Deadly serious

Back at the apartment for some rest I have a glass or two from the complimentary bottle of red wine we were left in the room when we arrived. We then head downstairs to the restaurant for a final supper. Katarina isn't hungry but I offer to eat what she leaves. I then make the mistake of ordering a big meaty Romanian dish alongside a rack of ribs for Katarina. This followed a starter of calamari and is followed by desserts of chocolate soufflé. It's all way too much. When I eventually return to our room I am almost falling asleep. It's been two very long and exhausting days and I crash in our bedroom sauna while Katarina stays up with my phone.

If you look very closely you can see the slightly ghostly figure of Katarina from our apartment at the top of the tower of the hotel on the right. We finally make it back for our last night in Romania and our last night on holiday.

On the way back to the hotel we catch one final drama, but not for us. Sitting in the middle of the road is another stray dog seemingly minding its own business. But also its position looks odd, like it's waiting for something, but in the middle of the road. Then quite suddenly out from the trees comes running three other dogs, all full pelt towards the sitting dog, who has already turned to run away. There wasn't a single bark or any noise apart from the paws beating the path of their chase. A moment later the chasing dogs return back to the ground they were originally guarding. Stray dogs here clearly have their own territories and their own families. A short while later two of the dogs approach a couple of tourists on the side of the road. They don't threaten them but just sit and wait for something, perhaps some food. We leave for the hotel.

Back at the hotel we rest for an hour before we go out for one final stroll around the hotel. We've not had any chance yet to see the immediate vicinity but clearly we are situated in beautiful surroundings. We ask at reception where best to go but they don't really know, they just suggest we follow the road a little up the mountain. So we do just that and finally catch a more relaxed glimpse of the countryside. You can see the sheer rock poking up through the trees and you wonder how anything grows from these mountains, but clearly it's fertile ground as all the mountains here are covered with thick forest. All the other large buildings around are also hotels, each quite unique and beautiful and with clear views of their own of the countryside around. When I pictured Romania at the start of my holiday plans I didn't quite picture beauty and luxury quite like this. Not to forget the hospitality.

After a busy day we finally get a taxi to the police station (which I order from the same hotel lobby as earlier). When I ask for Sinaia the driver frowns and throws his head back. There's loads of traffic on the road. At first I worry this will delay us but then I realise the traffic is all the other way. His concern is the journey back. But that's not our worry. However, the taxi rate is more than three times Bucharest and the meter seems to shoot up faster than I've seen the whole holiday. The trip back turns out to be the most expensive taxi ride so far. But at about £5 I can't really complain. Arriving at the police station we are quickly recognised. Although I don't see the policeman from yesterday we are surrounded by the police chief, an inspector and another one or two offers (I lost count). They say we must wait for the translator to arrive. We only have to wait five minutes and in rushes a young woman who tells us how beautiful she thinks London is. We t...

As we arrive back into Busteni on the gondola we see a horse eating grass in the car park and another stray dog wondering around. Any impression people might have of Romania still persisting in the medieval state that Ceausescu seemed to encourage are clearly incorrect, but when you see the horse and dog you catch a glimpse of the complexity of modern Romania. I'm reading too much into this but it's more to make a point. I've not taken any photos of the gypsies or homelessness as I didn't want to take my camera out at those moments, but clearly alongside the modern Romania is another side that seems to coexist almost without question. We see none in Sinaia but plenty in Bucharest and even here in the mountains around Busteni. Where there are tourists there are plenty of people peddling something and not from stalls on the side of the road.

So far the gondolas have been either almost empty or only half full. On our final journey back to Busteni the car is full. And unfortunately, it was when we had the best views. So we had to reach over the crowd to catch a glimpse of the mountains around unmasked from the clouds we'd had on our journey here. In fact it's only seeing the photos afterwards that I realised just how good the views were or how high we were. But the best views were from the front of the car where everyone had wedged themselves with their phones, just as we would have done.

At the cable car station there's a small cafe where we get a couple of toasted sandwiches and a pepsi. Outside, through the windows of the cafe, we just see a thick cloud. It's so thick here that we actually see the fog tumbling through the windows and into the cafe. I can't quite capture this in a photo so instead we get a shot over the edge. We really are in the middle of nowhere here. We look for some toilets and downstairs a sign indicates 1 RON each (about 16p). Wandering around are also what I can best describe as gypsies, women and children mostly, who give the impression they either live here or spend their lives nearby. One of them offers to unlock the toilet. Inside are two toilets so we go in together. They are each a hole in the ground and the door closes with a counter weight on the inside. As we enter the lady says "no water". I don't think I'd want to touch the taps anyway. So we do our business and rely on anti-bacterial hand gel. A few min...

I keep referring to this point as the half way station but actually it has more significance than the point half way to the caves. It's actually a short hike to a place called Babele where there are supposed to be stunning rock formations that make this area famous. Sadly we are in the hurry and in any case I don't think out feet would make it. Instead we only look out briefly on plains around us and into the clouds that are probably obscuring our views of the rocks.

We didn't have to wait long for the cable car and I think I was happy to feel cold. The temperature here was easily more than 10 degrees less than Sinaia which was itself probably 10 degrees less than Bucharest. After days of feeling so hot and also such hot night we've had a slight reverse. We feel cold in the day and hot at night. Katarina wrapped up warm but I kept to the t-shirt just because I was enjoying so much feeling cold. Back on the gondola we got some views around without cloud, but as we approached the half way point we re-entered the huge cloud that had engulfed the area.

The remainder of the path back to the cable car was simply the reverse of our journey here, up hill and up steps. But knowing we'd reached the end of our road and were turning back made it a little easier. We'd survived the holiday this far, we'd make it home. Katarina was surprisingly energetic given we'd been walking almost non-stop since we left the cable car. I think she was also keen to get back, to the hotel at least, and rest her feet.

Back outside there was a dog tied up in the rain howling for its owner. As we set off on the path back to the cable car we also met other dogs, stray dogs, which share this space with people, much as they seem to do all over this region but especially in Romania. You never feel threatened but you do have to be a little watchful.

The walk back through the cave gave us plenty of opportunity to capture more photos and appreciate the space from a different angle. It was vast and yet a couple of times I almost banged my head on the rock passing through the tight passages. Once you get back to daylight it's quite odd to see the buildings set inside the cave and we peer inside. I avoid taking any photos in case we offend the more religious visitors. I've no doubt this really is a place of pilgrimage for some.

I'm not sure it has an official name but at the end of the cave the passage narrows more and more until only one person can squeeze into a small space for two people, where there is a shrine. So I assume this was the deepest point accessible. Catholicism in Romania is clearly very strong and churches and monasteries are everywhere. Apparently nearby is also the largest cross in Europe (but we didn't see that). We didn't take too much notice of the shrine itself but a powerful light was pointing towards it which we used to light our faces. And then a second selfie back out in the larger cavern with slightly more flattering light. This was the very furthest point of our trip. From this shrine our trip continued as a journey back to Busteni, Sinaia, Bucharest and then London. You could almost say it was a pilgrimage. A pilgrimage to sore feet.

Forgive me for posting so many photos but it sort of makes up for last year's caves in Slovenia where photography was not allowed. Here you had complete freedom. The caves weren't as vast (last year was the largest cavern in Europe) or as majestic but they were much more accessible. A metal walk way made for an easy track through the length of the cave (at least those parts we're allowed to get to). At times the path passes through tight spaces where you have to twist or duck to avoid the rock and this added to the feeling you are descending into a deep space. Although at times the path is only wide enough for one person, there weren't too many people and only rarely did we get bottlenecks. The large rock in one photo is in the bear cave, but from what I read the cave got it's name from some bones found there and not the rock formation. We didn't dwell too long anyway, aware we were on a tight schedule, but I think this worked as we probably didn't have ener...

We didn't come for the monastery, but the caves it was built inside, but they made a nice bonus. The original monastery was probably built 500 years ago but I think these buildings were much more recent. There were some tourists milling about but by no means hordes of them. So there was no queue inside and tickets were quick. A small number of people were wearing hard hats but we couldn't find anywhere to get one. In any case the vast majority of people were without. the cave entrance was vast but then quickly narrowed.

Out of the second cable car we were presented with a sign pointing to the caves one kilometre away. We had more to walk. But today was a bit of a mission. We were due to be back by 3pm and so couldn't waste any time. Off we set across a plain, descending into the forests and across some bridges. One kilometre never felt so far away. If Tolkein had been Romanian this would have been Middle Earth.

The main purpose of our trip here was to see the caves of Ialomita which was two cable car rides away. Half way was a station with access to other local sites, which we didn't have time or energy for. Indeed as soon as we arrived we got the next cable car without any delay. Before we got back on to the gondola we got a view of the surroundings through a break in the clouds. At this point it was 2,100m, but not that we could tell much given we were on a plateau and outside of that was still cloud.

I couldn't decide which photos was best, but when we finally got on to the cable car and it set off we were quickly treated to a view of condensation. Eventually we found some breaks in the condensation and outside we saw fog. We were in the middle of a cloud. You could make out in the gaps that we were going over mountains but that was about all. Instead we could feel the cable car swing but otherwise it was an omnipresent white smudge. However, the whole scene did create a slightly eerie feeling that kinda worked for me.

We finally make it back and I have enough money, and again there is no queue. Maybe it was the weather. When we arrived and part of the reason for getting a taxi to the cash machine was that it was pouring down outside. We had an umbrella but my biggest concern was if the cable car was actually a chair lift as it was last year in Slovenia we'd get soaked. Fortunately, it wasn't. Instead it was a creaking 50 year old metal box. We didn't have to wait long to get on. We'd finally made it to the start of our last trip.

Despite the reputation of Romanian taxis and indeed our own experience of unsavoury types around the streets and stations of Bucharest, the Romanian people seem to demonstrate a sharp contrast. Outside of those few negatives, Romanians seem to go out of their way to help us out. Our taxi arrived to take us to Busteni a town next to Sinaia about 10km away where there was the best cable car in the area - one much nearer the hotel has less to offer. The taxi ride down was uneventful and so we arrived at the cable car station ready to queue (we'd been warned it could take 2 hours). But there was no queue. Instead we were briefly hassled by someone selling 4x4 rides up the mountains. We declined and entered the building. Unfortunately, I discovered I didn't have enough money for the whole journey (there were two cable car journeys there and two back). Outside we couldn't find any bank or cash machine but we shared the same problem briefly with a woman outside until she decided w...

We've got another busy day ahead, our last full day of sightseeing, so time for another hearty breakfast of eggs, bacon and whatever else we can find in the buffet, which is pretty much anything you can imagine. It's times like these I wish I was 20 stone. After breakfast we go to reception because late last night we had a call to say the police wanted us to come by today. Eventually we get a response that they want us to come by at 3pm. This makes our timing today a little tighter so we need to rush - once again.

We wake up to our first morning in the mountains and I suffered all night with the heat. We couldn't leave any windows open because otherwise we'd be ravaged by mosquitoes. We've survived largely unbitten throughout the holiday, but this is Transylvania territory. Who knows what will bite us here at night. Technically it's not the historical Transylvania, that's just a stone's throw to the north, but we're in the same terrain. We can see the mist clinging to the mountains around and the neighbouring hotel below, which I'd almost booked until I saw this tower.

Back in our apartment we watched clouds gather around us across the Forests and mountains. These were the real clouds that followed the metaphorical clouds that hung over us for much of the day. With so much happening today it's easy to forget we began in Bucharest and indeed yesterday morning we were in Sofia. Originally I'd tried to organise a bus from Sofia to Bucharest but that was only overnight. I don't think we would have managed these past two days with a night on a bus as well. I finally crash with no energy left to do the blog. Eventually the clouds turn into storms and we are treated to a display of lightning all around us. The Gods show sympathy for our day.

We finally make our way back to the hotel, eventually settling on eating there instead. Naturally it took a while to rest and cool off before we could go downstairs and I struggled a bit without air conditioning but with windows open it was just enough. I wasn't sure what to make of the restaurant until we got down there. In fact we'd seen no other guests at all. The lift to our room was right next to our door and we almost had the feeling we were the only ones there. But once in the restaurant it was clear this place was quite classy and the menu had a selection of posh French cuisine. Fortunately, there was a page dedicated to Romanian dishes which fit us perfectly, loads of meat and veg. We were both satisfied. For desserts though we did get to pick from posher menu with a chocolate soufflé and apple cake. All for the price of a meal in a small cafe in Watford.