Day 9 – Romainian Kartpaty

Where to begin. Today I saw some of the most wonderful scenery I have ever seen in my whole life. And, I now can say I’ve visited yet another country, because I am currently sitting in a hotel room in Romania! But let me start at the beginning.

We started our day by having breakfast at the place we stayed last night at 9 AM. There was a bit of a language barrier, but we managed and ended up with eggs and ham/bacon (I would say it was more like canadian bacon, Alicja claims it was sausage, but I’m sure it was cured ham of some kind, but delicious) and bread. And tea, of course. It was very good. And after that, we were on the road.

As we were driving south form Jaremcze (OK, I am still not sure how to spell to because it is different in the different languages!), eventually we came to a sign for a waterfall, so we took that road. We drove a few kilometers, then came to a gate…. We had to pay to go further, but it was the equivalent of about $1 a person, so we did. The road was nice at first, but then degenerated into lots of rocks. Eventually we stopped, then walked the rest of the way, but it was a very cool walk. Along the way I found to Blackberries and Raspberries growing wild by the roadside, and of course I had a few. Now, Wojtek told me that I should have thought twice because people in Poland often times stop by the roadside to “water the plants”…. So to speak. Well, it did rain last night, so I think I was safe!

Eventually we got to the waterfall, maybe 15 km drop for the water, quite nice. There has not been a lot of rain recently so it was not a torrent of water, but still was quite beautiful. I’ll temp you to come back again and again to my blog, as I will eventually post some pictures. By the way, a number of cars went even further than us, there was of course the usual postcards and stuff for sale as well. Very cool.

We continued on our journey and soon came to a sign for Bukovel, a ski area. It was a very nice road and appeared to be newly constructed, so we took it…until we came to the end of the new construction and had to turn back. But the nice guard told us we’d need to backtrack a ways, and so we did. You cannot imagine what this place is like (yes, we finally got there). First, we parked in the finished parking ramp (a second is under construction) and everywhere there is construction….and a lot of ski lifts. Maybe four or five or more, some not yet complete. Ukraine is a very poor country but is sure putting some of it’s money into winter tourism, and is building a very fine place. Again, you’ll have to wait for my photos. They are unbelievable.

The one “sour” note, we stopped at the bathroom in the parking ramp and it was about the second worst smelling bathroom I’ve ever been in. I’d have taken a picture of the lone “stall” where you just stand to do your business, but I was holding my breath. And t flush water was brown, as was the sink water. Hope they fix that. But otherwise, it was a cool place. Oh, and they even have a Taco Bell that is being built! Amazing.

We stopped for dinner in a small place in some town whose name I don’t know, and had barszcz and pelmeni (pierogi) with meat for lunch. After that we were joking that it’s the only things we’re eating. In part because they were the only recognizable things on the menu, written totally in Ukrainian.

Eventually, we hit the road again. Our goal turned out to be Romania. As we were heading there though the mountains, we saw some of the most amazing scenery I’ve ever seen. Eventually we found a small border crossing and made it through, then began our drive though the Romanian side of the Carpathian Mountains….very cool. Again, wait for the pictures.

We travelled very far through the mountains, up and down the mountains, and then were trying to get back to Ukraine, but it was getting late. We did not have any Romanian money nor any Euros on us, and I had not notified my credit card companies I’d be in Romania. We stopped at a number of hotels, but they were either (1) not really hotels or (2) full or (3) did not take dollars or any of the other currency (Polish or Ukrainian) we had. We also found that most Romanians do not understand Polish… but some do understand English, and so I became the interpreter in some cases, getting directions, looking for a room, etc.

So we drove a long way, until after dark. But then we got to wherever we are now, and found a hotel where they both speak English and are willing to take dollars. And so that’s where we’re at tonight (again, wherever that is….I am not sure, the name is quite long). But, I have dollars, they have cold beer, and we have nice–very nice–rooms for the night.

Let me finish by saying that Romania–like Ukraine and Poland–is a very beautiful country and has some beautiful scenery. I have also seen a lot of “mountain folk” who are cutting hay by hand, stacking it in the fields, and using horse-pulled wagons for transport. Very interesting to say the least. I hope a got a few pictures of that as well. Very beautiful country, that’s my final word!