We planned to wakeup at 6am hours, but we were awake earlier. We packed. My cell phone still not working. We shook out the dust, returned the key to our room, and took a taxi to the garage near the place where we had parked the motorcycle yesterday. A garage keeper met us. What a relief when the cycle started immediately. We loaded our things onto the cycle and stowed the cover (film), which was given to us as a present from the Sho office. Off we went!
After filling up with gas we returned to the same road we were on several days ago. Our destination was Grodno. From Minsk to Grodno it was 280 km. After 96km we took a rest stop.
Stopping at another gas station we arrived at Grodno. We spent a lot of time there looking for the road to Poland. The main road was closed for construction so there were detours into the city. Asking people for directions we finally found the correct route. When Xavier saw a café along the road, we decided to stop for we had not eaten anything all day. We had a delicious dinner and changed 100 US dollars for some local currency The border was only 2km away so we began to hurry.
The border is near! At the Byelorussian border there were two long lines;
one for cars, one for trucks. Getting in line behind the cars I left Xavier
and walked to a building to get some information. Moving to the building
I noticed another motorcycle passing in the car line. I waved him to stop
and he told me cycles could move to the front of the line! I told Xavier
to follow him as he made progress and soon we arrived at the gate. An officer
checked our sidecar and gave us a ticket allowing us to proceed to passport
control, which was the next stop. The line at passport control was not
long, but I thought we could also pass to the front of the line as previously
done. I was wrong! We had to fill out declaration forms and then wait in
line.
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A custom officer reviewed our declaration form, asked me where I was from and then smiled and stamped my passport. When he checked Xaviers passport he asked him to enter the building. This made me nervous! I went along since Xavier since he does not speak Russian. The officers asked us again where we were from and we replied, Moscow. They smiled and stamped Xaviers passport! (I was nervous at that moment, because I was afraid that police could stopped Xavier in a country, because his visa was over 2 days ago!).
Polands border and custom patrol was easier. A military man reviewed all the documents for our motorcycle and said everything was in order. He did not search anything and allowed us to proceed. At last we are on neutral territory! Our first stop was to locate a money exchange office. We needed to exchange Byelorussian money for Polands currency. No one was accepting Byelorussian currency. We did find a man going to Byelorussia however who agreed to exchange currency with us at a fair rate. Arriving on Poland territory a military officer noticed that the customs officer neglected to stamp one of our papers. We had to return to this man who then stamped the form.
At last we are in Poland! We drove for about 50 km and stopped near a hotel. I needed a map of Poland to learn how far it was to Warsaw. I also wanted to know the price for a double room in the hotel.
We decided to keep driving. After some time we came to a phone and Xavier tried a telephone card, which he had bought in a shop near the phone booth. Xavier became frustrated because the phone had no dial tone. I decided to use my cell phone to call home, Moscow, and ask my parents to add money to my cell phone account.
After filling up with gas I called to Cezary Prokopovich, my friend in Warsaw. Xavier really wanted to check his answering machine in Paris so I asked the man at the gas station stop where we had purchased gas and the phone card used in our unsuccessful attempt at the phone booth if we could use his phone. He refused since there was no way we could reimburse him for the call, but he did suggest we try another phone not too far away. We drove to this location, Xavier successfully phoned home, and we proceeded on our drive to Warsaw.
By this time it was dark, but we continued driving. It was about 130 km to Warsaw. We stopped at a gas station. Xavier wanted to look for a hotel but first we stopped at a bar. After refreshment we entered a shop.
I waited for Xavier outside when a man from Minsk approached and asked me several questions about where we were from, etc.
Xavier then approached and said he met a Frenchman in the shop who can show us the way to a hotel and that we should follow his car. We drank some coffee in the shop; Xavier bought a map of Warsaw and also a very old book, which had a map of Europe.
After discussions in the shop concerning our motorcycle we left and followed the Frenchmans car to a hotel. That hotel was comfortable. We paid 20 US dollars and could park the Ural in a garage behind the hotel. After a bath I fell sound asleep.
