Next day we were already cycling in Crimea, facing heavy traffic, cars moving at a breakneck speed, and 'no-holds-barred' overtaking. "Marshrutka" is a great invention, although not biker friendly. These vehicles cut in on bikes and the passengers do not look where (or rather at whom) they get off. (Marshrutka is a kind of a minibus for 10-15 passengers. It is the most popular and the most comfortable means of transport for short distances).

We planned our first overnight stop in Bilohirsk – according to a map there was a hotel, and we did not feel like pitching a tent on the first night. It turned out that the hotel existed only on the map, but luckily local youth did us a favour and offered to put us up in their dormitory. The dormitory looked scary, but for us it was a salvation. A decent room, a toilet bowl, hot shower – there was nothing more we could wish for after cycling all day long. Maybe except for the shower that would not be electrified! It did give us an electric shock, though very gentle ;-)

Nevertheless, we received a 5-star service – our luggage was carried in, we were told where the shop was, and the following morning we were asked if we had slept well. We felt great there.

Next day the sun was relentless. We rode into the famous Crimean meadows which successfully distracted us from looking down at the road. It is hard to describe all these colours: red, purple, white, blue, pink and yellow. We recognized poppies, camomile, marguerites, a helichrysum, harebells, purple and pink-tinted larkspurs, clovers in 3 colours, white and pink bindweeds, St John’s wort and many others.

Having climbed a small hill, 5 km outside Bilohirsk, we saw the Trans Hotel. It is situated just by the road, so it is strange that no one from the town knew about it.