An elderly couple on a horse and cart passed me during the evening on the Danube but otherwise it was a quiet night and I returned across the toll bridge to head east towards Braila where I had considered staying overnight on the opposite bank of the Danube but as I arrived early I decided to head on to the border crossing in to Moldova. This was very straightforward and I purchased a month's insurance (the minimum) for £60 plus a ten day vignette for £5. These costs were immediately recouped at the filling station as I put in almost 80 litres at around 80p/litre and then stopped in Cahul where two friendly girls in the Orange shop sold me a SIM and 20Gb of data for £2. They set it up for me and by chance I won a bonus 10 GB - remarkable value. An ATM dispensed £20 worth of Leu and I was all good to go. Moldova uses a dialect of Romanian plus some Russian and in the north Hungarian and whilst a separate country it has a long history with all its neighbours and seeks admission to the EU although this may follow a reunion with Romania in due course. Although apparently at an economic disadvantage to Romania Cahul itself seemed somehow brighter and more affluent and the streets were certainly cleaner. A turning off the road to the capital Chisinau provided a memorable night having taken a dirt track down through maize fields to the meadows alongside a large salt lake where although the number of flying beasties was remarkable the salt meant that mosquitoes were thankfully absent.
Passing through rolling farmland I reached the capital but thought the park up was rather too busy and as cities really aren't my thing carried on to Orheiu Vechi.
This turned out to be a very good decision as the historically long inhabited valley contained much of interest and offered a choice of places to park up. At the reconstruction of an earlier fortification I paid my £2.50 park entrance fee to a young lad keen to practice his English and then had a look round the ramparts and small museum before dropping in to the valley and driving through the old village of Butuceni with its traditional houses, ornate wells and accommodation options in various low key eco resorts. The revived Aguri sat nav that had temporarily replaced the Garmin sent me up a track that I would have found challenging on a mountain bike but yet again the van amazed me with its ability to tackle the steep uphill of mostly loose scree to emerge on a grassy plateau. Unfortunately the actual place to stay was 10m away horizontally but a good 100m lower down on the river bank. I could have stayed on the plateau for the night but as I intended to remain in the area I decided to aim for the proper spot, fortunately finding another way down that was less challenging. Out by a complex of ancient thermal baths I saw that the route to the suggested spot was in fact blocked by three large tractor tyres and a sign saying no vehicles so I returned to the visitor centre where the staff said staying on the large, empty grassy parking area right by the river would be fine. I settled in with the solar panel doing its bit and later walked up to the spectacular church that sits on a ridge above the Raut river that meanders through the area. The three shining domes caught the late afternoon sun whilst inside the walls and altar were richly decorated in stunning frescoes. Combined with immaculately kept gardens it was a stunning spot and I had the place to myself. A steep path down the limestone cliff brought me to the river where the carved monastery could be reached after a short climb and as elsewhere on this trip I was amazed at the extent of the excavations to provide a ten room complex plus meeting room, church and storerooms. A return along a little used path by the river had me back at the van for the last of the evening sun and a very peaceful night.
The following day I got the bike off, pumped up a rear tyre that must have a slow puncture, despite being tubeless, removed the road dust and oiled the drivetrain in preparation for a day in the saddle. I followed the Raut on a good track down to the Danube and Criuleni and then picked up a return route which seemed to climb steadily on a very corrugated gravel track for miles. Eventually however I could drop down to Mascauti where a tiny shop provided a very cold and welcome fizzy orange juice and a rare ice-cream. Outside an ancient motorbike and sidecar was obviously still in regular use and I soaked up the atmosphere of this quiet corner of a quiet country tucked away in some of the furthermost reaches of Europe. Winter would be tough here and each property had a large wood pile outside with some having a gas connection as well and the small simple houses are no doubt a cosy retreat from the worst of it.
I arrived back at the van after perhaps 40 miles, enjoyed a cool shower and then soaked up the afternoon sun before an early night. The following morning I walked through the village to visit the two houses restored in a traditional way with exhibits about daily life, the various trades and crafts and finally at a small cafe a welcome coffee. At the modest visitor centre I looked around the museum which had some interesting displays on the archeological techniques used on the various finds from the area before checking it would be OK to fill the van from the nearby tap. Thus after 3 fascinating days and two comfortable nights I was away north to a planned riverside stop at Ribnita.
As I crossed the bridge I saw a barrier and various booths either side and suddenly realised I was inadvertently heading in to Transnistria, a pro Russian breakaway state not recognised by any other nation or global organisation. It would have been daft to try and turn around so I stopped as requested by border officials in uniforms sporting the Russian language and was soon issued various pieces of paper and directed to stop at another building for the vignette and insurance. Google translate made this process easy and before long I had both valid, for a fortnight, for a fiver. I had no intention of staying more than 24 hours so didn't bother with currency and as I was staying on the banks of the Dnister river my phone still picked up the Moldovan signal. It was a very strange experience seeing all the signs and shop fronts plastered in the Cyrillic alphabet and I drove carefully through small villages to reach an idyllic spot on the river bank having passed some very fancy houses. Transnistria is very much Russian leaning although its eastern border is in fact Ukraine and it separated from Moldova during the break up of the Soviet Union. The area prefers to be called Pridnestrovie and although it has some autonomy it relies on Russia for military and other support.
Next day I travelled north for an hour before returning to Moldova at the bridge south of Camenca where again the officials were helpful and friendly. They are not allowed to stamp your passport so a Migration Card is issued and then cancelled on exit. The Moldovans just watch you go past...
Up at Soroca I stopped to look round the castle which has been extensively restored, did a supermarket shop and then decided I really should start heading west so on a hot afternoon benefitted from the aircon as I drove to the Moldovan/Romanian border that sits on the huge dam on the Prut river that has created Costesti Lake. Moldova is trying to build it's way out of a dependence on Russia for energy so this hydro scheme and a new national grid are part of the process to link in with a network more aligned with Romania and the European grid. A €4 toll for crossing the dam allowed me to continue to the Moldovan passport and customs checks which were a bit slow as the staff were dealing with two full 52 seater coaches.
Eventually I was away across the dam to the Romanian checks where fortunately they didn't think to check the fridge as my recently purchased meats, dairy products and even fruit and veg were not supposed to come in to the EU. Being back for me meant my UK insurance was valid, the O2 roaming was live and as I already had a month long road tax vignette I was free to go. I drove through Drochia with its remarkable church as far as Botosani where a quiet parking above the leisure centre was only interrupted by dealing with numerous mosquitoes and a brief tap on the door at 1am from a friendly enough police officer.
Today I visited two of the famous painted monasteries out of several in the area north west of Suceava. The first was heavily clad in wooden scaffolding as a new shingle roof was being installed but down at Voronet the full majesty of these buildings could be appreciated with stunningly detailed and colourful frescoes adorning both internal and external walls with meticulously kept gardens adding to the overall scene.
A twisting road through the Carpathians has brought me to a park up at 1500m above the high Prislop pass with the last remnants of winter snow lying in shaded clefts and the coolest night for weeks to look forward to. Further up the tracks shepherds are grazing their flocks and a few cows are wandering freely, some with calves so it should be a quiet and memorable night with superb views. I have about 2000 miles to go and whilst I have a slight concern about a chirping idler on the timing belt, some creaking noises around the front suspension have been resolved by the application of a silicone spray. I think the bone dry conditions of the last few weeks are the main cause of this. The shower tray has developed a small crack, hardly surprising after 23 years and sustained use over the last 8 so I have repaired it with some gorilla glue and will look at a relining kit when home in a month or so. There are always things to be done especially after such a long trip as this one (fast approaching 7 months) and my list of jobs to prepare for the next one includes the following - new timing belt, discs and pads all round plus brake fluid renewal, Eberspacher service, shower tray repair and possibly glow plugs, a new engine battery and rear coil springs although these are not a priority.
So west we go with Hungary next followed by Austria, Germany, Belgium and France so I will post again shortly.....
No comments:
Post a Comment
Help keep us in touch by adding your news and views!