A day not quite according to plan...


It started out well. We left early, as planned, with a van loaded with aid, including a cake for soldiers, baked by our American friend. Although it was very cold (minus 3 - 4 during the day), the grey cloud, which has been with us for days, finally lifted. (The photo is taken from one of the road bridges over the Dnipro River in Kyiv.)

Our 3 Polish volunteer friends also set off early from Krakow, each driving a vehicle (2 all-terrain cars destined for soldiers), and we were all supposed to rendezvous at a hotel in Kyiv. Unfortunately, one of the trio was a little over-enthusiastic and drove at such a speed that the diesel engine gave out!
All the the aid had to be taken out of his vehicle and stuffed into the others, and the car taken to the garage. Luckily, the engine is fixable and the car can be brought over tomorrow. 

However, the delay meant that the other two were concerned that they would not make it to Kyiv before curfew at 11 pm. So they asked Bob and me to talk nicely to soldiers or Police at one of the checkpoints to see if they would be allowed through.
The problem was that we had just passed the last checkpoint on the bridge and Police, who had been visible the whole journey (waiting to give us another speeding ticket!) were now nowhere to be seen! So Bob and I tramped the streets for an hour and a half in search of a Police station. We found one, which was also a military headquarters, and were told, categorically, that there would be no exceptions to the curfew.

Our walking efforts in the cold were rewarded by finding this literal street market (i.e. in the middle of the street!), selling everything from fish heads, to beeswax and fresh pomegranate juice.

Turns out that our Polish friends will probably make it here well before curfew. Tomasz was worried because, previously, he and another volunteer were not allowed to their hotel, a mile past the checkpoint, because it was past curfew. They had to sleep in the back of the van, which was empty, in sleeping bags - and this was in summer.                                    Tomorrow will be another early start. 
 

Comments

  1. Franklinatsea29 January 2023 at 14:43

    Things don't often go as planned, eh? But you're getting thongs in people's hands, and that's what counts. Please let the folks know that I apologize for the cakes being so plain. Buttercream icing would turn to a slab of butter in this cold. Have a safe journey.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Franklinatsea29 January 2023 at 14:46

    I do believe I meant 'things'. You know what they say: Thongs out of season, trouble without reason.

    ReplyDelete

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