Saturday July the 31st
Total distance driven: 4.323 Km
Today’s distance: 115 Km
Walked distance: 5,4 Km

My back was truly in bad shape. The night before, I came to the conclusion that the probable cause was rising without my jacket. It was over 38C and dry but probably my back didn’t like it. That must have been it. I don’t want to stop here.

I took an Ibuprofen to see if it was going to alleviate the inflammation. My doctor Thomas is also reading this blog as he is also an adventure rider. I’m sure he is shaking his head while reading, in disapproval for my idea to ride in t-shirt 😅

The morning after the pain was still there. No improvement. At breakfast, I took a seat with the back in the warming sun and then rolled to a Pharmacy. I bought a Voltaren gel and applied it with big hope. To be able to ride, I moved the invisibility cloak to have it work as a pillow for my back.

Tulcea was less than 2h away. I had to try. I decided to ride for 15 minutes and check. I went slow and smooth. The pillow worked wonders. When I dismounted the pain was not worse than before. A couple of breaks later I arrived in Tulcea. The Voltaren was working! I was relieved 🙂

But soon the road ended…

My back was back! I was so happy. I found a nice restaurant called Ivan Pescator and went for lunch.

Tulcea is a chaotic city with lots of industries but the Danube Delta is fabulous. I looked for a camping site and found one called Camping Danubius on the other side of the river. Again, I needed a boat.

The boat leaves only once every hour and so not many people like to go to the other side. While waiting I met Daniel, who was going fishing by car on the other side. We spoke Italian as he lived and worked in Firenze for some time.

The other side of the river is wild! A lot of nature and gravel! Time to stand on the pegs 😎

And so I met Daniela and Alex, the owners if this brand new camping. We tried to speak English but it didn’t work. I asked “Italiano?” ; “Si, certo”. In Romania is easier to speak Italian than English 😉

I pitched the tent and went for a swim. White sand, very soft. The water was perfect and even a horse was enjoying the spot.

A feeling of freedom. Romania is a special place where many things are simpler than Italy or Germany and I like it a lot.