This morning was an early one waking at 03:20 for the 06:35 flight from Otopeni Airport to Milan Malpensa. The airport is very basic with no shops at all, a baggage scan system before the actual check-in counters.

Malpensa airport is very far away from Milan Center. We first had to take a 50 minute bus to "Stazione Centrale" then take the metro to "Piazza Duomo" for a total cost of 7.50Euro. A very unpleasant surprise awaited us here. As soon as we got out of the metro a huge block of grey greeted us. I couldn’t believe my eyes, the Duomo Cathedral was completely covered for restoration. Not even in a hundred years can you imagine the disappointment of my loved one. She has been waiting to see the Duomo for ages and now that we were just there in front of it, it was covered. I obviously had to listen to a whole litany of why Italy is the worst and stupidest place on earth, etc. etc. etc. Fortunately, there was a Burger King just around.

We had to content with Vittorio Emmanuele street as at least this was open. After a huge soft ice-cream we went shopping and she restored her mood. At 15:30 we returned to the airport to be in time for the 19:30 flight back home.

Sob Sob Sob.

The trip back home started today at 07:00 from Crisan to Tulcea by hydrofoil. We arrived in an hour and since the first mini bus to Bucharest was due to leave at 09:00 we went to the quay bar for a drink. We found the mini bus at around 08:40 but to our dismay it was full up. The next bus was at noon so we had almost three hours in Tuclea.

Our first attempt was to find some shops, maybe we’ll manage to prove our visit to Romania, but we failed miserably. Next we tried to find a café for an ice-cream. Unknowingly we went inside an outdoor nightclub on its first day of operation instead. We had to settle for coffee and orange juice. Just before leaving we saw a policeman giving a ticket to a man pissing on a wall. We spent the remaining two hours near the filthy lake Cuperci (Lake Mushroom) reading and writing the diary.

(This part was scribbled on the mini-van to Bucharest) My butt has been kissing this cushioned seat for the past 150 minutes of the remaining 3 hours. I made the armature mistake of bringing a thin children’s book for my holiday despite knowing that we had a minimum of two full days travelling. I am trying to busy myself in all sorts of mental pursuits, and reading the least important parts of the guidebook.

Today we made the wrong choice of using a micro-bus (mini-bus) to travel from Tulcea to Bucharest instead of the train. Uncharacteristically the bus is modern designed on the interior of a plane. Luck has been horrendously cruel with us because the air conditioning system was not working. The heat is making the trip unbearable and I’m sweating buckets of ill smelling saline liquid. I will now be easily mistaken for a Romanian. The driver isn’t helping to rectify the situation either. He first got furious because we opened the bus window, and now he’s planning to end our lives with his reckless driving.

(Back to normal Mode) We arrived in Bucharest at around 17:00 and the bastard bus driver purposely didn’t stop us at the train station. Two other people stopped there but he just continued driving when we approached the door, despite the rest of the mini bus telling him to stop. We had to walk for about 500m to the train station and another 500m to find Hotel Ibis in Bucharest.

We were now back to civilisation once again. What a refreshing change. The best thing was that we had a cable TV and we could watch the first Euro 2004 matches. Before settling in bed we satiated our hunger at the train station Mc Donald’s. To enter the train station without a train ticket you must pay 4,000lei (0.04Lm). This is probably a way to keep beggars away from the station.

By Friday Guesthouse Vasiliu became our second home. Our room started matching the untidiness of my office and we started feeling more comfortable in Petre and his family’s presence. The room was spacious with a generous double bed at one side and a sofa on the other. We also had two tables, one used to dry out towels and the other to write the diary and offload our sweets.

There were no locks on the door which is quite reassuring since I considered it to be a sign of security. I believe that you are less prone to danger if you’ve got good contacts with some locals. The only downside with the accommodation was the lack of a lock on the toilet / shower door. I had to play toilet guard whenever my precious visited the toilet. At least there was a swallow’s nest just outside the toilet so I could look at something interesting. Petre assured us that he will soon fit locks to his doors.

I doubt whether it was possible to find a better host in Crisan. Petre is an extremely knowledgeable and outgoing person. His linguistic capabilities are impressive as he is able to speak excellent English, French and even German. In each of the tours he helped us identify and find birds. I got the confirmation that he’s a real birdwatcher and lover when I saw his joyous expression when we saw a rosate starling while returning from Letea. A good guide is essential in the Danube especially since most places are inaccessible without a boat.

The plan for the day was to visit the village of Letea to see the sand dunes. This morning the weather threatened to rain but it never materialised. By now we got used to the boat and started noticing how slow it is. The boat trip routine was broken as soon as Petre located a male Red Footed Falcon. A few minutes later we spotted the female falcon as these lovely birds are currently nesting here. The tour was worth it for them alone. Along the canals we encountered floating islands, which are small reed beds that actual float in the canal. Petre crashed the boat into one of them to move it.

As soon as we arrived In Letea there was a tractor waiting for us in front of an old multipurpose shop. Actually the shop was a room with some shelves and an old lady behind a table. The shop closed after we brought some Romanian snacks, probably making enough money for the rest of the week.

Ferrari in Letea

Letea is a very remote godforsaken village. Crisan is like New York compared to here. All the roads are dirt roads full of cow dung and sand. The only means of transport available are tractors and donkeys. These are quite important because there is another village, C.A. Rosetti, after Letea which is not within comfortable walking distance. Most of the people here are elderly Ukrainian’s dressed and working as farmers. Since the village is so remote, all inhabitants have their own crops and animals for food, as well as a huge river and sea to fish from.

After an overview of the village we set out by tractor for the sand dunes. The trip was very pleasant and it reminded me of when I used to take buses to school. The tractor was a totally novel means of transport for us. From the tractor we spotted various hoopoes and Rollers. The sand dunes are actually hills of white sand that formed from sea shells around 10,000 years ago when the Black Sea was here. For a sandy environment I was impressed with the amount and diversity of vegetation.

Sand Dunes

From the sand dunes we hiked towards a small forest for a picnic. Walking on sand in a hot environment is not my best idea of fun, but we managed to see deer and wild horses. There are around 3000 wild horses living in the forests of Letea. Just before leaving the forest full of sheep cheese given by the tractor driver, we saw a huge oak tree that is estimated to have around 450 years.

Petre is of the firm belief that the wine from Letea is the best of the region, so before returning to Petre’s boat we went to a local family for wine tasting. At first the husband was still at work in his fields, so the tractor driver had to bring him back home. At his arrival we entered in their front garden and his wife brought a basketful of earth covered plastic bottles full of wine. The reason all bottle were covered with earth was to keep the wine cool for longer storage. Since the wine is not treated in any way so it is not very long lasting and keeping it buried in the ground increases its lifespan.

Everything was extremely interesting here, from the washing of our wine glasses to the drinking of the wine. The glasses were quite matte with whatever it could have been, and the lady washed them with some water from an old metal pail. Given that these old people drink from these glasses everyday and they’re in such a good form I found no reason to question the glasses. The wine was very good although not very strong. I regret the moment I brought wine from the supermarket to take back home as I couldn’t buy any from here because of alcohol import limit.

The whole Letea experience is the most memorable experience of the whole holiday. I really would have liked my grand parents to see this lovely place. It seemed to fit in perfectly with the descriptions and stories they used to recite when I was a child.

Our return trip was quite sad as the holiday arrived at its end. To cheer our moods Petre thought he’d seen a rosate starling but it was my dearest that actually spotted him. This lovely bird of the day is a rare bright pink and black starling. Petre has only seen 3 of them in the Danube Delta.

Departure

As a last day present lunch today was special, we had sturgeon fish and cat fish. The sturgeon was excellent but we only had one piece each. The catfish was also very good but not good as the sturgeon. Although my mate doesn’t eat fish she tasted both of them and liked them. The day ended with a sponsored round of beer from our German friends and the packing of our bags.

Since yesterday’s breakfast our anticipation for the morning increased and today we awoke at 7.30. Yesterday a group of 4 Germans joined us at the guesthouse and unlike the Germans we met in Scotland they were very friendly and outgoing.

Ladies first commands the introduction of Cecilia, a theology student studying in Sibiu (Romania) with the long term desire to become a priestess. George her brother, is a doctor or something of the type and he is definitely the biggest tomato lover I’ve ever met. David is a software developer (J2EE) with the German railway company with a Ph.D. in Chemistry, while another David works in a drug rehabilitation centre.

Our trip today took us to Mila 23 a village north of Crisan. The highlight of the trip was a White Tailed Eagle soaring above a lake. Through the canals leading to Mila 23 we encountered a couple of kingfisher nesting places as well as the kingfishers themselves. With one of the largest reed beds in the world I finally got to see my first Little Bittern (Bird of the Day). We were just to 2 meters away and I confirmed that all my fuss about the bird was well justified. Another good bird was the golden oriole.

Perched cormorants

Danube's Sex Pistols - Spoonbill

We arrived at Mila 23 at 12:50 and we brought some sausages, drinks, tomatoes and cucumbers for a picnic. Mila 23 looks much more like a village than a caterpillar like Crisan. While visiting Mila 23 one of the Davids noticed something very interesting – a bush of cannabis plants growing in the wild. It was very strange and obviously amazed the whole group. Throughout the rest of the day, we found several other wild cannabis plants which apparently are not smoked because it’s not effective.

After the Mila tour we took the boat once again and found a wild place to make a bar-b-que. David made a camp fire and we improvised kebab sticks with long twigs and made some delicious kebabs. By this time the sun was scorching and my beauty was drained from all energy. After filling our stomachs we returned back to Crisan and arrived at 17:00.

Lunch has become a time to look forward to, more for discussion and wine than for the food. Today Petre told us how Ceausescu’s secret police (Securitate) did their recruitment process. Once they approached him at a ‘special party’ after presenting a complete file about his whole life they urged him to become an informer. As an informer he had to spy on his friends and village people to report any misbehaviour or crimes against Communism. He had to lie and bullshit the police for 6 months until they gave up and let him quit.

At last this morning we found a great breakfast awaiting us. Our hosts, the extended family of Petre surpassed our humble expectations by heaping a table with the following goods; cornflakes and muesli, boiled egg, luncheon meat, salami, tomato platter, croissants, chocolate shreedies, biscuits and best of all a teapot of excellent strong coffee. Now that I’ve wet your appetites don’t rush to the fridge.

We decided to spend the last four days of our holiday at a guesthouse in Crisan. It’s useless denying that my original intent was to save money however I realised that there is much more to be gained when living with a family. Without knowing spending time with a family immerses you in the culture of the place especially when their way of life is different from what we’re used to.

Danube Delta Canals

For the day we planned to visit the southern part of the middle arm of the delta around Crisan with Petre’s guidance and boat. The habitat of the Danube reminded us of Tortuguero (Costa Rica), except for the rain which was non-existent here. When pressed for a habitat description my mates impression was "wet" and "full of little beady birdy eyes".

The Danube wildlife is characterised by birds, which can be found in large quantities. The most common bird on the verge of the irritable is the hooded crow which likes to mimic the position of all the other birds in the Danube just to attract your interest. The second commonest bird is the tern which is nesting here. This was our first real opportunity to observe these beautiful birds and I will honour them with the Bird of the day award. I imagine them to be a cross between a swift and a gull, small, agile and with excellent command of their flight. The largest flock of birds was undoubtedly an enormous flock of White Pelicans. The more solitary Dalmatian Pelican can also be seen occasionally. The Danube is an excellent showcase for the Roller which is probably the brightest coloured of European birds. Their blue colour is unmistakable in flight.

Count the pelicans

Herons and egrets are present in large quantities in the delta. We saw great white egret, night, grey and also squacco herons. This small heron with a sexy name is a heron shaped orange white coloured bird.

The delta is a haven for cormorants, but despite the large quantities there wasn’t one of them drying itself. Present in the delta is also the rare pygmy cormorant which is a mini-cormorant. On the same colour scheme of the cormorant there are the glossy Ibis with a curved beak and cross shaped flight.

The sounds of the delta are dominated by one animal – the frog. The green and brown frog chorus can be heard from miles away and their peeping eyes can be observed either in lily patches and other river vegetation. These frogs along with a snake swimming in the river and a racoon dog were the only non-avian species observed.

Shut up noisy one

The tour finished at around 14:00 and the sun completely redefined the colour of my skin in the last hours of the tour. My mate was quite disconcerted about this but a packet of crisps offset the thoughts away from her face. A brief nap restored our energy and then we toured Crisan.

The best definition I can manage for Crisan is "a Sim City game before losing". The village has the simplest design one can imagine, a 7km single file of houses all with a back garden in between two canals. There are around 500 inhabitants in Crisan so the village is like are one big family everybody knowing the other. Like the rest of Romania there is a huge amount of dogs and it seems that each inhabitant has a dog.

From the 15 minute tour we could spot a small shop, bar, police station, post office, school, a large hotel and a red metal framework for a planned sports centre. The village looks quite old with houses varying from precarious to decent. The village people were what one would expect from a place isolated and difficult to access; poor, most of them old, and still adhering and old lifestyle. On the contrary to articles we read before the holiday, people were not that welcoming. Their suspicious looks do little to help you feel comfortable.

I have mixed feelings about the general atmosphere of the place. As a place in itself it’s marvellous, a definite paradise for nature lovers and bird watchers. A double edge sword is the fact that the place is not commercialised and tourist oriented. From one end this gives an unbiased real view of the actual place and on the other side the place lacks the tourist friendliness and accessibility to attract mass tourism. I think the effect of the revolution is still looming in Crisan as in all other parts of Romania. Unfinished and abandoned projects 10 years due from the time of the revolution spoilt what would otherwise be a perfect place.

Today was the big travel day. We had to travel from Sinaia to Crisan, which means travelling from central Romania to Eastern Romania. The only way we could do this in one day was by taking the 03:22 train from Sinaia to Bucharest to be able to catch the 06:40 to Tulcea (not in Turkey).

We arrived at the train station by taxi at 02:50 and reluctantly entered the station building. There were two tourists already waiting for the ticket office to open so we waited alongside. After my eyes got accustomed to the dark I started noticing people sleeping on the various benches in the station, and soon after their snoring followed to reassure me that they were no treat.

The train to Bucharest was full up and we struggled to find an empty wagon. At a stop an old man sought our company to the detriment of our olfactory glands. Romanians did a good job at reminding us of the smelly people at work, at least these poor people are excused for their poor condition they surely haven't got our managers salary.

We arrived at Bucharest at 05:00 and to avoid potential dangers we sought refuge at Mc Donald’s. At least the horrid coffee served for a purpose. It is very important to look purposeful and confident not to be an easy target in such an environment.

According to locals the train to Tuclea is one of most modern trains in the train fleet and it shows. Since the voyage was quite long we had fixed seating locations. The pickpocket from our last train experience was replaced by a much more interesting person, who was a nuclear physicist with a Ph.D. in missile guidance working in the aeronautic industry. To our envy his company provides AI solutions mostly through expert systems and the like. Our topics of conversation varied from football, wine, travel and even gardening. He recommended a book entitled "The Japanese" by an American Ambassador in Japan.

We arrived at Tulcea at 11:10 and waited for the 13:30 ferry to Crisan in a bar near the quay. The Danube Delta is said to have three arms; the northern arm reaching out to Rosetti, the middle arm finishing at Sulina and the southern arm into Sfantu Gheorghe. We lodged in Crisan almost half way between Tulcea and Sulina (2 and ½ hours by ferry and 1 hour away by hydrofoil).

On the ferry I received a message from work because there was a power failure and they didn't have the correct password to reload the server on my PC. The second in command pal at work was on a half day leave so all hell broke loose. Obviously things were blown completely out of proportion with the higher management of the company being notified, as if they could do something. On his arrival from leave the situation was solved immediately.

At Crisan (16:00) we were greeted by Petre Vasiliu and accompanied to his house were we rested for the rest of the day and savoured a good traditional meal.

This morning we had to pay an extra 20,000lei because we exceed our 200,000lei breakfast voucher. Our original plan for the morning was to get the cable car from Sinaia centre and continue trekking from the cable car descent. Thanks to the hotel receptionist we found a shortcut to arrive to the centre of Sinaia by taking a secondary road behind the hotel reception, passing through the forest in front of the lovely Sinaia monastery and finishing in the centre after 20 minutes.

Like the other centres so far, Sinaia centre is basically Boulevard Carol I which is lined by various shops and taxis at every corner. When we arrived at Hotel Montana where the cable car is located our luck abandoned us because the cable car was closed for maintenance. We tried to locate the natural history museum for assistance on nature trails but apparently the museum was completely closed down. We resorted to our lonely planet trail map and decided to get a taxi to Hotel Furnica, which is only a few meters away from Hotel Economat, and ask the receptionist for assistance. This time the plan worked and the receptionist indicated northwards from her location towards two trails, a blue one and a red one. We choose blue.

The first part of trail is a normal road with no attractions whatsoever except for a solider ‘s quarters. Romania is littered with urban camouflage soldiers carrying a Kalashnikov especially in tourist attractions. The trail is a constant ascent probably leading to Cota 1400 where the cable car station and Hotel Alpin lie. There are so many trail markings that even a plant can complete the trail. The trail path is excellently maintained and clearly delimited.

Sinaia view from Bucegi

Since the trail is constantly uphill it is quite tiring but as soon as we arrived at the peak the breathtaking scenery erased our exhaustion, yet the best part of all this had still to come. A few meters after we started our descent back two large birds flew off in the forest and instinctively my better half raised her head and spotted a young Ural Owl perched in the tree above. I started hyperventilating in excitement and awe while she struggled to get a memorable photo. After our eyes feasted on such a beauty and we decided to leave, we spotted another one, then another, then another. Just as soon as we left the poor owls in peace one of their parents flew off from another tree. Orgasmic experience!

Although the Ural Owls were without any doubt the loveliest animals they weren't the only ones. The first week of June was brilliant for birds because most of the species were with their young. Most of the young were struggling with their first flight so it was easy to spot them. Chaffinches and black birds filled the whole forest floor with their hustling of leaves and lovely song. A collared flycatcher was also nesting in one of the trees. In the morning, while we were walking towards the centre of Sinaia there was a spotted woodpecker's nest with young on a tree just besides the pavement. At the end of the hike we saw dippers also with young, at a small river for the joy of my loveliest.

Baby Ural Owl

The last thing worth noting about this ultra active day was the discussion between myself and the train station attended. I was asking about tomorrow's trip to Tulcea and she thought that I wanted to go to Turkey. That’s what I call importance of correct pronunciation.