Finally get to meet our CS host after she was waylaid on her return hitchhike from Wroclaw. Svetlana cooks us dinner for breakfast, naturally with a cheesecake for dessert. Hit the shops about Slubice for essentials eg a map of Poland.
Route 29-32 is a main road but newly built and the we discover the Polish drivers have been much maligned by the reports we had previously heard in Berlin. They are courteous to us lone cyclists and not much traffic on these newly built roads.
 |
| One of the many well-travelled maps |
Reach ZG in the evening at sunset where we meet Jacek. Don't think I could possibly meet a more inspirational man ever again. He is quiet and unassuming but has lead an amazing life, which has geared up in the past 4 years. What is worthy of note is that he is now 66. After a banquet, deserving if nobility, he gathers his 30 or so well travelled maps around the table and starts to make our eyes stare in wonder. Some stats: started his long bike trekking rides only after his retirement from being an electrician at the age of 62; 15,000km through Europe and Morocco over 8 months, travelling alone with a tent and minimal equipment. When questioned about his lack of camera and published stories, wise words emanate forth "you learn as you grow older that you do it for yourself" and besides a lot of his friends are "under the earth". His wife, Mila, shows us photos of their son and grandson, canoe, fiat and wedding photos from 40 years ago. Then the treasure chest opens, his travel diaries. The entries are in Polish, brief and astounding. Page after page of notes on distance covered and places visited. We learn he is a new to CouchSurfing after meeting some CSers in Morocco and has never actually been a guest. We are his first surfers. The world needs to know more about this guy.
Obviously this guy flies a glider, motorised hang-glider and has built his own canoe in 7 weeks. But all this information is particularly understated and he highlights the fact that people are generally good. He emphasises that there are "landscapes" that interest him, from gay parade in Paris, smoking hashish in Morocco, to the tranquility of camping alone in the mountains. G
No comments:
Post a Comment