We left late but we had some administration to do until nine such as mail all of our presents back home as they were starting to pile up and added about 2kg to our bags. I wasn’t sure if I should mail the homemade cognac so I kept it in the front bag just in case of emergency. We were really sorry to leave and I think that so was the staff of the center.

They were good to us but we had to move on to the next town. They followed us for about a km tightly packed in a little red car that could barely support their weight. But it was touching to have them there with us or the first km.

The day advanced and we ended up at the checkpoint where the staff from the Boyarka center was waiting by the side of the road with banners and balloons. We followed them into town and through what is known as Kiev. Let me explain a little about the traffic in Kiev...

Although there are white and yellow lines painted on the road their significance seems a little foggy to me right now. From what I have seen, when you get onto the road in Kiev and you are in the left lane you have a great power and it is only the right tire which tells the car next to you how much of the next lane it can take. The car in the right lane has to share this lane with the car on the right of him because he must move for the oncoming traffic that crosses the lines. But the center car can not take up too much space because there is some kind of secret lane that is only usable by people who can actually see the invisible lane. They are the people with their heads out the window yelling at the people who are driving on the sidewalk in the wrong direction. From what I have seen these rules apply to a one lane road.

This is actually the only rule that I have seen to be followed by everyone: do not drive the wrong direction on the sidewalk, I guess it’s rude.

Anyway we finally made it to the center with the help of our pace car which patiently led at a speed of 20km/h and carried our bags. The center was next to a hospital and we were greeted by about 10 - 15 people who were dressed in traditional Ukrainian costume. We sat down directly to eat as we had made them wait for us for a couple of hours. There was of course everything to eat and we were overwhelmed with the hospitality again. There was a huge table and we had our translator with us to talk with everyone.

We then toured the center and saw the dieren room and activities that the center was involved in. It was again pretty impressive. But we were tired so we went to our house and relaxed where I could type up a couple of missed days for the site.

Although we had sent a box of gifts home, my bags were still very heavy. Our generous host had packed this huge lunch with only 12 snickers. Bless her heart! What a sweet and generous lady. I will miss her and all the people from the centre. It s amazing, I ve only known them for 2 days and it feels like we have been friends for ages.

It was near 2 o clock when we finally hit the outskirt of Kiev. The traffic had become heavy and I was getting really tiried of inhaling the fumes of the cars and trucks. We stopped on the side of the road for lunch. Chris went to get a huge watermelon for desert. That was so refreshing!!

We didn t stop for long because we knew we were being expected by people from the Boyarka centre who had come to show us the way out of Kiev and towards Boyarka.

A few kilometres later, there they were waiting for us with ballons, ukrainian flags and a banner with our names. Our new translator, Natasha introduced us to Tatiana, the deputee chairwoman of the Boyarka centre and her husband, a massage therapist and artist.

They functioned as a pilot car for us all the way to Boyarka. I was very thankful to them because driving though Kiev was hell! So many cars, and so many crazy drivers. One truck actually brushed Chris while the others were honking at us like crazy!

Finally we arrived at Boyarka. To our surprise. A committee of kids and staff was waiting for us and gave us the warmest welcome. I was told they had been waiting for a long time. I felt bad we were arriving so late but when you bike it's difficult to precisely calculate the time it will take you from one place to another because our speed of travel depends on so many parameters. This time, it was the head wind.

Then another surprise was waiting for me. The intercultural art therapy project was there! beautifully displayed on the wall in the entrance. It brought tears into my eyes. All that work and the final master piece in front of me!

We toured the centre, visited the different rooms. I was especially interested by the art therapy program. I met with the art therapist Oxana who was a psychologist who specialized in art therapy. I regretted I could directly speak to her as I felt we had a lot to talk about. The centre is very nice and well set up. A lot of people coming to the centre are from the hospital of Boyarka which is next to the centre.

We then had a delicious home made dinner that women of the centre had prepared. So much time and care was put in the dishes and table decorations. I was very touched.

We ate, laughed, shared our trip, impressions,..again it was another precious moment.

Then Natascha took us to her home, a typical traditional Ukrainian home. We met with her sweet baby boy and her grandma. She showed us around and told us about her ancestors. Her husband offered to give us a free Tibetan massage, I accepted it as my back hurt a lot. I felt much more relaxed and ready to go to bed afterwards.