Yesterday I took off from Iasi with my destination Tulcea, where my boyfriend had to attend a course. The itinerary passed through Vaslui - Tecuci - Galati - Isaccea  to finally reach Tulcea. After crossing the ferry over the Danube at Galati, in about 10-15 km we saw a sign for Dinogetia Fortress. We took the dirt road that the sign was pointing to (later we found out that the sign was put there by the fortress guard and not by any officials), and drove on the side of a pond until we reached Dinogetia.

Dinogetia is a roman-byzantine fortress located on the side of the Danube, where Siret and Prut meet, dating back to the Dacian times, its name being preserved by the Romans and Byzantines.

Once we reached the fortress we met mister Gheorghita, the guardian and guide of the fortress. His father worked here since 1968, and he took over the job in 1990. He was kind enough to show us around and tell us a bit about the history of the fortress, which has also been his home since childhood.

The fortress is ongoing some restoration at the moment and seems in august they will start some more digging. The place looks charming with its ancient run down walls, the grass growing all over, the beautiful landscape all around. It is definitely worth a go.

Entrance is 2 lei/person.

I have been spending quite a bit of time in the Retezat Mountains lately, or better said close to them. It was about time for me to explore more than the outskirts of the forests of the Retezat National Park (had 2 attempts in winter, but had to give up due to the amount of snow), so today me and Cosmin, left bravely towards Rotunda cabin and drove until the end of the forestry road at Gura Bucurei, with our destination…Bucura lake.

Bucura lake is a very beautiful glacier lake, the biggest in Romania, situated at 2040 meters altitude at the base of Peleaga peak.

Do not let yourself fooled by the marking towards the lake saying 1.5 - 2 hours walking time…probably that time is for people who are very fit, and used to hiking :)…

With shame I admit it probably took me about 3.5-4 hours to get to the Bucura lake, but in my defense, we did make quite a few stops on the way.

The route to the lake is quite charming, passing through the Pelegii meadow, especially once the forest finishes and you reach about 2000 meter altitude. You will climb some rocks, cross some rivers, enjoy the horses grazing (I am not sure if this is very unusual but one of the colts had blue eyes)…and of course enjoy the amazing mountains which surround you with their peaks.

The weather up there can be quite moody, so you should bring something warmer with you even if down it is warm or even hot.

As I got closer, I could enjoy the view over Lia lake, than as Bucura lake showed her self in the cradle of the mountains with the tiny tents as igloos protected by small stone fences on its shore, on the left you could also admire Ana lake.

After wandering a bit more around to some smaller ponds which formed a bog, we decided it was about time to start going back down, mostly because I was frozen…yes, you guessed it…I did not bring anything warmer than my shirt.

By the time we reached the road it was 8 pm, so we stopped at Rotunda cabin for dinner, which was quite nice, than continued our road back to Nucsoara, the departing point of the day.

I have wanted to visit Scarisoara Ice Cave for quite a few years and this time it seemed to be the perfect moment. Took off from Cluj city, on the road passing through Turda and Campeni until we reached Garda de Sus village.

Here, right in the center of the village there is a sign towards Scarisoara Ice Cave. After 100 meters or so the road ends and you will have to go left on the side of the river for about 500 meters on a forestry road. You will have to pay attention to find the next road sign which says 7 km to the cave (the road climbs to the right). From here the road keeps going higher and higher and if you are not an experienced driver I do not recommend to drive here. Also a 5 seat car is ok, but a 4×4 is more suitable.

The road passes through some amazing landscapes, Apuseni Mountains being well known for their beauty.

We left the car when we reached the folk museum, and continued for about 10 minutes on foot.

The way into the cave is quite amazing. You go down on some tiny metal stairs, for about 100 meters down and from up there you could see the opening of the cave with snow. As we got lower and lower the temperature decreased reaching about 0 degrees Celsius (32 F). I will let you enjoy the photos from there:

Bring warm clothes!!

We walked around it on some wooden pathways on top of the ice admiring the beauty of the ice, old for more than 2000 years.

It is ….BEAUTIFUL!!!

On the way up I recommend you stop a few times, to let your body adjust to the heat.

The entry to the cave is 5 lei and the opening hours are from 10:00 – 5:00 pm during the week and 10:00 - 6:00 pm in the weekend.

Another day, another adventure.

This morning we left optimistic toward the Turda Gorges. From Mihai Viteazu village we continued until the crossroads leading to Cheia, than before entering the village, we took the road to the right, with the interdiction sign!!

After the stone and marble carrier the road turned into a rock/stone forestry road and we reached the edge of a hill reveling to us, right in front, the splendor of the Turda Gorge.

After a bit more driving we stopped at the Turda Gorges Cabin, then started climbing up on the ridge marking…

We stopped a few times to catch our breath on the abrupt pathway, and by the time we reached the ridge, a very hard and long cold rain has begun. Right there we met with another friend of Cosmin’s from Milvus NGO… After getting all soaked from the rain, we decided there was no point to continue the road. Needles to say that when we finally reached the car, the rain has stopped. It didn’t really matter because we were all wet anyway.

12:10 pm at the Aniesi Pond in Bistrita Nasaud county. Cosmin is unbelievably on a raft on this pond with one his biology friends.

Now what in the world are we doing here. We are here to collect and observe the Epitheca bimaculata dragonfly, this being the only place in Romania where it has been observed.

This pond is quite a nice place, with the exception of all the mud I had to walk through in my sandals. The place is surrounded by the Rodnei Mountains, and to get here we crossed the railway and a bridge over the Somes River, than followed a path to the left.

Next stop is the Turda Gorges, which means another place marked in my “1001 Natural wonders to see before I die”.

As this is my first post in this blog, I would like to start by sharing something that I find of great value and importance to me.

Romania

Let me introduce you to my country, a Land that only a few manage to see the Magic in it.