Dookoła Polski 19 dzień (Zakrzewiec- Marcinowo(?) )

Day 19 Friday 22.07.2011

Distance 184.5 km Time 9:59 hrs! Average speed 18.5 km/h Max speed 42.9 km/h

Like some of my previous reports, this one is also written the next day. A great day for cycling. Excellent weather, light car traffic. That's why I spent as much as 10 hours in the saddle. At night, and as in the evening, it rained heavily. I get up early, pack up the wet tent and hit the road. I didn't even thank for the overnight stay, as the hosts were not yet outside. Heading towards Górowo Iławieckie (short stop), then Bartoszyce. Before Węgorzewo, a swimming and lunch break by Lake Mamry. There I made acquaintance with Piotruś (a preschooler) from Czeladź, who was spending vacation there with his parents. A very friendly young lad. I offered him a "grzesiek" (a local sweet), he offered me a nectarine. Piotruś was very interested in my camping stove, panniers and bike. From talking with the boy's father, I found out I was very lucky not to have arrived there a day earlier. A storm had been very violent there, breaking trees. Then I set off towards Gołdap. In Banie Mazurskie I asked about accommodation. A shop seller suggested the hydroelectric plant in Grunajki (?). Unfortunately, the place was not special, private land, mosquitoes, horseflies, overgrown meadows. I went on, dusk was falling and the sky was clouding over. Since there was nowhere suitable to pitch the tent, desperate, I repeated the previous day's maneuver. No one was home at the first house, at the second, without hesitation, Zdzisiek (a lumberjack from the nearby forestry office who lives there with his mother) agreed to take in the 'weary traveler'. Very pleasant evening talks over a beer. Only I don't remember exactly where it was because I didn't write it down and my memory isn't what it used to be.