Off to the Carpathians!

English version below.

Our journey to the Carpathians starts in an old, red Dacia. Radu and his friend take us and we drive through the countryside with deafening Romanian folk pop music (catchy especially because of the line 'puju puju yeah') towards the mountains. We somehow communicate in Italian.

We drive through small Romanian villages; on the side of the road, there are small stalls selling fruits and various souvenirs. Our driver crosses himself at every church we pass. He also seems to know a lot of people, maybe it's just customary to greet and honk here.

Finally, we reach Poiana Marului, nestled between the mighty Western Carpathians and a reservoir. From here, we go steeply uphill through old beech forests. We get passed by enduro riders showing off their skills on the steep mountain slopes. Luckily, it's shady. The vegetation changes from deciduous to coniferous trees and we finally make it to the top. We break through the treeline and find ourselves on a golden-yellow high plateau; the reservoir from this morning is now deep below us. Up here, we primarily hear one thing: absolute silence, only occasionally interrupted by a gentle breeze. After setting up the tent and cooking our food, we fall asleep exhausted, thinking: 'Tomorrow will be less steep.'

At night, a magnificent starry sky stretches above us. The bright band of the Milky Way is clearly visible, and Jupiter and Saturn look like bright shining pebbles in the sky; the air up here is so clear and there is minimal light pollution.

In the following days, we climb the Màtania (the highest point of our hike at 2100m). The vastness of the landscape is unbelievable. It seems like you could get lost in it. Our concern about being able to refill our water supplies soon disappears as we come across the first clear spring. We also gather wild thyme to use for cooking later.

The landscape is mostly untouched, with only a few shepherd huts or shelters scattered around. We hike through yellow grasslands and hills covered in blueberries, crisscrossed by small streams. We cross a mountain river (Stefan jumps, Mary wades) and meet a Romanian shepherd who proudly shows us his dogs and sheep. It gets windy and cold in the mountains at night, and we're grateful for our warm sleeping bags and hats, as well as our sturdy tent that seems to withstand any storm.

So, for five days, we enjoy the vastness and tranquility of the Carpathians and feel like seasoned adventurers. Not only are we exhausted, but our supplies are also running low, so we're looking forward to a hot meal and a soft bed in Cerna-Sat, the destination of our hike. However, things would turn out a little differently than expected...

Our journey to the Carpathians starts in an old, red Dacia. Radu and his friend take us. While listening to Romanian folkpop including the catchy line 'puju puju yeah' we’re going via country roads towards the mountains. We cross through small Romanian villages. Next to the street there are small stalls by people selling fruits and various bits and pieces. Our driver crosses himself with every church we pass. Moreover he seems to know everybody or perhaps it’s just common practice to constantly greet and hoot.

Finally we arrive in Poiana Marului, which lies embedded by the mighty Westcarpathians next to a water reservoir. From here we hike up a steep mountain covered in old beech trees. Endurodrivers overtake us and show their skills climbing these mountains with their motorbikes. Thanks to the trees it’s cool. When vegetation changes from leaf to needle we know the climb is nearly done and finally we break through the timber line and see the yellow-golden fields of the high plane before us. The water reservoir, considerably smaller from the looks of it, lies deep below in the valley behind us. This high up all we can hear is silence, which is only occasionally broken by a small breeze. After having put up the tent and eaten we fall asleep thinking: 'Tomorrow’s path will not be as steep!'

At night the impressive night sky reveals the bright band of the Milky Way. The air is so clear and as there is no light pollution Jupiter and Saturn are clearly visible, looking like shiny pebbles.

During the next days we climb up the highest point of our journey, the Màtania. The vastness of the landscape is incredible. You seemingly could loose yourself in it. Our worries of not being able to top up our water supply are dispelled, as we soon find the first clear source. We also collect wild thyme which we use for cooking the same day.

The landscape is mostly wild and untouched, except for some scattered shepherd’s huts. We hike through yellow fields and hills covered in blueberry bushes, little streams cutting through. We cross a mountain river (Stefan by jumping, Mary by wading through the ice cold water). The one person we do meet is a shepherd who proudly presents his sheep and dogs. At night it becomes quite chilly and we’re thankful for our insulated sleeping bags and the stable tent which seems to defy every storm.

This way we enjoy the five days in the Carpathians and feel like full-blown adventurers. However, in the end we are pretty exhausted and our supplies are running low. So we are looking forward to a hot meal and soft bed in Cerna-Sat not knowing yet that things would turn out a little different than expected.