Date: February 15th, 2016
Distance: 98km
Song of the Day: Adding Up the Wasted Hours - The Lonely Forest

This has probably been the most annoying day of the trip so far. I got up really early to get a nice start on the day and it was just supposed to be 30 kilometers to Visegrad, and then another 15 to the border with Serbia. From there I would just go as far as I possibly could. But things fell apart. I spent five hours lost up in the mountains of Bosnia. Much of the time I was on dirt roads that would just die out in the forest. There were no signs or markers, and not even the towns had names to tell me where I was. The GPS on my phone kept saying I was miles away across the border in Serbia, but instead I was going up and down hills and getting chased by dogs. In the end I had to go back to basically where I started and try again. Forty kilometers and almost the entire day wasted. So damn frustrating.

With the help of an old lady herding cows I did finally get onto the right road to Visegrad. That road still lead me up into the mountains, but at least it was paved. There wasn't any marking, but the road was good enough to seem like a highway. I started to get a bit discouraged as the sun began to set and I was still climbing. I know Visegrad sits on a river, so that wasn't going to be a thousand meters up a mountain.

Then I hit the squiggles. I lost count of the number of switchbacks I went around. There must have been at least forty(?) coming down the mountain, which was awesome and annoying at the same time. I like screaming down a mountain and cutting into tight corners, but the turns here were covered in loose gravel. I couldn't just let go and whip around them, I had to go slowly so I didn't slide out and wreck. That meant burning off all that potential energy by heating up my brakes. And heat up they did. I had to stop about half way down to let them cool off. Any cyclists out there will know the distinctive smell of brake pads being used too much. In the end, the road was so much less fun to ride than it looked. Very disappointing. I can't recommend it.

The sun was just setting as I got to Visegrad, so I rode across the old bridge right at sunset. I took a minute to buy some supplies with the last of my Bosnian Marks and then headed into the darkness. I was determined to make it to Serbia. Riding along the road at night, though, I was a bit annoyed that I couldn't have ridden along during daylight hours. It looked amazing even in the moonlight. I was riding through a river gorge with giant cliffs on either side, through a bunch of tunnels and right by a number of monasteries nestled in the rocks. This part I can recommend. Even from the little I saw it was fantastic. I thought of stopping and waiting to see it in daylight, but I really wanted to push on. I have been going slowly for too long. I crossed into Serbia without any problems. The guards don't bother you much on a bike. I am sure it is unusual, but you aren't really something they are all that worried about. How much can you smuggle on a bike? I got the stamp and moved on.

I made it as far as Mokra Gora before finding a place to stop. By that point it was late and I was very tired.



-Dravis

Date: February 14th, 2016
Distance: 78km
Song of the Day: Both Sides of the Story - Phil Collins

Today got off to a slow start. I slept in a bit because I was awake late last night updating this blog and creating the video of the bobsled track. I hope you enjoyed that. But then I got packed up quickly, ready to go. Unfortunately, when I got to my bike, it had a flat tire. Urgh. I cannot complain too much. These tires have done 4000 kilometers without one puncture. That isn't too bad, I would say. When I inspected the tire it turns out I had picked up two metal splinters. I haven't a clue where they came from but it took over an hour to dig them out of the tire. I am glad I checked the whole tire. I would have felt pretty stupid to put in a new tube only to have it pop ten minutes down the road. As it was, I only got on the bicycle a bit before noon.

Leaving Sarajevo proved no easier than getting into it. The core of the city, especially the "old town" is easy to navigate. Even the narrow streets of the bazaar aren't tough to get around. Much of this part of the city was properly laid out by either the Ottomans or the Austrians. The outskirts of the city, though, are a totally different story. Many streets outside of the core weren't planned at all. They are vestiges of the city's medieval past. They are also built on hills. That leads to a network of roads that aren't anywhere close to straight or simple, many dead ends and steep grades. There were a couple of points where I would get to the top of a small hill only to realize that the road didn't actually connect to where I wanted to go. Frustrating.

After a few failed attempts I did reach the main highway. The road kept climbing up into the mountains. At some point I left the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and entered the Republika Srpska. This isn't a new country, though, and to understand this you have to go back 20 years. At the end of the civil war Bosnia was divided into two autonomous states that are part of the same country. Both entities use the same currency, military, and foreign relations, but almost everything else is separate. Each has their own postal and educational systems, their own representatives and governments. The borders drawn up for each of the two autonomous regions are very similar to the battle lines at the end of the civil war. There are some places where you can see reminders of why the borders are where they are.

Once I had finished the big climb of the day, things were straightforward but slow. On the other side a wind had come up and was blowing right in my face. The land reminded me of eastern Montana or Wyoming, big open ranch land at high elevation. It was nice, but not much to write home about.

At the end of the day it started raining a little. I found a good place to camp and am going to bed early. Hopefully I will have a better (earlier) start tomorrow.



-Dravis

Date: February 13th, 2016
Distance: Rest day

Okay, so I took another day off. Yeah, I realize that I am going pretty slow right now. I promise to pick up the pace in the next few days, but I really did want to get a chance to see and experience Sarajevo. Yesterday I was sleeping in (you know, actually resting) and goofing off at the bobsled track. Today was my shot to see what the town was like.

I took a walking tour in the morning. I had forgotten that these were some of my favorite things from my last bike tour through Europe. This one wasn't any different. The tour covered about 500 years of history, from the founding by the Ottoman empire to the civil war in the 90s. Today the city is predominantly Muslim, but Sarajevo is also home to populations of Catholics, Jews, and Orthodox Christians. This mix of cultures makes the city really vibrant. People where always out in the streets. Not just tourists, but everyday people going to the market or taking a stroll along the river.

Architecturally, there are buildings in so many different styles. The city kept burning down, or being burnt down in various wars, so a mosque founded 400 years ago might have been rebuilt a few times since. Still, the Ottoman influence on mosques is unmistakable. Then the Austro-Hungarians brought their own styles to the buildings. Communism didn't do the city any favors, but many of the modern buildings do have appealing architecture to them. And of course, there are a few reminders of the recent civil war. You can find buildings with shell damage or a Sarajevo Rose, but both are now being covered over and disappearing. Today Sarajevo looks like any other European capital and I found it to be a cool place to wander around. I really liked walking through the old town Bazaar at sunset and hearing the call to prayer. That was a bit different from the other European cities I have been to.

Speaking of sunset, the main clock tower is also a bit different from most clocks. It shows time "a la turka". Under the Islamic calendar, each day begins at sunset. Midnight on the clock tower means the sun has just set. I thought that would be useful for me since I am always trying to bike to somewhere before the sun sets. Then again, because the sunset time changes each day someone has to climb the tower and manually adjust the clock. At least the tower is stationary, so the changes follow a pattern. I could set my watch this way, but I would have to adjust it for each day, and the amount east I have traveled. I think I will stick with my regular system.



-Dravis

Date: February 12th, 2016
Distance: Rest day (21km)
Song of the Day: Chasing Hornets - Burn Burn Burn!

I took some time today to do some cool stuff in Sarajevo. I went to visit the Olympic bobsled track. You remember that Sarajevo held the winter Olympics in 1984? I don't because I was too young, but I remember reading about it. Now the track is mostly abandoned and used for graffiti. I had seen videos of cyclists riding it but didn't think I would ever get to do it myself. Well, since I was in Sarajevo...

The first thing to do was get there. Not an easy thing to do. The main historic and commercial center of Sarajevo is built on a fairly flat river valley that is bounded on either side by steep mountains. Very steep. Many of the residential neighborhoods are built on the hills around the city, and some of the streets had a very similar feel to how Seattle was built. There are a few places that I am sure are more than a 10% grade. I realize that I make a big deal about hills all the time, but mostly I just want to express how much effort really goes into all of this. Riding just five kilometers out of the city took an hour. I have to admit, though, it did offer lots of great views of Sarajevo.

Once I got there I found out the site is now a kind of park. People can stroll around with their kids or take the dog for a walk, pretty much like any other park. This one just happens to have crumbling Olympic facilities in it. It is an oddity, a relic of very different past. Most of the people I saw would drive in, take a few minutes to look at the vandalized concrete, then drive away. I don't think they know what to make of it. It is just a structure up in the mountains, too heavy to move, too big to demolish. Just something to see once and then forget about again. But I wasn't just there to see the track, I wanted to experience it. Maybe not the same way that Wolfgang Hoppe did, but close enough. How often do you really get to make one of your dreams a reality? It was cool enough that I even ran the track twice.

It would be pretty boring to just tell you about this. So I made you guys a video. I hope you enjoy it.

Sarajevo Bobsled Track from Dravis Bixel on Vimeo.

-Dravis

Date: February 11th, 2016
Distance: 130km
Song of the Day: Miss Sarajevo - U2

Today started out great. I left Mostar early, and while I didn't think it was going to be a long one I knew the day was going to be hard. I could have taken the highway around, but I prefer the shorter, steeper, stupider routes. Just ten klicks out of Mostar I left the highway and took a road that makes a giant climb up into the mountains. I think this may be the toughest climb I have done yet: thirteen switchbacks and a thousand meters of elevation gain in just over ten kilometers. Just think about that for a bit. For every ten meters I went along the road I was going a meter up. I have to admit it was pretty grueling, but it isn't in me to give up on a challenge and each switchback made me feel better and better. I love looking down from the top of a pass at the twisting road below. Kind of makes me feel like Superman.

While there was some snow on the ascent, it was nothing compared to the other side. There were a couple of inches of powder everywhere. The temperature was also a few degrees cooler on the east side of the mountains. I put on some long fingered gloves and made the best of it, mostly concerned with ice in the sharp corners. As I descended into the valley the paved road disappeared. I could pick my way along the gravel road pretty well, it wasn't that bad, and down at the bottom I picked up a freshly paved road again. The dark black asphalt had even done a pretty good job of melting off the snow. Smooth pavement with no snow, that made me feel pretty good. Until it ran out again.

From then on I was climbing over the next mountain pass on a snow covered dirt road. Lets go over that again. Mountain pass. Snow covered. Dirt road. None of those is optimal, but all three together is brutal. My tires are great, but they are built for pavement. I don't get a lot of traction on dirt, even less on snow. This was the first day where I needed to push my bike in places. For a while I was riding around and I could see that a couple of cars had been by since the snow fell, but eventually both sets of tracks disappeared. It was just me riding in the mountains of Bosnia. I am not sure if I should feel awesome to be the first guy riding that road this year, or if that is an indication that I am doing something stupid.

Descending off that second pass was beautiful and frustrating at the same time. All the climbing had warmed me up pretty well, so I could really enjoy the view. Everything around me was white with snow. I could see for miles from the top, with no one around for quite a long way. The problem is that I couldn't go very fast. All the uphill is building potential energy, and I hate wasting it heating up my brakes. But with the snow covering the dirt I couldn't see where the potholes or the rocks were. Since I couldn't slam on the brakes either, that meant taking everything slow and keeping a foot out. The good news is that I only crashed once. (Like I said, my tires don't have great traction on snow.) I would have preferred to keep that number lower, but it is what it is. I wasn't going very fast so nothing was broken on me or the bike.

Soon enough the road began to level out. The snow also started to disappear, and before long it was gone entirely. That is when I really started to cruise. I was just ripping along those dirt roads. Then I was back on the paved highway. I had only done about one third of the distance for the day, though, and spent almost two thirds of the day doing it. I raced down into Konjic feeling pretty good, but I knew there was one more big mountain pass for the day. The good news was that it was paved, and there was no snow. It also wasn't nearly so bad as the first big climb, only about two thirds of that. (I say only, but you try doing a two thousand foot ascent.) I hit the top just about sunset. I didn't want to repeat what happened in Mostar and come into Sarajevo at night, but I did. Such is life.

Sarajevo might also be one of the most frustrating towns to get into. The highway I was on turned into a freeway for a bit right outside of town. I really wanted to ride on there, but no shoulder at night is not my game. Instead, I was running all over the back farm roads. None of them are straight, so it is a pain to navigate, and all of them are steep, winding over the tops of little hills. The whole time I could look down at the flat, straight freeway running along below me. I don't mind doing hills, I just hate it when there is obviously a better road that I can't take. Eventually I found my way back to the main road, which, adding insult to injury, had by this point turned back into a highway. That little section cost me over an hour. Even worse, about a mile down the highway there was suddenly a great bike line. I mean, that was nice, but where the hell was that when it really mattered? Sarajevo road engineers, I hate you.

At the end of the day I had been on the road 12 hours, covered 130 kilometers, climbed 2,500 meters over dirt roads and snow. If I can do that, I can do anything. Any place, any terrain, any time. I am ready to take on the world.



-Dravis

Date: February 10th, 2016
Distance: Rest day

This morning I got up early to check out the town. I was going to walk around it briefly before leaving for Sarajevo. When I started touring the town, though, I found I didn't want to leave. It is a very pretty place, bounded by steep mountains on all sides and cut through by the river Neretva. The old town skyline is all slate roofs and minarets, and in the end I decided to take another rest day to enjoy the town. I am still ahead of schedule, and how many times will I really get to come to Mostar? I think the thing that really convinced me to stay was the smell. It took me back to my time in the Atlas mountains of Morocco. It is a combination of fragrances from wood smoke, and cooking onions and spices all mixed in with cool wet mountain air. I couldn't get enough of it.

On the subject of smell, though, I forgot how much people smoke out here, all over the place. In restaurants and cafes and bakeries, everywhere. While the smell outside in Mostar was great, the smell inside most places was not. It sucks to walk into a place and come out smelling like an ash tray. But I digress.

The heart of the city is its old town, a warren of narrow, cobbled lanes. In the off season it is quiet and peaceful. Well, peaceful if you don't mind some hammering. Copper smiths still ply their trade here and the results of their efforts are on display at little boutiques. They are usually next door to little cafes, souvenir shops, or artist's galleries. The main attraction, however, is Stari Most, literally the "old bridge". The name of the town comes from the "mostari", or bridge keepers. They were watching wooden bridges over the Neretva long before the stone bridge was built by the Ottomans about five hundred years ago. The thing is, the bridge could very well be called Novi Stari Most, or the "new old bridge". The original one was destroyed in 1993 during the Siege of Mostar during the war for Bosnian independence. The structure was shelled repeatedly by Bosnian Croat forces until it collapsed. The new Stari Most was rebuilt in 2004 using the form and foundation, as well as many of the same stones as the original.

That brings me to something I just couldn't get away from or really understand. This town was under siege less than 25 years ago. The bridge and the old town have been rebuilt, but the scars from those times haven't disappeared entirely. Many of the town's buildings are still in ruins, and more are still pock-marked with bullet holes. Places that used to be city parks are now cemeteries since the families couldn't risk leaving to bury their loved ones. I also met a number of people who lived through the siege. They described it as living in hell. Trapped in their basements, not able to go out during the day, no electricity, very little food or water. That is so far out of my range of experience. I hope I never have to go through that in my life. It is just hard to understand in a place that now seems so tranquil. These days, Mostar is just a beautiful and serene mountain town, somewhere with a dark past and hopefully a bright future.



-Dravis

Date: February 9th, 2016
Distance: 152km
Song of the Day: By the Way - Red Hot Chili Peppers

I was back on the road today. Feeling good, too. The last couple of days here have been so awesome to ride in. The sun was shining bright and I was riding out of Split and down along the coast.

I was a bit sad, though. This was going to be my last day in Croatia. In spite of a storm that was probably the worst I have tried to spend the night in, I have had such a good time. The coastline is outstanding and it is worth coming here just for that. There are so many beautiful little places here along the sea, Croatia can rival anywhere in the world in that. The thing that really made this country special, though, were all the people I met. From top to bottom, everyone was just awesome. I found places to stay, people to talk with, and really feel like I was able to get more into what it is like to live here than any other country I have been to. It isn't that I am not looking forward to other countries, just that Croatia has been so great and I am sorry to leave.

It seemed like Croatia wasn't done with me either. My trip out was as spectacular as anything else I had seen on this trip. In a way, it was like the day I went from the Italian coast to Milan. There was a short trip down the cost from Split to Omis, with more beautiful coastal villages. Behind the towns were these massive mountains, like guardians of the way inland. At Omis, though, there was a narrow gap in between them, almost like a gigantic castle gate. Cliffs on either side a thousand feet high cut through by a river. The road went in right along the river. It is hard not to feel small with huge mountains towering over you. It was breathtaking.

Behind the first set of hills was a narrow valley and then another set of hills. The road wound up into the highlands from there. Whenever I see a road doing squiggles on a map, I know it is going to be a hell of a thing. I think there were half a dozen switchbacks along this route, but for as steep as the road was I couldn't complain one bit. If I wasn't trying to make it to Mostar I would have gone down and done it again. The terrain, the views, were just that good. It was like a road you see in the movies and think I want to go there, except this was real and I was actually doing it. I ended up stopping a lot, not because I was tired, but because I wanted to take in the view just a bit longer, to look down over the precipice at the valley below. I had so much fun.

The highlands were just that. They really reminded me of pictures of the highlands in Scotland. There were a few villages around with buildings made mostly of local stone. Outside the villages, abandoned homes dotted the hills. Rocky, naked ruins with roofs long gone. The land was as rugged as anywhere I have seen, but the road was actually very nice considering. Trying to go off road would have been foolish though. Steep hills lined both sides. It was very rocky, with limestone sprouting from the ground everywhere. Occasionally there was a random stone pit. I couldn't tell if they were natural or old stone quarries. But if it wasn't stone cropping up, then it was brambles and the heartiest of weeds.

After a while the road started winding its way along a narrow gorge. The river below had cut a sharp canyon into the floor of the valley. What a wild place.

I climbed out of that valley onto a ridge that was an even more of a desolate moonscape than the one before, then down into the valley to cross the next river and up the ridge on the other side. It was that way most of the afternoon, though the land did start to change a bit. I left the open and rocky lands for some pine forests. It kept reminding me of New England, with dry stone walls hidden among the trees everywhere. It seemed like there was agriculture here once, but now the land is being used for forestry.

Finally I got to the broad valley just before Imotski. I was ready for that. All the climbing over the day had amounted to this, when I could just coast down into the valley. The border was just ten kilometers from Imotski and should be easy.

Of course the border wasn't going to be in the middle of the valley. Nope, I had another huge climb up the other side and it was bigger than anything I had done all day. Not what I wanted as the sun was setting.

I did get to the border just after dusk, but I still wasn't done. I had another 50 kilometers to go before Mostar. At night. For a while I didn't think I was going to make it, then I had some food and started feeling better. I also knew I was going to lose all that elevation before Mostar. Once I finally got to the descent, that made me feel on top of the world again. I wish it had been daylight. I am sure the country around me is quite nice, but with the clouds overhead it was pitch black. All I could do was follow the road out of the mountains. There was one last hill outside of Mostar. There are times when I find myself cursing at the terrain, and this was one of them. I am glad that it wasn't as bad as I thought, just a little hill and then a sharp drop down into Mostar.

I didn't know what I was expecting, but Mostar was much bigger than I thought it would be. It spreads out over this whole valley. The lights of the city were shining off all the hills that surrounded it. I really wanted to look around a bit, but I was so exhausted I think I was asleep within about an hour of getting to town.



-Dravis

Date: February 8th, 2016
Distance: Rest day (8km)

Today I took another day off. Split is a really cool town to hang out in and one of the places I really wanted to get to know. I also needed to do some laundry. Yesterday was Sunday so a lot of things were closed, unfortunately.

But I have to consider it a good day since I was able to do all that I wanted and needed to. I started by exploring more parts of the palace I had missed the day before. I went into what was built as Diocletian's mausoleum and is now the church of St. Dominus. (I am somewhat curious about what happened to his body, since I don't imagine a pagan who claimed he was a god and persecuted Christians would be left when the temple was converted to a church.) The place does have some stunning architecture. It reminded me of the Pantheon in Rome (also a temple converted to a church), except the dome here was made of brick and didn't have an oculus the way the Pantheon does. Still, the architecture and the stonework are impressive. It really is a very pleasant space. I can understand why it wasn't torn down for being a pagan temple, and instead converted to a church. Apparently it is the second oldest Catholic cathedral still in use.

From there I went and climbed the bell tower, which is kind of weird. The tower, not me climbing it. It was built starting in the 12th century, though I am not sure when it was actually completed. The thing is, the bells are located just one level up, maybe two if you count the foundation. The rest of the way to the top is empty space. The only real purpose for the top part of the tower seems to be in order to make it look impressive and for that, at least, they succeeded. The views from the top over the city are pretty good.

After that I did laundry and took a sunset ride around Marjan. This is the big hill at the tip of the peninsula Split is on. It is also one of the reasons that Split reminds me of Vancouver, Canada. Where Vancouver has Stanley Park, Split has Marjan. The park is popular with runners and cyclists and I can see why. It is a great place to look out over the sea and to get out of the city for a bit.

Finally, I spent the evening hanging out with my hosts. Really, that is what they were. The group of students had rented the whole hostel for the semester. I was staying there because they had an extra room and enjoyed the company. How cool is that? The group is all art students, mostly visual arts. We started talking about contemporary art and somehow ended up talking about putting a permanent colony on the moon. It's funny, when I was a kid I thought the most boring thing was when the "adults" were talking and now it is one of my favorite things to do. Most of my favorite nights are ones where I can sit and talk with friends for hours. This was one of those nights. To everyone in Split, thank you. Good luck with your exams. You guys are awesome.



-Dravis

Date: February 7th, 2016
Distance: Rest day

I spent the day walking around Split. This is one of the cities that I had really come here to see. Originally it was the retirement palace for the Roman emperor Diocletian, who apparently preferred growing cabbages in his garden to running an empire. I can't blame him for that. I would rather live a relaxing life than deal with the Crisis of the Third Century too. Anyway, after the death of Diocletian the palace was mostly abandoned. It was then re-occupied and adapted in the middle ages. Again, this is a great example of how structures change and evolve over time. You can still see the outline of the palace, but it is covered over with buildings that have also been torn down and replaced. Undoubtedly the city will continue to adapt and evolve.

The one thing I did notice was that people from the middle ages couldn't seem to build in a straight line to save their lives. The Romans, on the other hand, were fanatical about order and straight lines. It was said that a blind man could navigate a military camp anywhere in the empire because they were all laid out the same. The original palace was laid out along similar lines, as almost a square with a gate in the middle of each wall. When the ruins were taken over in the middle ages, though, the buildings inside the palace walls weren't quite parallel with them or each other. Why guys? Why? I don't get it. At least they were sorta close in most cases. Outside the palace walls, the town that grew up there is a maze of twisting streets and lopsided buildings. There seems to be no rhyme or reason to why a building is shaped the way it is, or why a street curves at that spot. I guess that is just what happens when you don't have a central planning commission.

In the afternoon I was invited out by Philip, one of my hosts, to take a walk with his friend Jan to Marijan, which is the big park at the end of the peninsula. The "Bura" wind was strong along the shoreline, but the waters were that light blue color that seems so common around here. Just really gorgeous. Again I could see the mountains to the east which I will be going over, and they are still covered in snow. Anyway, the three of us just hung out until the sun set. I couldn't really see it set because of the clouds, but it still was a pretty place to enjoy the end of the day.



-Dravis

Date: February 6th, 2016
Distance: 165km
Song of the Day: Ramblin' Man - The Allman Brothers Band

Today was another one of those days that makes you feel good to be alive. The sun was bright but the day was cool, the wind wasn't being a problem, and the coast of Dalmatia here is outstanding. Leaving Zadar, the countryside was lush and green. Next to the sea there is this narrow band of white rocks that fade into an ever bluer sea. The colors were bursting out everywhere. I threw some Allman Brothers on my music box and just cruised down the road. Great bike, great roads, great music, great weather, great coastline. Life doesn't get much better than this. You don't get many days like this, so enjoy the hell out of them.

When the road would turn away from the coast it was interesting to see the land dry out. It looked more like the southwest US than it did Europe: rocky scrub land with a few olive trees dotted around. I also think I have figured out what all the rock walls I have been seeing are about. Or maybe I should call them long piles of rocks? They may not be someone trying to create a structure so much as just trying to clear the rocks off a spot to make room for agriculture. While the rock piles were everywhere, organized orchards were much more rare. For the most part the land seemed to be growing wild.

At the end of the day I was back to riding by the shore. I don't know what I can say except that it was still such an amazing afternoon. How can I compress the experience into something I can express here? How can I tell you about all the trees, the aqua blue of the sea, the waves crashing on the rocks, the sun on my skin? The little tourist towns, now quiet in the off season, nestled along the little bays. Looking out at the islands off the coast under the setting sun. Just gorgeous. There are worse places to spend some time.

Which being said, I could have gone a bit slower. On such a good day it is hard to slow down, though. Crushing the miles just feels too good.

I rolled into Split just after dark and it took forever to find a place to stay. There are a ton of hostels in town, but it is the off season. The first one I tried was closed for a week, the second was being renovated. The third was filled with students from the local university, but they took pity on me and gave me a place to stay. I spent the rest of the evening hanging out and regaling my hosts with stories of America and my travels.



-Dravis