12th Unitarian Bike Expedition

Though it is hard to believe, we have already arrived at 19:37 to Calafat, today's resting place. And what is even harder to believe is that we avoided rain, though not sweat. We've been cycling all day today in bright sunshine.

We woke up early in Orșova, by 8 AM everybody was up and waiting for the breakfast. It is needless to say that everyone deserved it, since last night we've made the french fries with true teamwork, everyone having contributed, everyone was simply amazing.

At the quick morning meeting we've decided to go by car until Drobeta Turnu Severin, because the road is really tight and crowded, and then Tamás went ahead with four guys to buy today's portion of chocolate-filled kiflis. And then we were ready to go, when Zsolt had the idea to phone Calafat that we are coming to the Casa Italia pension, and they can start preparing for the dinner. The gentleman informed us that it is great that we're coming, the only problem being that we've nowhere to come to, since the owner forgot about us and went ahead to fill the rooms with people coming for a folk festival. The funny thing was that the night before they had no objections to us coming, when called about it, and they said that they were waiting. They sure were waiting, everyone but us. So even before setting out the hunt for a place to sleep began. It seems that the Calafat Folk Festival must be a really important event, since all hotels were booked, but we eventually found one that would take us in too. This is how we got to the Amfiteatrum hotel.

But there was a long way ahead until then. So, having ended the search successfully, we headed out. We stopped for a rest at the Iron Gates, and then we got on our bikes at Drobeta Turnu Severin. It was good to finally get a tan while cycling. We pressed forward in three teams, stopping for short, watermelon-eating breaks.

A few kilometers ahead of Calafat the three teams united. Not only have the teams met, but we've also met Kálmán József, the father of Kálmán Sanyika who awaited us with life-saving chocolate and pampered us. We must also mention here that we thank tonight's bed and dinner to him, since he took upon himself all these expenses. We're very grateful to him, and thank him very much. It's a great feeling to be helped in situations such as these, when the reservations for 40 people are forgotten. So we thank him not only for the chocolate but also for tonight's boarding.

Now we are all here, fed and having taken a shower. This is our last Romanian day, tomorrow we'll be coming in from Bulgaria. Also, Anti Fibra, also known as "Helmed Tiger" Anti has his birthday today. As a new chef, he'll be getting a wonderful apron from us, which we hope he will wear with pride. This is not only a birthday present but also a form of recognition, for it seems that he's grown very much under the careful hands of our master chef Boti.

So much for today. Though we're a bit lazy because of the hot and comfortable shower, we'll be sending messages regardless.