Day 26--Calafat to Corabia, Romania

HOOPOE PATHFINDER

Sunday, July 20, 2008

Calafat to Corabia, Romania
Distance: 151 km (93.82 miles)

X+--We continue through farmlands and small villages on this low-lying plain of the Danube River in Romania.

I left the hotel at 9 and got to Corabia at 3:30 pm, so managed to cycle 94 miles in 34C (93.2F) temps in 6.5 hours, including lunch and drink stops. That’s probably only about 15 or 16 mph, but not bad considering. If you haven’t caught on by now, I’m a heat wienie and if there is no great sightseeing or stops along the route, I bicycle as fast as I can to get in early and out of the sun.

When we left the hotel, a man was dumpster diving behind the hotel. He had found a large amount of warm polenta. A little hungry dog stood by eyeing the food. I gave it a scoop of polenta. There are many, many hungry dogs. None on leashes or pedigree such as those in Germany and Austria. Last night at dinner we were talking about all the dogs, but the fact that none run out to chase our bikes. Marion said: “They are too tired.” We all laughed, but I think that may actually be the case. That and the fact that many may have been mistreated. They shy away from humans. One little black dog today jumped away when it saw me and then ran off as terrified as a wild animal.

We rode the same road all day today, so it was not hard to find the way. I passed through village after village strung out along the road. Women in black and black babushkas but the younger generation looking like they do anywhere in the world. Quite a contrast. It being Sunday, many had gathered for church, and I passed one church where singing could be heard as I rode by.

Single beehives before a fruit orchard and migratory beehives on a trailer; I used to keep bees so was delighted to see these multi-colored hives and the innovative truck

Today I saw more peasant carts pulled by horses and donkeys (and a few mules) than cars. The road was full of them, most carrying household things or loaded with watermelons and cantaloupe. A few days ago we saw a guy on a bicycle pulling a trailer with a kitchen sink in it. How I wish I had thought to take his photo! The Romanian peasantry use their bikes and animals to move everything. Judy said she saw a cart in the back of which was a modern washing machine.

Domestic geese and ducks; children were often put in charge of taking them to the community pond and minding them

Marion and Fred caught up with me at km 34 (about 20 miles). They stuck with me for the rest of the ride. I think that they were nervous about my riding alone after yesterday’s incident. We ran out of water, and it was quite a while before we found a place selling cold drinks and water. We sat at their roadside tables and refilled our water bottles with large bottles of water and then relaxed with a carbonated fruit drink and tasteless potato chips.

Outside of one town in the shade of Lombardy poplars, there was a great group of peasants all selling melons and veggies from their gardens. A little later on we came to a stretch of roadside that was littered with smashed watermelons. We decided that they’d had a watermelon war.

Our surprise for today was a bridge that was being rebuilt. We had to climb up a ramp and walk across the rebar on planks that had been laid down. Pretty tricky to balance the bike, particularly for me with my fear of heights. The water below was very shallow though, and with a sandy bottom. I watched as two young boys ran in the water down the river, racing each other to a deeper area where they could swim.

The bridge we crossed across a shallow river; the man in the blue shirt took it upon himself to guide us across. Much of the private and some of the public construction seems to be haphazard, using whatever materials can be  scraped up, though this bridge looked to be a more organized government or city project

We rode by a lake that had many storks and what looked through my binocs like geese or pelicans on it, as well as gulls. We passed several flocks of sheep and goats and of geese and turkeys. There were many stork nests en route today, too, these atop telephone poles rather than on rooftop platforms. We counted 11 in one town alone. Because they are such large, long-legged birds, they look comical when mom and dad and two babes are all standing in the nest. They look even funnier when they come in to land, stretching their legs straight down and bowing their wings like a parachute. Kind of looks like an umbrella coming in for a landing.

Broken electrical poles

Stork nest atop a telephone pole

The peasants tether their cattle and horses next to the road, so at one point when I had stopped for a green door break, I came face to face with a dark brown cow. Many of the peasant men wear felt fedoras. Today I saw my first gypsy wagons. Their caravans are no longer large round wooden things, but more like prairie schooners with fabric tops. The kids run out and want to “count coup” by touching you or giving you a high five. The guys whistle and yell as we pass, many yelling “Hello!” or “Ciao,” or “Hola” in addition to their own “Bună.”

Just before we got to town today, a Hoopoe flew up before us and landed on the road in the shade of the next tree. It did this repeatedly for maybe half a mile. Just when we were beginning to suspect that this was a Disney Hoopoe come to lead us into town, it flew away across a field.

Time for dinner: great cuke, tomato, and cabbage salad, followed by polenta and fish (carp), with jam filled crepes for dessert

Our bikes were turned over to the management and locked in the kitchen overnight.

The  Hoopoe
  (Upupa epops)