Day 56 - near Rasova to Dăeni (62 miles)

Last night I was awoken by something foraging around my tent and which nudged me in the back as it passed. Afterwards I lay there for a while listening to the noises of the night, the ribbeting and the squeaking and the droning - frogs, unknown passing animals and insects - until I drifted back asleep. I didn’t wake again until a cart passed by on the mud track a hundred yards away. Interesting how all those natural noises did not disturb me but something unnatural woke me in an instant.

The morning carried on where yesterday left off except now the hills were lower but more frequent. There was only a little respite between them and I realised the mood of the day when, within an hour, I was on my third ascent of the morning. As with yesterday my efforts were rewarded with some beautiful views across the landscape, some of which again had me thinking of home. But from early on the sun was making its presence felt on the exposed roads. Two days ago on my long ride from Ruse I had benefited from an overcast day but the last two days have been draining with an intense sun, temperatures in the low thirties and a number of ascents. Those today had me regularly stopping at village stores for water; I got through some seven litres during the day and I think that probably even that was not enough.

I passed through the town of Cernavoda with its out of town nuclear power station and canal from the Danube to the Black Sea (requiring the removal of more spoil than either the Suez and the Panama canals) and a few miles on I passed the ruined walls of the Roman Caidava castle, looking more rebuilt than preserved in places. After over six hours I had managed to cover just under fifty miles and with a sense of weariness induced by the heat and the hills was thinking of stopping in the town of Hardiva, some seventeen miles short of where I had hoped to end my day. But another water stop sitting in the shade and checking the route profile ahead spurred me on and I am glad that it did.

Village of Ghindăreşti

Those seventeen miles were mostly undulating, not free miles by any stretch but very different to the morning. They took me to the tiny village of Dăeni where the guest house I had booked seemed locked up. A passing woman and her aging mother dug out the phone number of the owner and showed me Facebook pictures that made it clear that it was run by the local priest. I understood enough to know he was at the church round the corner so I headed there in the absence of any answer from the phone.

At the church a kids' party was in full swing; it turns out that it is International Children's Day and a day for celebration in Romania. Alexandru and various helpers were overseeing events and although he spoke little English he got his wife on the phone who did. In the end I was placed in a corner while soup and chicken and cake were put in front me. I had been hoping for a shower but sitting down in the shade and being fed seemed a reasonable substitute. Shortly after Alexandru walked me to the accommodation which turns out to be a massive self-contained four bed house with just me to bounce around inside it. 

After I had showered and felt more human, Alexandru and his wife came by. We chatted and she told me that he would like to drive me to see the river and a couple of the nearby sights known mostly to the locals. It was a generous offer and was interesting enough with forests of willow trees on the river flood plain and a beautiful and isolated section where locals were swimming and passing the day. But for more interesting was Alexandru's story which I learned as we communicated through Google translate. A young man, he had arrived at Dăeni to a locked church and a lack of community in the village, but he has clearly transformed it. He has arranged for a local bakery to be opened, done work for abandoned children, had a house constructed for a local handicapped girl and her mother, created a local children's choir that he got on to Romania's got Talent, written a book on the Parish history and so much more. There are times when you find yourself in the presence of someone truly motivated and inspiring, whatever their vocation or beliefs. For me this was one of them and it was a privilege to be in the company of someone who is so driven to help others through deeds rather than words and yet was so humble about his achievements.

I was eventually given free run of the accommodation allowing me to focus on checking my route and bike for the morning, sorting my kit and getting my tent dried out after last night’s storm. I am now ending the day by writing my blog with a glass of some local homemade wine by side, another gift from the generous, big hearted Alexandru.