Getting to Bucarest, meeting Criss

Now I decided not to hitch hick down to bucarest, but rather to rest, eat shower and do a bit of blogging at Denis place. This is also because Deni himself is going down to Bucarest by train to meet friends and go to the sea side.

Train ride to Bucarest with Deni, it is raining again...

And now it is sunny again... (check out the endless sunflower fields...)

The sun plays hide and seek, or gods creation as Frances would say ;)

Bucarest Thunders...

Tonight, after droping my stuff at Vasiles, the couchsurfer hosting me in Bucarest, I get to eat some warm food with Andrei in the center. After so many days in the mountain eating bread, we are very happy to get some warm food, him especialy since he ate almost nothing today. He tels me the end of his adventures on the ridge : the water shortage and the thirsty dog, the sun, the pain in the feet and a the adventurus night down at the refuge (a couple hours walk before the bivuak).

Later that night, I meet some of his friends and talk, mainly about blogs... Can i make some money with my travel blog?? maybe, but it is hard, especialy since i have only couple visitors... You need to know some other blogers and exchange traffic... And change the white on black thing, nobady reads that, to painfull. And you need to use highlighting :). I try to ever since but sometimes forget...

We the go to pick up Criss at the bus station. She just arrived, it is midnight and she has been on that bus about 40 hours... we didnt see each other for more than 2 years and now meet again in Bucarest!!! She is here for a photoreportage. Andrei and his friend then kindly drop us at Vasiles place.

At Vasiles, we drink a couple beers and talk more. About photography, about bloging, websites and working traveling. Vasile also wonders why and how i travl alone. I try to explain once agian that you meet more people. He says you have nobody to share that with later... sure thing, but for now i have Criss! :) we argue a bit into the night and I catch up with Criss, so much time, so much to tell :)

Anyhow, it is 4 am and my mind is busy with figuring out how i could make little money out of the blog and where i could get a good camera. Vasile and Criss with their brand new EOS 40D made me jalouse and feel like an amateur with my old small Elph...

Walking down

The Bivuak in morning light.

This park has lots of Orhids but i did not earch enough and saw only those flowers by the path.

Muuuu
Imagine a little bit of snow here.

The sun is shining again, and i finaly get to the valley were Deni will pick me up!

End of the Ridge

Finaly, the end of that other very long day, loads of pictures...

Still walking the ridge, sun is setting slowly, luckily for us... and we can see the end of that ridge


Something like the blue mountains next to sydney....

The path up, sometimes steep, rarely shaded like here

Looking down, evening wind blowing up.

Looking all the way back... the right is not even were we started.

Taking a break on the ridge, behind us, it goes down down down.

Finaly it is fresh and we know that after about 10 h walking, we are getting realy close!

5 minuits to the bivuak!!! sitting down, checking out the view!

Group picture!

The sun is setting now...

and i can hold it in my hand :)

One final view down on the valley before we get down to the hut on the other side for a rich dinner, lots of laughter and a good (so we hoped) night of sleep!

New compagions on the ridge

Back on the ridge after getting more water, i meet an other group of walkers, three of them, younger, faster. They will get for sure to that last bivuak on the ridge will Andrei and Alex are more into taking their time, shooting pics and enjoying the view. I join them for the rest of the walk.

Looking back...

Walked quite a long way in the blazing sun allready...

but there is much more to come...

A lot of sweating later we are much closer but not quite there yet. But it is getting a lot fresher so it makes it easier and more confortable

"all roads lead to Rome" i guess i took the official, easy way but in the end even if you have to climb down a bit, its all the same :)


Walking the ridge...

Another look forward
Another alternative to the official way :)
Rocks rocks rocks.... under the blazing sun

Starting the ridge

Early wake up, today will be a day of encounters and walking. The walking needs no words so today, for your eyes pleasure, more pictures than words.

Morning Light, view out the huts window.

First break, from left to right, the dog who decided to walk along with Andrei and Alex.
Walking in fresh woods, blury movement.
Check out the left hand, can YOU see it? i didnt until saw this picture. Still beautiful clear morning light.
View on the valley.
Romanian path always very clearly indicated.

At about 11 it is blazing hot, water is allready damn low... A 30 min side walk (return) alows us to get our bottles filled and sweat a lot doing so. This tiny water source in the rock gives very welcom fresh and clear water.

Meeting Andrei and Alex

Later that day, in the evening, i am still writting up more in my jurnal, catching up a bit. Two young guy enter the hut, have dinner and buy a map. As they study the map, i ask them about their plans for tomorrow, we have same plans and will walk together. We want to make it to the last refuge on the ridge and walk down the next day and then get to Bucarest.

After making plans we start to talk and again i meet those kind of people you fell you have known for ever. So nice and with similar ideas, dreams and stories. We talk about ideal jobs, sports, climbing, walking, traveling, politics, emos, their stupid useless blogs (hehe) and much more.

The view up from the hut, tomorrows direction.
The view down, at sunset.

Pietra Craiului national Park

On the next day, Deni kindly drives me and i get to the start of my treck in the Pietra Craiului national Park. It is a famous national park of Romania.

Somewhere between Rasnov and the start of the treck.

Begining of the treck, a small group of loud teenager are having a picknik, laughing and listening to music on their mobile phone, the type of teens anoying us "old" people on the tram. The have little food, a large 2L bottle of beer and one of coke and a tiny water bottle (or is it Rakija ?:)?). The are making kokes, spitting around and ask me where i am from. France i answer and one of them starts in perfect French, with a sligth "Racaille" accent :) using polit "vous" when speaking to me.

His mother went to France some 3 years ago and married a French man there. He tells me it was hard integrating in the begining but now he has loads of Friends and also tells me "la France a un gros problem en ce moment, ca va pas bien hein" speaking about french economy (parents words comming out there??). But then also tells me how much better it is than in Romania, how he loves it in France. He tells me about "Psy 4 de la rime" and other french hip hop bands but wants to know nothing about "IAM"... Some other influence speaking out there, he never listened to it...

On the way up we came across a herd of sheep, a bunch of yapping sheperd dogs. All of them have sticks hanging down from there neck. I imagine this is to protect them from bears. So they cant get their neck so easily and let them bleed to death... The dogs dont look to nice... A couple meters later, the Park Guard holding a chain saw and a sheperd are standing there with a horse and a dead donky. Both the horse and the donkey have sticks around their neck. It didnt save the donkey, a bear destroyed his back and you can see all the insides. The look on the face of the donkey is quite stupid and desperat... Its head bounces very comicaly from rock to rock as the horse pulls him avay... Despite the tragic event we all have to laught at this...

I still regret today i didnt take pictures of the teenagers or the donkey, horse, guard and sheperd...

After leaving the young to their ascention, i continue to the hut i will spend the night in... Out of question i sleep outside! this is an other sheperds house on the way there.

One of the two dogs (what a cute couple) at the hut. Much nicer then the sheperds dogs...

I take a hudge break once at the Hut, the two weeks in Belgrade and the way to Romania were exhausting. I sleep a lot, eat something, drink hot chocolate, check the map, write up in my journal, i m about 2 weeks late, and read a bit.

Writting up some more...