Dunav Vidin

... many rests I finally reached the top. There was another of these tiny bars which seemed to have no almost customers ever.<br><br>After that it was open rolling countryside but plunging down into steep valleys to cross rivers with long climbs on the other side. Very hard work and I was sweating so hard that all the suncreme was washed back out of the pores. Sweat was dripping off me everywhere; the t-shirt was soaked. Pure slog.<br><br>The sun was up ...

I met a Peace Corps Volunteer in Sofia that has a cousin's aunt's sister's friend's niece's husband that lives in the Northwest region of Bulguaria (the poorest region in the EU). So once again I dont know what Im getting myself into, but thats why its so damn exciting. The landscape was beautiful, of course. Open range, green rolling hills, forest....... I met up with a Peace Corps Volunteer in Belogradchik and ...

Rest day. Rented a car from the hotel for £15 and went for a drive with a girl called Mandy who is also staying at the guesthouse. Saw a great medieval village and some churches cut into the rock in the local national park. Had the biggest gin and tonic ever which seemed to ...

... by a brit and bulgarian couple its super friendly and they let me bring teh bike inside. Before I had even unpacked we were off with a crowd of other brits exploring a property one of them had bought. Musnt stay too long here or I will never leave! Ruse itself is a buzzing small town with a very long promenade where the locals seems to stuff themselves with beer and ice cream all day...

Zagrazhden to Shivstov 105km Best bit: sunrise Worst: none No one was about at 7am this morning so I found a couple of eggs in the hotel fridge, toasted some stale bread, and scoffed the lot before the kitchen lady woke up and told me off. I was glad I hadnt seen the state of teh kitchen before I had dinner the night before, otherwise my appetite might have slackened... Todays riding, mostly flat, no surprises. Cycled through the same motley selection of worn out villages, buildings ...

Lom to Zagrazhden 145km Best: Finding somewhere to sleep Worst: Having to ride past some ruins without stopping The best bit of today was the end. In the scabbiest place on the Danube, and when my legs had absolutely given up the ghost, there appeared a lovely guesthouse out of nowhere (OK, it wasnt super lovely, but all these things are relative). Of course they spoke no English, but a fisherman was having a beer ...

Donji Milanovac to Negotin Distance 125km Best bits: More danube gorges (Iron Gates) Worst bits: Not getting through a telephone job interview! There is no money in the Serbian economy to properly protect/display most of the archaeology. This worked in my favour today as I was the only one on site to explore a substantial Roman fortress at ...

... girl (Melissa) kindly did a bit of translation. In the evening I caught up with Dusha (a Professor from Cambridge) and his team who were doing a dig at the Lepenski Vir site. I left with my panniers bulging wtih mountain bike maps that the tourist information people had given me and lots of good memories (but fortunately not too much of a hangover!)

... you want Hotel. No, thank you, just the office. Oh, no bed, you want camping? Nooo... just the office Ah you lost, you need map? I have a good map, thank you, I just need.... Ah my friend help you with map. But.... [at this point, the ice cream seller is willingly dragged away from her kiosk to assist] Hello, you want hotel? And so it continued until I managed to cycle away...

What an incredible experience I had today. World Vision took myself and two other volunteers out to a couple of small rural villages where we had the opportunity to meet the children that we found sponsors for. We travelled off the main highway and drove down a narrow road between fields for quite a long distance. This road eventually turned to dust, with rocks randomly strewn across. We saw interesting sites along ...