Day 365 Saturday 5th April Belene to San Jose de Jachal 574km

We have been on the road for a year now, 365 days, broken-up into 21 Legs, (21 Trips to continue the journey that got us here.) In this 365 days we have traveled on this Epic Adventure we have visited 40 Countries so far, a total of 110 842km covered. We have seen 43 States in the USA, we have also been to the tip of the North American Continent at the top of Alaska, deep into  the Arctic Circle, we have been to the tip of the European Continent at the most Northern tip of Norway, even deeper into the Arctic Circle. We have been through very difficult places to travel, like Siberia and China, we have walked on the Crimean Peninsula before Putin stole it, we sat on the square in Kiev before the Russians stole that too. We stared at Reactor number 4 in Chernobyl and we rode around the Black Sea, we followed the nomads in Mongolia and experienced the softness of the Thai people, the harshness of Northern Canada and we shed a tear at Ground Zero. We visited Palaces and homes of famous people, we walked on squares drank wine on the steps of the Kremlin. We shed more tears at Auschwitz, we were left in awe at  so many natural wonders, waterfalls and Naitonal Parks, flew in balloons in Cappadocia and got beaten-up by male masseuses in Turkey. Norway blew us away with its beauty while we cooked their Salmon on an open fire. We saw the destruction in the wake of Dictators and experienced the divide of beliefs in America, (widening as I write.) We had to do U-Turns to avoid wars, we had to dodge Drug Traffickers in Central America and got to experience the cultures of so many different people. We saw people walking 5000km to The Land Of The Free And The Brave, only to see them now walking in the opposite direction, their dreams of a Better Life For All – Crushed, by ” the Orange Man.”

We shared the most amazing views with them, we shared their roads, we laughed together. We tasted their dishes and drank their drinks and wine.

We stayed  in their little towns and villages and we shared smiles with parents, who are just like us, proud of their kids, and just like us they want the best for them, a better future than what they had. One year of memories I will cherish the rest of my life. There are just too many to mention here.

I can go on and on and work myself into an emotional outpouring of feelings, but the rest of my group will then just use that to mock me, so let me cut back to todays Blog.

Last night we went to the Church Square, Friday Mass was on, and the Catholic Priest was un disturbed by his 4 legged congregant.

Then Pie went in search of a light switch, for his bike, which will be wired into the ignition system so that he does not need too connect wires before his bike would start, so the sequence to start his bike now is :

1. Turn the Key
2. Turn the Kill Switch On
3. Switch on the plastic Light Switch

We even got a spare for our bag with Bike Spares.

The square was busy with vendors and even a celebration for a young lady that got her degree in music, or maybe she became a Professor in music, it was difficult to understand the translation.

Rocky bough a hat for his son Dannyboy:

We found a small Pizza Restaurant and shared some wine and 2 Pizzas (best the Argentinians stick to red meat and leave Pizzas to the Italians.

This morning we continued in our South East direction and very soon it looked like we were traveling up in Limpopo Province, lush green bush-veldt. The further we traveled the straighter the road became and drier it became, soon it liked like we were in the Great Karoo.

Some of the photos of today’s road:

We found some Pastries along the way and took it to the coffee shop on the corner, Lekker.

And then flippin Murphy struck, again, Peens got a puncture that could not be plugged as it was too big and a tube had to be fitted. But as they say, “When Life Gives You Lemons, Open the Tequila.” So we bought some sausage and bread and cooked it on the fire while we fixed the tyre.

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After “breaking” the tyre off the rim it was followed by lots of Rhythmic Dancing around the Wheel;

They also sold olives as we had just traveled through miles and miles of olive groves but mainly cheap  wine;

And they sold very Suspect Home Made Sausages, which I hoped came from a pig.

There was a kid and a cat and then a horse, and I thought they were going to kill the horse to make more sausages as they led the horse to near their little house/shop/braai, and the entire family with kids and uncles went to stand at the horse carrying stuffs, so I turned away wondering if they had a gun or will it be death by ax, or knife???? Turns out they were just putting a home made saddle on the horse so that the father can take his little daughter on a little joy ride. Me and my imagination!!!!

I was so thankful I missed a blood-bath that I gave the girl a little wire animal from Africa. There was no Cell Phone Reception so I could not Translate to her that the Animal was an African Wild Dog, so she just gave me a wide smile and hugged her animal which must be just a weird looking domestic dog to her.

DadAss below, looking as good as she always does, I love this bike, hope I can bring here home to South Africa one day, getting very attached to her, such a a gentle trustworthy beast of a girl !!!!!!!

After the tube was fitted we continued, and all of a sudden the temperature dropped from 20 degrees down to 8 degrees, we could see we have entered a cold front. And all of a sudden the road started dropping down from 1400m to 700m and we were in the twisty’s and riding through several tunnels and life was going so well again. But just as we were getting used to the long sweeping 270 degrees Hair Pins it was all over and we dropped in into a dusty flat desert-like-bowl, just like being in the Northern Cape.

And then all of a sudden the temperature was up to 21 Degrees and we were in back in the Great Karoo.

Some of us missed the Dinosaurs Skeleton, as they raced on.

We filled up with fuel outside a big town and there were hundreds of scooters on the road. At the Filling Station there was a line with obedient scooter customers waiting to get their turn, we started in that line but it went very slow as each scooter would put in 4lt and then pay with a card or cash that required some change, so we jumped the line to the line behind one of the cars, this caused riot among the locals and we almost got bliksemed.  And to add fuel to the fire, Pie insisted on filling his bike which enraged the lady pump attendant that insisted she fills the bike.

We ended up in a very small town and we are the only guests in this little hotel, we all share bathrooms tonight, but it is just off the Town Square and it is very cheap.

Mom, what is that thing behind my TV ???

We are all off to a restaurant now where Pie has called a meeting, he admits he told us he would bail either when his Axle breaks or when he reaches a year’s worth of riding, and today is a year. But he already wormed his way out of stopping today as he says he meant a Leap Year, so he will continue to Mendoza with us tomorrow as part of his year and then what will happen is a mystery which he will reveal to us at dinner tonight, so hold onto your seats my beloved pumpkins, I will bearing news tomorrow of Pie’s Future……….

Fleisch Over & Out