If you’re enjoying following this journey on the Via Transilvanica, I’d be grateful if you’d like and share this post. And if you’d like to see more photos and videos from the trail, you can find me on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, BlueSky, and Threads or find me on LinkedIn.
“When you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it.” Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist
Today was epically uneventful for the most part, so I’m going to take the night off and leave you with just one story and some photos.
I think we all need a break from reading – and writing – about this hike.
Plus, Massimo has been begging to get his ass kicked at Machiavelli, so apparently I have other work to do.
Also, I did the laundry this afternoon, so maybe I’m not as useless as I thought.
Nah. Who am I kidding? One load means nothing. Massimo is still the washing machine.
Manifesting 102
Today, we decided to ditch the trail.
There was a huge climb ahead of us, and we had already determined that we were not interested in participating in that particular activity. “Lazy hikers.” So we took a shortcut on the road instead, where it was flat, easy, and significantly less difficult for our legs. After 34 days of hiking, we are tired.
About 45 minutes from our final destination, a little black car drove past us.
Then it stopped.
Then it reversed towards us and stopped again.
The driver rolled down his window.
“Do you want a ride?”
We politely declined.
“No, thank you. We’re okay.”
He asked where we were going.
“The next town.”
“I live there. Get in. I’ll drive you.”
“No, thank you. Really, it’s okay. We’re very close. Only a couple of kilometers.”
“Where are you from?”
“America and Italy.”
He immediately switched to Italian.
Turns out he had previously lived in both Torino and Napoli and now lives in London, which explained why he was perfectly comfortable speaking both of our native languages.
At this point, he got out of the car.
Right there in the middle of the road.
A car came up behind us, and I waved them around us because apparently I am now traffic control. Someone get me a reflective vest, ASAP.
“Oh come on. Get in. I’d love to take you. No charge. Where are you staying?”
I showed him our accommodation on the map.
“Ah, we’re neighbors, I live across the street. Let’s go!”
Massimo and I looked at each other, shrugged our shoulders, and loaded our bags into the back of his car.
After weeks of hiking across Romania, we have gotten into several stranger’s car without batting an eye. Excellent decision-making.
Our new friend took off like a mad man behind the wheel, zipping around the curvy roads.
I was in the back and started to feel sick to my stomach. This isn’t the first time this has happened in Romania.
One thing we’ve learned about Romanian drivers is, they drive extremely fast and the lines on the road are only loose suggestions.
He was talking a mile a minute. At one point, he mentioned that he was old.
Massimo just laughed and said, “No, I’m old.”
I piped up from the backseat, “Well, I’m young…forever.”
We asked him how old he was.
He looked at me in the rear view mirror and said, “Forty-eight. I was born in 1978.”
I burst out laughing.
“You’re not old! We’re the same age, and I am definitely not old. So you can’t be old either.”
Our birthdays are less than a month apart. He is a Sagittarius too – kindred souls.
I was following along on Google Maps. It said, four minutes to our destination from where we started.
We arrived in three.
We all got out, unloaded our bags, took a photo together, and said goodbye.
As we were walking towards our accommodation, Massimo stopped, looked at me and said, “We are terrible hikers.”
And he’s right – and lazy too!
But I think we’re becoming excellent manifesters.
Lesson 102.
You ask for something. You want it badly. You obsess over it. You try to force it into existence. And then, eventually, you let it go.
You stop needing it. You stop looking for it. And suddenly, it shows up. No questions asked.
So, thank you, Lucian, for the free ride.
We’re clearly getting very good at this manifestation stuff.
Walking? Not so much.
And thank you, Universe, for continuing to find creative ways to remind us that we are, in fact, terrible at hiking.
At this rate, we should finish the Via Transilvanica sometime in 2037.
Much love & gratitude. Namaste 🙏
If you enjoyed this post, I’d be grateful if you’d like and share it.
