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7,008 kilometres have now been walked for on my 171 road days.
Last week was a slow week, only 250 Kms covered as I had one or two off-road commitments. One day I had only two kilometres walked when I stopped at a cafe and because of the rain I didn't leave until 6.30, so I caught up on some logistics! Perhaps I should have just pulled the plug on that day instead of setting out on my walk as I did. After a couple of follow up email stops it was midnight and only 22km were behind me. I camped behind a bush as there was no point in walking until 4am for only marathon! A few weeks ago I mentioned that my Russian route was relatively flat. Well, these last three weeks it's been hilly and I felt tired. Last week I decided it would be just an easy week, just like many marathon runners often take the odd easy week during high-mileage phases in their schedules.
One day I met yet another Polish hitch-hiker who had travelled all the way from his home in Poznan to here in only two weeks, he said it was easy hitching.
I had a very nice stay in a hotel in Achinsk with dinner and breakfast kindly sponsored by Ruth Bettis.
Ruth has pressed the PayPal link to sponsor the night on my websitewww.myworldwalk.com
A couple of days later I arrived at a truck stop and as I was too lazy to put my tent up I went inside the 24hour cafe. There were no customers and the young lady had to get up off her mattress to serve me my midnight meal! When I was finished I chanced my luck and just rolled out my foam mat and sleeping bag behind my table at the back of the restaurant! No problem, I slept there until 8am! I continue showing people my google translate screen shot of my cancer awareness messages. One lady was very emotional when telling me of her friend who has been in remiss for five years.
I was not a lover of Krasnoyarsk, its a big smoggy city. On the way in the road was lined with smartly dressed men who I was later told were day labourers from Tajikistan and we're looking for work. They stood in groups of two or three until someone picked them up for a days manual work. Later I spoke with some very friendly Tajik students who were studying aerospace technology in the university and they confirmed this. Before leaving the city I stopped to pick up some spare tyres for Karma. I had asked Andrey, my contact from Kurgan for the address of a bicycle shop and as always my ever efficient friend sent me a text with three shops! I clicked on the link for Total Sports which was routed to my GPS and I was there and drinking tea with the staff in an hour, modern technology
One final stop at Burger King. I was not impressed while looking out of the window to see a group of about ten young people, perhaps aged 8-14 years of age smoking cigarettes which they passed around with an air of sophistication as though it were a joint. They also drank a cola coloured drink which I wondered about. Oh! How sad. Russians I am afraid to say smoke too much. I prefer to remember my visit by the smiling sight of a toddler who smiled so much that I went back inside and presented him with my business card! The further east I walk the more I see evidence of alcohol dependency. I did not have a good vibe in Krasnoyarsk, and even stopped to put the pin lock on my phone, just in case I was mugged!
Further on as I walked out of the city that night a man who was on the opposite side of the road and crossed over to me, so I crossed back over the road again. Eventually I came to a railroad crossing just as a train approached. The man skipped through the barrier mocking my English speaking. I waited for the train to pass and then a long line of vehicles and walked on. Eventually I passed him as he stood outside a liquor store. I walked on past a dead dog which looked like it was there for a couple of weeks as its rib cage was severed. Further on I passed what looked like a prison for it had a high blue fence and razor wire. A couple of hours later I got to a gas station and immediately I could tell the security guard didn't like me. For he was unfriendly from the start, and even refused my handshake. Needless to say I wasted my time asking if I could camp there! Ten minutes up the road three men, who were probably drunks drove over to my side of the road and when I skipped out of their way they reversed back towards me. Luckily they just shouted something and drove on. Pushing a cart is a liability for if I just had a backpack I could run into a field. After they drove on I decided it was time to stop, but where. The small forest in that area might be so obvious if they came back looking for me. Not having much alternative and all the while swearing at the unfriendly security guard back at the station I walked on for another hour and came to a crossroads of two villages. Yes that would be a good idea, I would just camp in a village. I zoomed in on my map details and instead I decided on a location in a wooded area a hundred metres down the southern by road.
Next day, Monday I had only walked two kilometres when I came to a very nice restaurant which had interesting statues at the entrance. The owner was extremely friendly and helped make me comfortable as I had more work, I worked until 3.30pm. How nice it would have been had I walked the extra bit and stayed there last night. This happens so much
So another very late day and with five hours steady walking in some more hilly terrain I had walked 24 kilometres, I was just 13 short of my 7,000th when I stopped for a delicious steak dinner, an early celebration of sorts.
Back on the road at the 10.30pm it was relatively quiet, and what seemed like light years away from that horrible city that I left behind me the day before. I enjoyed the coolness of the night and eventually reached my latest kilometre-stone! No it doesn't sound as good as milestone, does it! I walked a further two hours and camped in a forest with 45km to show for my efforts that day which started so late.
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