To Coltesti, Romania
Yesterday we bicycled 60 miles to Coltesti where we are spending today as a rest day. This is a photo I took shortly before I arrived at our hotel. As you can see, the area is stunning. I think today might have been the most scenic day of the trip so far.
As I departed Albac around 8:45 in the morning, the sun was just peaking over some of the mountains, lighting up parts of the landscape while others remained in the shade. The temperature was wonderful, probably in the mid 60s.
Our route followed the river down for about 53 miles before swinging away for the final 7 miles. Sometimes the road was right alongside the river, sometimes it was up on the hillside, and sometimes like here it was in the river valley.
Perhaps every 3 to 5 miles, we would cycle through a small town.
I thought this photo was interesting because of the juxtaposition of the house in the foreground with the church in the background.
The landscape throughout the day was beautiful. Since the riding was mostly downhill, this made for an easy and wonderful day of cycling.
There were times riding alongside the river that the biking reminded me of cycling in Vermont. However, in Vermont, I have never followed a river downstream for 53 miles (plus the 21 miles at the end of yesterday’s ride).
Just after lunch, we passed this wonderful railroad tunnel.
I think this little tourist train may be the only train that uses the tracks at this point. In many places the tracks looked like they were in disrepair. This train was shortly below the tunnel in the previous photo. There is a small waterfall just above the tunnel when there has been rain. Given the drought, there was only a trickle of water yesterday. My guess is that this train goes to the waterfall and back.
Romania is a deeply religious country. I have frequently passed Christian sculptures and paintings along the side of the road.
Along the Danube, crosses on rock outcroppings were common. This was the first one I have seen since arriving in Romania.
At the 53 mile mark, we crossed the river and started upwards towards Coltesti.
We passed this striking church about halfway up our climb to Coltesti.
This final picture was taken in the town of Coltesti a couple of kilometers before our hotel. Tomorrow is a very easy day cycling, just 40 miles of mostly downhill riding.