June 13th 2013 Dobreta Turnu Severin (Tismana) to Cetate

Thursday, June 13^th 2013.

Dobreta Turnu Severin (Tismana) to Cetate 85 kms

Stage 53

 
Back at exactly the place (just above the village of Tismana some thirty kilometers from Severin) where we finished cycling last September the day’s riding started with a climb over to Burila Mare. The views from the open summit over the Danube and across to the hills in Bulgaria on the other side were splendid and I was soon in fine form. There is so much of interest. I was myself the object of interest, lots and lots of people spurring me on with encouraging shouts and waves, children stepping into the road to give me high fives, old folks sitting in the shade outside their houses cheerfully waving. It was tremendous and a great boost to the spirits. Traffic was very light as the road wound its way attractively through simple quiet village after simple quiet village, although some villages were not so quiet, some folk appearing to have a penchant for playing local music extremely loudly from amplifiers at the front gate; Maybe not surprisingly the horse and carts were a great attraction. I would come up behind them frequently and spend a moment or two smiling a greeting at the children in the back and then, overtaking, wave cheerfully to the mother and father perched on the seat at the front.
  Farmers ploughing with horses, working wells in every village, storks nests perched precariously on the tops of electricity poles and many of the houses, though often in need of maintenance nonetheless had beautifully tended gardens and were brightly painted.  We retreated after 85 kms in the face of a black storm in the village of Cetate, returning by the main road to Severin.

85 kms. from Tismana - 4,150kms. from Galway