HIking in Cesky Raj National Preserve

Today started at 0800.  I left the hostel and went straight to the supermarket.  By my estimates, I will be tight on money today.  I bought 3 L of water, 6 cereal-breakfast bars, and two sandwiches.  I took me 15 minutes to find the bus station to catch a bus to Jicin.  It cost 101 Kc ($5).  The ride was 1.5 hrs long and the bus leaves from Cesky Most, which is at the end of the tube line.  It left at 1030.  I got to the Cesky Most station at 0930 and caught an earlier bus that left right at 0930.  I slept for much of the ride to Jicin but when I was awake I saw the usual beautiful countryside areas.  I spoke with the lady sitting next to me who was thinking of moving to London.  We chatted and she tried to help me figure out how to get to Cesky Raj but to no avail.  When we arrived at Jicin, I ran into more locals and received more help.  They showed me to the nearest tourist office and I got directions from there. Today is Saturday meaning all local buses operate differently and it seems that not many people know exactly how.  I took a picture with the lady who helped me to the tourist office and decided to walk to the National preserve 18 km (am skeptical about this number now) away.

It was sunshine warm weather, though windy, and it was a nice walk to the park.  I found the trail I wanted, Lets Go recommended, and began my hike. The two main places along the hike were the Prachovske Skaly rocks and Pelisek Lake.  The first were many tall rocks that seemed narrow or very straight....or something. They had horizontal lines of holes going across the faces.  They were a rock climbers dream.  Yet, I didnt see anybody climbing, not sure why.  Many people, from old to young, were hiking along a myriad of trails, like in Hawaii.  There was one lookout point that I found which offered a breath-taking view of some landscape.  We must have been pretty high up.  The map I have says roughly 1 km altitude.  I ate half of my sandwich there and kept on treking.  I reached touristicka chata (tourist house) and took a wrong turn on the trail.  I must have gone 4-6 km before I realized my error.  I turned around and found the right way again.  My destination was Pelisek Rock\Lake.

Now would be appropriate to mention that I didnt find out when the last bus to Praha was leaving Jicin so I decided to get back to Jicin by 1600 just to be safe.  This meant heading back from Cesky Raj at 1400.

It was 1330 and I finally got to Pelisek Lake.  I had planned to go much further.  I could have if I hadnt detoured.  I finished my lunch and relaxed for a bit.  I had been taking pictures of everyones dogs on the way for Donnas sake.  I took more pictures at the lake and headed back to the trail head.  I got back to the head really quickly so I decided to wait for an hour to see if I could catch a bus back to Jicin.  Some stoner teenagers came around and hung at the station.  4 really ugly guys and a pretty girl...what a shame.  They must have been around 15 or 16 years old.  I got fed up with their drunken behavior and decided to walk back, 18 km, to Jicin.

The walk back was just as nice.  I was really power walking because I was getting more and more afraid that a last bus would leave before I guessed.  I got back to Jicin at 1600 as planned.  The last bus wasnt for another 2 hours or so.  Luckily, another was leaving at 1600 so I booked it to the station and just in time to hop on.  Only 91 Kc to get back...weird.  I made a bathroom stop at one of the stops along the way and slept for the rest of the trip.

I wanted to eat dinner at a place Lets Go recommended because of their supposed cheap prices and huge portions but their prices had doubled since Lets Go last did their research so I left.  Instead, I found a place nearby the hostel.  They didnt take credit cards but I had just enough cash to pay for what I wanted.  I had a pasta with cream and baked salmon with a red wine on the side.

I met 6 girls from Budapest in the hostel tonight.  One was a dual-citizen of America.  She had no accent in her English or her Hungarian according to her friends.  We chatted a bit until I started feeling really tired and sick and went to bed.

Threw up later that night...here starts the food poisoning and general sickness.  I determined it was caused by the last pasta meal I had.