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Day 80 : Travel day 40 : 02.10.69.
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Skopje - Zagreb

E.Route : Skopje - Zagreb : ETD ---- : ETA ---- : Dist ----.
A.Route : Skopje - Zagreb : ATD 0645 : ATA 2145 : Dist 528 m.

Distance : 528 m. : Gross T.Time 15:00 hr : Net T.Time 13:15 hr.
Est.A.Spd ---- : Gross A.Spd 35:20 mph : Net.A.Spd 39.70 mph.
Stop time 1:45 hr : Speedo TD 15872 : Speedo TA 16400.

Comment : Many hours of monotonous travel down the Autoput, without meeting any mobile cranes, broken by shopping in Nis and tortuous detours in Belgrade.

Gordon's letters

Jim Lindsay's diary:

2 October

Once again we spent a lot of time on the monotonous Autoput. We were mildly apprehensive about meeting another mobile crane but got to Belgrade safely. Navigating through Belgrade was quite fun, particularly since they had engineering some complicated diversions at one end of the bridge over the river Sava.

More Autoput followed. We had a break at a self-service restaurant, a kind of Autoput Services, and I think we were mildly surprised when none of the other diners showed any interest in us. We had got used to being stared at.

Finally we arrived back at the Mladost campsite in Zagreb, although this time they squeezed us into a small area of rock-hard ground just inside the entrance rather than letting us into to the fields we had used before.

To eat or not to eat .. by Liz Y

In a way Yugoslavia felt a bit like a corridor to our 'real' destination in the East. Apart from Zagreb, we rattled through the country without many stops. A lot had to be gleaned from just staring out of the coach windows or taking a quick look around on brief refreshment /shop stops.

The mood on board Cuddles was different between the outward and return journeys. On the way out, we were full of excitement, anticipating what was to come. On the way back it was beginning to dawn on us that this wonderful expedition was coming to an end. By then the weather had turned to autumn and our mood was more subdued. We were all rather weary and travel worn.

In both directions we drove through Titov Veles during the evening promenade. On the way back some people spotted a group of boisterous men sporting what looked like embroidered cushions on their heads. I don't know if these were young men. In many countries where the promenade is practiced, girls are typically more closely chaperoned by their families. Perhaps that was how things were here. I guess the promenade gives young people a chance to see one another, and show off a bit. The cushions may have been a sort of 'kausia', a traditional Macedonian hat of ancient origin, but I am just speculating.

From the coach windows, it was of course interesting to see the people going about their daily lives, the changing style of houses and the varying aspects of the countryside, although spending hours staring out of the window did get pretty monotonous. Interesting little things could be experienced even on a short stop. I remember a roadside coffee stall in southern Yugoslavia, where coffee was heated in individual copper-coloured pots on a bed of smouldering charcoal. Sugar was added to the coffee before heating, to the taste of each customer. The coffee was heated until a froth formed on the surface. It was then served in small cups together with a glass of water, a style common across the former Ottoman countries. This stop may have been in Niš in what is now Serbia. Niš was our mid-morning stop after an early start from the Skopje campsite, where we had spent another night alfresco, despite the chillier weather.

Another time, more towards Zagreb, I remember a well-turned out couple, a little older than us. They were amused, for no obvious reason, to find themselves next to a few of us at an adjacent table. It turned out they were both happily sozzled on a local drink, something quite strong. It may have been plum brandy. Anyway I remember a cheerful exchange in fragmented English and I suppose Serbo-Croat. Unfortunately we had no time to sample the Šlivovica, or whatever it was.

Another memory relates to porridge. We pitched the tent again in Zagreb on the return journey. We had got used to sleeping in the open air, but the nights were now turning cold and it was cosy in the shelter of the tent.

In the morning the cooks prepared a big pot of porridge. It was thick and seemed just the right consistency. It had already been ladled out to a number of the group before somebody noticed it contained maggots, lots of them. I think the porridge had been made from a big bag of oats we had bought in Pakistan, in the hope that it would last for the rest of the trip. There was a muted discussion about whether maggots were edible, although it was too late for some people who had already eaten their porridge. I think this was the last time we had porridge for breakfast.

Kirsteen & locals. Photo: KT.
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