Another toxic 10 miler in Bucharest

Now that most of our travel is out of the way, it was time to return to my Saturday long run in the scenic city of Bucharest (haw haw haw). So today I headed out on one of my more familiar routes to the huge Parliament Building in the centru (city center). The early morning temperature was a nice 63 F or so with no wind - just about perfect.

Subtle improvements

Before I left my neighborhood (Titan), I noticed that the paving was nearly complete around Titan Park. The "communist style" (basically this means: awful quality) pavement has been replaced and they even have a bike path marked out which circles the entire north segment of the park. With the traffic getting worse by the month, the city is trying to encourage more use of non-motorized transit. I wish them luck - it's an uphill battle there. The first thought that comes to mind after considering the idea of bicycling in this city is: "Update your will NOW!"

The "Death Cloud"

Anyway, the run was going pretty good until I passed the Parliament Building. I decided to make one loop around Park Izvor and head back. While I was going around the park I saw a truck slowly driving through the park with a large cloud of smoke pouring out of a tank behind it. The truck read "3d Pest Control" which was written in English, just for me I guess. Also just for me, was a slight breeze which blew the cloud right towards me. I was into mile 5 at this point, so I had no choice but to inhale the stench. At least I wasn't one of the old folks walking inside the park where the truck went right beside them with its toxic brew. That couldn't have been healthy. The air in this city is bad enough without "enhancements" like this one. I guess this truck was spraying for mosquitoes, but who knows - all I know was that it stunk. Oh well, there was nothing to do but keep running until I made it back or died from the poison I just inhaled.

Rats! (literally)

After 10 miles, I started my "cool down walk" (basically this means: I got tired and quit about .5 miles from the apartment). Oh, and speaking of pests, this is where today's Bucharest wildlife segment comes in. After getting a drink at one of the park fountains (yes, after inhaling the death cloud, I was fearless at this point), I saw a couple of these guys. They were medium sized for Bucharest, about 6-8" long (not including the tail).

Where's that Pest Control truck when you really need it?