We were slogging along a rough and muddy section of the trail: pot-holed and rocky with branches down. A poor surface for navigating a loaded bike...and as well, the weather was muggy, dark and wet from heavy rain the night before - mosquitoes were making us miserable and then, we came upon this magical farm...the struggles were immediately forgotten. As we stood there, many of the animals came from afar and visited with us. Goats, sheep, peacocks, guinea fowl, chickens - you name it.
This one's long ears, wry smile and knowing look won us over.
Not our best experience - this campground offers a place to sleep and not very good amenities. We opted not to use the showers - enough said. There aren't many campgrounds along this section, so it provides a needed place for campers.
Eve and her son were a chance meeting while waiting to use the ATM. Her son is excited because it is his 8th birthday this weekend and there is only one more day before summer holidays begin. I was very impressed with her ability to converse with me in English.
We have discovered that butchers in Czech Republic offer the best open faced sandwiches, artfully presented with fresh ingredients....and only for 12 kronur (about 70 cents).
Mary Ellen is eating her favourite: boiled egg, pickle, camembert salami, ham and a special sauce - so good. The other one is smoked cheese, tomato, cucumber, creme fraiche and parsley.
We had heard the predictions that a thunder storm was coming today, but the skies seemed to be clear. We had just dried out our tent from the torrential rain of the night before and were hopeful that we could ride beyond the storm. After a brief ride, we stopped in Rokcany to eat our lunch on a bench when we felt a sudden chill and suddenly the sky was black. We ran for shelter and the storm began in earnest. Heavy rain, thunder and lightning and blustery wind made it suddenly not rideable. We stood and watched the storm wreak havoc. We took shelter with locals under an overhang for about an hour. When we looked at the map and saw that there weren't campgrounds or accomodation for about 45 km. we decided to start looking for a place to stay. We certainly weren't going back to the campground from last night. Barry put on his rain gear and started walking - most places were full but he finally found us a place at Hotel Corso which was ironically just around the corner. And as we found out the next day, we were indeed lucky, as a local told us that this was the best place to stay in their town. We had a large, comfortable room and a garage for our bike; plus breakfast in the dining room and plugs to charge our electronics. A rare treat of spending a day relaxing in a hotel - not a bad thing.
