South Carolina

Melanie de WetLeave a comment

The last 5 days have been absolutely incredible! I feel like I’ve lived a lifetime in these few days and it’s been so good for my soul – in so many ways!

As there is too much for one post I’ll split it into two – this one for South Carolina and then North Carolina and Tennessee, which has definitely been the highlight of my trip to date. Hopefully I can write that up tonight but here’s a bit about my time in South Carolina.

I left Jekyll Island last week on Wednesday heading for Savannah, Georgia. The city is bigger than I expected and I was struggling to find parking for Trinity. I’ve realised motorcycle parking is not a thing here i.e. they don’t provide any. Shock, horror! I wasn’t in the mood for struggling so after riding around town for about 20 minutes I hit the road again.

I reached Charleston, South Carolina, around 5pm. I rode through the residential area, which was stunning with its large Georgian Style houses, on the way to the historic part of town. I booked a hotel through Hotwire and ended up at the Fulton Lane Inn. The hotel provides Sherry at 6pm, so I had a little tipple before heading out to explore the local area and find dinner.

Charleston is lovely! It is definitely not cheap though. What also stood out for me was that people dress up for dinner. They haven’t anywhere else. I was definitely underdressed in my favourite old shorts, flops and a T-shirt but that didn’t stop me going to Poogans Porch restaurant, which was recommended by the hotel. It was good but I was a little taken aback when my salad turned out to be a quarter lettuce with a few tomatoes, slices of cucumber, with a sprinkle of bacon and salad dressing. A wedge is not a salad people! 😂

Below are a few photos of the hip and happening city that is Charleston.

Thursday morning started out great. I popped downstairs for coffee and started chatting to Andy at reception. I loved his chirpiness and bow tie! He recommended that I popped around the corner to City Lights Coffee to meet Greg, a fellow South African, so I did. I’m so glad I took the time to do that because I also got to meet Libby, a photographer and Graphic Designer who was absolutely lovely. My quick pop in turned out to be an hour stay before hitting the road to Congaree National Park.

Meet Greg and Libby.

It took about 1.5 hours to get to Congaree National Park from Charleston. Outside of Miami, which is a slight traffic nightmare, the roads have been great so makes for easy riding.

Congaree National Park was very interesting. According to Wikipedia, “the park preserves the largest tract of old growthbottomland hardwood forestleft in the United States. The lush trees growing in its floodplain forest are some of the tallest in the eastern United States, forming one of the highest temperate deciduous forestcanopies remaining in the world”.

Most of the year the park it dry and you can hike the trails but during the rainy season the park fills with water and you have to get around in canoes. How cool is that! Sadly they’ve had a dry spell so I didn’t get a shot at canoeing.

My hike though the park was quite an experience. I wanted to go beyond the short boardwalk loop so I thought I’d take route 3 for a bit and then loop back via route 2. In theory this was easy. Of course, I missed the turn-off and ended up on the 4.4 mile route 3 loop.

Fortunately I had my neck sock with me because I could hear the mosquitoes buzzing around my ears every time I stopped to take a photo. The park’s Mosquito Meter, which ranges from 1 (all clear) to 6 (war zone) was sitting at 2.5 (between mild and moderate). I would not want to see what war zone looks like, although the name is hilarious!

I loved the hike although it was a little creepy by myself. The hiking trail follows the swamp like waters, so I wasn’t sure what was potentially lurking in the bushes and water. Eventually I found what was lurking in the bushes – two hogs! I can’t believe I saw them before they heard me – I’m clearly light footed. I stood in the path for a minute not sure whether to turn back or keep going. I’d hear that hogs can be a little vicious. I couldn’t see any tusks so I picked up a chunky stick (just in case) and started walking towards them making enough noise so that they could hear me coming. It worked because they heard me and ran away. Phew! With a nervous giggle I kept going but I held onto the stick (just in case).

My remaining walk through the forest was a doddle – no stick needed. When I reached the boardwalk there was a lookout point across the river. I met an older couple there who pointed in the direction of the alligator that they had just seen. My eyes grew wider and I made another nervous giggle thinking about my walk. I never saw the alligator but I did see some gorgeous little turtles.

Here are a few photos of the park.

I was happy now so headed off to figure out where I was going to stay for the night. That was to be Greenville, South Carolina. It made me think of Mac Arnold who I saw playing with Gina and Gordon in Florida. That made me smile so it seemed like a good place to spend the night.

I arrived in Greenville around 6.30pm and I was starving as there was no food in the park, only snacks. I was really in the mood for something healthy so I had a look at the restaurants around me and saw a Greek restaurant was just around the corner. That made me think of my trip to Greece last summer and Melina (aka Mini-Mel) and that definitely made me smile, so it was an obvious choice.

With my tummy full I was happy to have a quiet evening at the hotel before heading into the mountains the next day. I was so excited about that. I had no idea that I was about to have some of the best days that I can remember having in a long time. I can’t wait to tell you about that.

Watch this space!

Jekyll Island, Georgia

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My introduction to Georgia was a wet one, having driven through a few hours of heavy rain in northern Florida. As soon as the sun came out I found a spot to sit down, dry out and find a place to sleep. That place would be Jekyll Island, Georgia.

I fell in love with Jekyll Island the moment I reached it. Jekyll Island is a 70 minute drive north of Jacksonville, Florida. It’s a State Park so you need to pay $5 to enter it but it will be the best $5 you will ever spend.

The beaches on the eastern side of the island put Miami Beach to shame. I would liken the beaches to the Surfers Paradise on the Gold Coast of Australia, without the high rises. It was stunning!

There are not a lot of hotels on the island and the majority of them are on the eastern side facing the ocean. I stayed on the western side in the historic part of the island at a place called Jekyll Island Club Resort. It was more money than I wanted to spend but I felt like a little treat after two days of riding through thunderstorms.

The resort looked amazing – like an old school country club. I loved it!

There was a wharf about a 2 minute walk from the resort where I went for dinner. I had fish and chips, probably one of the best I’ve ever eaten, and a Sam Adam’s Ale, which I absolutely loved! It’s a slightly lighter version of the Beavertown Neck Oil which I normally drink.

The best part about the evening was most definitely the sunset – man, it was stunning! I was sitting outside on the deck so I had a perfect view of it. Hopefully you like it too.

It was a fantastic end to the day.

The next morning I walked around the historic part of the town, it’s small but very cute, and then drove out to Driftwood Beach. I loved Driftwood Beach – it was so unique and I even managed to get my 10,000 steps in. Bonus!

Below are a few photos of the island. It has most definitely been one of the highlights of my trip so far.

Georgia is the only place that I was called ‘love’ twice and Ma’am more times than I can remember – it was so cute! I was also super chuffed at my $1.95 coffee. That was definitely a good start to my day.

I was now heading to South Carolina – I couldn’t wait!

Florida

Melanie de Wet2 Comments

I left Key West at 7am on Saturday morning. I was hoping to miss the worst of the traffic in Miami but I also wanted to find somewhere to stop and take some drone footage.

I tried a few places but unfortunately the streets were lined with houses so the access to the water was all via people’s private properties, so it never happened.

I arrived at Gina and Gordon’s place in Ocean View around 2pm. It was so good to see them! I met them on a hike in Arches National Park in 2015 when I did my first USA/Canada tour. We hit it off and stayed in touch. Meet Gina and Gordon.

We had a really lovely two days just chilling out and chatting by the pool, as well as exploring the local area. They took me to Palm Beach, West Palm Beach, Delarey and a Manatee Sanctuary for sightseeing. We didn’t get to see any Manatees but here are a few pics of the day.

On the Saturday night we went to a lovely Cuban restaurant and then on the Sunday night we went to see Mac Arnold singing the Blues. He was fantastic!

Outside of Gordon and Gina’s fantastic hospitality, I was completely blown away by their ability to recall every place they have been to, restaurants they have eaten in and the names of the people they have met. I can never recall that much detail – that’s why I write it down! I am however pleased for their amazing memories as they have given me a number of fantastic tips for my trip.

I left Gordon and Gina’s on Monday around lunchtime. It would appear that was a little late as I had only been on the road for 20 minutes and I had to pull off to avoid a thunderstorm. About 45 minutes later I was back on the road again.

This time I lasted around 30 minutes before I had to stop for fuel. Given all the rain I thought I better remove my headlight guard and clean it an my headlight properly, so I put it on the floor in from of Trinity.

You can see where’re this is going, can’t you!

I got distracted and forgot to put the headlight guard back on the bike! I was about 15 miles out on I95 when I realised this.

It had started raining again. For a minute or two I contemplated whether I should go back or not but the thought of wasting £150 did not sit well with me so I pulled off at the first interchange. At this stage it was hammering down so I pulled off under the entrance of a hotel and waited there until the rain calmed down a bit.

To cut a long story short it took about 1.5 hours to retrieve my headlight guard, which also included a visit to the tyre place across the road from the gas station where I had left the guard as someone drove over it and bent the right attachment. Luckily the lovely chaps at Tire Kingdom sorted it out in 2 minutes. It’s a little screw now but it has character! 😂The guys were my heroes for the day and I was also starting to feel like a cat with 9 lives! 2 down, 7 to go.

A two hour ride later and I was in Cape Canaveral. I felt like I was on the South Coast in South Africa, which has a similar feel, just without the Love Bugs. They are everywhere! They are called Love Bugs because you pretty much always see them mating. This would not be a problem but the eggs are a pain to get off your visor and the bike when you squish them. This happens a lot!

I finally reached my hotel which was on Astronauts Blvd around 7pm, just in time to check in and make it out to the Manatee Sanctuary Park before it got dark. Unfortunately due to a Red Tide they have not been in the area for about a year, so sadly I did not get to see any Manatees.

Tuesday morning was all about the Kennedy Space Centre at Cape Canaveral, which is fantastic, particularly for kids. I would have loved to have seen more live exhibits of the rockets but I’m probably in the minority. There are a number of interactive activities and 3D movies about various space related themes and events. Its definitely a great day trip.

Below are some photos of the Center.

I was about to sit down for a bite to eat and then I heard the thunder roar. Oh no! The rain had followed me up the coast.

I stood waiting under cover for about 20 minutes and then realised the rain was not going to stop. The weather forecast showed that it would get worse, so I had to chance it or I would be stuck there for hours.

By the time I reached Trinity I was already wet. I put my jacket on, which was draped over her windshield, and then put my helmet on. I ran over to a tree for a little protection and pulled my waterproof trousers over my now wet jeans. I couldn’t help but giggle. It was definitely going to be a long, wet ride to Savannah.

I rode for about two hours before pulling off on the side of the road to dry out. At this stage the sun was shining beautifully, so it was almost a pleasure sitting on the side of the road and watching the world go by while I dried out a bit.

I had a look at a map and accommodation  and made the decision to stop at Jekyll Island – Savannah was just too far away if I still wanted to see Jekyll Island.

This turned out to be one of the best decisions I’ve made all trip. I loved Jekyll Island! But since I loved it so much, I will leave telling you about it in my next post.

Key West

Melanie de Wet1 Comment

OMG I love Key West!

I feel like a kid in a candy store bursting with excitement and not knowing which treat to try out first.

I arrived later than I had planned on Thursday night – around 9.20pm. The guys at BMW Motorcycles Miami squeezed Trinity in for a service so they had to do her last – fair enough. This meant I only hit the road at  6.20pm – peak hour! If you have ever seen the traffic in Miami you know that’s not good. It is hectic!

Google maps said it would take nearly four hours but I managed to do the trip in 3 hours. The speed limit may be 45-55mph but I was just following the traffic and they were definitely going faster. Phew!

I spent the last hour driving in the dark, which I’m not generally keen on, but it was so worth seeing the sunset.

I was on a long bridge during the last 5 minutes of the sun setting. It was spectacular! As the sun ‘hit’ the water it looked like the sun was melting into the water off the Gulf of Mexico. It was breathtaking! I had to remind myself to watch the road.

By the time I settled into my accommodation for the night at the Albury Court Hotel it was 10pm. I popped out hoping to find a bite to eat but the restaurants had stopped serving food, so I popped into a corner store and bought water (essential at 30 degrees Celsius or 86 degrees Fahrenheit), a Rebel IPA (it wasn’t bad) and a bag of Cheetos. Not exactly the healthiest of dinners! 😂

I woke up around 8am and was rearing to go given that I only had one full day in Key West. What a shock when I opened my door and it was hammering down with rain outside. That was not in the weather forecast! I’ve realised the weather changes quickly here. Just as well as 30 minutes later the rain was gone, which gave me just enough time to call my mom and sister. Perfect!

Breakfast at the Albury Court Hotel takes place at the pool. This is not great when it’s been raining. Everyone was standing and eating. Hmmm! At this point I was really missing the Hyatt in Miami, which had a great breakfast selection and AMAZING staff! Their fantastic staff award system probably helps with that – Rene at the front desk got a drone as a staff award (DJI Spark). Amazing!

After my short breakfast I headed to the docks closest to me. I had been there a night before and saw a train museum. All I could think was, ‘Julian (Phatarfod) would love this’, so I couldn’t resist going back.

I never actually made it inside the museum, as I got distracted by the train like trolley car outside that did tours around Key West. I couldn’t resist riding it instead.

Doug, the tour guide, is from Long Island and was so chuffed to have someone from London on his train. He has been teaching English to students in China for a number of years and had just got off the phone to a few of them that are currently touring around London.

Our first stop was the Shipwreck Museum. It was fantastic! There’s more about the museum in the below post.

The next stop was the Aquarium. Another great attraction. I joined the sea turtle and stingray talks which were incredibly informative. I asked a number of questions which also helped. My favourite moment was definitely stroking Peanut the stingray. He was born in captivity but unlike the other stingrays actually pops out of the tank for ‘a cuddle’. He reminded me of a little puppy. He was so bloody cute!

Below are some photos and a few fun facts that I learned at the Aquarium.

From there I popped back on the train and did a loop around Key West. Key West has such an interesting history – very much centred around wrecking, the railway line that was superseded by the bridge and finally tourism that started in 1935. It was also interesting to learn that the reason the houses all have tin roofs is because of the fire of 1886 which nearly wiped out all the houses. The tin roof also helped capture water for the cisterns.

The final thing of note on Key West is the chickens – they are everywhere. They are seen as the island mascot but it is also illegal to kill them.

I had lunch at a place called Two Friends and watched the people and the chickens. It is also impossible to go anywhere in the main strips in Key West without hearing live music. In many ways, Key West is like New Orleans – it’s a party town just next to the water.

There was an offer of a free Pina Colada with my lunch and I couldn’t resist. Look at that happy face!

I walked around for 1.5 hours and then headed to my favourite activity of the day – a 1.5 hour jet-ski tour around the Keys. It was incredible! It absolutely broke me though. I had no idea how physical that ride was going to be. The calmer waters in the Gulf of Mexico were okay but when we hit the Atlantic it turned into a gym session. I look like John Wayne trying to walk at the moment. It was however the most fun I’ve had in years.

After the jet-ski ride I went in search of the southernmost point in the USA. At that point, you are closer to Cuba then the nearest Walmart. My aim was to copy a photo my brother and sister-in-law took in Key West about 20 years ago. It was great to see it hasn’t changed.

My final stop before heading to bed that night was dinner on Millory Square. I ate at a Cuban restaurant which was great, although I wasn’t particularly hungry so I ate a salad. I sat in the restaurant and watched the sunset across the square. It was not as spectacular as the night before but it was lovely.

It was good day!

Hello Miami

Melanie de Wet4 Comments

I have fallen in love with the people in Miami. Everyone has been so amazing! Similarly to London, most people I’ve met are visitors or immigrants, so I feel right at home!

I booked myself into the Hyatt Place Miami Airport Hotel for two nights, which extended into three, because I needed some time to rest before hitting the road. Being tired on the bike is a very bad move and I have definitely been feeling tired!

I arrived at the hotel around 8pm on Monday night after being diverted to the Bahamas because of a storm in Miami which closed the airport. In front of me at check-in were Bev and Noel from Port Elizabeth, South Africa. South Africans are everywhere!

I was knackered but wanted to stay awake to get used to the time change, so I popped down to the restaurant for a bite to eat. It was empty but there were two couples at the bar having a laugh so I joined them. What a great decision. They were such great company!

I was particularly drawn to Sylvia who has the most infectious, cheeky laugh. It spoke to my soul! Her and her partner own a BnB near Belfast in Ireland, which I have always wanted to visit, given my Irish heritage which stem from Belfast. I gave them my contact details so I hope they get in touch.

Tuesday was all about Trinity. I had to clear her through customs and then collect her from Alliance Ground handling who are the operators for Virgin Atlantic Cargo. I also had to pop into BMW to see if they could give her a quick once over before I hit the road. The only BMW Motorrad stores on the east coast are in Miami, New York and Toronto. Thus, hopefully nothing goes wrong.

Outside of the lady at customs, who was a little scary, everyone was fantastic.

The team at Alliance Ground handling were incredibly patient while I uncrated Trinity in the middle of their warehouse. I should have warned them it would take a while as I needed to replace my mirrors, windshield, a bag with my camping gear and panniers which were bubble wrapped in the crate with Trinity.

At this point I need to do a huge shout out to Moto Freight who have been absolutely fantastic throughout the process of shipping Trinity to Miami. Kathy, Tim and Roddy – thank you so much for all your help so far!

Once I picked Trinity up things went from strength to strength.

Daniel at BMW Motorcycles Miami managed to squeeze Trinity in for a travel inspection, so I dropped her off there last night for the service today.

Trinity and I then met Jorge and Deibinson from Venezuela at the hotel. Deibinson was so taken by Trinity and what we’re doing that he wanted a photo with us. With a huge grin he said, “You’re going to be famous. I want your number”. 🤣 It was hilarious. I couldn’t but smile. Meet the boys.

Here is a taster of the airboat ride.

The airboat ride through the Everglades was fantastic! The wind generated from the fans is unbelievable. They are also pretty noisy so you get a pair of earbuds when you board the boat. Our Captain, Alfred, was really funny but I couldn’t always hear what he was saying without removing the earbuds. When I did, it was well worth it!

The Everglades covers 20,200 square kilometres and the water is home to an estimated 1.5 million alligators. Not exactly a place you want to get stuck!

We managed to see a number of alligators, a few turtles, a Great Blue Heron and a number of other birds a don’t know. The best part was holding a baby alligator. He was so cute and so soft! Below is a photo of me and then little snapper.

I went back to meet Claudia and then we hit the road. About 20 minutes into the drive I realised I didn’t have my phone. OMG! Claudia phones the park and luckily someone had handed it in. We therefore had to go back to the park to pick it up. The only problem was that it was now peak hour traffic heading back to the park, so it turned out to be an hour round trip. Luckily I had Claudia to save the day!

If you ever need a tour guide in Miami get in touch with Claudia. Here she is.

I slept much better last night and only woke up at 5.30pm. Improvement!

Claudia picked me up at 9am and drove me into central Miami to catch the Big Bus Tour. I must be the only person in history that pays for a bus tour and walks (sometimes runs) the route. I just don’t like hanging around – I’d rather keep moving. I took the bus and boat option which allowed me to see Miami from the land and the water. It was pretty cool! Below are some photos from the tour.

And some more…

And some more…

Following the tour I headed to BMW to collect Trinity. It was a fabulous day!

2019 USA/Canada Tour – here we go!

Melanie de Wet6 Comments

The day has finally arrived – Trinity and I are heading to Miami, Florida. She’s flying with Virgin and I’m flying with British Airways. Thanks Angie for sorting out my ticket and Moto Freight for taking care of Trinity!

It’s been a stormy start to the trip – literally! I’m currently on the runway in the Bahamas. Miami airport is closed due to a storm so they had to divert the plane. I REALLY want to get off the plane and see the island. The sun is shining and I can see the trees but it’s just outside of my reach. It’s torture, torture I tell you! 😂

The last few days have been a little nuts but as I sit here on the plane I know it has been so worth it!

With the best will in the world, sometimes things just don’t go to plan. That was definitely the case this week!

I have had the basics of my tour finalised since Christmas but the devil really is always in the detail.

The one thing that I knew would be tricky was the motorcycle insurance. The arrival of GDPR resulted in the disappearance of most motorcycle insurance options for foreign motorcycles from Europe in the USA.

The shipping company for Trinity, Moto Freight, provided me with the best two options. The first was Motorcycle Express, a US company, and the second Securo Gringo, a Mexican company (although the underwriter is in the USA). I was warned that the policy wording on the latter was a little dodgy and also that they only offered third party insurance, so I was keen to use Motorcycle Express. There was only one problem – they don’t currently cover Canada.

I was checking the website weekly to see if there was any update – it just said, ‘we are working on it please check website for details’. Finally, I dropped them a line and they told me it would be sorted out by Thursday. Thursday came and there was no change. ‘It may be Friday’, they said. I couldn’t wait any longer.

On Thursday night, following my ‘bon voyage’ drinks with my colleagues, I went back to the office to buy insurance through Securo Gringo. Phew, I thought! Now I just had work things to tie up on the Friday. I was already unsure how I was going to finalise everything on Friday and then I got the news.

I had been speaking to my friend, Joa, about my insurance concern and she said she’d ask her cousin, Jaco, to check the details as he works in insurance. Jaco checked the wording of the policy and pointed out that I wouldn’t be covered as it was only valid for Mexican residents and for 28 consecutive days. 😱 Apparently the Gringo’s are not so secure after all!

This was a potential disaster – no insurance equals no trip! I can’t clear Trinity through customs without insurance. Even if they allowed me to with the policy, I was likely not to be covered in the event that I actually needed it. Neither option was acceptable.

Friday was a right off. Instead of tying up all my work things I was desperately trying to selvage my trip (or at least the start of it)!

To cut a long story short, I got there in the end but it was stress I could do without. Thank you Joa and Jaco for saving the day!

Unfortunately, the events of the day then had a huge knock on effect. I had dinner plans with my friends that night that I did not want to miss but I was now horribly behind schedule and would need to work on the weekend.

I went into work in the morning and in my tired (and slightly hungover state), miscalculated what time I needed to leave the office for my flight to Glasgow for Grant and Christina’s wedding reception.

I was so chuffed with myself thinking everything was going to plan until I reached Victoria station to catch the Gatwick Express and as I looked at the time on the departure board I had the sickening realisation that I was going to miss my flight – I was an hour off schedule. My heart sank!

I had especially delayed my departure to Miami until Monday to join the celebrations and I was going to miss it! I sat on a bench trying to see if I could make another flight but it was just not feasible.

I was so gutted calling Grant to tell him I wasn’t going to make it. The only consolation was that I will be seeing them in Vancouver at the end of my trip – we will definitely celebrate then! This also meant that I could now get my work things tied up. That finally happened on the way to the airport this morning.

As I sit here on the runway in the Bahamas all I have to ‘worry’ about is the torture of sitting on the plane instead of being outside playing. I’ll take that problem! 😂

I cannot wait to see what the rest of the day has in store!

Hungary and Slovakia

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I was so ridiculously happy and chilled out when I left Romania on Thursday that my first experience of racism went completely over my head. 

It took me about 15 minutes after the event to realise that a white van man was basically telling me to fuck off out of his country. Haha…I thought he either wanted to race me (not my thing) or ride Trinity but after thinking about what the women said that he had asked to translate for him, I realised that was not the case. He must have been so disappointed to get no reaction from me outside of my smiles and clear confusion about him wanting to ‘help me to the UK’. 

After 36 counties I’m probably luck that’s my first negative experience but this just confirms my belief that most people are good. You’ll definitely see that when you disarm them with a great big smile! That’s my weapon of choice anyway – kindness! 🙂

Feeling amused by my own ‘innocence’ and slightly sad about the guys limiting beliefs; off to the border Trinity and I went. The border crossing took about 20 minutes so it wasn’t too bad. From there I was heading to Debrecen. I decided to stay just outside of the city because there was parking and the hotel looked great. I fancied something nice that wasn’t going to cost me an arm and a leg. Staying just outside is the city helped!

The little hotel, Boutique Hotel Kristály, was fabulous; clearly very new. I felt so spoiled! They didn’t serve dinner so I walked about 600m down the road to a restaurant. I had a pork dish that the waitress recommended. It was good and with a beer just over 7 Euro. Result!

I was down for breakfast at 7am and asked the receptionist for advice on what to do that day. She confirmed the plans that I had already considered, partially because she was from one of the towns, so that firmed things up in my head. 

My first stop would be Debrecen, which is lovely. The main street which passes the Parliament Buildings is particularly nice, so I kept within walking distance of that, partly because my phone was about to die and I needed to be able to retrace my steps if it did. 

From Debrecen I went to Sarospatak, which has a fabulous old fortress. I didn’t go into the museum but I did walk around the fortress and it was quite impressive. From there I went to Hercegkút to what I thought was an eco village with grass roofs but having been there I think it’s a cemetery. Hmmm, I still need to investigate what it actually is. The little huts built into the side of the mountain with the grass roofs are pretty cool though!

I’ve included some photos of Hungary below.

As the day was ticking along I decided to head straight to the High Tatras; the mountains that separate Slovakia and Poland. This would give me the chance to have a quiet day in the mountains, which turned out to be a fantastic decision.

There was no border crossing between Hungary and Slovakia – YAY! The border was marked by a sign along a gorgeous country road – it didn’t take me long to realise that I was going to love Slovakia! 

The towns that I passed are similar to Hungary; lovely but lacking the character of the Romanian towns (I really loved Romania). The countryside however is magnificent! It’s like Switzerland but with more lush, green farmland. It was jaw dropping from start to finish.

I had no idea where to stay in Slovakia so I went onto Bookings.com to find the most expensive hotel in the High Tatras and then choose one close to it. My thinking was that expensive hotels always have great locations. 

It was too late to go hiking after settling into the hotel, so I went exploring and found a little restaurant to have dinner. I asked the waitress for a recommendation – I wanted a local dish and of course to try out a local beer. She suggested a cheese dumpling and pork dish so I went with that. It was delicious! I have definitely realised that they like pork in Eastern Europe. 

Saturday was most definitely the highlight of my trip. After an early breakfast I headed to the visitor centre. My thinking was to catch the gondola up the mountain and have a little walk around before I had to check out of the hotel at 11:00. I wasn’t quite sure where I was meant to go so I just followed some hikers. I quickly realised that I was heading on a hike and not to the gondola. Okay, I thought, let’s see where this goes. 

After a stunning 45 minute hike up the mountain I reached a gorgeous waterfall. It was such an amazing setting. My heart and soul were rejoicing and I couldn’t stop smiling!

I sat on a rock under the waterfall and just watch two little kids playing on the rocks. They looked so happy; it was beautiful. I captured the moment in my mind and on camera and with a new spring in my step started making my way down the mountain. 

About a 10 minute walk from the waterfall I stopped to take a video, which I included below. It was a reminder to myself to spend more time in the mountains, I am at my happiest in the mountains, but I also wanted to share the moment with my friends and family. It’s my way of showing them the world through my eyes. 

The hotel that I stayed in was okay but not great so I wanted to move somewhere else, ideally somewhere slightly closer to Wroclaw, which is where I needed to get to yesterday. I found a hotel on-line in a tiny village that had a great view of the High Tatras. The hotel was the cheapest on Hotels.com so I booked it through there (it’s always worth checking a few apps for the best deal).

The 34 room hotel, Hotel Montford, was a little dated but the view was spectacular! Everything faced the mountain. It was the perfect place to spend my last full day on my trip. I had arrived at the hotel at 2pm, the earliest I could check in, so I had time to shower and replace the GoPro mount on Trinity before spending the afternoon outside on the terrace overlooking the mountain. It was perfect!

I sat on the terrace for a few hours, enjoying two beers (Saris which I loved), before heading into the restaurant to have dinner. I was savouring every second of the experience! 

For the first time on this trip I struggled to sleep, so I watched the sun starting to rise at 5am. I was ready to go back to work and my life in London but a part of me didn’t want the trip to finish – there’s was much more I want to see and explore. As I lay in bed overlooking the mountains I couldn’t help but think that this was only the start of my journey!

Bulgaria and Romania

Melanie de Wet1 Comment

Before this trip all I knew about either country was that they are in Europe, Dracula was from Transylvania, the Transfăgărășan is in Romania, Romanians are fantastic gymnasts, I was warned to be careful of pickpockets in Romania and a lot of cleaners in London are from both countries. So, not a lot really!

What I have discovered are countries steeped in history that are incredibly beautiful and are full of wonderful, warm people. I’m glad my eyes have been opened!

I left Greece on Sunday, 29 July and arrived in Sofia in the late afternoon. It was raining again, which was definitely starting to impact my mood. I managed to see a few sights before finding a hotel for the night.

You had to pay extra for parking. This was 7 Euro for a motorcycle, it would have been 15 Euro for a car. I’m normally not chuffed about paying for parking but I’d far rather do that in a city than have Trinity standing in the street. It turned out that the parking was accessed by a car lift. Woohoo…our first car lift. It was very exciting! 

Below is a short video including some photos of Sofia.

After having a shower and my complementary welcome drink, I headed out to find a local restaurant. Hmmm…this was not as easy as you would think in a major city, so I ended up going back to the hotel restaurant to have dinner. 

It had been raining a lot the last week and the forecast was for rain the next three days. I was considering whether to cut my trip short but I realised that I would regret my decision later, so I decided to soldier on. I’m glad I did.

From Sofia I went to Plovdiv, which was voted as the European city of culture in 2019. The city has a great vibe to it and I quickly realised that I preferred it to Sofia. That and also that my mood was improving.

A few photos of the city are provided below. 

I spent a few hours walking around the city before hitting the road for Veliko Turnovo. My spirit hit new heights when I saw Trinity was approaching 33,333 miles on her clock. 

Out of curiosity I starting counting the number of countries that we had been through. We were on 22 before we left the UK, so I counted the new ones that we had visited on this trip. We had now covered 33,333 miles across 33 counties in 3 years and 3 months. How bloody brilliant! Clearly good things do come in threes.

Now I was ready to take on the world!

Veliko Turnovo is a city with a 5,000 year history. The small, picturesque city is home to one of Europe’s grandest medieval monuments, the Tsaravets Fortress, which was visible from the hotel that I was staying at. 

The old city is fantastic! It is like stepping back in time. I almost felt like I was on a movie set. I walked around the old town for about 1.5 hours before heading to the hotel for a night cap. I like to try a new local beer in every county. Tonight is was Britos. It was good (I still prefer the Alpha in Greece though).

Below are some photos of Veliko Turnovo.

The next couple of days would be my opportunity to see Romania. The Transfăgărășan (National Road 7C), which has been voted as one of the best roads in the world to ride and Bran Castle (Dracula’s Castle) were the top of my list of things to see. I really didn’t know what else to expect. 

I was now starting to get really excited about being on the road again; regardless of the weather. Having something to look forward to definitely helps but taking stock of what Trinity and I had already achieved was the extra bit of encouragement that I had needed. 

From Veliko Turnovo I headed straight to Pitesti, where I had lunch before continuing north on route 7C; the Transfăgărășan Highway. The road doesn’t get windy until you hit Vidraru Dam, which itself is quite spectacular.

From there the road starts to meander through the mountains until it finally reaches a clearing near Balea Waterfall. The road either side of that is what you see in the photos of the road. It is pretty spectacular! It was raining and the road condition isn’t the best so I took the ride pretty slowly. 

I stopped a few times along the way to enjoy the view and take some photos. I also bought some cheese and two types of dried sausage at Balea Waterfall, which came in very handy that night. 

It was approaching 6pm and the weather was starting to turn so I decided to find  somewhere to sleep that night. I took a chance at a place along the way, which was showing as having rooms on Bookings.com, but they told me they were full. I went online and managed to find a place 15 miles away, so off I went.

The ride to Ucea du Sus, a little village, was certainly interesting. The little villages along the way are adorable but the roads are pretty poor and you need to look out for horses, cows and dogs.

Below is a video of what I mean. 

The place I was staying was on a blueberry farmers property. It’s not quite what I was expecting but it was absolutely fine and he and his family were incredibly friendly. He offered me a beer, he drinks Becks, and a big bowl of blueberries. There was a kitchen that I could use but I didn’t. Of course it was now that the cheese and sausages that I had bought earlier came in handy (haha…everything happens for a reason). There was no WiFi access so I didn’t post any photos (now you know why dad). So that night I had a picnic in my room and watched some TV.

Yesterday was a full day. I was hoping to have some coffee and the roll I had bought the night before but there were no filters. Bugger! After eating my roll and having another chat with the farmer, he really was quite lovely, I hit the road. I was running low on petrol so that was my current priority. 

There was a petrol station on National Road 1 about 10 miles away. I ended up stopping there for about an hour. I had  two cups of coffee, a chat to a lovely German biker and also tried to help out another BMW rider who didn’t have the right tool for his bike. He was on a 1200 GS. We discovered that the two bikes do not use the same tools so sadly I couldn’t help him. Hopefully he came right.

My first stop for the day was Bran Castle, which is in the town of Bran. It was packed with tourists but fantastic to see. I was full of historical artifacts which were wonderful to see.

From Ban Castle I drove past Rasnov Citadel before heading to Braşov, which is incredibly colourful and beautiful. It’s also the first time that I’ve seen a Starbucks in Eastern Europe. Come to think of it, I hadn’t seen a McDonalds either until I hit Bulgaria. Interesting!

I walked around Braşov, had an ice cream and a coffee and then hit the road again. I generally don’t like to be on the road after 7pm so I wanted to see how far I could get. That turned out to be Sighisoara. 

Below are some photos of the day.

Sighisoara is fantastic! The hotel I stayed at gave me a free bottle of wine so I broke with my normal ‘have a new beer’ tradition and had the wine instead. It was great, although there was no way I could finish the bottle.

I walked around the area near my hotel this morning and I was completely blown away by the beauty and history of the town. I’m aware that I only have 4 days left of my trip and I just want time to stop. It’s been absolutely incredible and I’m now so grateful that I decided to dtick to my original plan.

Below are are some photos of this morning’s walk.

Today I will be heading to Hungry and I’m looking forward to seeing what the country has to offer. I will think back fondly of my time in Bulgaria and Romania! It’s not only taught me a lot about these countries but also a lot about myself and the fact that you should never give up. You never know what’s just around the corner.

Let’s go find out!

Greece

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Greece is so special that it needs its own post. 

Although I never felt unsafe in Albania, except in my own head, I was so happy to arrive in Greece and be back in the EU. For one thing I could switch my mobile data back on…woohoo!! This is me happy.

I arrived into Greece just south of Lake Ohrid. There was a queue of cars at customs, which I have never seen before. Next to the cars was a queue of people with their bags on what looked like a conveyer belt – like you get at an airport check in. One of the border control officers, this time a lady with a cup of coffee in hand (it made me smile), asked ‘where are you from’? ‘The UK’, I said. ‘The UK, okay you can go’. She said that smiling. 

I suspect if I had said that I was from Albania I would have been unpacking my panniers in the same way that all the cars were being inspected. Also something I had not seen at any of the other border crossings.

The place I was most excited to see in Greece was Meteora. Outside of looking at a few guidebooks I watched a number of YouTube videos about places to see in the various countries, and spoke to people of course. The below video sold Meteora to me. It also sold me the idea of buying a drone (that and seeing a friend’s in action). 

Meteora is stunning! It has definitely been one of the highlights of my trip. The beauty of the 400m monoliths in western Thessaly between the towering peaks of Pindus and the Antichasia mountains cannot be conveyed in words or photos (none that I can take anyway). 

The bonus to this natural beauty are the monasteries and nunneries perched on the top of the monoliths. Most can be accessed by stairs, although they are not always open e.g. the Holy Monastery of Saint Nikolas is closed to the public on Fridays. It was Friday when I was touring the area.

I went into two of the Monasteries; Holy Monastery of Saint Barbara – Roussanou  and the second one’s name I didn’t record sadly. The monasteries are magnificent!  You are not allowed to take photos in the monasteries so I’ll try and describe them as simply as possible. 

The main buildings are constructed of stone floors, exploded brick walls, with thick wooden beams and wooden ceilings. The buildings were simple but works of art in their own right. Very typical Greek construction. 

There were clay pots and other old artefacts on the floors and old paintings on the walls (in the Holy Monastery of Saint Barbara – Roussanou anyway). The rooms were quite minimalist but it suited the environment perfectly. 

The chapels were exquisite! The small chapels, accessed from the main buildings, had high arch ceilings all painted with intricate religious paintings mostly black and white). There were delicate golden chandeliers hanging from the ceilings and beautifully crafted dark wooden high sided benches along the walls. Some of the walls were a faint black from what I assume was candle smoke. They were quite breathtaking. Not ornate; just perfect!

Below are some photos of Meteora and the monasteries. 

After a wonderful morning exploring the monasteries I left Meteora to head to Volos. A friend of mine from work recommended that I go there. It’s apparently where Mama Mia was filmed. 

From that description I thought it was going to be some cute little seaside village. It was definitely not small! 

If I’m doing a city break then I’m happy to visit a city. If I’m on Trinity I want to be in the middle of nowhere or in a little village somewhere. You get incredibly hot when stuck in traffic, particularly when it’s already 32 degrees Celsius outside (it’s like wearing a winter coat in summer), and then there is the issue of the bike’s safety. Cities are not safe places for bikes. 

Wanting to avoid the city centre I booked into a hotel on the mountain behind the city. It was a great choice. The little town was really quaint and had a great view over the city and sea. The hotel, Hotel Erofili, was generally fine except my room didn’t have a balcony (it said it did when I booked it) and it was missing one half of the shower door. Hmmm! Clearly, I wouldn’t stay there again. 

That said, I enjoyed my stay nonetheless.  I tried a Mythos beer that night. It was okay but not as good as the Alpha which I had in Meteora. I enjoyed my beer in a little public square under the trees. The one thing I really liked were all the little water fountains everywhere. I wasn’t sure if they were just for show but then I one of the guys at the table next to me stood up and filled his glass from it. Brilliant! 

I was really keen to spend some time at the beach, I was in Greece after all, so I booked a 2 hour sea kayaking tour at a beach about an hour away. I was so excited! I left 70 minutes before the session started which in theory was plenty of time or so I thought. 

I have now learned not to blindly follow Google Maps in Greece. It took me on a wild goose chase twice. The first in the village I was staying in which cost me 10 minutes and then it took me down some dodgy dirt road in the mountains near the beach. My heart was pounding going down the mountain because all I could think was don’t drop the blood bike. I was in the middle of nowhere! I was just thinking that I didn’t have that much further to go when my next nasty surprise arrived. The road was gated off. You have got to be bloody kidding me I thought!

Below is the dead end road.

Slightly distraught because now I had to get back up the mountain and I was definitely now going to miss my kayaking, I  waited at the gate for 5 minutes, mostly to compose myself before tacking the track again. If I could pick Trinity up the track would not have bothered me (or if I was on a smaller bike) but I knew I had no room for error and that made me nervous. That or a long walk to find someone to help me pick her up. 

In the end it was fine. My nervousness turned into sheer determination and found the tarred road down to the beach. There was a little cafe on the beach so I ordered an iced coffee and enjoying the view when I received a message from the Kayaking company asking me if I needed help. How sweet!

As it turns out Google Maps does this a lot in Greece. George told me that he knew exactly where I was as they had to rescue a couple the week before from the same spot when it was raining and they got stuck. His advice was to make sure you stick to tarred roads. 

As luck would have it there was space for me to join the 4 hour sea kayaking session at 12:30. That would mean that I wouldn’t be able to leave for Thessaloníki before 17:00. That wasn’t ideal but I thought it was worth making the time up later on. It was!

The sea kayaking was great fun! I was with a German family from Berlin who were very sweet and kept offering me food (I will never complain about that). We stopped three times along the route. The first time to walk through an opening in the rocks. It was here that we ate sea snails off the rocks. I’m not a massive seafood fan but had to give it a go. It wasn’t too bad actually.

Our next two stops were on the beach. The first at a secluded beach. George told me that I got stuck in the mountain not far from the beach. I could now laugh at the experience, which I did. Our final stop was on a public beach, where we stopped for about 30 minutes. It started raining when we were there so I stood in the sea while it was raining and just enjoyed the view. It was so peaceful and lovely! It was a great experience. 

I spent the evening in Poly’s Guesthouse in a little town just outside of Thessaloníki, called Katachás. I suspect the town is typical of any small town in Greece, which means it look a little run down by British standards but fabulous compared to many of the other countries that I have been through on this trip. 

The guesthouse itself was great. It was definitely the nicest place in the village from what I saw. The two ladies running it were also great. The one spoke with an American accent, which I commented on. It turned out she grew up in New York. This was definitely a far cry from New York. 

It was a really good thing that I stayed in this little place as Trinity was right outside my bedroom window. This was very convenient from an unpacking/packing perspective and also enabled me to check my panniers for water leaks again. There was water in both of them so I had to clear the water out first and dry them out. 

While I was there I decided to figure out how to replace the oil in my Scott Oiler. It’s a devise on my bike that automatically oils my chain, rather than having to do that manually all the time. I normally get BMW to do it but didn’t during my last service so it was long overdue. 

After about 10 seconds of watching a YouTube video (I bloody love YouTube) I knew what to do. Three minutes later, we were back in business. It was so easy!

I arrived in Thessaloníki just before midday. The only things I really wanted to see were the ancient ruins. My first stop was the Rotonda Roman Temple which was build around 300AD. It was absolutely mind blowing that the building was in such good order. The mosaics inside had perished quite a bit (a lot had either fallen off or had been removed) but you could get a really good feeling of what it would have looked like. It was fantastic!

Below is s video from inside the temple.

There was a single drainage point in the centre of the building, made of marble, and if you tapped your foot on it it echoed throughout the building. It was brilliant and really made me smile.

Next where the Arch of Galerius, a history fountain and Telli Kapi which were nearby, before stopping at a juice bar to get a vitamin fix. It was so yummy! From there I went to see the old Roman Forum, which was also build around the same time as the temple. Sadly it was not preserved quite as well. 

The one thing that I found really sad in Thessaloniki was the amount of graffiti everywhere, including on the ancient buildings. Street art is one thing, which I actually love, but ruining precious parts of history to me is sacrilege. The grounds of the ruins are also not very well kept. Maybe they want it that way but when I looked at the ruins of the buildings dating back nearly 2,000 years and the apartment blocks in the background I was disappointed by our lack of progress as a society. This really can’t be the best that we can do!

Below are some photos of my day on the beach and the ruins in Thessaloniki.

Next…Sofia, Bulgaria. 

Macedonia and Albania

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I arrived in Macedonia on Wednesday, 25 June. My Green Card was expiring that day, so the date sticks in my mind. The border control officer picked up on that too, so I told a little lie (it was a calculated risk) and said I was driving through to Greece – I was the next day via Albania but he didn’t have to know that. 

Macedonia is lovely! It had big rolling hills with fabulous mountains. I found the countryside of Serbia, Macedonia and Kosovo quite similar. I would say Montenegro too but the mountains are more dramatic there.

The one thing I didn’t enjoy though were the toll roads. I assume it was just the motorway that I was on but there was a tollbooth about every 20-30km. Given that it was raining on my way to Macedonia and I was still wet, putting wet gloves on and off and trying to find change every 15 min got a little annoying. Croatia also had a lot of toll roads but at least they were far apart and there was glorious sunshine the whole time. 

The bonus of the motorway was of course that I could make better progress. I was originally thinking to stay at Lake Ohrid, which from the name I thought would be a nice quiet location. After looking for accommodation I realised it isn’t. Hmm…not quite what I was looking for. As a result I decided to head to Mavrovo National Park. My heart is always happiest in the mountains, so it was an easy decision.

The roads through the park are a little rough but that’s the advantage of being on the motorcycle – it’s no worry and actually makes the ride that little more exciting. I hadn’t booked anywhere but I remembered seeing a few places in the park so I wasn’t worried about finding a place to stay. 

I was just getting to the point when I was thinking that I need to find something now, and there it was. Woohoo! They even had a room for me.

A couple of things stand out for me about my stay in Macedonia. Firstly, it was so cheap! I had a three course dinner, a beer and a coffee for £10. Secondly, my waiter spoke English (I’m starting to think everyone in Eastern Europe speaks English). Finally, I cannot forget my incident in the shower. The place that I was staying in had a shared bathroom. That’s fine except that the bathroom didn’t have a key. What? As it turned out the toilet next door did have a key and the key worked for the shower room. Phew! 

It didn’t end there though. When I tried to move the shower head up on the rail the rail pulled out of the wall. Eek!! At first I was mortified and then I just laughed. Really? I didn’t put that much pressure on the rail. After a minute of having a hand shower I realised I hadn’t seen the skew fall out. Hmm…I suspect I’m not the first person this has happened to. Yup, the wall plug was still attached to the rail, so I popped it back into the wall. All ‘fixed’! 

It rained during the evening and was still raining when I left in the morning so I didn’t get to see the park. Instead I headed towards Lake Ohrid, which is bordered by Macedonia on the east and Albania on the west (you know where this is heading). 😉

Some photos of Macedonia are provided below. 

I wanted to fill up with petrol and have lunch before I went into Albania. As I drove towards the lake I found a ‘private beach’ on the lake. It looked a lot nicer than the rest of the town, so I was happy to stop there. 

This place could not be any more different from the rest of the town. It was very nice! It felt a little strange being in such a nice place given the very basic town I had just driven through. Swanky or not, a Greek salad, chick risotto and two macchiatos cost just under £8. I was not complaining but was slightly taken aback by how cheap it was. This would not be the first or last time that I would be taken aback on this day.

Filling up at the petrol filling station was so surreal and would set the tone for the next few hours. Pulled up next to me at the petrol filling station was a brand new Audi A8 and also a old rickety tractor. Two more opposite worlds could not meet in one place…or so I thought.

As it turns out, ‘where two world collide’ could not be more true than in Albania. On one hand I saw eight horse driven carts (and a donkey loaded with corn – see photo below) and on the other hand I saw loads of brand new luxury cars, mostly Mercedes and Audi (almost always in black). The contrast was astounding!

The donkey in disguise below.

To be honest, I was slightly nervous about heading into Albania. There are enough horror stories about human trafficking and the like in the news and we’ve also had Albania prostitutes in our building (long story but they left once the police paid them a visit), so I’m aware these aren’t just stories. It didn’t of course help that when I was approaching the border there was a sign saying, ‘All smuggling and corruption to be reported at the border’. There were also signs about human trafficking on the walls. It was slightly intimidating (and incredibly sad)! I really didn’t know what to think, except ‘what the hell are you doing’?

I still want to do more research on Albania but out of Montenegro (except the coastal area), Serbia and Kosovo, Albania is far more vibrant and colourful. It also feels like there is more money, even though it has very clear signs of terrible poverty. 

Having compared crime statistics (assuming you can believe these of course), the murder rate in Albania per 100,000 people is actually not much higher than that in the USA and UK. It used to be much higher but has seen a dramatic decrease over the last 10 years. Now that I did find interesting!

It’s therefore difficult to know what is real danger and what is perceived danger. Of course the fact that my motorcycle insurance would cover all countries, except Kosovo (technically an independent state not country) and Albania does say something. As a result I didn’t stop anywhere for long (partly because the border control officer did not ask me whether I had insurance, which I didn’t have, so I was driving through the country without insurance) but I tried to keep an open mind with regards to my observations. It was certainly an interesting country to visit and to be honest, outside of Montenegro I found it the most beautiful in terms of landscape. 

Below are a couple of images of Albania. 

Next…Greece!

P.S. this Top Gear episode about Albania is really funny and worth watching (no offence of course intended to anyone from Albania).

https://youtu.be/Sfkh7WtW7Po