I’m trying something new on this Camino. My friend Mike, who works for Garmin, helped me pick out a new watch to record my hikes so I could make these fun little videos. Let me know what you think!
“How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.”
At 2:00 this morning, I finally opened the guidebook.
I couldn’t sleep, so I figured I might as well do something productive.
Better late than never, right?
The first day of anything new – a job, moving to a new city, or hiking across a foreign country – can feel overwhelming. Every Camino begins this way for me.
I’m trying to communicate with people who speak a different language, pay with unfamiliar currency, decipher maps filled with towns I can’t pronounce, and somehow convince my body to walk 20-plus kilometers when it hasn’t done this in almost a year.
It’s a lot.
Massimo and I left Putna Monastery after breakfast around 8:00 a.m. I wasn’t feeling quite like myself. My body still hasn’t adjusted to the time difference, and the first day of every long-distance hike always feels impossible before it begins.
Thunder and Lightning (my legs) were definitely not prepared for today. It’s been almost a year since hiking the Via Francigena, and they clearly thought that adventure was their retirement party.
Pilgrim life takes time to settle back into.
It’s not just about the miles. It’s a mindset.
Everything you own fits inside a small backpack. Some nights are comfortable, others aren’t. Meals are whatever you can find. Showers aren’t guaranteed. Your body aches. Your routines disappear. And you walk everywhere.
There is a certain sacrifice that comes with choosing this life.
Whenever I start feeling overwhelmed, I remind myself of the same thing:
One step.
One hill.
One moment.
One day at a time.
The trail quickly reminded me why I keep coming back.
We walked just over 13 miles (21 km) through dense forests, with towering trees stretching toward the sky and birds chirping sweet tunes.
Thankfully, there were no bear sightings.
Instead, we stumbled upon something that felt like it belonged in a Little House on the Prairie novel.
Two men were logging trees using nothing more than two horses, a wooden wagon, and a single chainsaw. Watching them work felt like stepping back a century. The only modern day equipment they had was one chainsaw.
Which led Massimo and me to discuss how bizarre the world is.
Here we are walking through Europe using cell phones and watches that constantly ping our location so an app can guide us every step of the way – tracking distance, elevation, and every step of the trail.
Meanwhile, elsewhere in the world, there are still Indigenous communities living much closer to nature, hunting with handmade slingshots and gathering fruits and berries.
And all of this exists at the same time.
Baffling.
I also carried my hammock again.
Clarification. Massimo carried my hammock – which will become his gift at the end of the trail.
Unlike Italy last year…we actually used it this time.
We strung it up between two trees for a snack break, and I may have discovered one of life’s greatest luxuries.
10/10.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Highly recommended.
One of my favorite parts of hiking with Massimo is watching him make friends.
He talks to everyone.
Honestly…he may even be more social than I am.
We waved to the loggers, chatted with a farmer working alongside his young sons, and then, as we passed the house pictured below, Massimo enthusiastically shouted,
“Buongiorno!”
The older man balancing on the plank near the roof immediately yelled back,
“Ahhh… Italiano?”
That one greeting turned into a ten-minute conversation entirely in Italian while I stood there smiling and pretending I knew what was happening.
Later, Massimo translated everything for me.
The man was Romanian but had lived in Torino, Italy, for 24 years before returning home. As much as he enjoyed Italy, he told us, there’s no place like home.
He explained that last winter Romania had a seven month cold spell – one of the worst in ages – the average was -27°C – and they could not work…for seven months.
He also told us we were entering what he considered the most beautiful section of the Via Transilvanica – but also one of its toughest because of the climbing.
I’d actually heard something similar from a Romanian man I met while waiting for my flight in Paris.
They also discussed the topic that everyone wants to discuss…but I’d like to avoid.
Bears.
The man warned Massimo about the bear situation. The region we are in, Bucovina, has them but the next region, the Highlands, is where they are much more prevalent.
His advice, buy bear spray and never run.
Noted.
Bear spray will be added to our shopping list in the next town.
There is also signage posted along the trail warning of bears. One with a photo – I wonder who got close enough to take the picture?
The guidebook dedicates multiple paragraphs in the introduction section to bears. The wildlife is truly wild out here.
For many years, bear hunting was illegal in Romania, but the population has become increasingly overpopulated – even for the bears, they need their own territory amongst themselves apparently. There are approximately 8,000 bears in Romania – depending on the source.
Listen, I’m not pro hunting but maybe they could put some food out with birth control like they do in big cities for the pigeons?
Tonight at dinner, one of the locals who is also hiking the VT, said the likelihood of actually seeing one is rare if we make a little noise as we walk – but still get the spray just in case.
Massimo also insists these enormous leaves growing along the trail are nature’s finest toilet paper – “Soft like velvet.”
Ummm, I’ll take your word for it, Sir.
When we reached our destination for the day, Sucevița, I finally discovered what all those logs were destined to become.
Log cabins.
Abe Lincoln would be proud.
By the end of the day, I felt something shift.
Not physically, my legs are still reminding me exactly how long 13 miles is.
But mentally.
The doubts from this morning have begun to quiet.
The rhythm isn’t there yet.
My trail legs certainly aren’t.
But they will come.
They always do.
One step at a time.
I just need a goodnight sleep.
Much love & gratitude. Namaste 🙏
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Every kilometer marker is designed by an art student from Romania according to the guidebook.
The team managing this trail has done a fantastic job of making seating areas/shelters for the hikers. The trail has only been around since 2018 but they have definitely made it more accommodating for pilgrims than the Camino de Santiago and the Via Francigena. There app is also much better than the others.
I’m hoping this is the paw print of a dog and not a wolf.
