Waterfall

I have spent the past several hours on the Internet trying to figure out the name of the spectacular waterfall we visited after we left Yaremche–and before we made it to the Bukovel Ski Resort–without success. Yet it was pretty magnificent. If I remember correctly, we had to pay a small fee (10 Hryvinia, or about $1.25 USD) to go up the very poor road towards it. Road? Well, it was more like a rocky path. Eventually, we decided that our poor little car could not take more, so we parked in an area, and then walked the rest of the way, maybe a kilometer. But it was sure worth it.

You can see my pictures from this adventure here: http://poland.leonkonieczny.com/Poland%202011/Waterfall/index.html

So, after paying the exorbitant entrance fee, and driving a ways on terrible roads, we walked the last bit. It really was a great time. The scenery was awesome. Rocks and parts of the mountains at odd angles, the slow flowing river (slow now because it was the dry season) with rocks and logs and the like, it was like the wilderness. Eventually we came upon the “parking area” where the more brave adventurers parked. And of course there were a few “shops”–it’s a tourist attraction.

We walked first to the hill overlooking the falls, then took the stairs down to the bottom. The falls are quite impressive, even when the volume is low. The appeared to be nearly 40 feet (a tad over 10 meters) high. Quite impressive. There were a few dozen people gathered around, taking pictures, enjoying the day.

And then we eventually made our way back to our car, to continue on our amazing journey. Wojtek joked that one day there will be a statue to me there, Krzysztof Kolumb (Christopher Columbus), the first American to venture here and “discover” this fantastic place. And you know, a part of me felt very much the explorer, the adventurer. I’ve seen what very, very few Americans have ever seen. How lucky I am, and thanks to my most excellent tour guides, Alicja and Wojtek!