Day 31 Back home

I had a spare hour before leaving for the airport this morning so took the opportunity to walk around the Buda castle area. Although I have visited Budapest a number of times I seem to have missed this area. That was a mistake as the hill has many beautiful historical buildings, attractive streets and great views down to the Danube and the Parliament buildings on the opposite bank, and up to the hills I crossed a month ago when I arrived.
Then it was off to the airport and crushes of people to get onto the EasyJet flight back to the UK (how come EasyJet flights are always full?). Then long queues at Passport control at Gatwick with everyone checking their phones, sending texts and checking Facebook, beneath signs saying no phones and no cameras. The delay meant I just missed a train home, a reluctant ticket machine finally defeating me, but the kind man at the ticket office got me a cheap deal on the next train (one single from Gatwick to Reading and another from Reading to Cardiff was the trick). What he did not tell me was that there was massive disruption to train services from Reading caused by a signal failure, Hungarian trains seemed good by comparison.

I hope to continue my walk along the Alfoldi Kektura and the E4 Long distance path in September. First I need to investigate whether I can expect to make the trip without being harassed as I was yesterday, by what I presume were a vigilante group.

Matthias Church in Buda Castle area

Day 30 From before Pocsaj to Nagykereki

For my final day of walking on this trip I was on the path by 6:00 a.m. after admiring the orange sun rising above the plain behind some trees in the distance.
The first section was along an overgrown embankment beside a drainage channel.  It was a haven for wild flowers,  thistles, grasses and insects. A botanical wonderland but slow walking. The huge field of sunflowers I passed, their yellow faces all pointing south, was a particularly memorable sight.
Eventually, I reached a road at the edge of Pocsaj and turned back south on another embankment, with recently cut grass, going to Kismarja. On route I passed a cyclist, a stork and in the middle distance a flock of sheep with their shepherd and a herd of cows. In Kismarja there was the chance to buy a can of "Hell", a croissant filled with chocolate and cherry, and a banana for a late breakfast. Then it was down the Kektura to Nagykereki.
A few kilometres down the path, waymarked with the usual blue lines on a white background, I ran into problems. A man appeared behind me, shouting something, I presumed to his dog. Then he came up and grabbed my arm and refused to let go, dragging me back towards Kismarja. I protested but he did not understand English and I did not understand Hungarian. He was then joined by a second man talking on his phone. It was made clear that I had to follow them back towards Kismarja, but  I indicated I was going the other way. I caught the word "Romania", which made me think they were in some way concerned with refugees crossing the border (rather than robbing me) so I showed my itinerary and pointed to the word " Nagykereki", the village in Hungary that was the next destination on the Kektura, pointing out a blue and white waymark on a nearby tree, but without effect. I then showed them my British Passport, however this was no help either. They did not offer any ID to me. At this point a car appeared and the men flagged it down. I was instructed to get into the car and the driver returned me to Kismarja, asking where I wanted to be dropped as we approached the village.
I headed off walking back to Nagykereki. I have walked the E4 Long Distance European Path, of which the Alfoldi Kektura is part, since Spain and was not going to be stopped at this point, but for my own safety, this time I walked along the main road. After a few kilometres some police stopped me, checked my passport and what I was doing, checked I had enough water and sent me on my way. I tried to determine what the problem was with the guys earlier, indicating they had grabbed my arm, but language difficulties limited our conversation. I gathered that the proximity of the Romanian border (the current border of the Schengen zone) was an issue, but not much more.
While I have no problem with police checking on people, being manhandled by (I presume) civilians while peacefully walking a national and international footpath was disturbing and I found my hand shaking as I wrote down my address for the police.
From there I walked to Nagykereki railway station along the road without further incident and caught the next train, which bumped its way along to Debrecen as British trains used to before continuous welded rail was introduced. The guard on the train spent a while tapping away on his handheld computer and successfully produced a ticket to Budapest, complete with seat reservation on the next Intercity train from Debrecen (I was impressed). I had only a few minutes to change trains at Debrecen, the guard encouraging me to run (not possible with a 15 kg rucksack) but I made the connection and am now safely in the Buda Mercure hotel, washed and well fed, with a view of Buda castle from my room.

Sun rising over Great Plain

Nagykereki railway station, end of the line and of my walk this time

Day 29 The woods before Letavertes to some woods after Letavertes

This morning I found a pool of water at the bottom of my tent. It had not been raining so maybe a heavy dew.
Today I was hoping that the next interlocking "Z" in the trail was worth the extra 12 kilometres or so. It was different in that for much of the walk there were extensive meadows of grass among the trees and only occasional cultivated patches. More conifers as well among the oaks and ubiquitous locust and poplar trees. I saw a number (a phalanx?) of storks feeding off something in the grass, maybe grasshoppers as I periodically sent large numbers jumping as I walked along. There was also a fine pair of some bird of prey. On the final leg of the "Z" approaching Letavertes there were small, one or two room houses lining the road, each with a vineyard or small holding, and most with an outdoor toilet in the garden. I guess they were once farm worker cottages and are now owned by people who manage them as a hobby. A few were sadly being left to collapse.
At Letavertes I bought a welcome Coke, chocolate bar and ice cream, and stocked up on water. Then it was a straight road with occasional fast cars for several kilometres. The landscape changed dramatically after Letavertes.  Instead of the forest I had walked through for the last week, there were huge fields of sunflowers and maize stretching away to each horizon. Eventually the route turned off onto a single track road, becoming a farm track after a few houses. There appeared to be on old kilato (look out tower) in the middle distance, but the path did not take me there and it was not sign posted.
I had walked further than expected and feeling tired, camped in a rare piece of woodland in a steep sided valley. Lots of tractors noises in some nearby field, another barking deer, buzzing bees and cooing doves kept me awake until darkness fell.

Large meadows on the section before Letavertes

Storks

Sunflowers extending to the horizon

Day 28 Halap to some woods

Yesterday, getting into Debrecen from Halap Csarda (a very minor bus stop where the Kektura crosses a main road in the countryside) was relatively easy as all the buses seemed to go to Debrecen. The converse was not true. I was relying on Google Maps to tell me which bus to catch from which bus stop. The App gave the time and number of the bus, but two buses arrived at the same time and neither had visible numbers. Fortunately I had interrogated Google to find the bus's final destination and so got on the right bus. I had written down "Halap, Csarda" and showed the piece of paper to the driver, as people do not seem to understand most of the words I try to say in Hungarian. This seemed effective and it helped that I knew the fare to give him from yesterday. Tracking the bus on my GPS I was able to press the request stop button at the correct place and so by 9:30 a.m. I safely returned to where I left off yesterday complete with food supplies purchased earlier.
Today the route, which had been fairly direct since Satoraljaujhely starts a series of large "Z's" adding on many kilometres, so I was hoping the extra distance meant some attractive sights. The top bar of the "Z" was pretty good. After the usual mosquito attack on sandy tracks through locust trees,  I followed a series of embankments, passed what looked like a wetter area with long grasses on one side and stands of poplars on the other. The white poplars looked particularly beautiful, the wind fluttering their leaves, showing of their white undersides like crowds of flirtatious maidens. A stork caught the thermals overhead looking remarkably graceful for such a big bird. Later there was a lake, although mostly hidden by reeds. An abundance of picnic tables were being overgrown by wild flowers. While admiring the lake I missed a turn and retraced my steps. The correct route took me beside a drainage channel, full of bulrushes and ducks which few off on my approach. Willows and flowers lined my path, everything you could want for a beautiful country scene that took me to the point of the "Z".
For the crossbar of the "Z" it was back to sandy tracks through black locust trees with occasional stands of pine. On the lower bar of my first "Z" I camped in a plantation of young oaks, wondering what tomorrow will bring. Despite carefully examining my camping spot before pitching my tent, as soon as I sat down for tea, I discovered an infestation of ants beside me. An insect of another kind appeared to be attacking me but I found that whatever pressure I applied I was unable to squash it, and it continued it's attack. Eventually I flicked it far away. As is common as soon as I had made camp, the sounds of activities reached my ears, a tractor starting, pigeons cooing, dogs barking. Yet it was not only dogs barking. On looking for the source of barks at the end of the row of oak saplings I saw a deer. After a few minutes it saw me too and wandered off, still barking.
My Nordisk Telemark tent has gained some holes. These seems to be where the poles rub the canvas while it is packed away, as I walk along. Initially the poles wore out the end of the bag they came in and now despite attempted repairs and plastic bags, the ends of the poles appear to be making holes in the tent. I calculated that I had carried the tent for 4000 miles, so I suppose in that time the slight movement of the rucksack as I walk creates quite a bit of rubbing. Holes have also appeared through the leather uppers of my boots where they bend above my toes....
Still I am shortly due to return home.

Mezes-Hegyi-To lake, its mainly covered in reeds

Daisies beside the path

Day 27 Ganas Hegy to Halap

By 6:10 a.m. I was packed up and on my way but already I could hear the sounds of tractors working amongst the morning bird song.
I did not get very far before a waymark appeared to direct me into impenetrable undergrowth. A previous blogger warned that there was a section of overgrown path near here, assuming this was it I followed some forest tracks to intersect the Kektura a little further on. Initially as I rejoined the marked path there was a trail to follow but this soon disappeared and I battled through 5ft high nettles and various other plants to follow the route indicated by my GPS and occasional (and surprisingly new looking) waymarks. This lasted only a few hundred metres but it was tough going. After that I was soon at the village of Nyiracsad. Ladies on bicycles with bags on their handle bars alerted me that despite being Sunday, there was a shop open. I  purchased some breakfast from the very busy shop and sat on a bench on the "green" to eat it while watching the early morning comings and goings.
The rest of the walk was the usual sandy tracks through woods with two important highlights. First was the narrow gauge forest railway now operated as a tourist train, bringing people out for a picnic amongst the trees (although a number of people seemed to have arrived in their cars instead). The train was an old diesel. Shortly after my second highlight was my first (and possibly only) kilato (lookout tower) on the Alfoldi Kektura. This gave a view of the large area of forest extending in all directions. The mountains to the north that I climbed before Satoraljaujhely were no longer visible, mountains to the south, probably in Romania were in the grey distance.
I ended my walk at the Halap Csarda (an abandoned building) on road 48 and caught a bus into Debrecen where I am now in the Fonix hotel. I walked around the town which has a well laid out and lively centre with buildings of various ages, a wide boulevard, trams, fountains and many bars spilling onto the pavement. On this Sunday night it seemed full of tanned and beautiful young men and women enjoying a drink, so I had a Gin and tonic and watched the world go by.

Narrow gauge tourist train

View from Kilato (lookout tower) of Great Plain

Debrecen centre with the Large Protest Church

Day 26 Nyirbator to Ganas Hegy

Except close to villages, today's route was entirely on sandy tracks usually surrounded by trees, typically locust trees or types of poplar. Sometimes the track rose slightly, sometimes it descended a little. It appeared I was passing through a great forest with occasional cultivated patches of variable size with maize, wheat, barley, sunflowers, oats or things I could not identify.
To add a little confusion, all the villages had names beginning with Nyir. I mistook the first village of Nyirbogat for Nyirlugos, and so thought I was making faster progress from Nyirbator than was the reality. I made a slight detour to "climb" the miniature hill of Hoportyo  (183 m), the highest point on the Great Plains. There was no view, only trees and a concrete post.
It rained all morning from when I woke to midday. A good solid downpour so there was no need for indecision about putting on waterproofs, sometimes a problem when it cannot decide whether to rain. The rain made deep puddles in the tracks I was following and the surrounding sand was over saturated with water, spongy and slippery. A lot of careful footwork was needed to keep my socks dry. Fresh on, they were a new pair, still soft, springy and super nice. Perhaps inevitably, as I was walking on a thin thread of sand between a large puddle and man-high stingy nettles, the sand gave way, my boots filling with water as I slid into deep water filled ruts.
A lot of snails were crossing the path as a result of the rain, making it difficult not to step on them. When I heard a crunch under my boot I did not look back. More pleasant were the deer which I saw on their own, in twos and once as a herd with one stag and several does. They always ran off but sometimes it took a while for them to realise I was creeping in their direction.
I am now camping on the "hill" of Ganas Hegy. Not very high but the slightly higher ground seems to keep away a few of the mosquitoes. As seems common, despite not having seen anyone or any vehicle on the track for several kilometres, as soon as I pitched my tent a car went up and down the track, then another came and stopped not so far away. A gunshot, a little time later made me decide to retire into my tent. It was well hidden from the track and away from any of the little wooden towers they shoot deer from, but I thought if I was inside my tent they would not see me moving and mistake me for a deer.

Hoportyo, highest point on the Great Plain

Deer on the path