Khortytsia is beautiful early in the morning. Perfect weather - it's raining. It’s possible to spend the whole day here, but I have to go further. From the Scythian state, I publish the Blablacar trip. Time to leave - an hour, but maybe someone will go to the festival? .. Therefore, I set a minimum rate. Before that, I decided to go to the bookstore. Books and roads are important. This is what remains. Soborny Avenue - yesterday I didn’t visit this part. The nice church is visible in the distance. I stop across the street from the bookstore, there is a small coffee shop - I take my takeaway coffee. The rain is getting heavier, so I go under the canopy. At the same time, the passenger Denis appears. I confirm the request, call and arrange to meet in 20 minutes at Okko in front of the bus station.
In the KSD bookstore, I am buying Daniel Yergin's book "The Prize: The Epic Quest for Oil, Money & Power". The air seems to smell like oil. Although you have stopped fighting for power, the volatility of markets can still bring money. I'm buying another book as a gift that I'm unlikely to fulfill… These 1,000 pages from the Pulitzer Prize winner are definitely interesting, but the passenger is waiting. Because there are no buses to Tokmak on this rainy day.
Aren't you from these places? - the fellow traveler asks
No, this is the first time I'm going in this direction
And how is it to travel alone?
It’s Okay, cool. I have traveled a lot in Ukraine this year. Often with someone, but more often alone. Few people can go that far, and to be honest, these places are not the most popular destination. And then I will go to the Stone Tomb. Have you been there?
Yes, I was there a long time ago when I was still studying. There is a museum in Molochansk.
I narrate about the festival, including the "Horeya Kozatska" music group, to which we listened to all the way. Mostly we remain silent and listen to the music. Denis liked the music, and he says:
They could also perform in Tokmak, there is a house of culture.
Someone is calling him, I understand that it’s a little son who will go to meet him with his grandfather. If I wouldn’t have been short in time, maybe I would take him to his village, which is probably not far from Tokmak, I often do so on Blablacar - and it's very interesting to explore the new locations and do something useful. But in this case, I just decide to go through the center of town, and not a detour as the navigator shows.
Oh, there is an ATB here, - I comment when we drive to the center of Tokmak
Yes, it was recently built, not even opened yet.
But we turn towards the bus station. Coffee stall .. He takes two coffees, invites me. The fare for the trip was 65 UAH, but he gives more. I try to return, but he says - "No, on the bus would be more expensive anyway."
We stand under the canopy of the bus station, smoke, talk about factories, he says that there is no work here, but in Zaporizhzhya, there are many factories, he works at one of them and has already become a master. The coffee is awful, but the weather is great, especially for car travel - the rain has intensified. At that time I didn't know that it would rain all day and I would listen to "Horeya Kozatska" all day, but not to their recordings...
