Day 31- Rest Day to sort out my passport!!!

27 Jun

Today was a compulsory rest day courtesy of my lost bag yesterday

After confirming last evening that the efficient lady at the Australian Embassy had canceled my passport we awoke early to take the bus ride back in to Belgrade to visit the Embassy to get a temporary passport

The Embassy hours on the website said they were opening at 8.00 am so we resolved to catch the 6.00am bus in to town not knowing how long it would take us to get to the Embassy or how we were going to get there.

The bus ride went over much of the territory we covered yesterday including passing by the scene of the second set of tyre punctures I received after riding on the very overgrown track!

The trip in to Belgrade was interesting in that we picked up a lot of the locals who were either on thoway in to the big smoke to shop or to go to work....all very interesting.

We arrived at the bus station in Belgrade which is an old railway station and got our bearings for the walk to the Embassy which was about 2 kms. We arrived only to find the Embassy opened at 9.00am. Fortunately there was a good cafe outside the Embassy building where we had breakfast of a coffee and fruit jogurt.... very good after an early start.

When I went into the Embassy at 9.00 I was informed that Biba the lady in charge of passports was out for the morning and would be back at midday or thereabouts. Having to wait was not a real problem as we had brought my front wheel to see what could be done about changing the tyres to a more robust tread. We walked to 2 bike shops without success....

Facing another challenge we decided to have a coffee in a cafe and consult google for an answer... and we found a possibility on the other side of the river....

As the day was getting hot we took a pink taxi organised by the cafe owner to the shop... fare was very cheap.

The shop owner was just what was needed to advise me on the best options for new tyres and I settled on a Shauble delta cruise plus. It will make the going a bit slower but hopefully better on the unmade roads and bike tracks.

The shop is called ProBike and I would recommend it to anyone in Belgrade. The owner speaks very good English.

In the meantime the lady at the Embassy had called me on my mobile and advised me to get a passport photo and be ready to have an appointment at 1.30pm.

We returned to a shopping mall recommended by the Embassy to get the photos organised and had lunch in the food court.

After lunch it was off to see Biba at the Embassy....

She confirmed that my passport had been canceled and that I needed to get a temporary passport.

I filled in all the forms to do this including a statement on the circumstances surrounding the theft of my bag.

Biba was very helpful and said that the passport would be ready tomorrow afternoon. I must say the Embassy was very friendly and helpful in my predicament and I could not be more happy to have a way forward.

Filled with jubilation Chris and I made our way to the bus station and caught the bus back to Kovin arriving back at about 5.00pm

In preparation for the next stage of the journey, we cleaned our bikes and riding bags and started to think what the next few days would bring.... on bikes!

I think I will struggle to get to the Black Sea so I am thinking I might travel by bike to Bucharest then catch a plane to Paris for the return home. This will have given me well over 3000 kms of riding so I won’t be disappointed

Anyway as I have learned over the past few days planing ahead can be a curse as challenges crop up all the time, particularly in 2 nd world countries like Serbia

The day was a pleasing one for me as we resolved the problems regarding my passport and sorted out a resolution to riding on unmade roads....

Now for the photos.....not many today unfortunately

Me outside the Embassy....with wheel in hand

Tomorrow I take the back wheel to get a new tyre