Rating 5.0 | Blablacar stories. №6

On one August morning, I am leaving Lviv for Slavsko. The route is not the most popular, but there are passengers on it - even two. We meet at McDonald's, somewhere on the outskirts of Lviv.

• Oh, you also work at Eleks, - the younger passenger tells the older, after noticing the branded bag

The woman who went to Tukhlya did not work at Eleks, one of her acquaintances worked there. But this company has become a big subject of our conversation. Not that this is one of the largest IT companies in Ukraine, it's just that it recently started working with the Cardano blockchain, which is the main one in the field of my crypto-interests.

Of course, for Eleks - this is just one of many projects, but even my passenger heard something about it. She told a lot of interesting things about the company in general, and then I say:

• I also have a friend who works there

• What's his name?

• Oleksiy

• Well, we have a lot of Oleksiys working there, maybe you know the surname?

• Oleksiy Skrypnyk

There was a pause… I must have been looking at the road, so I could not see the horror or surprise in her eyes. But I felt it after a pause and with the intonation of the following question:

• Are you joking?

• Oh no, why?

• Because that's the founder and director of the company!

• Yes, he is my friend - and then, I did not delay the pause, added: - Well, a friend on Facebook

In today's world, it happens that friends on social networks do not recognize you on the streets. And in general, it often happens, except for those with whom you communicate a lot. So I explained that although it is true that we are friends on Facebook, we saw each other once, and he certainly does not remember me. We met 5 years ago when he organized a meeting with Finnish deputies. Geopolitically, then we had a common interest in the "Baltic-Black Sea Union", as now - the Arab world. His company is actively entering the markets of the UAE and Saudi Arabia, and I have long been convinced that Ukraine needs to work more with this region. In fact, it was because of this concept I studied Arabic many years ago and resumed my studies this year, when I began to visit Dubai periodically. And Cardano as a cryptocurrency is more geopolitical than one might think.

So I took this particular passenger as a sign to write to him and speak about possible cooperation. The same day or the next day, I wrote to him on Facebook, focusing on Cardano in the message. After all, in these times, every microblogger is an expert in geopolitics! But few know as much about Cardano as I do. Maybe no one in Ukraine! He read the message but did not respond. Well, it happens! So it was probably not a sign, but Blablacar does not cease to amaze interesting interlocutors.

On our way, we picked up two hitchhikers - a boy and a girl - Polish students. "Bums", as my truck driver passenger Artem from another story would say, he does not pick up such passengers. And they went to Drohobych because Bruno Schultz was from there! I read this author - I was not impressed! Drohobych in his works looks vague, but an interesting phenomenon that has caused some literary tourism, as we see. The Poles went out from the car on the turn to Drohobych. If there were no passengers from Blablacar, I might as well go there. This city has long been on the list of those I want to visit.

The woman from Tukhlya showed us the most Instagram place there. We did not get out of the car, but visually I remembered it - where to get out and go down to the river. And the passenger from Eleks had a birthday, she went to celebrate it herself alone in the mountains, and then in a few days, her friends would join. So I drove her to the store, waited, and then to her location which was in the neighboring village of Slavsko.

Mountains are always beautiful, at any time and weather. I've been to Slavsko many times, what's the problem with doing something useful - and going to other places to see something new. Moreover, I was in no hurry, and she had a birthday so I decided not to take money from her.