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.
*Warning: this blog post is Boring because 1. Nothing interesting happened. 2. My creative juices are not flowing today. My apologies in advance.
This is a 3-for-1 special. I’m still trying to catch up and this triple post will get me back on track.
Hooray!
“There is no such thing as a boring life.” John Updike
Apparently John Updike has never read my three-for-one special.
A Day Off In The Sun
After such a traumatic experience on the ladders, Massimo suggested that maybe I needed a day off.
He was right. He’s always right.
I’m extremely exhausted between the hiking, being sick, my panic attack on the ladders, and working on the blog for 4-6 hours every night. I am running on fumes.
We calculated that we will have an extra day or two before our flight so why not spend one of them in a beautiful and peaceful place in the woods.
Unfortunately, that meant that we had to say goodbye to Costin and Marian. They needed to continue on their path while we were taking a much-needed pause.
Have a good hike, Guys!
I spent the day in a hammock by the river, under the sun, writing a couple of blog posts and trying to catch up after days of virtually nonexistent cell service.
And, of course, playing with the dogs whenever they wandered over to say hello.
Massimo spent the day lying on a lounger listening to his usual classical music – probably Mozart or Beethoven – his two favorites.
And some other guy was passed out, shirtless and shoeless from too much wine.
God, I love vacation days.
For dinner we had something other than pork and potatoes…and potatoes and pork.
Trout with vegetables!
And fresh lemon.
Are we even in Romania anymore?
Dessert consisted of the perfect serving size of papanași. Normally, the hosts serve a dinner plate size and while delicious, it’s just too much.
Hike #1: Valea Cernei to Obârșia Cloșani
Mystery Man
The next morning our plan was to walk from Valea Cernei to Obârșia Cloșani.
The owner suggested we take the 10 am bus to the edge of the forest…I’m not really sure why since his explanation was in Italian but Massimo and I didn’t want to start that late. So, no bus for us.
Yesterday, Marian and Costin sent me a few texts about the hike. They took the advice of the host and waited for the 10 am bus that arrived at 10:40 am they rode it four kilometers to the next stop, and then hitched a ride in not one but two cars to the edge of the forest.
Massimo thought this was sound advice to get transportation to the forest – I was still confused by it all – so we just started walking with the hopes of flagging down a car.
After a kilometer we hadn’t seen one vehicle – not even a tractor. Then, a few minutes later, a white sedan appeared. Massimo stuck out his thumb 👍 but the driver crossed the center line and drove around him.
Car 1 | Massimo 0
We continued walking.
Oh, and a dog joined us for a bit. Maybe three minutes and then he got tired and turned around. He wasn’t with us long enough to get a name.
About ten minutes later a blue car was coming our direction. Massimo made the same gesture with his thumb as before and lucky for us, this driver stopped.
He was a tourist from…you guessed it.
Italy 🇮🇹
Specifically, Bergamo – or a town nearby. We never got the exact location or his name. Witness protection, I assume.
Massimo showed him the map and asked about a lift to the edge of the forest. The guy was on vacation and had no plans for the day – or maybe his entire trip – and said he’d be happy to take us wherever we wanted.
I think we were the most exciting thing to happen to him on his vacation.
Either that, or he was very lonely
Or is he in hiding out in witness protection in Romania? I’m not sure.
After a little while, I decided to check the map and that’s when I realized we had a minor hiccup.
Massimo and our mysterious Italian friend – who looked a little like Stanley Tucci – had been talking so much that we had missed the exit and ended up on an entirely different road.
Away from the trail.
“Ummm, Massimo, we need to get out of the car…like now.”
Otherwise, Stanley-in-Witness-Protection was going to drive us the entire way.
Possibly straight to his Romanian hideout.
Fortunately, our very kind Italian tourist friend offered to take us back to the other road.
We declined.
At this point, I didn’t care. We just needed to be walking. Enough with riding in cars with random strangers.
So we jumped out and decided to walk from where we were. Off the trail. On asphalt.
The road was going to be asphalt the entire way, but the scenery was beautiful and we met some lovely people along the way.
And dogs. Lots and lots of dogs. Some barked at us. Some followed us for a while. Then they apparently decided we weren’t interesting enough and turned around and went home.
The highlight, of course, was the snack break.
We may not hike much these days, but we are absolutely dominating the snack department.
We each had an ice cream bar and split a Coca-Cola.
If nothing else, the sugar rush would hopefully propel us toward the next town and keep us from dying of boredom.
The road we were walking is apparently popular with motorcycle enthusiasts, so we encountered several bikers along the way.
We met Brian, or Bryan. I’m not sure.
He’s originally from Canada but lives in Albania and was riding all over Romania and several other Balkan countries.
We also met a lovely couple from Ireland who had ridden their motorcycle all the way from Dublin.
They had just been in Ukraine and were heading toward Serbia. I think.
They were retired and in their 60s, traveling all over Europe on what can only be described as the Cadillac of motorcycles.
Amazing and impressive. I think my butt would really hurt after riding so far on a bike…luxury cruiser or not.
When we finally arrived at our accommodation, the afternoon became an extended exercise in Google Translate.
God bless Massimo. He tries so hard. I give up after approximately ten minutes.
Our hostess, whose name we never learned, was lovely and an amazing cook.We had chorba, chicken and rice, and vegetables.
And then I discovered the bathroom. I sent the photo to my friend Kelly in Nebraska.
Her response: “I mean, that toilet seat…ha ha! It’s a Husker fan’s dream bathroom!”
Go Big Red. 🌽
Please notice that the shower head is attached to the sink.
And the window does not open to the outside but to another room in the house.
I’m not sure what architectural genius came up with this arrangement, but I have to admit, the bathroom would be incredibly easy to clean. Spray and wash the entire room.
5 Stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Hike #2: Obârșia Cloșani to Gornoviţa
BIG NEWS: We walked the ENTIRE section…like with our own feet…and our own legs. Can you believe it? No hitchhiking. Can we have our hiker status back again, pretty please?
MORE BIG NEWS: After today, we have three hikes left and should arrive at the finish line on Monday, September 14th.
After breakfast, we said goodbye to our lovely hostess – whose name remains a mystery – and set off.
On foot.
This was already shaping up to be a very traditional hiking day.
The first two kilometers were literally vertical. The road started out paved and then turned to gravel, and then eventually a dirt path.
Massimo was thrilled. He was positively giddy. We were actually hiking!
After we made the daunting climb to the top, the views were beautiful. We were surrounded by mountains and the foliage is really changing colors now.
We took a quick snack break under a tree to eat a banana and cool down in the shade. At this point, I think snacks are carrying us more than our legs are.
We met another hiker, Adrian, who was walking the opposite direction.
When he was close enough so I could see his face, I recognized him immediately.
Agnes had met him a couple of nights earlier and sent me his photo. She told me we would probably run into him.
So when I said, “I recognize you. You know Agnes.”
He laughed and said, “Hey, you are the American and the Italian she told me about.
That we are, Sir.
We chatted for about 5-10 minutes, snapped a photo for Agnes, and carried on.
Along the trail the grass is dry and dying and the plants are a little overgrown. A plant with thorns reached out and bit me…like a Vampire…and drew some blood.
It was probably the most interesting thing that happened on today’s walk. I had to use my bandana as a tourniquet.
Kidding.
We stopped for lunch about halfway through the hike.
Today, we had the luxury of eating our salami, cheese, and tomato sandwiches outside the only establishment open: The grocery store.
Except it wasn’t just a grocery store. It was also a hardware store. And an animal-feed store. And I think they sold some basic car parts. Possibly plumbing supplies. Maybe farm equipment.
It was essentially the Romanian equivalent of Walmart, except approximately the size of an average living room.
One-stop shopping.
The only thing they didn’t have was a working toilet for customers.
Which, frankly, feels like an oversight when you’re selling animal feed.
We had about six kilometers left to reach our guesthouse.
Unfortunately, those six kilometers included another enormous hill.
By afternoon, it was extremely hot and we were exhausted. But we made it.
When we arrived at our accommodation, it was empty. The woman working there had stepped away but returned shortly after we called her.
While we waited, I found my arch nemesis – on the back of the toilet.
And that’s about as exciting as it’s been these last few days.
Hey, not all days can be made of rainbows and unicorns. 🌈🦄 Or near panic attacks on rickety wooden ladders on the edge of a mountain in Romania.
Again, my apologies for a less than enthusiastic post.
Much love & gratitude. Namaste 🙏
If you enjoyed this post, I’d be grateful if you’d like and share it.
