Today I looked forward to a night indoors at the "Guesthouse for Adventurers" in Negotin.
First a visit to the ruins of a Roman palace a short way after where I pitched my tent last night. The ruins, the remains of a few walls, towers and buildings, were spread over a wide area. With no signs telling me what I was looking at, I did not stay long. Once a very important place the ruins are now in a remote spot reached by a long gravel road. In the village of Šarkamen 5 kilometres later, a passing man made sure I had seen this important "vrelo".
After Šarkamen the road changed from gravel to tarmac but with more patched up potholes than original tarmacadam. It joined a more major road in good condition from which I turned off to follow a parallel, if ocassionally muddy route across large fields and occasional woods. After some early rain the sun was now warming the day. The skylarks were belting it out overhead and I also heard a cuckoo. May blossom bloomed on branches of hawthorn.
At the village of Jasenica there was a shop and, as is common in Serbia, some benches and tables outside with some men talking with bottles of beer before them. I joined them for a coke and a "7 day" cocoa filled croissant and tried to answer their questions (in Serbian). I generally assume they are asking what on earth am I doing walking through their village with a huge pack on my back, and recite a phrase I learnt saying I am English, I am hiking and detail the places I have come from and going to (generally misprouncing them).
The E4 route does not go directly to the next town of Negotin but circles around it going via a village called Vidrovac. The path from the main road to Vidrovac was clearly an old ridge path but had become overgrown in the parts not used by farmers and their tractors. There were some views from the path looking over the plain around the Danube with several towns and villages visible.
I left Vidrovac via an informal rubbish tip soon joining a road into the next village of Miloshevo. Then I headed directly to Negotin and it's long suburbs, keen to arrive at the guesthouse, a blister on my right heal hurting and causing my gait to give my hip some pain. Finally there I was, made most welcome with a very refreshing beer, and a chance to shower and wash my clothes, which were starting to get smelly! The "Guesthouse for Adventurers" is also known as "Guesthouse for Cyclists" (Negotin is in the Eurovelo 6 route) and Prenoćište Stanisavljević, and the owner Bojan, is a very helpful person.
Later I was guided to a restaurant with a quartet on guitar, two accordions and a double bass (which he seemed to be playing with a pair of spoons). Always self conscious I was pleased they focused on the other diners. They were sharply dressed young men and women mainly in black with some white touches, one women in red. The musicians and waiter wore faded jeans. As I walked around Saturday night Negotin, many more similarly dressed people were strolling around enjoying each others company.
34.6 kilometres walked today. A gpx file of my route can be downloaded from wikiloc.com or wandermap.net. The route can also be downloaded from my.viewranger.com as johnpon0029.
First a visit to the ruins of a Roman palace a short way after where I pitched my tent last night. The ruins, the remains of a few walls, towers and buildings, were spread over a wide area. With no signs telling me what I was looking at, I did not stay long. Once a very important place the ruins are now in a remote spot reached by a long gravel road. In the village of Šarkamen 5 kilometres later, a passing man made sure I had seen this important "vrelo".
After Šarkamen the road changed from gravel to tarmac but with more patched up potholes than original tarmacadam. It joined a more major road in good condition from which I turned off to follow a parallel, if ocassionally muddy route across large fields and occasional woods. After some early rain the sun was now warming the day. The skylarks were belting it out overhead and I also heard a cuckoo. May blossom bloomed on branches of hawthorn.
At the village of Jasenica there was a shop and, as is common in Serbia, some benches and tables outside with some men talking with bottles of beer before them. I joined them for a coke and a "7 day" cocoa filled croissant and tried to answer their questions (in Serbian). I generally assume they are asking what on earth am I doing walking through their village with a huge pack on my back, and recite a phrase I learnt saying I am English, I am hiking and detail the places I have come from and going to (generally misprouncing them).
The E4 route does not go directly to the next town of Negotin but circles around it going via a village called Vidrovac. The path from the main road to Vidrovac was clearly an old ridge path but had become overgrown in the parts not used by farmers and their tractors. There were some views from the path looking over the plain around the Danube with several towns and villages visible.
I left Vidrovac via an informal rubbish tip soon joining a road into the next village of Miloshevo. Then I headed directly to Negotin and it's long suburbs, keen to arrive at the guesthouse, a blister on my right heal hurting and causing my gait to give my hip some pain. Finally there I was, made most welcome with a very refreshing beer, and a chance to shower and wash my clothes, which were starting to get smelly! The "Guesthouse for Adventurers" is also known as "Guesthouse for Cyclists" (Negotin is in the Eurovelo 6 route) and Prenoćište Stanisavljević, and the owner Bojan, is a very helpful person.
Later I was guided to a restaurant with a quartet on guitar, two accordions and a double bass (which he seemed to be playing with a pair of spoons). Always self conscious I was pleased they focused on the other diners. They were sharply dressed young men and women mainly in black with some white touches, one women in red. The musicians and waiter wore faded jeans. As I walked around Saturday night Negotin, many more similarly dressed people were strolling around enjoying each others company.
34.6 kilometres walked today. A gpx file of my route can be downloaded from wikiloc.com or wandermap.net. The route can also be downloaded from my.viewranger.com as johnpon0029.
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| Vrelo Sarkamen - ruins of a Roman Palace |
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| Blossom |
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| Enjoying a welcome beer at the Guesthouse for Adventurers |
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