Slowinski National Park

Czolpino, 15.08.2017

'Polish Sahara' sounds quite touristy and a bit of a tall tale, but after a trip to Slowinski National Park, I know what the Poles are talking about here.

After a hearty breakfast at the campsite, Hanna and I set off from Ustka to the about 60 km away Leba. 60 km in Poland means about a two-hour drive on bumpy roads with a lot of traffic, but it is rewarded with a beautiful landscape. Leba is one of the tourist destinations on the Polish Baltic Sea and is particularly famous for the largest wandering dune in Europe. In addition, there are still V2 rocket launch facilities from the Second World War. Since we started late, we decided to drive to Czolpino during the ride. The way is shorter and the part of the huge wandering dune there is not so crowded with tourists. The dune encompasses an area of 6500 hectares and was created through extensive afforestation. It moves about 10 meters per year. We park our car in the forest on a parking lot and set off on foot towards the dune. After some time in the forest, the dune comes quite unexpectedly. Without warning, it goes up a sandy mountain maybe 40 meters high. The landscape is a mixture of sand, small not yet completely sand-covered forest areas, and sand hills covered with shrubs. A great scene. On some dune slopes, you actually feel like you are in the Sahara. Sand as far as the eye can see. We have been walking barefoot through the hot sand for almost an hour now. The end of the dune and the sea cannot be seen. Suddenly, the dune goes down just as steeply and through a small forested area directly to the sea. And the travel guide did not promise too much. White sandy beach as far as the eye can see and we are pretty much alone except for a few scattered vacationers. The water gently laps against the beach. Perfect! Just as you imagine a vacation. In the late afternoon, we head back towards the car. Unfortunately, in the forest, we experience a mosquito hunt. Mosquito against human. Completely bitten, we reach our car and drive back towards Ustka, where we are rewarded with a beautiful sunset.