On unfounded fears and unexpected pleasures (Kaunas)

 Just arrived in Kaunas, happy to get off the bike and escape the impending rain.

With two and a half days of cycling in Lithuania now behind me, I can safely say my fears about entering the unknown were unfounded. First of all, it turned out that the road I followed was the very same one I had been on many times on my bus rides to Vilnius, and thus, for most of the way, I was travelling through quite familiar scenery. In some funny way, this already made me feel much better about this part of the trip.

 Daiva and Kees, the hosts of the lovely campsite in Pajiesmeniai.

True, the Via Baltica is certainly a very busy road, with hundreds of trucks passing me every day, and with a lot of cars hurtling by at breakneck speed. Still, the shoulder that had seemed so narrow seen from the bus was actually pretty wide most of the way, and the state of the road was mostly good or even excellent, meaning that passing traffic could easily leave a lot of space between us. And for the overwhelming majority of cases, they really did pass far enough not to disrupt my balance. Only a few times did I have to resort to my old trick for getting some extra space : You keep an eye on the rearview mirror, and if it seems the approaching truck is not moving out of its lane, you force it to do so by deliberately cycling on the left side of the white line. This will invariably result in the driver swerving at least a little to the left (probably, he is cursing you too, but who cares?), and once he has done this, you move the bike back onto the right side of the white line. The result: you have at least 1,5 m between you and the overtaking traffic. (This trick, though efficient, is not for the fainthearted!)

The wind continued in my favour until yesterday, when it had turned along with the approaching clouds and was now from the front. Until now, the going had been almost ridiculously easy, but with the bags making the bike quite wide, the headwind quickly showed me that I am not half as fit as I thought I was. Still, completing the designated 100 km a day was doable, I just needed more stops and snack breaks to keep myself motivated.

My camp in Daiva and Kees's garden on my first night in Lithuania.

The one thing that has truly taken me by surprise is how much I like Lithuania. Although I have visited the country (or rather, its capital Vilnius) several times, until now I had very little to say about it outside of its tango. To be totally honest, I had even felt that Vilnius, despite its beautiful old town was somehow a bit distant. Now, however, having spent the past days cycling through its countryside, I have a totally different feel for the country and its people. And I really like it a lot: the kindness of people's smiles, the openness in their gaze, the small houses with their gardens in full bloom, the yards each with one or two cows, ducks and little dogs... The scenery with its ever-so-slightly undulating hills, rows of trees planted at roadsides... the villages with their little shops selling such necessities as flip-flops in colours you would never have even dreamed of. It really is a pity that most travellers seem to buzz through the country in a couple of hours, hurrying to further destinations.

On top of all that come the encounters with the people: until now, I always felt it was a bit difficult to communicate with them as they seemed to avoid me and shun any conversation. In the past couple of days, however, this perception has changed totally. I have met several people willing to discuss their life without reservations, telling me touching stories about their lives, sharing their dreams and ambitions. In addition, I have stayed in an enormous boarding school as the only lodger, drunk fresh goat milk and discussed sustainable tourism with almost the same enthusiasm I used to have a few years back... In short, I feel I am truly travelling now.

Having cold beetroot soup, the national dish, with Milda. Delicious!

Am now in Kaunas, spending the night at Milda's (another tango friend) place. Tonight, we went dancing in the local milonga, and although Milda had warned me it would be quiet night, I actually danced more than on a usual night out in Helsinki.  It never ceases to amaze me how kind people are to me, how they open their homes and lives to a passing tango bum like myself. Deep down, I wonder if I really deserve this?

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