Though their computers never recognise my camera and the potholes in their roads have shaken my bones and covered my panniers with jam; though a bicycle here is often mistaken for an instrument to carry potatoes from one side of the village to the other, and is never seen being peddled up a hill, my time in the Ukraine has exceeded all the expectations I could ever have had.

Over the past two weeks I have begun to realise some of the reasons I wanted to attempt this adventure. In Rachiv my hosts, Emma and Eric, cooked wonderful Hutsul food, and treated me so kindly even though their guesthouse was full.

In Kolomiya, Stepan approached me as I was slowly grappling with reading the street signs and helped me find a place to stay, whilst speaking excellent English. He had taught himself by listening to the BBC world service. He helped at a local English club, to which I went later - to talk about what I was doing and to successfully destroy Matthew's lesson plan - sorry!

My first week in the Ukraine was their Easter, celebrated a week later than in the UK and lasting 7 days. It is a time for eating, drinking and meeting friends. And it was the cause of the first breaking of my 'no-drinking' rule. At the B+B in Kolomiya, Ktrina, Romana and their friends made me feel really welcome: and I spent the night eating their special Easter food, watching bottles of vodka disappear and
having all the toasted kindly translated for me by Romana.

The next day, inevitably, started as a day to get through, with a greater intake of water than usual. 20km from Chernovtsi I was fixing a puncture when Igor, the owner of the house I was outside invited me inside - for vodka and cigarettes, at first, and after my hesitant refusal, for coffee and food.

It is an event that I have happily enjoyed several times since: that on entering a Ukrainian home, as a stranger, wonderful salads and meats emerge from fridges and soups and dumplings are lifted from stoves before the eating and drinking of cakes and coffee.

I will not list every meeting, for fear of boring you beyond tolerance, but everyday I am amazed further by the hospitality of the people I meet. The effect of the kindness I have known in the Ukraine is completely overwhelming and I often find myself shaking my head in amazement and whispering superlatives to myself after saying goodbye.

One of the most memorable times I have had recently, was the rest day I had in Uman. I stayed at a home, whose slightly intoxicated landlady I met whilst trying to find a hotel, with 4 students; four of whom studied English. They showed me around the stunning Sofiyevka Park, and it was very interesting to gain an insight into their lives - and so lovely to spend a day talking to them.

I have learnt so much during my time in the Ukraine. If I could show some of the hospitality, that I have had experience of here, to foreigners visiting the UK, I would be very happy. Beer for breakfast and week-long Easter festivals aren't bad ideas either... well maybe the former has a place somewhere!

Photos may follow shortly, or as seems more likely, they may follow much later.