Day 9

The weather on the ninth day was exceptional here in Beskydy. It was spring 7 degrees in the foothills and a few degrees less on the ridge. There was a fresh wind, but nothing to make Takao's day unpleasant.

Martin Šilhán - in the morning I went to Svinec to masochistically admire how he climbs this steep hill. He was grumbling something, but he climbed it beautifully and quickly. Such a solid performance for a 450km climb. The views at the top are crazy, and with a beer waiting for him at the top, the world probably couldn't be more right. You could tell that although he was tired, he was happy. 

Yesterday he slept at the bus stop in the village of Vraz. I was expecting to go further in the early morning hours, because the bus stop is not a comfortable and quiet place to sleep. But even after 8am his tracker showed no signs of movement. However, I did learn that there was a pub opposite the bus stop and it was already open at 7am. A proper village pub indeed, ready to get the working people's blood flowing in the morning. Hold on, we're in Moravia, somebody practices yoga in the morning and somebody has a drink.

Martin didn't have that, but he had a coffee and that kicked in too. And then he was heading towards the Beskydy foothills, which start with Svinec. There he was in good condition and I hope he will arrive at CP. Although according to my mathematical calculations he should have been here long ago, but apparently he was enjoying himself a bit more and so it takes a bit longer.

Takao slept about 6 hours the day before. When he was about to leave for the night, it was obvious that he didn't feel like going out at all. I guess the foot wasn't much better. I offered him the pink powder, but he looked at it hesitantly. So he finally swallowed it, but I guess it didn't have much effect. So he planned to go slowly and spread his journey to the finish over two days. Not like Ivana in one go.

When I was returning from Svince, I saw that I had a chance to catch Takao on the Beskydy ridge near the border with Slovakia at Konecna... I went and I was there early so I had time to walk and admire. It's a beautiful place. In the distance you could see the pointed peaks of the Tatra Mountains, or maybe Fatra, I couldn't tell for sure, but it was beautiful. 

Takao came into view a moment later and it was clear he didn't like it. He shuffled slowly across the meadow, limping slightly. When I asked him if he was ok, of course everything was ok. But the fatigue was evident. But when I go to encourage someone they shouldn't go without a reward, so I offered him dried food and drink. Immediately there was a sparkle in his eye and a big smile. The warm expedition food did Takao a world of good. He replenished the drinks he no longer had, and all was well here again. The sun was setting, and we both sat next to each other in silence, looking at the beauty. Then Takao stood up and walked on with a limp, slow stride.

His plan was to bivouac somewhere near Sulov. And as of this writing, that is indeed the case. According to the map, it's an inaccessible chapel under the Czech town of Sulov. Just to clarify, the Czechs have their Sulov, which is 943 meters long, and the Slovaks have their Sulov 300 meters away. And it measures 903 meters. But it's possible they're sleeping somewhere a little different, because that's the beauty of online tracking. According to the virtual rectangle on the map, one only guesses and imagines the situation that may be in reality in a given place. And often it's all very different.

So let's see how the boys handle it and when they will stand under the Arc de Triomphe.