Beyond the Horizon, Part 5 pp From Moscow to Lisbon with Julie

While in Moscow, Colin learned about Erden Eruc and Tim Harvey’s plans to row the Atlantic

Leaving Moscow: On July 19, Colin and Julie departed Moscow for Lisbon, Portugal They left from St. Basil’s Cathedral in Red Square 5,500km to Lisbon 22,000km to Vancouver

Next stop Ukraine: 550km down the M2

Ukraine: In the fallout area of Chernobyl, the nuclear reactor that melted in 1986

Ukraine to Hungary: The Carpathian Mountains

Hungary:

Hungary: land of beautiful highways that cyclists aren’t allowed on

Budapest, capital of Hungary (with its Lenin)

Austria: Colin comments on the picturesque houses

Vienna, capital of Austria

In Vienna, Colin and Julie find the Danube River Cycling Path – 800km along the dikes:

Passau, Germany, where the Danube Trail ends

Tuttlingen, Germany (left), then through the NW corner of Switzerland and into France

South-Central France

Crossing the Pyrenees into Spain:

Colin and Julie cross the Pyrenees at the Ibaneta Temple on the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage route:

Spain: Colin comments on the beautiful squares in every town

Portugal: Colin and Julie’s final European country -Portugal is the world’s largest supplier of cork

Lisbon, Portugal: Lisbon’s population is 600,000 There are over 3,000,000 in greater Lisbon Colin and Julie spend their time at the municipal marina – the Doca De Belem – preparing their boat – christened Ondine – for departure From Lisbon harbor the “Portuguese Trades” will aid them

The Doca De Belem, Lisbon:

Colin and Julie’s Boat: The Ondine The Ondine is a 24 foot boat designed for ocean- rowing by Phil Morrison (pictured with one of his boats, above) It has a fore cabin for storage and an aft cabin as a berth. There are 8 compartments below deck for storage. Below are Colin and Julie in their boat

Modifying The Ondine Colin and Julie depended on a reverse-osmosis desalinator for their drinking water They rationed 10 litres a day The unit worked but required a great amount of energy They installed flexible solar panels on the hull of the boat to provide electricity for the desalinator and other electronics

Modifying The Ondine, continued… Colin and Julie also had to install an EPIRB, an emergency position indicating radio beacon, on their boat Its batteries were recharged by the solar panels

September, 22: Departure Date - next step (on land) North America