17 & 18 August 2008: Moscow – Kiev
It was one of the longest days of the Journey spent on the road… we had to cover approximately 800 kilometers and cross the borders between Russia-Ukraine, so it was impossible to reach Kiev that same night. From one side, we lost time waiting at Russian and Ukrainian borders for bureaucratic procedures and from the other side the road works on the National Highway to the Ukrainian capital made us modify our itinerary and spend the night in the city Ghlukhiv. We finally spotted the camping area reserved for us the by the Greek Embassy and put up our tents late at night. The place reminded of a hide-out, surrounded by trees and right under the police station of Ghlukhiv, where we slept under our wakeful guards!
Next morning we were back on the road to Kiev, where the Greek Embassy had reserved us accommodation in a boarding house for deaf and mute children, which opened its doors during holidays for us. The thoughtful principal welcomed us in person and accompanied first the women of the delegation to the second floor and then the men to the first floor, where we found simple but clean and tidy rooms. Another pleasant surprise was the delicious dinner at the restaurant of the Boarding House, on an initiative of the Greek Embassy and in the company of the Embassy’s personnel, representatives of the Greek community and the staff of the Boarding House.
During dinner the delegation chief Giorgos Karampatos and members of the Journey’s Organizing Committee, such as Giorgos Petsotas, thanked our hosts for the wonderful reception and the travelers who participated in this challenging endeavour with the aspiration to convey the messages and values of the olive tree…
