Trip Issues - The Middle East - Part 2

Absolutely nothing is easy when dealing with the Middle East, especially with Trump in office.  USA citizens are once again forbidden from entering Iran. My original proposed route from Greece to India, was Greece, Turkey, Iran, Pakistan and into India.  As the map depicts below, finding an alternate route to India is not that easy.





Unfortunately, five active war zones and the Himalayan mountain range pose some obstacles that are not easily overcome.  The only alternative route, the northern route through Russia and China, then into the Far East, and circling around to Delhi, assuming the visas are obtainable, is inaccessible 'till spring, and would require a very expensive government minder to tag along.  Further, Google is unable to find a route through China, so I am not sure this route is even doable.  Interestingly enough, with the exception of Saudi Arabia, the rest of the map can be done visa free, and often without a border stop.

So what to do.  At this point I am not sure.  The bail out option is to fly from eastern Turkey to Delhi, but that would be lame.  The only ground option is to wait and see if Iran and the US can work out their issues.  Seems like a long shot, but US citizens being barred from Iran, and vice-versa, has flipped and flopped many times in the past few years.  Then, there maybe an option I have not thought of yet.  I have enlisted the assistance of a friend who has made it around the world, and through this part of the world.  If he can not figure it out, I am pretty sure it can not be done,

More to come....

Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovinia

Sarajevo, a wonderful little city nestled in the Alps, was home of the 1984 Winter Olympics, the assassination of Franz Ferdinand (the spark that ignited World War I, and longest siege of a capital city (Bosnian War for Independence 1992-96) in modern warfare.   After the recent hell this City has been through, it seems to have recovered nicely.  Other than the numerous cemeteries and war monuments, there is little evidence that a war ever existed.  The center of the City is alive and bustling, and buses drop off tourists by the hundreds.  The City has a charm that I have rarely encountered before.

The one oddity that I have noticed during my stay here, is the height of the people.  At 6'6" (1.98m), I am no shrinking violet, and its rare that I encounter people my height and even rarer that I encounter people taller.  During just a one hour stroll around City Center, I ran into at least two dozen people people that were my height, and another dozen taller than I.  What made things even odder, of the people my height, a good number of them were female.  I must admit, for the first time in probably my life, I felt normal, well with regards to height anyway.

As I leave the City, I get pulled over by the Police.  I  made an illegal pass, and it appears that I have been caught.  The police ask for my documents, read them through, and ask me to sit in the car next to them.  They explain that I owe a $250 fine, payable immediately, in cash, to them.  Now, one must remember that the average Bosnian salary is about $600/month, so it is immediately clear that corruption is afoot.  I refuse, take my documents out of his hands, wish him a good day and walk away.  Somewhat stunned, he gives me instructions in Bosnian.  Not understanding, I inform him that we can go to the court house together, we can get a translator, and I will pay there,  He looks even more stunned, he knows he has been caught, I walk away, and he scurries off.  Corruption is alive and well in Bosnia & Herzegovina.

The 1984 Bobsled Run.  Yes it looks abandoned, but apparently it is still in use during summer months by luges and cyclists.

Latin Bridge - Site of the Assignation of Archduke Franz Ferdinand

Stage Distance: 583 mi (939 km)
Total Distance Traveled: 20,559 mi (33,032 km) 
Countries/Territories Visited: USA, Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Argentina, Uruguay, Canada, Portugal, Spain, Morocco, Gibraltar, France, Monaco, Italy, Vatican City, San Marino, Slovenia, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Czech Republic, Poland, Ukraine, Transnistria, Moldova, Romania, Bulgaria, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina

Bulgaria, Serbia and into Bosnia & Herzegovina

Rolled through former Yugoslavia.  It took three days to make the run from Bucharest to Sarajevo.  I spent one night in the capital City of Sofia, and another in the a small town in Serbia. Bulgaria and two-thirds of Serbia, although plush and green, are not that interesting, and if I were flying a plane, as opposed to Greta, I would have flown over them.   The western third of Serbia marks the start of the Zlatabor mountain range which transitions into the Bjelašnica in Bosnia, and the beginning of fun.  This run, the M5, caught me by surprise, it is one of the best I have had the pleasure to experience, and definitely the best I have rode in Eastern or Western Europe.

Greta posing in front of the Rzav River

Bosnia

Greta Made a Friend

Along the route, I came across a Canadian solo rider, first one I have run into from North America.  Nice guy.  We had lunch, discussed routes, and went our ways. 


Stage Distance: 583 mi (939 km)
Total Distance Traveled: 20,559 mi (33,032 km) 
Countries/Territories Visited: USA, Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Argentina, Uruguay, Canada, Portugal, Spain, Morocco, Gibraltar, France, Monaco, Italy, Vatican City, San Marino, Slovenia, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Czech Republic, Poland, Ukraine, Transnistria, Moldova, Romania, Bulgaria, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina

Bucharest, Romania

Rolled into Bucharest early afternoon, and was struck with how beautiful the City is and how far it has come since the ouster (from office and the planet) of Ceausescu in 1989.  Sine then, Romania has ended communism, joined the European Union, and are scheduled to be included into the Schengen Accord. Much of the City is parkland, and due to the end of communism, cars are very prevalent, and the roads are choked by traffic.

Palace of the Parliament

The People Palace (now the Palace of the Parliament), was designed to be used as Ceausescu's Bucharest residence, and was a microcosm of Ceausescu's regime and his dictatorial eccentricities.  The idea to build the facility came after Ceausescu's visit to Pyongyang, North Korea.  He was impressed with how Kim Jung Il was successful in establishing his "cult of personality," partially through construction of grandiose buildings to make him appear godlike. As a result of that visit, Ceausescu built the Palace.  The building ended up becoming the second largest building in the world, the heaviest building in the world, and the most expensive administration building in the world ($3.6B).  The building currently houses the Romanian Parliament, a number of museums, and is barely 30 percent occupied. The Palace and surrounding infrastructure required the displacement of 40,000 people, caused the death of an estimated 3,000 workers, all during a time in Romania history when there was rampant starvation and heaters were not allowed to be set higher than 55F due to a lack of power and money.  The building became the beginning of the end for the dictator and is still not complete to this day.  In addition to this palace, Ceausescu had 80 other palaces and homes, all tucked into a country that is smaller than Colorado.

All in all, Bucharest is beautiful city, people are somewhat friendly, a nice place to visit if passing through, but hardly a destination city.

Stage Distance: 365 mi (589 km)
Total Distance Traveled: 19,976 mi (32,093 km) 
Countries/Territories Visited: USA, Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Argentina, Uruguay, Canada, Portugal, Spain, Morocco, Gibraltar, France, Monaco, Italy, Vatican City, San Marino, Slovenia, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Czech Republic, Poland, Ukraine, Transnistria, Moldova, Romania

Transfăgărășan aka Ceaușescu's Folly aka "The Best Road in the World"

The Transfăgărășan was built in the early 1970s as a strategic military route to connect the historic regions of Transylvania and Wallachia.  The road was ordered built by "one of the most hated men of the the world,"  Nicolae Ceaușescu, thus the moniker, Ceaușescu's Folly.  Thirty-five years after its completion, the Top Gear team came here, and dubbed it "the best road in the world,"  so of course Greta and I had to run the Transfăgărășan.  

Transfăgărășan above the Timblerline

The Transfăgărășan, although in need of re-paving, was a good time and Greta took her like a champ.  I ran the road twice, once in either direction.  The first run started at about 3:00pm and required the passing of many vehicles, a bit too many to call the run exciting.  The second run started at about 6:00pm, and required only about a dozen vehicle passes on the steep sections, and another dozen on the lower sections, hardly noticeable on a motorcycle, and as such, allot more fun.  I teamed up with two other bikes, and we ran it very fast, pushing limits the whole way. The return trip (north to south) took about half the time.  

As much fun as the run was, I can not make the same conclusions as Top Gear's assessment, "the best road in the world (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OLAtcrB0GZg)."  The PCH, The Tail of the Dragon, and Pikes Peak in the US and a dozen or so other roads throughout South America are as good or better, with more twists and turns, better pavement, better scenery and thus more exhilarating to run. That being said, it's worth running if you are in the area, especially later in the day.  

As an interesting side note, I rode past the castle of Vlad the Impaler (Vlad Dracul), the inspiration for Dracula.  

Stage Distance: 365 mi (589 km)
Total Distance Traveled: 19,976 mi (32,093 km) 

Countries/Territories Visited: USA, Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Argentina, Uruguay, Canada, Portugal, Spain, Morocco, Gibraltar, France, Monaco, Italy, Vatican City, San Marino, Slovenia, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Czech Republic, Poland, Ukraine, Transnistria, Moldova, Romania

Romania

Easy entrance into Romania.  Total time at both Moldova and Romania borders was about 5 minutes.  First time I have ever been questioned at the border. Cigarettes?  No.  Alcohol? No.  Really from Florida?  Yea.  Did you hear about Irma?  Yes, House OK?  Yes, thank you for asking.  Have a nice day.  Easy transition.  Now that I think about it, I have had zero issues with corruption at any of my border crossings in both Africa and Europe, by this time in South America I had been shaken down a number of times and even spent time in jail after refusing to pay off the Chief of Police.  Things on this leg have gone quite well.

Once in Romania, it was a pleasure to find nice roads again.  They are two lane, well built, windy roads running through small towns and countryside.  My type of road.  

Welcome to Romania

Leg 2

Stage Distance: 284 mi (457km)
Total Distance Traveled: 19,611mi (31,504km) 
Countries/Territories Visited: USA, Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Argentina, Uruguay, Canada, Portugal, Spain, Morocco, Gibraltar, France, Monaco, Italy, Vatican City, San Marino, Slovenia, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Czech Republic, Poland, Ukraine, Transnistria, Moldova, Romania

Chisinau. Moldova

I have entered into another former Soviet State, the country of Moldova. Faces, landscapes, and economy has changed significantly since my departure from Ukraine.  Unfortunately, Moldova did not fare so well after the breakup of the USSR, it is the poorest and most BORING country in all of Europe.

Moldova is the ripest country I have seen with regards to German automobiles (BMW, Mercedes, Audi, and Porsche), they are everywhere you look, especially here in the capital city, and often found parked in police and other government parking lots.  I walked past a police station and three out of four cars fell into this category.  Seems somewhat odd since the minimum wage here in Moldova for government workers is $235 (USD) a month.  As one might deduce, the corruption in Moldova runs deep (police, prosecutors, judges, construction permit agencies, and customs officials, amongst others), but apparently it has been decreasing over the past few years, so maybe there is hope for these rather nice people.  Until the corruption is curtailed, no one will invest in this country, and the "haves" will will make sure they never become a "have nots."

The nice parts of this country are the people and the exchange rates, which are the best I have seen in all of Europe.  The exchange rates are so good that I am not sure how they make money.  The buy/sell splits are just pennies apart, and in some cases, less than a penny.

Greta in front of the Arc de Boring

Stage Distance: 43mi (70km)
Total Distance Traveled: 19,327mi (31,047km) 
Countries/Territories Visited: USA, Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Argentina, Uruguay, Canada, Portugal, Spain, Morocco, Gibraltar, France, Monaco, Italy, Vatican City, San Marino, Slovenia, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Czech Republic, Poland, Ukraine, Transnistria, Moldova

The Barely Recognized Country of Transnistria

Entered and exited the "country" of Transnistria.  The country is a landlocked, self-proclaimed, state situated between Ukraine and the River Dniester, recognized by three nations (Abkhazia, Nagorno-Karabakh and South Ossetia), all of which are also recognized by no one but themselves, and Ken, the guy writing this blog.  I had read about this country before arriving, they have their own passports, licence plates, president/dictator, flag (though it does have a hammer and cycle on it, only flag left with one), money, all of which is why they have my support.  They almost lost it though, as I found out today, they also have border control check points for both entrance and exit, and since the country is only a couple of kilometers wide, it is a ridiculous pain in the ass.  The paperwork to bring Greta in cost approximately 240 Ukrainian Hryvnia ($9) and 45 minutes to process. So close to loosing my support Transnistria, soooo close.


Stage Distance: 63mi (104km)
Total Distance Traveled: 19,284mi (30,977km) Countries/Territories Visited: USA, Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Argentina, Uruguay, Canada, Portugal, Spain, Morocco, Gibraltar, France, Monaco, Italy, Vatican City, San Marino. Slovenia, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Czech Republic, Poland, Ukraine, Transnistria

Odessa, Ukraine

Arrived into the City of Odessa.  It is a wonderful little City.  Has all the conveniences of the western world ... at one-third the price.  In my opinion, this is the most livable City that I have encountered on my trip.  Clean, walk-able, and nuzzled up against the Black Sea.  Has about everything to offer.  Most importantly, the people looked genuinely happy.  The only bizarre thing I encountered was that I was stared at pretty much wherever I went.  Not a quick glance, but a turn their head and track me where I went kind of stare.  Men or woman, didn't matter. I asked a local as to why they thought this was, and the answer was, "do they stare more when I have my sunglasses on or off"  Not knowing, I did a little test and took on and off my sunglasses periodically, and I'll be damned, they did only stare with the sunglasses off. The answer as to why, because I do not have the Ukrainian facial structure around my eyes, and when people noticed, they were staring to see if they could figure out as to why I was in their City. After this realization, I looked around, and yes, everyone looked alike.  No Asians, Africans, and thanks to Hitler, no Jews.  I think the staring was more out of curiosity than concern.



Stage Distance: 264mi (425km)
Total Distance Traveled: 19.231mi (30,873km)

Countries/Territories Visited: USA, Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Argentina, Uruguay, Canada, Portugal, Spain, Morocco, Gibraltar, France, Monaco, Italy, Vatican City, San Marino. Slovenia, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Czech Republic, Poland, Ukraine

Ukraine- Lviv and Vinnytisa

I have entered into the former Soviet Union.  Almost thought I wasn't going to make it.  The border crossing took over 7.5 hours.  Longest border crossing of my life (previous one was the Saudi-Qatar border that took 4 hrs).  Not sure why they were so inefficient, only 100 cars or so, with a new car arriving approximately every 5-10 minutes. The problem seemed to be on the Ukraine side.  Poland guards were as bored as we were waiting on them.  I watched the three episodes of Breaking Bad that I had downloaded onto my phone from Netflix, then waited another 5 hours.  C'est La Vi.

Entering into the country, one thing becomes very apparent, the roads SUCK!  I bumped, bounced and surfed my way through L'viv and into Vinnytisa.  In straight up honesty, with the one exception being Afghanistan, the roads here are the worst I have ever come across.  Pot holes, rutted-out tire tracks, wash boarding, spalling, complete sub grade failure, and entire sections of road missing.  It was a challenging and exciting portion of the trip.  Greta handled them with no issues though, she is quite the gal.

Are there nice parts Ukraine? absolutely, actually everything that is not a road, is beautiful.  One thing of note, this is the richest farmland I have ever seen. And there is tons of it.  Farmland, farmland and more farmland.  The soil is the color of dark chocolate. It almost looks fake, or what Microsoft would put on their entrance screen after they had used Photoshop.  Corn and sunflowers seem to be the predominate crops...from what I could see anyway.  I ran into a local rider at the gas station and he told me that during WWII, the Nazis hauled dirt from Ukraine all the way to Germany.  Not sure if the story is true, but ...Further, during the times of the USSR, due to its farming importance, Ukraine was referred to as the Soviet Bread Basket.  It really is a spectacular country.

Somewhere in the middle of Ukraine, if I could read Russian, I could probably figure it out.

Lviv Market Square

Static display outside a former Soviet fighter wing HQ, which is now a theater.

Leg 2 .....so Far

Stage Distance: 434mi (699km)
Total Distance Traveled: 18,967mi (30,448km)

Countries/Territories Visited: USA, Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Argentina, Uruguay, Canada, Portugal, Spain, Morocco, Gibraltar, France, Monaco, Italy, Vatican City, San Marino. Slovenia, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Czech Republic, Poland, Ukraine

Krakow, Poland

My first time visiting Poland and I must admit I had no idea what to expect.  My recollections from world history is that they were a much conquered, resilient nation, and were locked behind the iron curtain for my formative years. I was pleasantly surprised when rolling in. In all accounts, a first world country. Krakow is a very advanced, very attractive City with the worlds major business establishing a foothold. Krakow is growing so fast, that they experience just 3 percent unemployment. The old section of the City is very attractive and a buzz of activity.  

The most somber moment of the trip so far has happened during this visit.  I visited Auschwitz, and the tour was excellent but disturbing.  They have made a concerted effort to keep the buildings intact and have made exhibits of prisoner belongings like shoes, brushes, and hair that was shorn off before extermination.  Not sure if it was the guide I had, or all guides, but it seems as though much of the tour was geared toward making sure that those who deny the Holocaust, gain no traction.  

Auschwitz Entry Gate

Auschwitz

Krakow Castle, apparently they had a tough time deciding an architectural style

Vistula River

Stage Distance: 299mi (339km)
Total Distance Traveled: 18,533mi (29,749km)

Countries/Territories Visited: USA, Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Argentina, Uruguay, Canada, Portugal, Spain, Morocco, Gibraltar, France, Monaco, Italy, Vatican City, San Marino. Slovenia, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Czech Republic, Poland