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.
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.
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| Hoportyo, highest point on the Great Plain |
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| Deer on the path |
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