Hot August Wednesday. The sun defy anybody who wishes to come out of the shadow. In fire station in Blaževdol diligent firemen are cleaning the garages and outside with no hurry whatsoever. Nobody is complaining, even in this heat. They are proud when it’s tidy. And those big garages may seem concrete cold and faceless, but not to them. They are home.
That calm and hot afternoon simply had to be interrupted with some unusual event. That’s how the things works here. If nothing is happening at the moment, just wait a while.
And things became weird in the second. On the street that leads to fire station, a strange vehicle is coming. Tricycle with a trailor, full of flags from all over the world. Who is this funny bloke. Or two to be exact. The first one is Starsky, beautiful black mix breed dog. He is patrol for his master and servant, but really for his best friend Hutch.
Hutch is Martin Hutchinson, native of Manchester, ex-fireman. He’s travelling the world for 13 years now, raising awareness about enviromental protection and dangers of pollution. After he walked 34000 km across South America, for last 3 years he travels across Europe on his tricycle. After that he is planning to travel across Asia, and finishes his journey in Australia in 2030. Plan that may or may not come true. Doesn’t matter to Martin. His mission is working out on daily basis. From place to place, big cities and small villages, country by country.
Hello Martin, take a break here with us.
We quickly came on the same page. He was fireman after all. Modesty in every his word. Starsky needs a little water. Just a bite or two of food. And then the stories started. Martin have thousands of those. Every his day is another story. From sleeping in bolivian prison to how Starsky, from abandoned puppy in Portugal became his lifetime travelling partner. OK, there must be something we can do to help your mission. Martin is teaching us how everybody is taking nature for granted. And we shouldn’t do that. He has seen it all. Polluted forests, fields, fresh water springs. We were proud when he said that Croatia is still clean, but we understood that was a warning, and we have to make an extra effort to keep it this way. „That is why we’ll plant a tree, here in your little park in front of the fire station.“ – Martin said.
And we did. Cherry tree that will remind us every day of this unusual encounter.
Time was flying listening to Martin’s stories, and we had some of our own. Hutch have patience to listen everybody, being calm, peaceful and modest. Starsky is more of the restless spirit. His communication with local dogs was a bit louder.
We had a cup of coffee, and traditional bacon and onions meal. Time has come for this two fellers to get on their way.
Bon voyage Starsky and Hutch. Who knows, maybe we’ll meet again.