TRAVERSE 149
TRAVEL - SLOVAKIA
JEREMY TORR
I THINK I TOOK THE RIGHT ROAD
Leaving Ukraine was sad . I had ridden down the H09 , the most disgusting bit of tarmac , chatted with the buxom Katya , and been moved on by the meat police from a market in Mukachevo . But it started to rain , and I knew the Mediterranean was little more than a day ’ s ride south west . I set off .
The rain increased , becoming colder and heavier . So much so the GPS in my phone stopped working . Petrol stations had blown all their fuses in the downpour , so there was no petrol either . I swore at all things motorcycling from inside my sopping rain suit .
Katya had warned me of bad roads on the way south to Slovakia , but they actually got better as I neared the border . Unfortunately , the weather worsened . I huddled under a bridge and cursed myself .
Crossing the border at Uzhhorod , the rain had worsened even more . Irritable border guards tried to prise me out from under a sheltering roof back into the , waterlogged , customs queue . I ’ d mimed that I didn ’ t understand and stayed under the cover . Eventually the snake of cars , vans and buses crawled through the puddles and into the shiny new European Union customs zone . I ’ d followed .
The glossy new EU building was showcasing an oversupply of customs officers sitting , eating sandwiches , and drinking coffee in a snug canteen as the waiting migrants outside turned to shivering human jelly in the rain .
“ EU efficiency my arse ,” I ’ d mumbled to no one in particular .
Eventually I reached the barrier , shaking with cold , and was waved through into Slovakia .
My diary tells all , “ rain so thick it ’ s like fog . can ’ t breathe , can ’ t see . phone and map dripping wet and unreadable . lost !” Why hadn ’ t I taken the sunny Alps and Dolomites
TRAVERSE 149