Slept super well in this lovely little hostel. Although there were shared dormitories, I stayed in one of the individual small cabins centred around a courtyard which gave it a homely feel. The owners' were super friendly. Iraj and Ernst had stayed at s further up the hill and just before the entrance to the main town, but they came down to join Bart and myself for breakfast. The general vibe was that they wanted to make up a bit of time on route today, but I wasn't so keen for that; it was such a spectacular route yesterday and today promised more of the same and I was in no rush.
No problemo, they shot off and I guessed that we would meet up again at some point. Or maybe not - it was all good. I stopped off at a local supermarket for some supplies, not as easy to find healthy food as I would have liked, and then off.
Another spectacular, jaw dropping morning drinking in the stunning views over the Iron Gates Gorge, the name given to this stretch of the Danube.
I had gotten used to the tunnels although the longest one was yet to come. The main thing to do was ensure you had all your lights on and just blast through as fast as you can, and hope no large trucks decide to follow you in. Not so much an issue in the shorter tunnels, but the longer, curving ones were a challenge.
I was conscious of the possibility of hitting a pothole or other obstruction which you couldn't make out as the tunnels were pitch black inside. It felt great as you powered your way towards the light at the far end, with a sense of relief and undeniable exhilaration each and every time you made it out in one piece.
I kept my eye open for the colossal sculpture of Decebalus which had been carved into the rockface on the Romanian side and given that it is the tallest rock sculpture in Europe at 55m high, it wasn't hard to spot.
Decebalus was the last king of Dacia, the ancient pre-Roman name for what was to become Romania, and I had heard about him from my knowledge of Trajan's Column, a 100ft tall triumphal column in Rome that commemorates the emperor Trajan's victory in the Dacian Wars of 100 - 106AD. Decebalus had fought a couple of noble fights against his invading Roman Army but he was ultimately defeated and killed. Completed in 2004, Decebalus was obviously still regarded pretty highly given that the sculpture took 10 years and twelve sculptors to finish it. I even stopped to make a short video for Michal and his school kids about it.
Lunch was at a cracking fish restaurant aptly called Panorama.
At the table next to me were a group of ladies of a certain age who were clearly close friends and enjoying an uproariously loud and funny lunch. Whilst I couldn't understand their conversation, I suspect tight black lycra cycling shorts on a pair of male legs figured in their discourse.
In the distance I spied a couple of cycle tourists with the tell tale Ortlieb bags that seemingly every cycle tourist has.
A couple of beers later and I was ready to cross the Romania border and on into the town of Drobeta-Turin Severin.
The roads were not great this side of the river and it just felt different; the endless electricity pylons and barbed wire was in great contrast to the gorgeous gorges from earlier on in the day. I found a bar and sat down to sort out accommodation for the night. I found out that my credit card had been blocked, even though I had told the bank that there was no fraudulent activity on it even if it looked as though there was. Fortunately I had several back up cards to use.
I found a hotel which looked OK, although getting there was not particularly pleasant. The roads felt depressing and I suddenly felt vulnerable as I cycled down some rather utilitarian , ugly looking streets and people kept staring at me. On top of that, I realise that my bike had developed some serious mechanical issues, making rather unhealthy sounds. I found out a cycle shop La Pedale Drobeta and had about 15 minutes to make it over there before it shut at 7.00PM. I made it by the skin of my teeth and I had to get a new wheel and whilst I was about it, a mirror which was going to be useful especially with the large trucks and heavy traffic that I had been encountering. The guys in the bike shop were the absolute best, incredibly helpful and funny. One of them spoke excellent English and had worked overseas in some volunteer capacity. A couple of their neighbours came over to meet the tall English man who had cycled all the way from London and we did a couple of pics. Love that feeling of achievement, it has to be said. They offered for me to stay with their friends, but I already had my stuff checked into the hotel, but as ever, the welcome was superb.
£60 later, which was considerably cheap for materials and work I thought, I cycled the short distance back to the hotel. The room was large and comfortable, but the hotel was geared towards business trips and had a strange feel to it. Don't get me wrong, the place was nice with a very interesting pool that weaved its way around a central courtyard. It was vast, white and had a sterile feel to it, although the pool did have a big disco glitter ball over it, so there was some hope.
I was about the only person there and I kept thinking of The Shining.
No denying, I was pretty frazzled by the whole day and slept the sleep of the Gods that night. Fab.
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