May 14th, 2016

UPDATED TEXT:
Total distance walked in 67 road days on my around the world walk is 2,347 kilometres. Current location: Velikiye Luki, Russia. I am taking a rest day today, Sunday :)
Thanks to the anonymous reader who sponsored the hotel I am staying in tonight :) Anyone else that wants to sponsor a night, day etc on the road please press on the PayPal link on my website: www.myworldwalk.com
I wasted a huge amount of time with the Russian immigration which began with a long wait. There was also a lot of checking of my passport and phone calls were made after the hatch window was slammed in my face by a burly stone-faced woman at the kiosk. Then an English speaking officer came out to ask me some questions. I was brought into the interrogation office. After a while, it changed into a fun affair after I showed my Magic Letter of introduction from The Lord Mayor of Dublin! " Do you ride that cart like a bicycle?" I was asked in the office. So I got up off the chair with castors I was sitting on and pushed it across the room!
" No! I walk like this with it! " I replied. Laughs all around. I had shown the officers the photo of my Magic Letter from my Iphone photos. They took the opportunity to check my photos of the walk; so clearly they could see I was genuine. I was assured that Russia is a dangerous country to be camping in, I told them that I would only camp when I had to that I will only camp when I have to.
"What will you do if a bear comes along?" One of them asked. So I took the whistle I had around my neck and said..."I will blow my whistle!" There were more laughs all around. One officer gave me a huge apple as we walked out to Karma who was searched. The officer couldn't understand why I have both a winter and summer sleeping bag. "Well, I am using the summer one now and until recently I was using the winter one. In Mongolia, I will use both"
Still he enquired. "But it's summer now!"
Then feeling like a sleeping bag smuggler I was allowed to cross from Latvia to Russia. I am in on a six-month visa and six thousand kilometres to Khyagat :)
I finally got off and into my stride at 4pm. By nightfall, I recovered and had a reasonable 31km to show for my efforts. That first night in Russia, I camped at a Lukoil petrol station in Sebezh where the nice people let me charge up my equipment overnight while I slept. Then the next day two Italians on their way to Mongolia for two months in their Land Rover stopped me. They saw my Irish flag and as I mentioned in the last post, so many people confuse the Italian and Irish flags. Here is the proof, even Italians! And the orange on my flag is as orange as any orange I have ever eaten, but perhaps you will disagree from the photo. It's so frustrating, sometimes I wonder why I bother. The lads said they really wanted to go to China but it is so difficult as a Chinese guide and Chinese number plates are required. They mentioned some serious money too; 3,500 Euro just to go 500 km inside China. This screws up many around-the-world motorcyclists too, thank God I am on foot!
That night I stopped in Bakonovo with just 40km walked. I could have gone for another hour but I have decided that as much as possible to stay in safe places in Russia. Even the Italians say they only camp when they have to due to bears and wolves. I have been told by several people that the Russian bears are brown and not aggressive. They are mostly shy and move away, the problem is when sleeping! My friend Rosie Swale Pope who ran across Russia didn't have any real problems. However, she startled me one day when she texted that they are out there and that they are probably watching me! That evening I sat on the crash barrier at the side of the road for a short break and jumped up when I heard a rattling sound on the metal. It was just a noise from heat expansion at the end of that hot day!
I stayed in a kind of truck stop inn, which doubled as a hotel, I think it was one of the families rooms - still not bad for about eight euro - the kind of place I got regularly in places like Bolivia and Peru on my world run for a couple of dollars. Here they charge about the same for the bed as the dinner and breakfast combined.
Very few Russians speak English and it's a bit frustrating at times. It added greatly to my Latin American experience that I could speak Spanish, but here I am not motivated. Instead, in this inn I just went in and asked for the bed, doing my usual head lying on my joined hands charade. Of course, I always throw in a big snooze for good measure, " ZZZ! "
When I am hungry and up for a bit of fun as I was there I asked for some " Yum! Yum! "She nodded her head and naturally I didn't understand what she said after that. So I asked...
" Have you got any Baa- Baa, or Moo-Moo! Or Oink-Oink? "
She flapped her wing, so it was chicken and pasta for dinner! Laugh if you like that is a guaranteed method, and I can boast a 100% success rate; who needs interpreters when you have a bit of imagination!
My days continued to be hot and I made my usual late start, as always making up for it in the afternoon. After driving over to my side of the road a strange man stopped his car and opened his hatchback. Inside it was full of military memorabilia. He told me he was a customs officer which I doubted and did a runner when he asked me to drink tea. My instincts are still sharp. I had no problems stopping for tea when I was in Turkey or Iran on my world run.
That day Friday 13th, I came to a petrol station at km 37, it was really not far enough so I walked on for another 13 instead of stopping to camp. I didn't even taking a break. The roads are in good condition, but I have been assured further east they are pretty bad. But my idea of a bad road might be different to someone driving their Porsche on a bumpy road! So long as I can keep moving I am happy. I have also been warned about drunk drivers, so I watch every vehicle carefully as it approaches me. In one restaurant I decided to risk humiliation by asking if they served alcohol-free beer! Her reply was... " Ah no! The drivers don't like that stuff at all!"
Here there is also a two to three-metre gravel shoulder in which to walk on. Karma was moving along nice and sweetly to my gentle pushes. Life is good at the moment, I am enjoying this very much. I was well lit up and had my reflector vest on and eventually came to a restaurant in the village of Zazhogino which was closed. So I just pulled my tarp out under a shelter and settled down to sleep in my sleeping bag.
Next night I had a room booked in Velikiye Luki, a small city of almost 100,000 people. I made good and steady progress all day and arrived before dark. When I stopped at a restaurant for lunch I was handed an English menu. So I ordered noodle soup, a pork chop and fried potatoes. The fun began because she couldn't understand what I had ordered and the Russian menus were designed differently with what I was reading on my English menu. Everything was in a different location on hers! So, neither of us could figure it out. I got a bit frustrated and couldn't be bothered doing my animal farm act, so I went over to a table and pointed at what someone else was eating. He was eating out of a takeaway carton, so she gave me one to take away! I asked where I could wash my hands, and then a packet of hand wipes was added to my bill. Then I couldn't find the toilet, so I ended up using my own hand cleaner to wash my hands!
On I rambled and finished with 40km. I had booked a nice economy hotel on a bookings website. As Google Map's walking route was two km shorter than their more roundabout recommended drivers route I left highway E22/ M9 six km from my finish. After walking about ten minutes down a narrow road it soon deteriorated into a rough looking trail with dozens of run-down houses with people standing around giving me curious glances. I was a bit worried that I had drifted into a dodgy neighbourhood and then became more worried when the fields I was following a trail through turned into a huge dump! What kind o a place have I booked myself into as it's just two kilometres away. I followed my GPS directions on my iPhones fading battery! I moved as fast as I could and eventually made it out onto a secondary road to a nice hotel in a resort and well away from the dump. I guess I just came in from the non-touristy route. On Monday, I will take the long way out! I am currently 456 kilometres from Moscow.

 
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