Day Fifty-Four

Day Fifty-Four - 05/07/25

Not much sleep was had after getting in at 4am to a swelteringly hot room. I squirmed around in discomfort only adding to the heat. People are always so considerate in hostels too, waking early to get ready in the room - what feels like endless rustling around. Breakfast was a full 10 pack of eggs, to battle the hangover and set me straight. I checked out, and said goodbye to Nina and Federico. 

Things started well considering the hangover, but the ground was flat. As soon as I began to climb into the hills it became tough, pre-fatigued by the cruisy miles. I was glad to be climbing again though, the treed hills were beautiful and it meant good views would soon be coming my way. I napped at lunch, woken only by children on motorbikes. Then a great downhill section took me way past where I had scouted a campsite might be, taking me all the way down to the city of Botevgrad. I was tired and didn’t want to press on into the night, so I settled to pay for a nearby campsite instead. A lie in would do me good anyway, as I’d left Sofia considerably more exhausted than when I’d arrived! A beer on arrival only confirmed the wisdom of my choice. I chatted with the mother of the campsite owner whilst I waited for his brother to arrive - via Google translate naturally! They were nice people, but soon I retired to bed. 

 

 

 

Mount Vitosha, which overlooks Sofia

 

Sounds like a half-arsed effort at naming a town

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

One of many massive feats of construction in the hill country

 

 

 

 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

So it begins...

Image
      13/05/2025 - Day One My life for the past 6 months has all been leading up to this moment, this day, D day. On the back of a tiring weekend I wasn’t sure I’d have the resources to set off on the 13th, but I made it happen (just about). I still had quite a lot to do this morning so when I finally set off it was around 3:30pm. Jack gave me a great haircut that is reminiscent of something out of Mongol or Mount and Blade : bald except a patch at the back like a horses main. Excellent. With the parents and Archie in tow, we set off down our lane and over the ford. It was a weird feeling cycling away from my house down familiar roads with the knowledge I wouldn’t be back for many months. These familiar sights are to be some of the last for a long time. It didn’t quite feel like I had gone away yet.  We had only got 4 miles when mums tyre went flat. Dad set about trying to locate the puncture as we all looked on with anticipation. Yet despite our best efforts i...
Read more

Day Four

Image
16/05/25 - Day Four I woke to my alarm at 6:30am, the ferry to the Netherlands was at 9am with check in closing 45mins before. After 5 mins of squirming around waking up I braved the chill and unzipped my bag and began packing away my things. I left at 7:20. I hope I get more efficient at breaking camp as I didn’t even cook breakfast, and that just seems like an awfully long time to be faffing around.  I cycled back into Harwich and grabbed a meal deal for the ferry, before rolling down to the port. It’s a bit of kick to cycle through places you would normally drive, like passport control and along the ramparts and onto the ferry. What was even more of a buzz was the euphoria of leaving port, the sense that the journey had only really just begun in earnest! I watched from the outside deck as we pull out of the estuary and into the sea. The journey itself was 8 hours of filling time and completely uneventful, except for being told off for lying down - how naughty of me! I was asked...
Read more

Day Seven

Image
    19/05/25 - Day Seven I struggled to wake up this morning so snoozed till 8am. By the time I had broke camp, cooked and forced down my porridge it was 9:40, so I didn’t hang about. Just before reaching Arnhem, I stopped at the Arnhem and Oosterbeek War Cemetery, commemorating the fallen allied troops (mostly British and 79 Poles) who fought at the battle of Arnhem. This was part of the wider Operation Market Garden in the area, Band of Brothers watchers will remember this. It was a powerful moment as I had the place to myself, and, ever since applying for the marines these types of things have made me more emotional.  After a healthy hit of silent reflection, I mashed the pedals once more, and soon I was sipping coffee in a sunny Arnhem square. I asked the waitress if she knew anywhere I could buy some Oliebollen (Dutch doughnuts), but tis not the season! I cracked on and crossed the river twice on ferries which will never not give me a kick. I then sat ...
Read more