Day 21: Gently down the stream

Dunaujvaros to Marker 1519 (59km)

The plan for today was to kayak until I was tired and then find a good place to camp by the river, that’s pretty much exactly what I did. It was another sunny day on the river and a wholly uneventful one. I stopped for lunch in a nice spot on one the pebble beaches that now line the banks. My next aim was for the town of Paks, where I had spotted a supermarket near the river where I could stock up for the next couple of days. I had forgotten, but I have actually seen the Paks football team play live before, when they visited Edinburgh and got a gubbing from Hearts a few years ago. It seemed like the town had emotionally recovered from this event quite well and was back on its feet. I had travelled about 50km to reach Paks, my plan was to go at least 10km further and then stop at the first suitable camping spot.

Finding a good spot wasn’t so easy, I was swiftly repelled from the first place I pulled up to by an army of territorial mosquitos. I then decided to try the other side of the river, which proved to be much friendlier. I found a good spot, set up the tent and set about cooking dinner. I’ve been carrying at least one dehydrated meal since John O’Groats, so it is long overdue that I tried one. I’ve had them before and usually they are surprisingly tasty. This one was not so good. I had added far too much water, turning my macaroni cheese into cheesy pasta soup. Still, food is food, it went down and I was no longer hungry. I lay in the tent for a bit, my eyes beginning to fade and was lulled to sleep by the sound of the river.