37.01 Romania: Domogled Valea Cernei National Park. Hike to the Domogled Peak (minor).

Be-Moggled, Be-fuddled and Be-dondered after a long journey, plane and car …


Opening our sojourn in Romania with some color.





We find most things look better from height or with less light, ideally with both attributes.





The last caption makes the point grandly, we think.



Close on 3,000 feet to Domogled, perhaps a good description of how we felt, gave us a nice feel of the park and views too. The initial stage to reach the White Cross was on a surprisingly great trail, steep but well maintained. Thereafter, it deteriorated but was still okay although even steeper. We stayed on the trail and found ourselves in a cave. One of us is not too happy in confined spaces. It became even more confined and I decided I had to depart before things got any worse. Fortunately, it turned out the correct path was an offshoot from what appeared to be the official trail. So we regained that path and headed for what seemed like a stairway toward the sky rather than heaven.

After a few days, only one in Serbia and 5 in Romania, it's too early for general comments. However for those who believe socialism is the answer to poverty, a walk through the places we've visited thus far would provide some elucidating insights. On an extremely positive note, our hosts, Julia and George, are an incredibly kind and warm couple. We mention from time-to-time that many of the people we meet, restore ones faith in humanity. It's one of the highlights of wandering about the world, including being at home (wherever that is).
We were 2 kilometres from our destination but our GPS could not track the address. Jen approached a couple of people and had them call our hosts ...very nice of them. We got conflicting directions because as they say, 'an awful lot gets lost in translation'. On the third occasion, George told us to wait and he'd come and fetch us. One of the instructions was to drive for two minutes and stop at the blue tree. Blue tree? Well, a blue gum should make a nice landmark, we thought. Subsequently, we noticed the said landmark was in fact, a blue car.

On a funny note, we were returning from a frustrating first day of searching for trailheads and trying to make sense of life in the park. More about that next time. A middle-aged woman flagged us down; she was younger than us. We explained our vocabulary was somewhat limited, not more than two words in Romanian. That's okay. She wanted a ride to the town. 'Jump in,' we answered. She kept a close eye on my driving and muttered the odd instructions but otherwise was quiet. When she stopped us to alight from the vehicle, she opened her purse to offer us payment. (So many new job opportunities are opening for us...'Uber-hike-about'.)


Apparently, this region, inter alia, is famous for hot springs. The waft of sulphur passing through the air confirmed this. What was more interesting than the baths, were those immersing themselves. Along the main road, cars were parked which caused the two lanes to be a theoretical number. Walking in the middle of the road, dressed in array of costumes varying from formal swimwear, bikinis, shorts, dressing gowns and a host of other garments strode holiday makers to-and -from the baths. Most of the people were older than the editor. It was, to express ourselves tactfully, an interesting sight. Also along the road, vendors hawked their wares, a wide range of merchandise including, we think, beachballs. The only detraction from the entertainment for two wide-eyed foreigners was the enormous amount of litter covering the 'beach', road and trail.


About a third way up at the White Cross.




We were both jet-lagged, hungry and tired making it a tougher hike.




The sight of buildings deep in the valley and from height was wonderful.




Ditto.




Cheers,

Jenni and Jeffrey


The luxurious hot springs, somewhat luxurious, maybe not... We prefer freezing water, a lot healthier, "eh Ron?"



The delightful Julia and George of Baile Herculane.