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“The journey, not the arrival, matters.” T.S. Eliot
Meet Elena, our funny host from last night. She was an absolute hoot.
She talked a mile a minute in Romanian -which we obviously didn’t understand – and whenever we would say, “Sorry, non capisco,” instead of waiting for us to get out Google Translate, she would simply yell the words louder, as if volume was the missing ingredient in our language comprehension.
Ma’am, our hearing is fine. We just don’t understand the words coming out of your mouth.
But she was incredibly sweet, and we really appreciated the effort she made to connect with us.
Costin and Marian had stayed there the night before and asked her to make us something other than the traditional Romanian diet of pork and potatoes. So she made soup, with rice and chicken drumsticks.
It was such a kind and thoughtful gesture – although judging by the quantity of rice, I suspect she was preparing to feed all of the hikers on the entire Via Transilvanica.
Finally, there has been a break in the heat!
Yesterday was miserably hot, but today the temperature dropped into the 70s – or the 20s for the Celsius folks in the group.
In the morning, it was actually a little chilly with the cloud cover, but we were hiking fast enough that we warmed up quickly. I wore a long-sleeve shirt all day, which felt downright luxurious after the heat we’ve been dealing with.
And by the afternoon, the clouds floated away and the sun came out, but the temperature stayed pleasantly cool.
It was perfect hiking weather.
Today was so peaceful. No drama. No issues. Nobody broke a leg or lost an arm. We are definitely back on track.
Too bad we only have two hikes left until the finish line.
I’m honestly a little sad that I wasn’t able to enjoy this hike – or my first visit to Romania – more.
Being sick while traveling, let alone hiking, is the pits.
There were so many days when I was simply trying to get through the day rather than actually enjoying where I was. And that’s hard when you’ve spent a year planning and dreaming about exploring a place on foot.
But today? Today felt like the Romania I had hoped to experience. And I loved it.
Animal Farm
I think we saw more animals on today’s walk than any other day.
In addition to the usual dogs, horses, cows and pigs, we watched a gaggle of ducks cross the road.
They were adorable as they waddled along, playing Follow the Leader.
We also encountered a giant herd of sheep – and when I say giant, I mean there were so many sheep that it required two shepherds to manage the operation.
This is a first.
Also, hanging around the herd were several very serious-looking guard dogs. They probably would have eaten us for lunch had one of the shepherds not called them off.
We watched one not-so-intelligent cow eat from the roadside ditch instead of grazing in the enormous pasture sitting approximately three feet away.
We even saw a viper snake.
I’m sorry for the snake, but I’m also glad for us that it had already passed on to the afterlife.
Honestly, I’m kind of grossed out by snakes.
Trespassing
At one point, we were walking through a section with very little shade and absolutely nowhere to sit.
We spotted a large metal-container-looking building with the words “Calle Buna” -Romanian for, “Have A Good Walk,” and walked around it, hoping to find somewhere to escape the sun.
I forgot to take a photo of the building. Sorry – but I was hungry and focused on lunch.
Instead, we found what appeared to be a porch of sorts with two chairs and a table.
There was also a security camera. I immediately gave it a big wave so whoever was watching wouldn’t think we were there to do harm. Because nothing says innocent trespasser quite like enthusiastically waving at the surveillance camera.
It was obvious they were working on this makeshift housing unit and would probably be back shortly, but we decided to sit on the steps and eat our sandwiches.
We were almost finished when a man came around the corner.
“Hello.”
And then a woman appeared.
I recognized their faces because they had passed us in a car earlier on the road, and then we had walked past them after they pulled over to pick some plums.
Turns out, they are Romanian but have lived in Wales for the past ten years – which means they speak excellent English. They bought the property about a year ago and have been following the development of the Via Transilvanica.
They are building a unit to house hikers and eventually plan to build a permanent home for themselves.
And they were absolutely thrilled that we had trespassed…I mean stopped.
They had a ton of questions about our experience hiking the VT because they want to use what they learn from hikers to help develop their future business.
So apparently, we weren’t trespassing. We were conducting more ambassadorial work.
Even when you trespass in Romania, the owners welcome you with open arms…
…and freshly picked plums.
Meet-and-Greet
Walking along the road, we met several people riding in horse-drawn carts who stopped to talk with us – in Romanian, of course.
We did our best to communicate, but it can be difficult.
Still, everyone seems genuinely excited to meet us and find out where we are from.
When we say:
“Italy and the United States.”
About 90 percent of the people respond:
“OH! AMERICA! Very far!”
Yes.
Very, very far. And even farther when your flight is cancelled and you end up with an unexpected layover in Poland.
It’s actually incredibly sweet how excited people are to have visitors from the US.
At one point, I stopped to pee alongside the road.
Life of a hiker or hobo.
Within seconds of pulling up my shorts, a tractor carrying what appeared to be Donald Trump’s hair came whizzing by.
Okay, okay.
It’s just a joke.
But tell me that doesn’t look like his hair blowing in the wind?
It’s literally looks like a float in the Macy’s Day Parade.
I really wanted to spend the night at another Glamping spot – Sanctum Glamping.
This one looked amazing, but unfortunately, it didn’t fit within the destination of our itinerary.
Here are a few photos I borrowed from their Google Maps page. Now this is my kin of camping.
I joked with Massimo that we should steal this little vehicle and take it for a joy ride all the way to the finish line.
I’d drive.
He could ride in the back like a king in a parade.
Vroom, vroom.
We deserve a parade after this train wreck of an adventure.
When we arrived at the guesthouse, the owner – who used to live in Italy and speaks fluent Italian – immediately FaceTimed her sister in Genova and put Massimo on the phone.
They are so excited to have an Italian staying at their home and walking the Via Transilvanica.
I swear, this guy is a celebrity wherever he goes.
Put Massimo in a room anywhere in Europe and within approximately seven minutes, someone will have either fed him, hugged him, or introduced him to all the family members and neighbors.
They also have several dogs at the house. When we arrived, Massimo said, “Should I call them and tell them we are here?”
“Uh, no, I think the dogs have already alerted the entire county that we have arrived.”
It was another really wonderful day on the VT.
And, honestly, I just wish I had more days feeling this good from the beginning.
Today reminded me how much I’ve missed simply enjoying the walk – looking around, talking to people, seeing animals, laughing at ridiculous things, and appreciating where I am instead of just trying to make it through another day.
After dinner, we watched the sunset over the mountains.
It was the perfect ending to a fantastic day.
Only two more hiking days left…we are almost there.
Much love & gratitude. Namaste 🙏
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