleči dežno opremo ter se odpraviti ven na močan naliv in izpod šotora izvleči platno ter zliti vodo izpod šotora. Tako je voda spodaj izginila in platno sva uporabila kot dodatno streho. V šotoru pa naju je sedaj čakalo brisanje dna, da sva lahko končno zaspala na suhem. Zaradi močnega vetra, je bilo potrebno platno pritrditi z dodatnimi klini. Imela sva še en problem in sicer ta, da so se najine spalne vreče zmočile in potrebno je bilo improvizirati. Zaspala sva okrog štirih zjutraj. Števec je kazal 50,3km.

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26.9.2007, DAY 2 - Towards Rijeka, Croatia

Before we said goodbye to our aunts in Ilirska Bistrica it was necessary to find an alternative screw for Azra's SPD tile. I called Borut Belingar and enthusiastic cyclist and owner of web trade shop with cyclist equipment called Peleton (www.peleton.si). He benignly gave me the screw from his shoe and than we left toward Slovenian-Croatian border.

We tasted for the first time what it means to drive on a longer but milder ascent. That is why it was interesting to hear some people say: » Oh, it is only downhill to Rijeka «.
When you go on a trip like this with loaded bikes, you feel every gram of it and that is why even the milder ascent makes you tiered, especially if longer. As long as you drive with a car, you can’t imagine how it feels to drive on a virtually innocent ascent with a bike.

Besides the longer ascent to the border, we also felt discomfort by all the trucks on the road. We were glad once again that we had the rear mirrors but still nothing could stop the truck drivers from making the spooky noise with their horns. Our hearts jumped to our pants every time the drivers pressed their horns behind our backs. Sometimes it was not even clear why they were doing it. The fact is that it’s dangerous for a cyclist when bus, truck or car drivers horn all the time. When you are hidden behind the metal of your car, horn of thread does not surprise you that much, because glasses restrain some noise outside. A cyclist does not have that protection so he or she is easily frightened. You don’t feel that unless you are on the bike.

After crossing the border, the road to Rijeka was only down hill and it was quite pleasant to drive. It is incredible how a cyclist feels free when he does not have to drive uphill. We arrived to Rijeka quite quickly and took the opportunity to buy a Croatian SIM card for our phone so we could contact someone in case of an emergency.

The weather was good but we received a message from Slovenia that thunderstorm will catch up with us soon. We sat up our first camp a bit outside the city. The ground was not the best for putting up a tent but somehow we managed. We were captured by the beautiful sight of Croatian seaside peaks.

Next to all the beautiful things, we made one mistake. It was our first camp on the road and we could not expect that everything will go as planed on the first day. Only time dictated to us what not to repeat again in the future.

What happened was that we bolstered the tent with linen and in the middle of the night found out that a big amount of water was being gathered under the tent.
Bad thunderstorm caught up with us by night and water, that was gathering under the tent, broke through small holes in lower part of the linen. Because the sound of thunder did not settle for hours and we were sitting in a puddle of water, there was no other way but to put our rain clothes on, go out and fix the problem. We had to pull the linen out, to extract the water gathered under the tent. After we poured out the water we used the linen as an extra roof above the tent. So now, the cleaning of the bottom of the tent was waiting for us, so we could finally fall asleep on a dry surface.

The towels we had with us turned out to be great because they soaked up a huge amount of water. We also had to attach the linen with additional pitons because of a strong wind. Another problem was that our sleeping bags were wet and we had to improvise. We fell asleep around 4am. The meter was showing 50,3km.

25.9.2007, DAN 1 - Od Sežane do Ilirske Bistrice

2008-01-30T04:56:00.000-08:00

Štart je bil precej neslaven. Medtem, ko sva prvič občutila težo natovorjenih koles, so se domači za nama držali za glave in se spraševali, če bova sploh prispela do prvega ovinka. Bilo je prav komično. Takoj se je pokazala neizkušenost, saj sta kolesi upravljali naju in ne obratno.

Navkljub klavrnemu štartu sva uspela ujeti ritem in se zapeljala proti Ilirski Bistrici, najini prvi postojanki. Prevozila sva do Sežane in takoj sem začutil, da nekaj ne bo v redu z menjalnikom. Žal se je v zadnjih dnevih nakopičila tona opravil in časa za testiranje koles dejansko sploh ni bilo. V končni fazi sta bili kolesi pred tem dva tedna pri Rudiju na servisu in sklepal sem, da je vse urejeno tako, kot mora biti. Tako sva namesto proti Divači najprej krenila v Bazovico. Spet.

Mladen je kmalu uredil zadevo, tako da smo se le še hitro fotografirali in krenila sva dalje.

Dan je bil čudovit, zato je bilo na cesti veliko vozil in takoj sva občutila, kako pametno je bilo na krmili montirati vzvratna zrcala. Po prvih dvajsetih kilometrih se je pojavila nova težava. SPD ploščica na enem izmed Azrinih čevljev je bila slabo pritrjena in nekje na poti je izgubila enega izmed dveh vijakov, ki skrbita, da je ploščica varno pritrjena na čevelj. K sreči sva to opazila še preden sva izgubila ploščico.

Ko sva po 50-ih prevoženih kilometrih, s povprečno začetniško hitrostjo 14,8km/h prispela v Ilirsko Bistrico, se je že naredil mrak in že prvi dan sva občutila kaj pomeni nočna vožnja. Prvič sva preizkusila čelno svetilko PETZL in moram priznati, da sem bil prav vesel, da sem jo po Markovem nasvetu le kupil. Prav zanimivo je bilo videti, kolesa v temi, ko se je svetloba odbijala od obročev in zadnjih torb. Bilo je prav tako, ko bi se peljal na božičnem drevesu, polnem lučk. Tako sva se res počutila varne.

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29.9.2007, DAY 1 - From Sežana to Ilirska Bistrica

Start was fairly inglorious. While we were feeling the weight of loaded bikes for the first time, our family members behind us were holding their heads, asking themselves if we will ever make it to the first detour.

It was really comic. Inexperience was showed at once, because the bikes managed us and no vice versa. Despite the poor start we managed to catch the rhythm and drove towards Ilirska Bistrica, our first outpost.

While driving to Sežana I felt at once, that something wasn’t in order with my gearbox. Because a ton of tasks accumulated in the last days there was no time for testing the bikes. Besides the bikes were serviced at Rudi's two weeks before so I deduced that everything was the way it is suppose to be. So, instead toward Divača we headed to Basovizza. Again.

When Mladen quickly fixed the problem, we took some photos together and went forward.

The day was wonderful, that is why many vehicles were on the road and that is when we realized it was a great idea to put rear mirrors on our devices.

After the first 20 kilometers a new problem appeared. SPD tile on one of Azras shoes was badly attached and she lost two screws on the shoe somewhere on the way. Luckily we noticed the problem soon enough and got it fixed.

After 50 driven kilometers with an average speed 14,8km/h we arrived to Ilirska Bistrica when it was getting dark so we experienced a bit of night driving.

We tested our PETZL headlamp for the first time and I must admit I was glad I bought it after Marko advised me to do it.
It was interesting to see the bikes while light was being reflected from rings and back panniers. It was like driving on a Christmas tree full of lights. We felt safe.

UVOD

2008-01-30T04:40:00.001-08:00

Ko si nečesa res želiš veliko časa in ko končno pride dan, ko sanje postanejo resničnost, je to s preprostimi besedami težko opisati. Obdajajo te veselje, radovednost, strah pred neznanim in mnogo drugih mešanih občutkov, ki jih ne občutiš vsak dan.

Tako sva se počutila midva po tem, ko sva preživela živčno vojno priprav na dolgo načrtovano potovanje s kolesi preko Hrvaške Jadranske magistrale, Črne gore, Albanije in pa naprej, v Grčijo. Ko sva se pred hišo poslavljala od domačih, sva se zavedla, da gre tokrat čisto zares. Po prihodu iz Slovaške se namreč še nisva hotela sprijazniti, da je najinih epskih potovanj konec in nisva še čutila potrebe po ustaljenem življenju. Zato sva se podala v to avanturo, po kateri sva vedela, da se bo potrebno “zresniti”, si poiskati službe, odštudirati do konca, urediti stanovanje, si ustvariti družino in tako naprej.

Ko takole razmišljam, sem vesel, da sva šla skozi pekel priprav in nakupovanja koles z opremo, saj vem, da naju bo vse to vedno čakalo v kleti in prvo obdobje lepega vremena bo najino. Izkušeni turni kolesarji bodo verjetno takoj razumeli o čem govorim; ko enkrat imaš vso to dragoceno opremo v garaži, se ti ni potrebno več ubadati s premnogimi malenkostmi – enostavno, ob prvi priložnosti, prvem lepem vremenu, prvem dopustu vzameš kolo, ga mogoče malce pregledaš, naoljiš, naložiš stvari v zadnje in prednje torbe in se odpelješ. Za naju je bilo težko začeti, saj je je bilo vse novo. Popolnoma vso opremo je bilo potrebno nabaviti - brezhibni kolesi, prtljažniki, dobre, nepremočljive torbe, dobre pnevmatike, rezervni deli, primerna oblačila, čeladi , sončna očala, čelni svetilki, spalne vreče, šotor, podloge za spanje, podloga za šotor, kolesarski čevlji, orodje in pribor za kampiranje, vitamini, prehrana... Skratka vse iz popolne nule. Tukaj bi se rad zahvalil Marku Mohorčiču, ki je s svojimi izkušnjami pripomorel, da imava sedaj kvalitetno opremo in nimava več takih skrbi. Ostale so le še malenkosti, ki jih bova s časom dopolnjevala.

Sedaj imava kolesi in svet je najin.

READ THE ENGLISH TRANSLATION UNDER

Introduction

When you want something for such a long time and than finally your wish becomes a reality it is really hard to describe it with words. You are surrounded with joy, curiosity, fear from unknown and many other feelings you don’t feel every day.

That is how we felt after a nerve-racking war of preparations for a long trip with our bikes trough Croatian part of the road named "Jadranska magistra", across Monte Negro, Albania and finally to Greece.

When we were saying goodbye from our family in front of the house we realized it was for real.

You see, after coming home from Slovakia we just did not want to accept the fact that our epic journies were over and that is why we decided for this adventure knowing that after the journey we have to get “serious”.

Now, that I think about it I am happy we went trough hell of preparing, buying the bikes, equipment, because now I know that all those things will be waiting for us in our basement until the period of nice weather comes again. Experienced cyclist will probably understand what I am talking about: once you have all the precious equipment in your garage, you don’t have to deal with litlle things any more - you simply take your bike once the nice weather comes, check it a bit, put your things in the panniers and hit the road.

It was hard for us to start, because everything was new. We had to buy all the equipment: good bikes, boots(trunks), waterproof panniers, tyres, spare parts , suitable clothings , helmets , sunglasses , headlamps , sleeping bags , tent , linings for sleep , lining for tent , cycling shoes , tool and accessories for camping , vitamins , food,… Everything from scratch.

That is why I would like to thank Marko Mohorčič here , for helping us with his experiences , so we could have quality equipment now and we don't have such cares any more . Other are only still of trifle , which we will supplement in time.

Now we have the bikes and the world is ours.

Praznovanje novega leta in prihod Erika na obisk

2008-01-04T04:46:00.000-08:00

Prijatelji in prijateljice.

Zgodila, oziroma pojavila se je casovna luknja, ki nama je preprecila objavo najinih fotografij in tekstov. Z drugimi besedami, visja sila nama v casu najinega potovanja nekako ne naklonja najboljsih pogojev za urejanje najinega bloga. Vedno nama nekaj prepreci dostop do interneta. Ni ga veliko in ce ze je, je prekleto drag. Da o zakajenih in hrupnih internet cafe-jih niti ne govorimo.

Tako da se vama morava z Azro lepo opravicit, ker se do sedaj nisva oglasila. Med trajanjem "casovne luknje", so se fotografije na najinem fotoaparatu kopicile in najine premnoge avanture so botrovale, da imava v belezkah na tone tekstov, ki jih bova prej ali slej morala prenesti v najin blog. Prepricana sva, da boste uzivali v branju najinih avantur. Le enkrat se bo potrebno usesti za racunalnik in pisanju ter urejanju slik posvetiti veliko mero casa in potrpljenja. S tem, da bova do zacetka marca imela na razpolago le drag Cyber Cafee.

Potrebno je tudi povedati, da sva sem skoraj dokoncal dnevnik najine kolesarske avanture od Slovenije do Grcije, vendar sem ga urejal na racunalniku, ki je bil v lasti ene izmed francoskih prostovoljk. Ko sem izvedel, da je moj dnevnik iz njenega racunalnika "misteriozno" izginil, sem bil precej zalosten in jezen hkrati in me je minila volja, da bi spet zacel pisati isti dnevnik znova. Prabil sem namrec prevec casa, da bi tako zlahko prebolel izgubo tekstov. Bil sem namrec zelo zadovoljen z rezultatom in ko sem izvedel, da snevnika ni vec, mi je vse padlo dol. Tako bo dnevnik izsel pac z vecjo zamudo, kot sem si predstavljal. Bom pac do takrat objavljal drobtinice.

Za sedaj vam posljem le nekaj zadnjih fotografij, naslendjic pa se kaj vec.

Bolsji trg. Slika ne more povedat vsega. Vsekakor ce obisces Atene, moras prit sem!

Se en izmed dragih, ampak izredno zabavnih lokalov. Skoda, ker je bilo vse zasedeno.

Kljub temu smo se imeli dobro!!! Z leve proti desni: jaz, Azra, Agga iz Poljske (krajse ime), Erik, Giannis (nas super gostitelj v Atenah), Michal iz Poljske

Jaz in Bruno na sprehodu na Aegini... vceraj.

Mi na sprehodu. :)

Ko smo prisli predvcerajsnjim spet na Aegino.

Se ena podobna.

Pogled iznad klinike, kjer delamo in zivimo, ter bomo tukaj predvidioma nekje do pomladi.

Se en Giannis in njegov dober prijatelj. Giannis veliko ve o zivalih in jih ima zelo rad. Prakticno bi zivali v kliniki zelo trpele, ce nebi bilo njega. Slika je posneta v nasi veliki dnevni sobi.

Prezivljanje casa v Agios Germanosu in okolici.

2007-10-29T13:07:00.001-07:00

Vse v redu in prav, veva, da vsi zeljno pricakujete najine fotografije, pa dnevnik najine odisejade s kolesi preko Balkana, vendar je potrebno povedati, da priti do racunalnika za daljsi cas, je tukaj zelo zakomplicirano. Prostovoljcev je pac vec kot racunalnikov in zelo tezko si je izboriti svoj prostor za racunalniki, ki so poleg vsega ze tako zblojeni, da delajo zelo pocasi. Da o pocasnosti interneta niti ne govorimo. Pricakujemo pa ADSL, vendar je vprasanje, ce bova midva takrat se tukaj. :)

Kljub temu vama zaenkrat ponujava nekaj fotografij, dokler nama ne uspe urediti tale najin dnevnik poti. Je pac bolj enostavno naloziti nekaj zadnjih fotografij in jih malce pokomentirati, kot pa urediti celoten dnevnik z vsemi primernimi fotografijami.

Pa zacnimo.
Pred nekaj dnevi smo se vsi prostovoljci odpravili na izlet do bliznjega otoka ob vasi Agios Ahilios. Vec o njemu malo bolj dol. :) Nafotografiji so Azra, Lucyna (Poljska) in Tomas (Spanija). Do otoka je potrebno prestopat, saj je javni prevoz v teh odrocnih, a lepih krajih prava mora za nas mestne ljudi, navajene vseh komoditet. Zaenkrat se kar dobro privajamo na sistem. Zato pa smo tukaj.

Pred otokom tisti, ki so tu dlje casa in jim gre grscina boljse "od ust" malce pokramljajo s prodajalci domacih, bioloskih proizvodov. Od leve proti desni: Samuel (Francija), Carolina (Spanija), Lucyna (Poljska).

Do otoka se odpravimo kar preko mosta, ki ga povezuje s kopnom. Naj povem, da se otok nahaja nekje na sredini enega izped dveh Prespanskih jezer, bolj natancno, na manjsemu.

Rusevine na otoku. Ce se dobro spomnim napisa, segajo v 11. stoletje. O samih rusevinah in zgodovini mogoce kdaj drugic.

Na vrku otoka s cudovitim pogledom, navkljub slabemu vremenu in mocnemu vetru. V ozadju Albanija.

Barve jeseni.

Odpravili smo se nabirat jabolka iz "javnega" drevesa. :) Na fotografiji Samuel in Hristos. Hristos je najbolj zlata dusa v Agios Germanosu, saj je do vsakega prostovoljca izredno dober in ustrezljiv, zato ga imamo prostovoljci zelo radi in mu skusamo pomagati pri opravilih okoli hise, na vrtu itd. Z Azro ziviva prakticno zelo blizu. Nastanjena sva namrec v hisi poleg njegove, ki pa je v lasti njegovega brata. Tako da sva prav zadovoljna, saj nama Hristos velikokrat krajsa cas in ce rabi pomoc, mu lahko takoj priskociva na pomoc. Poleg tega nam vedno kaj prinese v hiso... od cipura (mocna zgana pijaca, podobna snopcu, pridelana doma... skratka rakija :) ), pa do razne hrane in lekcij grscine :) . Rekla sva mu, da ni potrebno, da nama nosi za jest, vendar je trmast. :) Zadnjic nam je recimo "uturil" celo vreco krompirja, ki ga je sam pridelal. Domac krompir, popolnoma bioloski. Tudi ce vidi, da nimava vec cipura, nama vedno prinese novo flaso. In da se razumemo, cipuro pijemo samo ko imamo obiske. :)

Tako smo na njegovo povabilo vsi prostovoljci vecerjali pod eno (naso) streho in se imeli lepo. Razbili smo se od mesa ter pravega slovenskega tenstanega krompirja. Kot lahko vidite, so krozniki ostali popolnoma prazni. :)

Naslednje jutro pa sem iz najinega balkona posnel tole fotografijo.

Za zakljucek tega vnosa naj povem, da sva kljub odrocnosti kraja, zadovoljna, da sva tukaj. Preprostost in dobrota nekaterih posamezikov, predvsem Hristosa,nama polepsuje dneve in odtehta vsako neprijetno stvar. Le-teh pa je tukaj, milo receno malo.